64 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 26, 19C5. 



Gill can rear queens, as a matter of economy. I don't say 

 they are any better. It is hard to say whether those lit- 

 tle boxes about 3x4 scattered all around the yard, with just 

 a few bees flymg about, will be any good, but they will 

 defend themselves, and those queens will he hatched out 

 tliere and will be just as good as any other queens. Mr. 

 Gill mentioned one important thing, and that was tak- 

 ing queens out of a strong colony in the height of their 

 egg-laymg and sending them through the mails, that it 

 was a bad thing to do. We take these baby nuclei put 

 perforated zinc over the entrance, and send them out, and 

 there does not seem to be any bad effects coming from it 

 In regard to the question of whether a man should rear 

 his own queens or buy them, I think it varies a good deal 

 according to the conditions. Some seasons of the year it 

 IS better to buy them; there are some seasons of the year 

 that the queens do not suffer in the mails. 



Mr. Laws: I want to answer both sections of that 

 question m the affirmative. I think it is protfiable for the 

 honey-producer to rear queens with the baby nuclei; it is 

 the ideal thing; the great trouble is tearing up the full 

 colony. I went into the apiary a little while back and got 

 there just in time to find virgins hatching out; in fact they 

 had been held back in the cells by the bees; there were 

 eighteen hatched out; we had some of those little babies and 

 I rushed to the hive and we got those virgins and put 

 them in those boxes as fast as they would come out We 

 put those nuclei in the shade, and after awhile carried them 

 out to a new location and I got about all those queens in 

 Tf f ^ u '^ ?°' prepared for queen-rearing with large boxes 

 If he has large boxes it is a great deal of trouble to carry 

 them around, to get the nuclei home, and to stay after he 

 puts theni there With the small boxes he can put 

 them in the shade, and he can take them and scatter 

 them around in the brush anywhere, and after they re- 

 mam with the queen for a while they behave like a newly 

 hived swarm As Mr. Root says, one or two bees at the 

 entrance will guard the hive just about as well as a large 

 swarm, and you will find the queens mated shortly after- 

 wards. I have mated 150 queens with the bees of one hive 

 You will have the cells built by a populous colony and 

 you can get the queens all reared at the beginning of the 

 seasom We want no brood in those nuclei frames I 

 state this because I have had considerable experience I 



win'thtk"as7d^a' ' ""'^ "^'■^ ''^^' °" ^^^ -•^j"' y- 



..,hJ^-V ^'"t:;^' '^."u°' P^P^"" perhaps at this time to state 

 why It would not be practicable with me. but when it 

 comes under the head of swarming or shook swarms then 

 I might explain it. Only I shall say this, that the field we 

 operate, with three of us to work with a thousand colo- 

 nies, IS about eight miles wide and twenty miles long and 

 we see an apiary today and then we don't see it a-ain 

 for SIX days, so that it would not be practicable for me 

 Under the heading of increase I will tell why I buy mv 

 queens at certain times. ^ ^ 



Prof. Benton—I remember getting a colony of Syrian 

 bees from D. A. Jones, of Canada, and I was transferring 

 them from one of their bee-hives, which is a crock or 

 water-jar; we broke it and cut the combs out, and trans- 



llZfu !4 " .'"'° ^""""^ ,^"^ '" doing this we found 

 they had cast a swarm and were ready to cast a second 

 """ m'"c 7^7 h^^ndful of bees I took out I 

 II ^ i"*^ i"""" °'' ^^^ queens. I counted 250 

 well-deve oped queens that I took out of this colony. 

 I he question was, What should I do with them? I made 

 baby nuclei I got these queens mated in those baby 

 nuclei. That ^yas very well as far as it went. That was 

 the spring of the year. We could take those queens and 

 send them away, and did do so. If we attempted to sup- 

 ?^ ^, queen-cell to that nucleus there was all sorts of 

 trouble. My proposition is this : In the long run it would 

 not be profitable. Self-sustaining nuclei that can be fed 

 and bees added to if necessary are valuable nuclei in the 

 Jong run; they are miniature colonies. They are not for 

 queen-fearing but queen-mating, and having them ready 

 as reserve queens. Those in the long run are more 

 profitable. 



