American ^Bee tjonrnal 



October, 191 1. 



the large G. A. R. Hall in the Court 

 House, and spent the forenoon in get- 

 ting acquainted with each other. Then, 

 beginning at 1 :30 p.m., the convention 

 was opened with an address of welcome 

 by Mayor Haynes, of Minneapolis. He 

 gave a royal welcome to the conven- 

 tion, and practically said that, so far as 

 he was concerned, as well as the rest of 

 the folks in Minneapolis, the bee-keep- 

 ers could have anything they wanted 

 while they remained in the city. 



It would be impossible to give an 

 adequate idea of the intensely interest- 

 ing discussions during the convention 

 sessions. They could be appreciated 

 only by being present. However, the 

 members who could not be there will 

 receive a copy of the published pro- 

 ceedings, which they will enjoy reading, 

 we are very sure. 



Secretary Tyrrell had arranged a 

 program which was entirely different 

 from anything the National has ever 

 had before. There was no time wasted 

 in discussing such momentous (?) 

 questions as " What is best to burn in 

 a bee-smoker ?" " How to winter bees ;" 

 "The 8-frame hive vs. the 10-frame," 

 etc. The questions discussed were al- 

 most all of a kind that related to the 

 business of bee-keeping, although there 

 was considerable discussion on foul 

 brood, and the progress being made in 

 different States toward its prevention. 

 One of the sessions was devoted to the 

 marketing of honey, and another to the 

 co-operation among bee-keepers; and 

 then there was one session that took a 

 miscellaneous lot of topics. Such a 

 program could not help being very in- 

 teresting and profitable, especially to 

 the more advanced bee-keepers. The 

 fact is, that it is almost a waste of time 

 for the National Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion to spend its time in discussing 

 primary topics which can just as well 

 be learned from the bee-books. Every 

 one who intends to do anything with 

 bees ought surely to have one or more 

 standard bee-books, and at least one or 

 more bee-papers. 



The convention closed with the 

 Thursday evening session, but a large 

 number remained over for the next 

 day to be entertained by the Minnesota 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, whose presi- 

 dent is Dr. L. D. Leonard, and C. A. 

 Palmer, secretary. They chartered two 

 street cars and took the visiting mem- 

 bers to beautiful Minnehaha Falls and 

 Park, Fort Snelling, Soldiers' Home, 

 and then to St. Paul, where they had 

 luncheon at the Commercial Club. This 

 was very fine indeed, and all was thor- 

 oughly enjoyed by those participating 

 in the treat. 



After luncheon the company pro- 

 ceeded to inspect the imposing State 

 Capitol Building, which cost something 

 like $4,000,001 f when built, but would be 

 in the neighborhood of $10,000,000 if 

 put up at the present prices of building 

 material, labor, etc. It certainly is most 

 beautiful, and any one going to Minne- 

 apolis or St. Paul should be sure to 

 see it. 



On the trolley ride, Mr. N. H. Em- 

 mans described the various objects of 

 interest as we passed along. Mr. Em- 

 mans is in the real-estate business in 

 Minneapolis, and keeps a few colonies 

 of bees for recreation. He has a beau- 

 tiful home about 2 miles from the heart 



of the city, where he lias a fine garden 

 in which he grows various things that 

 are good to eat. Mrs. Emmans had 

 put up 60 quarts of plums of their own 

 production, and some of the trees were 

 still loaded. They had almost half an 

 acre of sweet corn, etc. We took our last 

 meal in Minneapolis with Mr. and Mrs. 

 Emmans, then got the 6:20 train for 

 Chicago, Friday evening. 



Mr. and Mrs. Muth were two of the 

 jolliest of the bunch on the trolley ride. 

 Mr. Muth " got off " quite a good story 

 during the ride, but he should have had 

 a megaphone. Mr. H. V. Poore, one 

 of the oldest and most prominent bee- 

 keepers of Minnesota, also accompa- 

 nied the "joy riders," and said at one 

 time that although he was both Poore 

 and honest, he mightn't always be hon- 

 est, but was sure always to be Poore. 



Taking it altogether, the Minneapolis 

 convention was, we believe, one of the 

 best that the National has held in a 

 long time. It didn't equal in attend- 

 ance the conventions lield at Detroit 

 and Albany, but, measured by the real 

 work done in the convention sessions 

 in the interest of a more business-like 

 bee-keeping, we believe that the results 

 will be far-reaching, and most bene- 

 ficial to the industry of bee keeping on 

 this continent. 



