550 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOCRNAL 



Aug. 3. 1905 



this question of scent plays a more important part in it than 

 we bee-keepers have been in the habit of thinking. If she 

 has the same scent as the rest of the bees she will be accepted. 

 A little while ago Mr. Stanley spoke about putting virgin 

 queens in a hive where tliere is a laying queen. If they have 

 the scent of the rest of the bees the bees won't tackle them, 

 but if the laying mother can get at those then there will be 

 war. 



Mr. Smith— Whv do bees ball their queens? In my ex- ( 

 perience I find that there are two motives, one is to protect 

 them and another is to kill them. I will illustrate: I had 

 an Italian second swarm and a black swarm go together, and 

 both queens were balled. The yellow queen was balled with 

 her own bees; the blacks also balled their own queen. I 

 liberated them and neither one was hurt. I introduced the 

 Ijlack queen and she flew away. I introduced the yellow 

 queen and shook the bees all out on the ground, and dropped 

 her in among the bees as they went to tlie liive. She was 

 introduced that way perfectly safe. The black queen came 

 back and lit on the outside, and the yellow bees killed her. 

 In the first place they had balled their own queen, which I 

 think was for protection. 



Mr. Abbott— I want to say I didn't mean my remarks 

 to apply to these abnormal conditions of two swarms going 

 together or anything of that kind. I want to be rightly 

 understood. I just let them go together and let them fight 

 it out. I don't fool with them. 



Mr. Smith — If you alarm a colony they will sometimes 

 ball their queen. That is to protect the queen. 



Mr. Root— Shut the hive up and they will be all right. 



DISPENSING WITH THE BEE-VEIL. 



"Generally speaking, can the bee-veil be dispensed with? 

 How many think it can?" 



Mr. Smith— I would like to see a man go through 40 

 or 50 colonies in the honey season without a bee-veil. 



Mr. Dadant — There are a few gentlemen here that get 

 along without bee-veils but if they wanted to follow some of 

 us all day among the bees and not flinch, stay right with it, 

 they will wish they had a bee-veil, unless they are absolutely 

 proof against the sting, and there are very few that are. 

 When you have a bee-veil you don't have to wear it all the 

 time, but you have it at hand so that you can wear it if you 

 have to. 



Dr. Miller — I may say in regard to that, that there arc 

 men who do not use a bee-veil at all. There was one of them 

 went in one of my apiaries ; he went around with me with 

 a smoker and he said, "They will never sting me; there is 

 no need for me to wear a veil." And he kept that smoke going 

 all the while, so I couldn't have any use of the smoker. I 

 won't give you the man's name because I am afraid it might 

 hurt the feelings of his son Ernest. [Laughter.] 



Mr. Whitney— There was a friend of mine who said he 

 didn't need a veil. He was extracting a great deal of honey. 

 He sold the honey around through the community. I didn't 

 know anything about bees then, and he invited me into the 

 yard where he was taking off some frames ; and he said, 

 "Thev never sting an honest man." I went in and stood 

 around the hive and pretty soon a bee struck him right over 

 the moutli. I said, "I guess you're right." [Laughter.] 



Mr. Moore — If any one really wants to handle bees with- 

 out a veil he can do it. I have been engaged in marketing 

 honey in Chicago, and for the sake of advertising I have done 

 a great many outlandish things. I have attempted to go into 

 my own hives and other peoples' without the bee-veil. The 

 past summer I didn't carry a veil with me except on one or 

 two days. I opened the hive without smoke. But I want to 

 tell you right now, I got stung on one occasion twelve or 

 fifteen times because not wearing a veil. If you are so 

 patriotic, all right ; but as a rule it pays to have a veil. 



Mr. Whitney — A friend of mine in Ohio has been able to 

 handle his bees without a veil for years. At one time he 

 thought he would look into one hive and he took off the cover, 

 and they came out. He backed up and held uo his hands 

 and they still came. He turned around and ran down the 

 outside cellar-way and shut the trap-door, and he was stung 

 so badly he fainted away and was sick for three weeks. Since 

 then he hasn't been able to handle bees at all. A lady friend 

 said, "I always use a veil; never go into the yard without 

 one." 



"shook" or "shaken" swarm. 



"Is it better to sav "shook swarm" or "shaken swarm?" 

