230 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



national reputation, as well as displays by 

 inventors, manufacturers, supply mer- 

 chants, and queen-rearers. 



A special invitation is extended to all bee- 

 keepers to display and demonstrate inven- 

 tions, implements, or methods. If table 

 space is desired, or special equipment is to 

 be prepared, notice should be sent to Dr. 

 Burton N. Grates, Amherst, Mass., at least 

 two or three weeks before the convention. 

 The College will provide covered tables for 

 the exhibit. 



It may be found necessary to limit the 

 number of students in the course, yet ap- 

 plications are accepted in the order in which 

 they are received. No registration fees will 

 be charged. Women are cordially invited 

 to attend. 



Registration with the Extension Service, 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, Am- 

 herst, Mass., is necessary for admission to 

 classes. 



CONVENTION PROGKAM. 



June 12. 

 Morning, 9:00. Entomology building. Displays of 



manufacturers and queen-rearers. 

 9:15. Demonstrations. Improved flexible - plate 

 foundation-fastener. Mr. A, H. Byard, West 

 Chesterfield, N. H. 

 The Aspinwall hive. Demonstrater to be an- 

 nounced. 

 The remainder of the morning will be devoted to 

 an excursion conducted by Director Brooks of the 

 Experiment Station for the inspection of bee-forage 

 crops. Leave entomology building at 10:00. (If 

 possible the trip will include a visit to a North Am- 

 herst pasture where white clover has been brought 

 In by top dressing.) 



Afternoon. 2:00. Entomology building. Addresses, 

 Bees in relation to fruit culture and plant 

 life. Mr. A. W. Yates, Hartford, Ct. 



Subject toibe announced. Mr. R. II. Holmes, Shore- 

 ham, Vt. 



Demonstrations. Electric foundation fastener and 

 wire imbedder. Mr. H. F. Davis, Ilolyoke, 

 Mass. 



Inventions. Mr. F. Danzenbaker, Norfolk, Va. 



Adjourn to the apiary. The features of the newly 

 erected apiary building will be explained, 

 including the general work shop, honey- 

 room, box extracting room, bee-cellar, and 

 eQuipment. 



Demonstrations at apiary. Queen-rearing. Mr. F. 

 M. Keith, Worcester, Mass. Demonstration- 

 al treatment of Infectious bee diseases. 

 State Inspector. 



Evening, 7:30. Clark Hall. Address of welcome, 

 by Pres. K. L. Butterfleld. 



Address by Hon. J. Lewis Ellsworth, Secretary 

 State Board of Agriculture. 



Illustrated lectvxre on the life, habits, and develop- 

 ment of the honeybee, by Dr. James P. Por- 

 ter, Dean of Clark College, Worcester, Mass. 

 June 13. 



Morning, 9:00. Entomology building. Address, 

 The progress of apiculture in the last two 

 years, by Mr. E. K. Root, editor Gleanings 

 IN Bee Culture, Medina, O. 



Subject and speaker to be announced. 



A few homely facts— things worth knowing how to 

 do, by Mr. Arthur C. Miller, Providence, R. I. 



Demonstrations. Mr. II. F. Davis, Ilolyoke, Mass. 

 Electric honey-cutter for sectioning comb 

 honey. 



Demonstrations yet unannounced. 



Afternoon, 2:00. Apiary. Demonstrations. Pro- 

 duction of a swarm artificially, by Mr. E. R. 

 Root. 



Fuller queen-rearing system with completed outfit 

 In operation, by Mr. O. F. Fuller, Black- 

 stone, Mass. 



Shook swarming, a method for the business or pro- 

 fessional man, by Mr. II. F. Gary, Lyons- 

 vUle, Mass. 



Unannounced demonstrations. 



REMOVING BEES FROM WALLS OF BUILDINGS, 

 CREVICES IN ROCKS, ETC. 



A Plan for Getting All the Bees, Including the 



Queen and the Honey, without Mutilating 



the Building. 



BY GEO. W. RICH 



A few years ago I read of a plan for taking 

 a colony of bees out of-a building without 

 damaging the wall in any way. The idea 

 was to place honey close by; and, when the 

 bees were excited, a bee-escape was placed 

 over the entrance, the supposition being 

 that, because part of the bees were outside, 

 the rest would come out to join them, so 

 that, before long, nearly all the bees would 

 come out. Then all that was necessary was 

 to put them in a hive containing comb, 

 some of which contained larvae and brood. 

 In a day or two the bee-escape could be re- 

 moved and the bees would "rob" the honey 

 fro n their old combs and store it in the 

 hive. 



This plan seemed very easy, and I was 

 anxious to try it; but I nev^er had an oppor- 

 tunity until I came to California, where I 

 found many colonies of bees in the cliff's 

 and rocks, in squirrel-holes, etc. I have re- 

 moved thirty-five or forty colonies this win- 

 ter, most of them from crevices in rocks. 

 In some cases I have secured as much as 

 100 pounds of honey. This is often hard 

 work, as some colonies are in places that 

 are difficult to reach. But there is consid- 

 erable excitement and fun attached to it, 

 which I enjoy. 



Sometimes the entrances to the cavities 

 are two or three feet across, and often the 

 combs are so far back that one can not 

 reach them. To help out in such cases I 

 prepared a framework out of half-inch lum- 

 ber about 2xo feet, having a hole in the 

 center 5x7 inches. Around the outside of 

 this frame I tacked burlap a foot or two 

 wide so that, if the whole thing is set in 

 front of the entrance, the cloth will fill up 

 the space where bees might get in or out. 

 With this in position the bees have to fly 

 through the opening in the center. In a 

 board that just fitted this opening I cut a 

 hole Syi inches in diameter, over which I 

 tacked a funnel or cone made of wire cloth 

 8 inches high, the hole at the outer end be- 

 ing made with a pencil, so it is just large 

 enough for one bee to escape at a time. An 

 ordinary bee-escape will not do, as it shuts 

 out the light. 



A quart bottle containing honey and 

 water (about equal parts of each) , a hive 

 filled with combs, one of which has some 

 larvse, brood, and a few bees, and a smoker, 

 the fuel in which has been sprinkled with 

 crude carbolic acid, completes the equip- 

 ment. On some warm day, adjust the 

 frame in the opening of the crevice con- 

 taining the colony in such a position that 

 the hole in the center is just about where 

 the bees go in and out. Arrange the burlap 

 around the outside so that no bees can pass 

 in or out except through this entrance. 



