502 



June 13, 1907 



American HeQ Journal 



paid at the time of joining is all that has been 

 required ot all whohave joined thus far. This 

 Jow fee maintains the high standard through 

 the courtesy ot the Worcester County Honi 

 cultural Society, to whom is due many a 

 thank for the free and unconditional use of 

 their building. If interested, and you desire 

 to join this society, to iniure that you are 

 kept posted on all matters apicultural in tha 

 section of the country— to insure getting all 

 notices, and to have the benefits ot a progres- 

 sive group of bee-men— write to the Secretary, 

 Mr. Arthur H. Estabrook, care Clark Univer- 

 sity, Worcester, Mass. 



The meeting held last September, in the 

 aboye-mentioned hall, was a 3 days' " Bee- 

 Show "—an exclusiv.Iy bee-keepers' affair, 

 not for the benefit of the supply-men nor for 

 the honey-market contrcllers, but a purely 

 educational show, for the direct edification ot 

 the public and the producer— the source and 

 the demand. It was a success; it drew the 

 attention of the best bee-keepers and those in- 

 terested in progression, from all parts of the 

 country. Another will be held next tall. All 

 Interested can gain information through the 

 press or direct from the Secretary. They are 

 anxious to reach all interested in the Associa- 

 tion and its aims. If you wish to become a 

 member, or if you want the announcements, 

 notify the Secretary. It is believed that the 

 Association can help you to promote your- 

 self. Ask what they can do for you. 



The following are brief sketches of the ofli- 

 cers ot the Association: 



Pres. Burton N. Gates. 



Mr. Gates was born and brought up in 

 Worcester, Mass., and went through the pub- 

 lic schools there, entering Cornell, Class of 

 1905. Left Cornell to enter Clark University 

 from which he graduated In 1905 with degree 

 of A. B, taking in 1906 his degree of M.A. 

 During the past year he has been an assistant 

 teacher in biology in Clark University. 



He has kept bees for some 1? years, keep- 

 ing them more tor study and the pleasure of 

 working with them than for pecuniary profit. 



Mr. Gates is of a modest, kindly nature, 

 and enjoys the blessings of a delightful home 

 in a pleasant part of Worcester. He is an in- 

 defatigable worker, and since he is a young 

 man we can confidently look tor important 

 work along apiarian lines from him in years 

 to come. 



IsT Vice-President F. H. Drake. 



Mr. F. H. Drake, President for the year ot 

 1905, and Vice-President the succeeding years 

 is one ot the progressive members ot the So- 

 ciety. Mr. Drake lives in a good honey- 

 couBtry— East Brookfleld- where he produces 

 an A No. 1 quality of comb honey. The de- 

 mand is greater than the product of his 

 apiary of from 25 to 30 colonies. 



Mr. Drake writes that he first became inter- 

 ested in bees from the time he saw a row ot 

 box-hives in a neighbor's yard when a boy. 

 In 1900 he traded a home-made hive tor a 

 swarm, from which he made Immediate in- 

 crease. The lowest average of 33 pounds per 

 colony in a poor year is more than out- 

 weighed by the best average ot 80 pounds per 

 colony. These figures are an indication of 

 the possibilities in Massachusetts. 



Mr. Drake is profiting by some of the things 

 recommended in the meetings ot the Associa- 

 tion, which he says is the source of the latest 

 and best information in bee-keeping. For in- 

 stance, he was one of the earliest to recog- 

 nlEe the advantage of the black-paper method 

 of wintering bees. While the bee-keeping on 

 the Drake farm is but a side factor in the big 

 business, the owner finds that it pays both 

 from the bee-keeper's standpoint, and from 

 the market gardener's standpoint. Bees are 



infinitely valuable, yea, quite indispensable 

 to the fruit-producer and to the cucumber 

 man, we all know. The combination is most 

 profitable. 



2d Vice-President Chas. H. Goodell. 



Mr. Goodell is one of the oldest bee-keepers 

 of the Association, and has had bees since a 

 boy. His purpose has not been to keep bees 

 for the profit as much as for the things which 

 he can learn ; he has therefore been an exper- 

 imenter and investigator, has tried the vari- 

 ous races ot bees as they have been imported, 

 has examined the new theories and inven- 

 tions as they have appeared, and has given 

 freely to the Association the things which he 

 has learned. He cannot be without a colony 

 or two of bees, although he has tried it at 

 times. 



The older readers ot the bee-press will re- 

 member the writings ot Mr. Goodell, which 

 appear. d in the years previous to 1S90. 



