GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



(Mr. Lucas) to examine it. The surmise he 

 had entertained was found to be correct. 

 It was castor oil. This statement was some- 

 what disappointing. 



It appears the Egyptian women, both in 

 ancient times and at the i^resent day, use 

 castor oil for dressing their hair and anoint- 

 ing their .skin to keep it soft. The profes- 



sor, however, found considerable quantities 

 of beeswax in ancient Egyptian tombs. It 

 was used to make shields to protect the 

 eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of mummies, 

 and to preserve their features from injury. 

 The ancient classical writers say honey was 

 also used for mummifying. 



Red Hill, Brisbane, Queensland. 



BY HARRY G. BRANT 



The Minnesota I^eekeepers' Association 

 held its annual meeting in the Engineering 

 Building of the State Farm School, Dec. 2 

 and 3, in connection with the Minnesota 

 Stale Horticultural Association. About one 

 hundred beekeepers were i^resent, quite a 

 few ladies among them. The excellent pro- 

 gram was followed out, and a profitable and 

 enjoyable time was had by all. Here is 

 the progiam: 



WEDNESDAY FORENOON. 



9:00. Social hour. 



10:00. Meeting called to order. Reading minutes of 

 last meeting. Report of Secretary and Trea- 

 surer. Correcting wording of Constitution. 



11:00. Bee-inspector's Report. J. Alf. Holmberg. « 

 Addi-ess, " Bee Disease," C. D. Siehl. 

 President's address. 



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. 



2:00. "Progress in the beekeeping industry in 



Minnesota the past year," Francis Jager, 



Prof, of Apiculture, Agricultural College, A. 



F. Woods, Dean of Agricultural Department, 



University of Minnesota. 



The Law of Mendel applied to the breeding 



of bees, C. E. Bartholomew, Prof. Apiculture, 



Iowa College. 

 3:30. Symposium on comb-honey production: 



"Fastening foundation in sections" (a dem- 

 onstration). L. M. Bussey. 



"Fastening Foundation in Split Sections" (a 



demonstration). L. D. Leonard. 



"S'pring management for comb honey," L. F. 



Sampson. 



"Putting sections on hives," Geo. W. Shafer, 



Menomie, Wis. 



"How to get well-filled sections," Jos. Moser 



Calmar, Iowa. 



"Removing sections from the hive," L. A. 



Stickney, Minnesota City, Minn. 



"What to do with unfinished sections," C. S. 

 Russel, Pine City, Minn. 



"Packing and crating honey," Peter Howe, 

 Kellogg, Minn. 



THURSDAY FORENOON. 



9:30. "Marketing honey," P. A. White, Barron. 

 Wis. 



Mrs. M. McCabe. Minneapolis ; F. E. Lang, 

 La Crosse, Wis. ; Mrs. F. .T. Butterfield, Long 

 Lake, Minn. ; O. .J. Goodmansen, Little Falls, 

 Minn. ; Mr. Fred Oesch, Winona ; L. M. 

 Bussey, Minneapolis. 



"Bees and flowers," P. R. Little, St. Louis 

 Park. 

 11:00. Beginners' hour and question-box. 



Mrs. J. A. DeLameter, Mrs. Mattie Watts, 

 Mr. F. E. Halden. Mr. H. G. Brant. 



THURSDAY AFTERNOON. 



2:00. Symposium on extracted honey. 



"Preparing bees in spring," C. D. Blaker. 

 What to do at commencement of honey-flow," 

 Frank Schillock. 



"How to prevent swarming," C. F. Greening. 

 "Methods of uncapping and extracting," P. 

 C. Van Someron. 



"Uncapping-knives," H. V. Poore. 

 "Why flowers do not always produce nectar," 



E. L. Hofmann. 



"Management of bees after the honey-flow," 



F. W. Ray, Prof. Francis Jager. 



Among those present were quite a few- 

 students who are taking the course in api- 

 culture. The following officers were elected 

 for 1915 : 



Rev. C. D. Blaker, Minneapolis, president: first 

 vice-president. Rev. J. Kimball, Duhith; second vice- 

 president, Mrs. J. A. De Lameter, Hopkins; secre- 

 tary and treasurer, P. W. Ray, Minneapolis; Exec- 

 utive committee, L. C. Pilcher, St. Paul; L. F. 

 Sampson. Excelsior, and Mrs. M. McCabe, Minneap- 

 olis. 



ITTING BEES IN SELWYN'S CELLAR 



BY G. F. K. 



A description of Mr. Selwyn's bee-cellar 

 at Kirk's Ferry, Quebec, appeared in the 

 Sept. 1st issue, p. 676. The bees were car- 

 ried into this cellar Nov. 15. The morning 

 was clear, the air crisp, the temperature a 

 few degrees below freezing. 



The apiary is situated on the side of a 

 Iiill, and the hives are scattered in all direc- 

 tions, the unevenness of the ground making 

 a definite arrangement impossible. The 

 hives are of the eight-frame size, some fitted 



witli the excelsior cover and some with a 

 packed galvanized-iron cover. Between the 

 top-bars and the cover are two thicknesses 

 of cloth — the lower one of 10-oz. duck, and 

 the upper one of burlap cut from an old 

 sack. In some cases, where an excelsioi" 

 cover was used, the moisture from the bee 

 cluster had condensed and the cloth was 

 fi'ozen stiff. 



The entrances of the hives — full width but 

 only % inch deep — were blocked with tissue 



