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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Nov. 16, 190S 



Those which I put into No. 3 filled their 2 supers, and. 

 like the others, are now strong in bees and honey. 



It looked to me as if there were 2 queens in hive No. 2 dur- 

 ing those 20 days. Anyway, they stored nearly 150 pounds of 

 section honey, besides putting enough in the brood chamber 

 for winter. 



I started in the spring with 30 colonies, and increased to 

 SO. The honey season was short, but very brisk, and my har- 

 vest amounts to just about 71 pounds to the colony, spring 

 count. 



I have never followed Dr. Miller's plan of using bottom 

 starters, but all my sections during the main honey-flow were 

 filled clear to the bottpm with barely a small bee-space at the 

 corners. A few sections, near the end of the season, were 

 capped before reaching the bottom. Perhaps with bottom 

 starters these would have been filled also, but I have my 

 doubts. 



I am not in favor of filling a lot of supers beforehand in 

 anticipation of a big honey crop, with a liability of having a 

 lot left over unused. My plan is this: I prepare enough be- 

 forehand to go around, one super for each colony ; then, when 

 the swarming season approaches I go into the shop and begin 

 work folding sections, putting in starters and filling supers, 

 and I am right there ready to attend to every swarm that 

 issues. So I have something to keep me busy between times, 

 and do not have to sit around doing nothing, waiting for the 

 bees to swarm. Even with this method, the sudden closing of 

 the honey-flow the past season found me with about SO supers 

 on the hives with little or nothing in them. 



Capturing swarms after they have clustered has been 

 rather a serious matter with me on account of so many tall 

 trees near my apiary. My swarm-catcher is a light frame one 

 foot square, and the same in depth, lined with cloth. This I 

 fasten to the end of a pole, and to lower a large swarm safely 

 to the ground on the end of an 18-foot pole is rather a tough 

 proposition, requiring the exertions of a strong man. But 

 last summer I hit upon a scheme that makes the matter com- 

 paratively easy, unless the swarm is more than 20 feet high. 

 I fastened a pulley at the top of ray longest pole, through which 

 a 34-inch rope is run, and a bracket at the bottom to fasten 

 the rope to when " fishing " for a swarm up a tree. One end 

 of the rope is provided with a snap to fasten the swarm- 

 catcher. 



When ready for business I set the pole under the swarm, 

 pull the swarm-catcher to the top, fasten the rope to the 

 bracket at the bottom, shake the swarm into the box, and let 

 it down "just as easy as falling off a log," and with greater 

 satisfaction. This solves the problem very well when the 

 swarm is within reach of the pole ; otherwise a ladder has to 

 be used, which is very much against my " constitution." 



Last summer I tried " shooting'" a swarm that had clus- 

 tered nearly 40 feet high. X was skeptical about being able 

 to cut the limb off with a shot-gun, but it came off slick and 

 clean the first shot. Still, that did not help me to secure the 

 bees, for, as I predicted, when they found themselves falling 

 a large part of them broke the cluster and took to wing, while 

 intervening limbs scattered the rest. All then " rose to the 

 occasion," and clustered higher than ever, so I had to resort 

 to the ladder after all. 



Several years ago I had a swarm in the air which seemed 

 determined to go to the woods. My wife came to the door 

 and said, " Why don't you take the shot-gun and shoot into 

 them ?" 



'■ What for?" I asked. 



" Well, you might kill the queen." 



"True," I replied, " I might stand one chance in a thou- 

 sand or two of hitting the queen, but I don't believe it will 

 pay to try." 



It is so with " shooting " a swarm ; one might bring a 

 cluster to the ground in a body, but I don't believe it pays 

 (me) to try. 



A few words about assessing bees and I am done. On the 

 assessor's roll here everything- supposed to be liable to taxa- 

 tion is printed, but bees and poultry are not mentioned, and 

 are not assessed. I tried once to get my bees insured, but the 

 agent refused to doit. So why should I pay taxes on them ? 



Mitchell Co., Iowa. 



