THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



93 



cied were prowling around him in all directions 

 After assisting- bira to deccnd from his uncom- 

 fortable perch, it w;is found that he had heen 

 incontinently dei)()sited thereon in the course of 

 an elephantine stampede, produced by bees. 



T. W. WoODBUliY, 



"A Devonshire Beekeeper." 

 Mount Radfokd, Exeter, England. 



Ohio Bee-keepers' Convention. 



Pursuant to arrangement, the bee-keepers in 

 attendance at the State Fair, in Toledo, Ohio, 

 met on the evening of September 15, 1869, and 

 were called to order by the Vice President, Mr. 

 J. T. Mcrriman. The Secretary being absent, 

 Mr. J. T. Martin was elected Secretary pro 

 tern. 



The first question proposed for discussion 

 was — "The practicability of artificial swarm- 

 ing." Mr. Merriman oi)ened the discussion by 

 explaining his method of propngiting bees, or 

 the advantages of artificial swarming. He re- 

 commendtd but one division of each colony in 

 a season; and tliat not unless they are in a good 

 strong condition. 



Mr Martin recommended spring feeding, so 

 as to stimulate breeding, and by this means to 

 get the colonies all good and strong, as early as 

 possible ; and by the time the raspberry blos- 

 soms open, artifici>il swarming can and ought 

 .to be resorted to by all bee-keepers who wish 

 an iccrtase of stocks. If cold or rainy weather 

 should set in, the young colonies must be fed. 



Colonel Li^ffel approved of artificial swarming 

 and recommended the latter part of May or first 

 of June, according to the season. 



Mr. Wright agreed with the Secretary in his 

 mode of treatment ; urging bee-keepers to in- 

 vestigate the subject, and with little trouble they 

 could so increase their st )cks as to make bee- 

 culture remunerative. 



Mr Benedict gave his mode of spring treat- 

 ment, which was to stimulate breeding by cau- 

 tious feeding ; and so soon as the frames are 

 well filled with brood, then is the time to divide, 

 and not before. 



Dr. Conklin agreed w'th Mr. Benedict, in 

 the mode of treatment ; but advised putting a 

 division-board in tlie centre of a strong colony. 

 Tlie queenless half will then rear a number of 

 young queens, which, wlien nearly ready to 

 leave their cells, can be taken out and given to 

 colonies that, by dividing, are left queenless. 



Mr. H. M. Thomas,^ of Brooklio, Ontario, 

 would not think of keeping bees in any other 

 ■way. Bee-keepe's, to be successful, must learn 

 the process of artificial colonizing. It is the 

 only road to success. 



Mr. Carpenter never made artificial swarms, 

 and could not speak from experience. He was 

 there to learn. 



Mr. Gray believed in strong stocks ; made 

 strong artificial colonies by giving all the bees 

 to the young stocka, and placing the old hive, 

 with nothing but comb and brood, in the place 

 of a strong colony ; or, in other words, making 

 three colonies from two. Do this about the 



time nature says it is time for natutal swarming. 

 He recommended having fertile queens, or 

 royal cells capped over, to introduce to young 

 colonies. 



The second question discussed was— "The 

 best mode of introducing Italian queens." 



Mr. .1. H. Tliomas, of Ontario, Canada, gave 

 his experience, and recommended the following 

 plan : Fii-sf, have ready a shallow dish or cup- 

 plate, with a wire gauze cover. Second, remove 

 the black queen from the hive, and then empty 

 two drachms of chloroform into the shallow 

 dish. Put the wire gauze over it, and place it 

 immediately under the bees ; leave them thus 

 twenty minutes, when the Italian c|ueen can be 

 placed either at the top or bottom among the 

 bees, in perfect safety. No danger of injury to 

 the colony ; if the bees fall they will recover. 



Mr. H. M. Thomas inquired under what con- 

 dition of a colony it was most difficult to intro- 

 duce a queen? After a general interchange of 

 views between Messrs. Merriman, Martin, 

 Wright, and Gray, Mr. Thomas gave an inter- 

 esting account of the difficulty he had experi- 

 enced in introducing a queen to a queenless 

 colony having no brood. 



He was of the opinion that the greatest diffi- 

 culty would be found in colonies having fertile 

 workers ; or when the colony is queenless and 

 has no brood, especially in the latter part of 

 the season. 



Mr. Wright related a singular sight he had 

 witnessed in a queenless colony of his. He said 

 he found as high as fifceen eggs in one cell, and 

 believed that there were thousands of workers 

 laying eggs in the colony. On one frame he 

 discovered dozens of workers laying while he 

 held the frame out of the hive. 



Mr. Gi-ay remarked jocularly that the Pro- 

 fessor's /itjinig^reec would have to be used in in- 

 troducing a queen to a colony in that condi- 

 tion. 



Mr. Benedict would like to hear something 

 about ttie honey-emptying machine. 



None present had used it, except the Messrs. 

 Thomas, and they recommended its use, espe- 

 cially when honey is the main object of the bee- 

 keeper. The newest and tenderest combs can 

 be emptied without injury, and returned to the 

 hive ; thus saving the necessity of building new 

 combs. 



Mr. Thomas remarked that the standard of 

 bee-culture was higher in Canada than appear- 

 ances indicated in Ohio ; and extended a cor- 

 dial invitation to all present to attend their 

 Provincial Fair, to be held in London, commen- 

 cing September 25, 1869. 



Mr. Gray then exhibited specimens of bees 

 from Mount Lebanon and the Island of Ceylon; 

 also living Egyptian bees. 



A vote of thanks was tendered Mr. J. B. 

 Hoag, for the use of his parlor ; whereupon the 

 Association adjourned to meet in Cleveland, at 

 the call of the Secretary. 



J. T. Merriman, President, 



J. P. Martin, Secretary pr(? tern. 



It would be interesting, could wc learn how 

 bees become informed of the loss of their queen. 



