March 27, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



197 



lieatc 



honey?" and was answered that if the honey was 

 Ihc liavor would lie greatly intproved. 



Onr honest Mr. Gross was asked what he did w 

 sour honey, and he answered, "I eat it." The secret 

 Gross never has any sour honey to cat. 



Mr. Wilcox said if thin honey was put into bar: 

 cans, and corked up light, it would not sour; but 

 barrels or cans were left open to the air, fcrmenlation 

 be the result. 



MOVING BEES — LAYING WORKERS. 



It would indeed seem strange not to see the familiar 

 face of Mr. Gross at our annual conventions, and indeed 

 we would miss him for he is the life of the meeting. He 

 kindly conscwted to give some of his experiences in moving 

 bees. And I suppose not any one man in Wisconsin has 

 had more experience in moving bees than he. I wish 1 

 were a shorthand reporter, so we could have his full talk 

 here, so all could enjoy it as we did. Mr. Gross .spoke of 

 losing all of the brood after moving bees long distances, 

 and also experiencing heavy losses in queens. 



Mr. Pierce spoke of a friend moving bees a long dis- 

 tance, and said he watered the bees while en route, and that 

 the brood was all right. 



Mr. Lathrop said he had quite a good deal of experience 

 in shipping bees, and that he filled an empty comb witli 

 water, thus furnishing the bees plenty of water while 

 eii route. 



Some one suggested that Mr. Gross' loss in queens 

 when moving was due to having old queens, as they were 

 not as likely to stand the trip as well as young queens. 



At this time the subject of laying workers came up, and 

 Mr. France spoke of a method he used in disposing of 

 them. He said he took the colony containing the laying 

 worker, bees, combs and all, to an outer edge of the apiary, 

 just before sundown, and brushed all of the bees off the 

 combs, returning the hive and combs to the old stand. The 

 bees will return but the laying workers will not ; then a 

 queen may be introduced with perfect safety. 



BENEFITS OF CONVENTIONS. 



Mr. Huffman read an excellent paper on the benefits 

 derived from attending conventions. It seemed the subject 

 was particularly adapted to Mr. Huffman, because he is 

 one that can get the most out of a convention. He is always 

 able to turn the searchlight on the dark places in almost 

 every subject in practical and successful bee-keeping. He 

 said, "The conventions have proven to be a school of no small 

 importance ; it is at these gatherings we get the very 

 extract of success in a nutshell. They are important, not 

 only in regard to dollars and cents, but important in regard 

 to social acquaintances." The thought he w-ished to indelibly 

 stamp upon the minds was that much can be done through 

 organization, and in exchanging of thoughts which no indi- 

 vidual coidd otherwise hope to do. 



OTHER SUBJECTS. 



The next number on the program was a paper by Mr. C. A. 

 Hatch, on wax-production. Owing to Mr. Hatch's inability 

 to be present many were disappointed. He was president of 

 th^ organization a number of years when it was in its infancy, 

 and being a man of progress he always has something new in 

 vogue. He had something entirely new and improved in the 

 way of a wax-press, which he was going to bring to the con- 

 vention. Indeed, we regretted his absence very much. 



The next on the program was a paper on the value of 

 good queens, and methods of introduction, by the secretary. 



The program was concluded by an address by Pres. 

 France, on co-operation of State and National associations. 



The rest of the forenoon was spent in a business session. 

 One very interesting item of business was the paying over 

 of $7.00 to the State Association from a disbanded Associa- 

 tion of nearly a quarter of a century ago. As early as 1878 

 there was a Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association, and it 

 seems they were quite prosperous in a financial way, for they 

 had in the treasury $7.00 when they disbanded, and at this 

 last convention Mr. James McLain turned the money over 

 to our present organization.. Mr. McLain was made a 

 paid-up life member of our present Association for his hon- 

 esty and integrity. 



The reports of the secretary and treasurer were read and 

 approved. The election of officers, or perhaps I would 

 better say. the re-election of officers, resulted as follows : 



N. E. France, president ; Jacob Huffman, vice-president ; 



Ada L. Pickard, of Richland Center, secretary; and II. 

 Lathrop, treasurer. 



F. Wilcox was chosen as Judge of the apiarian depart- 

 ment at the Slate I-'air for IQ02. 



The Wisconsin I'ee-Kee[)ers' Association is certainly in 

 a nourishing condition, and every member ought to be 

 proud of it and hold it up as an exemplary association. 

 We have more members and more money than ever before, 

 and nothing but friendliness and brotherly love prevails. 

 Those who fail to attend the conventions miss an intellec- 

 tual and social feast. Resolve now to be present at the next 

 meeting in 1903, and make everything else secondary. Con- 

 vention week is the first week in February. 



Contributed Articles. 



No. 3.— Bee-Keeping for Women. 



Getting' a Start in Bees— What and Where to Buy 



BY EMMA M. WILSON. 



If in Starting out in bee-keeping you intend starting with 

 one or two colonies you will probably want to buy them 

 about the middle of May. 



The first thing you are interested in is what to buy, 

 and where to buy. If you can get good Italian bees near 

 home, you would better take them, even if you have to 

 pay quite a little more for them than you would for black 

 bees. To be sure you can Italianize the black bees, but it 

 will take time and considerable trouble, and if you are only 

 a beginner, and have not had any experience, it may cost 

 you more than you would have had to pay extra for the 

 Italians to begin with. 



it you can not gee the Italians near home, and can get 

 the blacks, then you will have to take your choice between 

 the blacks and Italianizing them, and sending away for 

 Italians. I hardly know which to advise. A good deal 

 will depend upon circumstances, at what price you can buy 

 the blacks at home, and how far you would have to send 

 for your Italians. Expressage on bees is very high, and 

 unless you can get Italians somewhere near home 1 believe 

 I would take the blacks at home. If you are' buying of a 

 good, reliable bee-keeper, better tell him what you want, 

 and leave it to him to decide what colonies to give you. 

 if, on ihe other hand, you are buying of a farmer who 

 knows nothing whatever about bees, you better do your own 

 selecting. Select colonies with a strong force of bees, and 

 heavy with honey. If you can get a colony that has cast 

 a swarm the past season, you will be sure of getting a 

 young queen. 



Having got 3'our bees, the next thing is what to do 

 with them. Vou are anxious that those bees should do 

 the very best they can, and you want to give them every 

 advantage. 



Place the hives in a somewhat sheltered spot, not so 

 much sheltered but what they will have plenty of air, letting 

 them face east if convenient, although a southeastern or 

 southern exposure is also good. Then I should certainly 

 want them in the shade of some tree, if possible, for the 

 sake of my own comfort while w'orking with them. 



I can readily imagine how carefully those two colonies 

 of bees will be watched. Not much danger of any swarms 

 getting away from them, if careful watching will prevent. 

 Still, I think I would want the queen's wdngs clipped. It 

 will save you lots of trouble climbing after swarms. To 

 be sure, you might manage those two colonies, but you know 

 you are going to have a whole lot more after awhile, and 

 you might as well begin right. 



I thiak I hear you say, "I never could clip a queen." 

 Let me tell you it is just the easiest thing in the world 

 when you know how. Of course, you will have to be able 

 to find your queen for the first step, but with a little 

 practice vou can soon do that. Now you are to catch the 

 queen. Don't get nervous, but gently pick her oft' the comb 

 by the wings. Take her head and shoulders between the 

 thumb and finger (be careful not to catch her by the ab- 

 domen, or hinder part) of the left hand, and then with 