Some Facts About Honey and Bees.— This is the 

 subject of an article written by Mr. J. E. Johnson, and pub- 

 lished on pages 581-82 of the American Bee Journal for 

 Aug. 25, 1904. We have republished it in 4-page leaflet 

 form for general distribution, and furnish it, postpaid, at 

 35 cents per 100 copies. Send all orders ,to the oflice of the 

 American Bee Journal 



^ 



(£onr>cntion 

 Procecbings 



Report of the Texas Coiivetitloii 



rJ 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL, SEC. 



{ Contiuned from page 567} 



As the National Bee-Keepers' Association meets in San 

 Antonio next fall, F. L. Aten suggested that we must have 

 some funds for the entertainment of the guests. Mr. Scholl 

 thereupon read a paper from H. H. Hyde, Chairman of the 

 Committee of Arrangement and Entertainment of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' convention at San Antonio, concerning 

 the expenses of the entertainment. [There was much further 

 reference to this subject in the report, but since the meeting 

 of the Texas convention it has been decided to hold the Na- 

 tional meeting this year in Chicago, so we omit that portion of 

 the report — Editor.] 



Pres. Laws — At the last meeting of the committee of the 

 Farmers' Congress it was decided that the mornings of each 

 day were to be taken up by the independent sessions of the 

 Congress. The afternoons will be taken up by the general 

 sessions of the Congress in the Assembly Hall. 



He also spoke of the delegates to which each session of 

 the Congress is entitled, to vote upon matters of the Congress 

 as per Art. VI of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Texas 

 Farmers' Congress, as follows : 



ARTICLE VI. 



Section 1. — Resolved, That in all matters of business relating to 

 the Constitution and By-Laws of this Congress, that the vote shall be 

 talien in executive session, and each elector from recognized State 

 organizations shall represent 25 active members from the State organi- 

 zations participating in the work of this Congress. 



Sec. 2. — Recognized district and county agricultural organizations 

 shall have representation not to exceed 5 votes, and one person shall 

 not represent more than one organization. Each district and county 

 agricultural or kindred organization shall be entitled to one vole in 

 executive session for 100 members or less, and one additional vote for 

 each additional 100 members— not to exceed 5 votes for each organiza- 

 tion as above provided. 



For this the following delegates were elected : W. H. 

 Laws, F. L. Aten, Willie Atchley and J. M. Hagood. 



Pres. Laws then concluded the general business by ap- 

 pointing the following committees : 



Committee on Program for Next Meeting — Louis H. Scholl. 



Committee on Resolutions : Willie Atchley, L. W. Bell, 

 and C. A. ISutts. 



Committee to Examine and Report on the State Experi- 

 mental Apiary: W. O. Victor, Udo Toepperwein, J. W. 

 Pharr, J. M. Hagood, T. P. Robinson and W. C. Conrads. 



It was made a point for all the bee-keepers to meet and 

 examine the Experimental Apiary at 5 o'clock Wednesday 

 afternoon, and all who wished to go were invited by Mr. 

 Scholl, the apiarist, to attend. 



Mr. Hagood asked that the Constitution and By-Laws of 

 the Texas Bee -Keepers' Association be read or given out to 

 the members, as especially the new members desired to know 

 more about the objects and purposes of the Association. The 

 Secretary was instructed to give this information, and he ex- 

 plained the ends and purposes of the Association. 



CONSTITUTION 



ARTICLE I.— Name. 



This organization shall be known as the "Texas Bee-Keepers' 

 Association." 



ARTICLE IL -Objects. 



Its objects shall be to promote the interests of bee-keepers; the ex- 

 change of thoughts, experiments, etc., in apiculture through the meet- 

 ings of this Association, and through a closer relation of its members. 



ARTICLE III.— Memberseip. 



Section 1. — Any white person who is in accord with the objects 

 and the aims of this Association may become a member upon the pay- 

 ment of Jl.OO to the Secretary-Treasurer; payment to be made at or 

 before each annual meeting of this Association, or not later than 10 

 days thereafter. Membership will continue as long as all dues are 

 paid up. 



Sec. 2. — Any person may become an honorary member of this 

 Association upon a two-thirds vote of the members present. 



