1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



949 



the presidency of the association ; but he 

 very modestly declined the honor, in favor 

 of another member. His name was next 

 proposed for secretary, and was carried by 

 the unanimous consent of the associaton. 



DR. A. B. MASON, THE MAN FOR SUPERIN- 

 TENDENT OF THE APIARIAN DEPART- 

 MENT AT THE WORLD'S 

 FAIR IN 1892. 



Well, now I have given you a little insight 

 into the life and face of the secretary of the 

 association, I can hardly with propriety 

 omit in this connection the genial face (it's 

 sober in the picture) of the president of the 

 association. We have already given our 

 readers a view of him, accompanied with a 

 biographical sketch ; but he is such a large- 

 hearted, good-natured, and almost indispen- 

 sable member of bee-associations that I 

 feel constrained to introduce him again. 

 He has a happy faculty of making every- 

 body feel well acquainted and real good at 

 conventions. Sometimes one of his huge 

 jokes makes some other good friend, at 

 whose expense it was made, feel just a little 

 touchy ; but when he begins to know the 

 doctor better, he will always find that the 

 kindest intentions prompted it. 



DR. A. B. MASON. 



Now, then, while I am about it I want to 

 revive the matter regarding the appoint- 

 ment of a superintendent for the Inter- 

 national Bee Exhibit, to be held at the 

 World's Fair in 1892. The suggestion ema- 

 nates from John Aspin wall, and is a good 

 one. I suggested Dr. Mason, and Prof. 

 Cook seconded the motion ; and when the 



motion is put to a vote, at the Brantford 

 convention, 1 hope the doctor w ill be unani- 

 mously elected. From his laige experience 

 in the line of prepaiing exhibits, and his 

 ability to talk down comb-honey slanders, 

 he is the man, in my humble juuginent. 



Erin est. 



BEE-HUMT1KG 1W THE S1IEBA MVA 

 DA MOUNTAIN b. 



BY A SUCCESSFUL BEE-HUMEK. 



J|5% EE-HUNTING always had a lascmation lor 

 yjjf me. In my leisure time I took delight lot.m- 

 flm * a & through the woods in search ot wild bees, 

 *"* tracking and lining them to tbtir habitation. 

 I was generally pretty successlul in my 

 search, frequently finding three or lour trees in a 

 day. I first became interested in bees by reading 

 one of Cooper's novels, entitled "Oak Openings." 

 It described a bee-hunter, his method of operating, 

 lining, and angling for wild bees. I had long known 

 whereaswaim of bees came for water near our 

 place. One afternoon, after reading Cooper's plan, 

 I decided to try my luck at bee-hunting. Having 

 arrived at the place, I had all necessary implements 

 ready for business, and soon had quite a line of bees 

 started. I noticed that some of them swerved con- 

 siderably to one side, owing to a heavy growth of 

 young firs being in their line of flight, while others 

 went directly over them. Having bees working on 

 two combs of honey, I ventured to move one comb, 

 containing perhaps 25 bees, about 100 yards to one 

 side. After filling up they circled around a little, 

 marking the location of the honey, and then took a 

 direct line to a clump of old dead cedars at the bot- 

 tom of the cauon, where those that had taken a 

 dneot line from the first place went. Thinking that 

 the tree must be near where the two intersecting 

 lines met, I gathered up my implements and started 

 down the mountain-side. Arriving at the clump of 

 dead cedars, and making a thorough examination, 

 I soon found the tree. They entered a small knot- 

 hole about 40 feet from the ground. The next 

 thing on the programme was to get the tree down 

 and see what it contained. On going home I re- 

 turned with axes, wedges, and saw; and after two 

 of us had worked a couple of hours we had the sat- 

 isfaction of seeing the tree tumble to the ground. 

 It burst open where the bees had constructed their 

 hive, throwing bees, honey, and brood out in wild 

 confusion. We had no difficulty in taking all the 

 honey, and did not receive a single sting. The tree 

 contained upward of a hundred pounds of honey, 

 seventy pounds being beautifully white clear 

 honey. The rest was mixed with bee-bread. I 

 undertook to save the bees, but, not knowing much 

 about them at that time, I made a failure of it. 



DIFFERENT PLANS AND METHODS OF BEE-HUNTING. 



Cooper's method of bee-hunting is as follows: 

 First get a small light-colored glass or tumbler, 

 transparency being necessary in order to watch the 

 movements of the bee. Find a bee to suit you, and 

 place the glass over it, flower and all, placing your 

 hand underneath to keep the bee from escaping 

 from the bottom. You must have a small empty 

 piece of honey-comb, and some thin honey to pour 

 into the comb, drone comb being best. After 

 obtaining your bees, place your piece of honey- 

 comb on some level surface, and set your bee 

 and glass over the entire comb. Next place your 