Mr. Weber— I commenced it and I found I had perfect 

 success until the robbing time came, and then came the 

 trouble; I couldn t keep the robbers away, and particularly 

 this year. I heard from a party in Texas who had made 

 the same complaint. 



Dr. Miller— I would like to ask this question: If 

 one or two hundred queens be mated with the bees of one 



colony, if they should all go to the dogs afterwards, 

 where is the difference? 



Prof. Benton — You want one or two hundred more, 

 and you have trouble to establish all these colonies, which 

 is no small amount of work. 



Mr. Laws — Mr. Benton relates that when he pulled 

 out each handful of bees he would find four or five queens, 

 and in the first place he couldn't hold them because they 

 didn't have feed there. In the next place I believe some one 

 raised the objection that they could not hold these bees 

 without honey; that is right, they have to have feed. If you 

 take a frame eight or ten inches by four or five inches 

 and you have one hundred bees it will last those bees for 

 six months and they will increase and keep up their 

 strength to a certain extent in those little boxes. 



Mr. Root — This question of robbing I find can be 

 taken care of entirely by feeding out-doors. It keeps 

 all the colonies good-natured. I didn't believe it practic- 

 able to feed out-doors until some one reported it was. 

 and then we began doing it. We fed slowly several gal- 

 lons a day. We fed those baby nuclei. That removes 

 one of the objections. Those baby nuclei run out and 

 they seem to get a little contrary, but by continuous 

 feeding this will be overcome. 



SEVENTH SESSION. 



On Friday, September 30, at 9 o'clock a. m. the Presi- 

 dent called the convention to order, after which Mr. Laws, 

 of Texas offered prayer. 



Mr. Gill — We have been very profuse in our thanks 

 for everything that has been done for us. I know I was 

 on a little committee and we were thanked, but I believe 

 that the officers of the National have not been thanked, 

 and before I sit down I am going to move that the officer, 

 of the National Association be thanked for their efficient 

 services in discharging their duties. There is one Na- 

 tional officer who cannot live on votes of thanks and the 

 laborer should be worthy of his hire, and he surely is, 

 and that is the general manager, and I move that the 

 Board of Directors be instructed to devise some means to 

 pay the general manager amply for his splendid work. 

 Mr. Holekamp — I second that. 



Mr. Gill put the motion, which on a vote having been 

 taken, was declared carried. 



Mr. Laws moved, seconded by Mr. Holekamp, that a 

 vote of thanks be extended to those who had presented 

 papers before the convention, and also those who had in 

 any way contributed to the entertainment of the mem- 

 bers present. [Carried.] 



Mr. Stewart moved, seconded by Mr. Laws, that a 

 vote of thanks be extended to the managers of the 

 Christian Endeavor hotel who had placed the use of the 

 Auditorium at the disposal of the convention. [Car- 

 ried.] 



Pres. Harris — I wish to introduce Mr. Adams, Mr. F. 

 W. Hall and his little daughter. Miss Annetta Hall. Mr. 

 Adams himself has put forth a great deal of labor in 

 getting up this little souvenir, termed "Honey Fairies." 

 We should in this life be mindful of our duties, and let 

 nothing escape us that would reward them for what they 

 have done for the bee-keepers' convention, and Mr. 

 Adams will in his own way read to you this introductory 

 greeting, and then Mr. Hall and his little girl will give 

 each member one of these souvenirs so that you may 

 take it home with you. I understand that it has cost Mr. 

 Adams considerable to get up this little souvenir, and I 

 know when you take it to your homes you will appreciate 

 his kind work in your interests. 



Mr. Adams — I have heard several say this was the 

 greatest National convention that had ever convened. I 

 have heard very many say that this was the largest 

 Fair that has been held in this world. These two events 

 have come together. We look at them together today. 

 In anticipation of this — I knew it would be so — I thought 

 it was fitting we should have something that would bring 

 the two together and make, as we sometimes use the 

 word, an emulsion, and run them together. This is one 

 of the great events in our lives, and a mile-post we will 

 look back to as long as we live, and which we will never 

 forget. You will find my thoughts better set forth in 

 the verses. 



The President then called for a song from Mr. and 

 Mrs. York, who responded by singing "The Wheat and 

 the Tares," the words of which were written by a con- 

 vict in a penitentiary. 



