1904 



GLEANINGS IN BF.E CUL'I URE. 



389 



me (note the bees on my collar, and in my 

 collar too if you could only see them), I did 

 not get a single sting until i thought I had 

 Ihem all oft", and str.nghtened up, when, to 

 my great surprise, one was under my sus- 

 pender. I touched the button, and she did 

 the rest. Although not a bee slung my 

 arm, it felt as tht ugh thousands of pins 

 were stickirg it; and when I got the bees 

 off it looked as if I had had it tightly wrap- 

 ped with wire cloth from my shoulder to the 

 ends of my fingers where the bees had been 

 holding on; and for several days my arm 

 had an itching, tingling sensation, caused 

 by the bees pinchirg. 



The njn-swarming qualities of my bees 

 delayed me in getting this picture until so 

 late in the season that my enthusiasm had 

 cooled in regard to it to such an ext' nt that 

 I neglected to use it up to this date as I 

 had intended. 



This picture is of my bees, myself, and 

 my home apiarj', taken by myself. See 

 bulb in my right hand, and tube leading to 

 camera. At my left is a stack of my fa- 

 mous four-barrel nuclei hives. 



I have been reading Mr. Phillips' articles 

 on queen-rearing, and am very much inter- 

 ested in them However, if I can get up 

 nerve enough I may get down my "horse- 

 brush" and try to smooth down some of his 

 theoretical and scientific high places a 

 little. Whoa, there, Mr. Phillips! don't 

 kick too soon; I have not touched you. I am 

 only thinking about it. 



Wharton, Texas, Jan. 23. 



[While it seemed to be unfortunate that 

 the negative was lost, yet you are enabled 

 through the half-tone process of engraving 

 to make any number of duplicates. 



This is a rtmakably nice frame of brood. 

 I have seen solid cards practically as good 

 as this, but they were from the Holy Land 

 stock, but never had any thing so full and 

 nice from imported Italian queen, or, in 

 fact, any pure Italian blood. I believe we 

 shall have to award the queen that filled 

 this comb with eggs the palm for breaking 

 the record in egg laying. If any one can 

 beat it, in Italian stock, let him send a 

 photo of it or for ever hold his peace. 



I have often wondered myself how it would 

 feel to hold a swarm of bees on the bare 

 arm. I have sometimes thought of trying 

 it; but when I have had a good chance to 

 test it, there would be three or four more 

 swarms, and then I would be too busy to 

 try the experiment to see how it would feel 

 to have the bees hanging on by means of 

 their tiny claws. I admire your nerve in 

 standing there and holding those bees so 

 long, and it must have hurt some or your 

 arm would not have had such an itching 

 and tingling sensation. I wonder if those 

 claws also carried a slight quantity of the 

 bee-sting poison. 



Yes, friend V., we hope you will not 

 keep your candle under a bushel so long 

 again. Let us hear from you oftener. and 

 especially when you can produce such re- 

 markable photos. — Ed.] 



REPORT OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN BEE KEEPERS* 

 CONVENTION. 



Held at Traverse City, March 30 and 31. 



BY A. I. ROOT, 



The attendance, especially the first day, 

 was not large; and at the very commence- 

 ment of this report I wish to put emphasis 

 on the importance of a proper convention 

 notice. Tell first where it is to be; next, 

 when it is to be, giving not only the day but 

 the very hour on which the convention will 

 be opened, and urge as many as possible to 

 be on hand at the very opening. Last of 

 all, tell at which hotel the bee-keepers are 

 expected to stop. If it is a large city I 

 would suggest not having it at the highest- 

 priced hotel. Many of us are not in the 

 habit of spending money in that way, and 

 can not afford it. A. I. Root is one of that 

 number — that is, my conscience rebukes me 

 for putting up at the highest-priced hotels 

 when there are thousands of places where 

 money is so much needed — where a little 

 money, for instance, will do a lot of good. 

 I do not want an elaborate and expensive 

 "spread." It is not good for my health, 

 and there are thousands just like me. We . 

 should all put up at one hotel in order to be 

 neighborly. The friendly visits among 

 bee-keepers outside of the regular sessions 

 are one of the very best features of a con- 

 vention. 



March 30, after I had my breakfast, I 

 was on hand at the Montague Hall. The 

 door was locked; nobody at the hotel knew 

 any thing about a bee-keepers' convention, 

 and the owner of the hall did not seem to 

 know very much about it, only that it was 

 engaged for that day. During the forenoon 

 half a dozen bee- keepers came in, one after 

 another. Nobody knew whether there 

 was to be a forenoon session or not. Now, 

 do not think I am reflecting on the good 

 president. The melting snows, high water, 

 and floods, at this particular time, had 

 thrown all the railroads " out of whack." 

 My own train that should have reached 

 Traverse City between six and seven in the 

 evening did not get there till between twelve 

 and one. Small as the number was, how- 

 ever, we elected a chairman and held ses- 

 sions. In fact, I do not know but I was a 

 gainer by having a chance to become in- 

 timately acquainted with Mr. E. D. Town- 

 send, of Remus, Michigan. 



In the afternoon there were enough for a 

 pretty fair attendance, and there were a 

 few women present. Toward evening the 

 president and secretary made their appear- 

 rance, and we had quite a lively and prof- 

 itable meeting during the evening. 



One of the topics a good deal discussed 

 referred more directly to Mr. Townsend, 

 who seems to have largely inaugurated the 

 plan of managing an out-apiary by visiting 

 it only three or four times during the honey 

 season. This idea is all the more interest- 

 ing to us now when competent help is so 