The new constitution will be placed 

 before the membership in November 

 for their approval or rejection. We 

 believe, however, that when they come 

 to consider it carefully, they will be 

 glad to approve it, for it will put the 

 National in a better position to do much 

 more for its members than it has been 

 doing heretofore. The new plan of 

 affiliated associations, or branches, will 

 be the means of forming a closer rela- 

 tion between the local organizations 

 and the National. There will then be 

 annua! meetings of delegates from local 

 societies, which will make the National 

 more of a business organization, and 

 they will legislate for all affiliated or- 

 ganizations of bee-keepers. There will 

 be more uniformity in practically every- 

 thing, after the new system is in good 

 working order. We believe that Ameri- 

 can bee-keepers will be glad to become 

 members of what ought to be a very 

 strong and compact body of those in- 

 terested in the production of honey. 



The present organization is too hap- 

 hazard, and the National meetings too 

 local to do much in a business way. In 

 fact, heretofore the annual meetings 

 have been mostly social gatherings, 

 and aside from discussing a few mat- 

 ters of some importance to bee-keeping 

 in a general way, it has not accom- 

 plished what it should have done. More 

 actual work has been done by the Gen- 

 eral Manager and the Board of Direc- 

 tors, betzL'ceJi meetings, and under a con- 

 stitution that permitted almost exclu- 

 sively one line of work, and that was 

 the protection of bee-keepers in their 

 right to keep bees. This feature, of 

 course, will be continued the same as 

 before, but the new constitution being 

 broader than the old, will enable the 

 Board of Directors to do other work 

 that must, in time, be of untold benefit 

 to honey-producers. 



^ 



Kerosene in the Apiary In England 



it is quite the fashion to use a cloth 

 impregnated with a solution of carbolic 



acid to subdue bees and keep away 

 robber-bees, but for some reason the 

 fashion has not been much followed in 

 this country. O. B. Metcalf, however, 

 uses kerosene, or coal oil, in much the 

 same way, and values it highly. He 

 says in the Bee-Keepers' Review; 



A great deal has been said about the use of 

 carbolic acid in the bee-yard, and no doubt 

 something about the use of coal-oil in a simi- 

 lar way. but I believe that not one bee- 

 keeper in a hundred knows the real value of 

 coal-oil in the bee-yard. If you are burring 

 your combs or inspecting for foul brood dur- 

 ing a dearth, as you sometimes have to. I 

 venture to say that the proper use of coal- 

 oil will keep down robbing at least go per- 

 cent. Saturate a rag as large as a napkin 

 with coal-oil and hang it in a large can. and 

 use this can to collect burs or uncappings 

 in. and no robbers will bother them. 



In inspecting for foul brood, or looking for 

 queens, or any such work, lay the coal^oil 

 rag on the tops of the frames so the wind 

 will float the odor from it across the hive. It 

 possible keep the frame you have out in the 

 line of the odor from the coal-oil rag or in 

 the can with it. , , 



Do not believe anything you may have 

 read as to the odor of coal-oil making bees 

 mad. I have used it in the smoker instead 

 of smoke, and it puts them in good humor, 

 so far as I can see. 



To Stop Robbing Among Bees.— Arthur 



C. Miller says in the Rhode Island bee- 

 bulletin : 



■■ The easiest way the writer has found to 

 stop it has been to put an abundance of 

 syrup or honey a few rods from the apiary 

 and get the bees started on it by walking 

 among the hives with a comb of honey until 

 it was well covered with bees, and then 

 gently carrying it to the food and leaving it. 

 If enough food is put there to keep the bees 

 busy until dark, and the empty receptacles 

 left there for the bees to smell over the next 

 day, the evil is generally stopped without 

 further trouble." 



Singeing the Cross Bees.— Those bee- 

 keepers who have out-apiaries and 

 who have not vet advanced to automo- 

 biles are likely'to be familiar with the 

 annoyance of having a few cross bees 

 persistentlv following when it is time 

 to go home, and at such a time the bee- 

 keeper is in terror lest the horse or 

 horses be stung, resulting in a runaway 

 and a wreck. O. B. Metcalf tells in the 

 Bee-Keepers' Review how he gets rid 

 of such bees. He takes from his smoker 

 a burning piece of burlap that has been 

 covered by the bees with propolis, or 

 else he saturates with kerosene a new 

 piece of burlap, ties this on the end of 

 a small stick, waves this burning torch 

 about in the air, and the bees promptly 

 fly at the dark moving object, and as 

 promptly fall to the ground with their 

 wings burnt oft'. 



Number of Cells to the Square Inch — 



It is common to consider that when a 

 rule laid upon a honey-comb measures 

 .5 cells to the inch there will be 2o cells 

 to the square inch. That will do well 

 enough for round numbers, but when 

 reasonable exactness is required it will 

 not do at all. If the cells were square 

 there would be just 25 cells to the 

 square inch. Now suppose they are 

 round. Take little balls one-fifth of 

 an inch in diameter, and lay a straight 

 row of them. Now lay another row 

 beside this, allowing each ball of the 

 second row to touch only one ball of 

 the first row, and there will be just 2.5 

 to the square inch. But shake them 

 together in a pan, and you will find 

 that they arrange themselves in rows 



