146 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



brood-chamber. Mr. Woodbury came up smil- 

 ing, as the pugilists say, and supported him; 

 and Mr. Rowley spoke right out in meeting in 

 favor of the Heddon hive. The secretary dit- 

 toed the gentlemen, and was followed by Mr. 

 Compton. who had been a foreman in Mr. Hed- 

 don's apiaries. He strongly advocated the di- 

 visible brood -chamber. Mr. Corey, however, 

 preferred the good old way of handling frames 

 and dummies, and the discussion branched off 

 into a question-box, which brought out many 

 valuable hints. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The evening session was opened by Mrs. Mof- 

 fat singing "Simple Little Ostrich, I Know it 

 All." The theme did not apply to bee-keepers 

 present, for, of course, the "know-it-alls" do 

 not attend conventions. Mrs. Moffat rendered 

 other songs during the evening, which were 

 heartily applauded. Prof. Cook made every- 

 body happy by his appearance, and, after a few 

 happy remarks, read an address upon the bee- 

 keeping industry of California. Prof. Cook is 

 thoroughly established in the college at Clare- 

 mont, and will take a lively interest in the pro- 

 motion of the bee-keeping industry of the 

 State. He will probably establish an experi- 

 ment station at Claremont, and the association 

 passed resolutions to further that end. 



The adulteration phase was taken up and 

 handled without gloves, and a resolution was 

 passed directing the expelling of any member 

 of the associaiion found adulterating honey. 



There was some fon casting in relation to the 

 honey-yield for the coming year. The yield 

 depends upon the rainfall; and the more rain 

 up to May, the better will be the yield. Sever- 

 al averages were given for a series of years, 

 wherein it was found that about every other 

 year is a failure in some portions of the State. 

 Giving 100 lbs. per colony was considered a poor 

 season, while 400 lbs. was called best. 



SKCOND DAY. 



The morning was taken up with reports of 

 the various committees. The most vital point 

 in these reports was in relation to marketing of 

 our product. A committee was appointed to 

 correspond with the California Fruit Exchange, 

 with a view to having representation in the 

 organization. It was further recommended 

 that the producers put their honey ih small 

 cans that it may reach the consumer in the 

 original package. Put up in 5 and 10 lb. cans, 

 the honey would not b(! adulterated so much. 



Mr. G. K. Woodbury presented a valuable 

 paper, '"The Fruit Nemesis; or, What shall we 

 Do to be Saved?" A special vote of thanks 

 was given to Mr. W , and he was appointed a 

 committee of one to select points from his pa- 

 per in relation to the value of the honey-bee 

 in its office of pollenizing fruit-trees, and to 

 have the same published for general distribu- 

 tion. 



How can bee-keepers best advance their in- 



terests? was then treated by W. P. Richardson. 

 Prof. Woodworth, of the State University,^ 

 explained a hive of his own devising. The 

 main principle was the use of 4}4 x iH sections, 

 not only for obtaining surplus honey, but the- 

 same sections were used for brood-frames. 

 The idea may be a good one; but the practical 

 men present did not enthuse much over the new 

 idea. 



Prof. W. stated that the State Chemist, Prof. 

 Rising, was ready to aid bee-keepers in the- 

 way of chemical analysis. 



The election of officers resulted as follows: 



Prof. A. J. Cook, President; J. H. Martin^ 

 Sec; J. F. Mclntyre, Treasurer. Several vice- 

 presidents, etc., followed. 



The final paper, by Mr. Touchton, " Twenty- 

 three years Among the Bees," was read, and 

 the association soon after adjourned, making 

 provision for a special meeting at the mid- 

 winter fair In San Francisco, at such time as 

 the Executive Committee shall designate. 



J. H. Martin, Sec. J. F. McIntyre, Pres. 



oor. & 



INVENTIONS. 



WHO SHOULD HAVE PKIOKITY. AND THE BIGHT 



TO USE? KEEPING TWO QUEENS IN A 



HIVE TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



By B. Taylor. 



Friend Root:— In Gleanings for Nov. 15, and 

 in the same for Dec. 15, are several articles on 

 "Two Queens in One Hive." One of your cor- 

 respondents seems to be greatly disturbed by 

 the thought of my getting a patent on two 

 queens in a hive. I wish to say here that I do 

 not believe in the present patent system as a 

 just and wise method of rewarding inventors 

 for useful improvements in needed inventions. 

 I do not believe that any one person ever made 

 an entirely iieiv invention in any thing. A lit- 

 tle thought on the subject will convince any 

 rational inind that the perfection of machinery 

 enjoyed in the present age is a thing of slow 

 growth rather than sudden creation. Each in- 

 ventor receiv«!S his inspiration and starting- 

 point from something that others have done be- 

 fore him; and lam quite sure tliat every in- 

 ventor, if he will examine himself and his in- 

 ventions, will find that something already done 

 started him in the search for improvement. 

 We talk of McCormick inventing the reaper, 

 Howe the sewing-machine, Morse the tele- 

 graph; but informed persons know that all 

 these machines had been brought nearly to 

 practical perfection before any of these truly 

 great inventors were born Yes, sir; every in- 

 strument that was ever invented to harvest a 