Besides being one of the charier members 

 of the Worcester County Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, and its first president, Mr. Goodell 

 has been president in succeeding years. On 

 several occasions he has read papers before 

 the Association. At the last institute meet- 

 ing his subject was on the " Relations ot 

 Flowers and Bees." 



At present Mr. Goodell has at his home a 

 number of fine colonies of choice bees. He is 

 prominent in the City Council, was secretary 

 to the late Senator Hoar, and has been a 

 member of Congressional Committees. He is 

 a member of the Bar. 



Secretary A. H. Estabrook. 



Arthur H. Estabrook, the Secretary and 



Treasurer of the Association, is one ot the 

 newer of the bee-keepers, but is an ardent 

 student ot biology. For several years he has 

 been connected with Clark University; he 

 graduated in 190.T with the first class from 

 the Collegiate Department; in 1906 he took 

 his degree of M..\, from the University, in 

 Biology, and is now working tor the degree 

 ot Doctor ot Philosophy. 



Mr. Estabrook lives in Leicester, where the 

 pasturage is similar to that ot Mr. Drake's 

 country, before mentioned. It is Mr. E.'s in- 

 tention this summer to carry on some inves- 

 tigations on bees., which, if significant, will 

 be published. He has just published a paper 

 on " The English Sparrow Problem, and its 

 Status in America." 



Northern California Bee-Keepers 



will meet in convention in Sacramento, on 

 June 34. The organization was formed in 

 January, and a 2 days' convention held. We 

 received no report of it, hence no mention 

 was made in the American Bee Journal. 



Mr. B. B. Hogaboom, ot Elk Grove, Sacra- 

 mento Co., Calif., is the Secretary of the 

 Northern California Association. Any other 

 information desired by bee-keepers in that 

 section of the State can be had by addressing 

 Mr. Hogaboom. 



We would be pleased if convention secre- 

 taries would send us not only notices ot future 

 meetings, but also at least brief reports of 

 conventions held. 



Our '^ 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



A Successful Sister 



Massachusetts sisters are probably 

 proud of one of their number of whom 

 it is reported in the American Bee- 

 Keeper : 



Mrs. Richardson, secretary ot the Massa- 

 chusetts Society of Bee-Keepers, told of her 

 trials in getting a start in apicuhure, and 

 gave her hearers frequent occasion for mer- 

 riment. Her remarks were the more enter- 

 taining in that she had surmounted the difh- 

 cutties and has made a financial success ot 

 bee-keeping. 



An Original Swarm -Sliaker 



Mt Dear Miss Wilson:— Since you so 

 kindly invited me to come again, here I am, 

 and I have spent much time the past months 

 reading the back numbers of both the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal and Gleanings. I found lots 

 of good things in both, but the controversy 

 over "shook swarms " amused me, for I feel 

 that I have the honor to be the original 

 " shook swarmer" or "swarm shooker." Ot 

 course, those men haven'tlollowed my method 

 exactly, or adopted my way, but still I feel 

 that the honor belongs right here. You see, 

 I used to be terribly afraid of bees — no won- 

 der when a "dead " bee fixed me the w:r. it 

 did. But that is another story. An i so 

 when papa left me in full charge of his ^p\- 



ary one day, with careful instructions how to 

 proceed in case ot a swarm, I just hoped and 

 prayed that those bees would behave them- 

 selves. 



In order to discourage any swarming ideas, 

 I attached the hose and gave the hives a good 

 wetting. Then I decided to bake a cake. So 

 after a delay in deciding what kind to make, 

 I started in and was putting it in the pan 

 when I heard the awfuUest roar; and glanc- 

 ing through the window I saw the air full of 

 bees. They were swarming all right. Well, 

 1 shoved that cake into the oven and shut the 

 door. Say. it was a devil cake, and really I 

 felt devilish right then, tor I was half scared 

 to death at the prospect of plenty of stings. 

 But it couldn't be helped ; I was in for it. 



So I went out and looked for the bees. 

 There they were, nicely clustered in a little 

 plum tree about ~ feet from the ground. 

 There must have been a bushel. So I put on 

 a hat and veil, lit the smoker, got the hive 

 and an old sheet ready, put on rubber gloves, 

 and I was ready. No I wasn't, either, for 

 how was I to keep those bees from crawling 

 up my, my sh— well, my hose* I gave up 

 that problem, for the bees were getting rest- 

 less, so I carried out the sheet and spread it 

 under the tree. Buzz in my ear, and I ran 

 for the house. Then I carried out the hive 

 and set it under the cluster. " Buzz " said a 

 bee, and away I flaw. A^ain mustering my 

 courage, I went bsck and arranged the 

 frames and hive nicely, but I had to fly again 

 —that awful buzz made me nervous. 

 Now about 6 feet from the tree where the 



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