 Mr. Root— If Dr. Miller wasn't here I would say "shaken 

 rms," but in his presence I always say, "shook swarms," 



swarm 



Pres. York — I think we would better refer that to Mr. 

 Hutchinson. 



Mr. Hutchinson — I agree with ]\lr. Root on that ques- 

 tion. 



Dr. Miller — It that thing is entirely to spite me, I am 

 going to say a word about it. I am very glad of an oppor- 

 tunity to say a word in favor of having people at large under- 

 stand that bee-keepers are not a lot of ignoramuses. I have 

 felt mortified at the use of that word as a violation of com- 

 mon English, that a teacher in any one of our public schools 

 would know better than to countenance. If either of these 

 good brethren who have such a vicious feeling towards me 

 can give me any possible reason why the word "shook" is 

 any better than the word "shaken," they can give me some- 

 thing I have never had yet. The word "shook" expresses 

 something to me a little stronger than the word "shaken." 

 When Mr. Root told me that, I knew that there was some- 

 think that had shaken loose in his brain. If they have a seat 

 reserved in one of these places, say in a concert, there will 

 be laid down a little slip and on it marked, "Taken." Do you 

 think I would feel any more secure of that seat if it was 

 markei "Took?" [Laughter]. Now, I consider this, without 

 any joking, of enough consequence that we should spend a 

 little time upon it. If there is any reason why "shook" is 

 better than "shaken" I would like to hear it. One is good 

 Enghsh, the other is bad, and it seems to me that is enough 

 to settle the question, unless you can give some other very 

 strong reason. 



Mr. Dadant — In regard to this matter I think there is 

 a great deal in locality! [Laughter.] I am foreign born, but 

 when some of our Western Americans took a trip to Europe 

 I was with them, and I had occasion to say to an Englishman, 

 "Hurry up," and he said, "I suppose you mean "make haste." 

 Mr. Whitney — When I saw the words "shook swarm" I 

 thought the whole thing was wrong. What is a swarm? It 

 is bees in the air or in cluster. Then you can't make a shook 

 swarm or a shaken swarm. It is simply a colony of bees. 

 You can't shake them or have them swarm in the air or clus- 

 ter, so that it is not a swarm at all. 



Mr. Wheeler — I would like to know of how much money 

 value this is to us. We are here to learn something. I 

 didn't leave my work to come here to listen to sport. I came 

 here to learn something about bee-keeping. Now what does 

 this have to do with bee-keeping? 



Mr. Abbott — I used to teach school and they paid me $50 

 a month for teaching their children the correct use of the 

 English language. It must have had some value to me. But 

 I disagree with Dr. Miller that the use of the word shook 

 is not as correct as shaken. This is simply the invention of 

 a new condition of things, and new conditions of things are 

 creating words and phrases every day in America. I suppose 

 I could mention 50 that have been created within the last few 

 years. It is just as proper to apply "shook'' to a new condi- 

 tion of things as "shaken;" and the words got into Dr. Mil- 

 ler's dictionary that way. 



Pres. York — This is one of the questions for diversion. 

 Now we will go on to something more solid. ' 



Mr. Wheeler — We have editors, such as Mr. Hutchinson ; 

 leave such things to him. We don't want to spend our time 

 here to-day on that. He will put that word in just as he 

 pleases when he gets home, anyway. 



ADVANTAGE OF SHOOK SWARMING. 



"What is the advantage of shook swarming?" 



Mr. Hutchinson — I suppose primarily that the principaf 

 advantage of this shook swarming is that we are able to have 

 the work gone on with without being there to see to it. We 

 forestall swarming. We make preparations for the bees to 

 swarm and we are not there to take care of them, so instead 

 of that we go at it and shake them off and make the swarms 

 while we are there to see to it. 



Pres. York — What about joining the National in a body 

 this year? 



Dr. Miller — Moved, duly seconded, that this Association 

 join the National in a body, at the rate of 50 cents a member. 



Pres. York put the motion which, on a vote having been 

 taken, was declared carried. 



Dr. Miller — Right in connection with the point which is 

 before us is tlie question of uniting with the State. If it is a 

 proper thing to bring tliat up now I move that this Associa- 

 tion, as a body, unite with the Illinois State Association, pay- 

 ing into its treasury 25 cents ner member. 



The motion was seconded. 



