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GLEANIXCIS l.\ JiEE CULTURE 



Feb 1 



that is essential to best results in honey 

 production, and winch can neither be pro- 

 duced nor maintained in any other way. 



In case full-depth hives are used we would 

 place upon the hives early in the season a 

 full-depth upper story of extracting-combs 

 above a queen-excluder, which, at the be- 

 ginning of the harvest, is used for a new 

 brood-chamber exactly as above described. 



The secret of successful swarm control is 

 not in swarm prevention (a thing that ex- 

 ists only in the minds of brainless philoso- 

 phers), but, rather, in swarm control by 

 forestalling the event by substituting the 

 artificial for the natural. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



BEE DEMONSTRATIONS ONE OF THE FREE 

 ATTRACTIONS AT A STREET FAIR. 



BY M. B. BOND. 



At our street fair last October I gave dem- 

 onstrations with bees every day, a feature 

 which was advertised at 4 p. m. for each day 

 in the printed programs, together with high 

 dives, bicycle dives, etc., at other hours in 

 the day. 



My cage was 6 ft. square and 6 ft. high, 

 and was made of inch strips covered with 

 wire cloth. It was erected in the center of 

 the street on a platform supported on tres- 

 tles, which placed it above the crowd. For 

 the demonstration I used a colony of black 

 bees that I purchased from a neighbor; and 

 as there was brood in all stages I made spe- 

 cial explanations in regard to it, and the 

 crowd seemed to appreciate it very much 

 when I told about the time required for the 

 bees to hatch, mature, etc. 



Each day I shook the bees from the 

 combs in a large pan, and tumbled them 

 around in the pan until they would form in 

 a ball, then put a ball of bees first in one 

 hand and then the other, then in my hat, 

 and finally I placed the hat on my head. 

 1 then threw my head back and shook the 

 bees into my mouth, at which moment the 

 crowd held their breath, thinking I would 

 be stung to death. I had paper cones, like 

 ice-cream cones, that I filled with bees and 

 offered to sell, etc. I wore a thin gauze 

 shirt with two-inch sleeves fitting tightly 

 about the arms. It had a low neck, but 

 there was little chance for bees to get under 

 it. I also had bicycle-guards on my trou- 

 sers, so that the bees could not crawl up. 



By giving the bees a few puffs of smoke 

 at the entrance before opening the hive I 

 had no trouble in doing any thing with 

 them that I wished. I made the demon- 

 stration for four successive days, closing 

 the entrance in the evening with wire cloth 

 and keeping it closed until I was ready to 

 make the demonstration the next day. I 

 was obliged to do this, as I kept the cage 

 covered all the time. 



Some said I had taken a vinegar bath, 

 and others thought the bees were chloro- 

 formed. Some one started the story that I 

 had clipped the stings from the bees; but 



\\lien I ollercil them a handful they de- 

 clined lo accei)t them. I exhibited modern 

 hi\es, together with tools and materials 

 used; and the last day of the fair the street 

 was so crowded for a block that many could 

 not get close enough to see. 

 Winimac, Ind. 



MINNESOTA BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



Report of State Meeting. 



BY C. A. PALMER, SEC. 



Those who attended the sessions of the 

 Minnesota State Convention in Minneapo- 

 lis, Dec. 7 and 8, 1910, returned to their 

 hoaies hapjoily conscious of having learned 

 much in regard to obtaining more than or- 

 dinary crops of honey. 



The program was certainly well stocked 

 with pointers from professional men. E. L. 

 Hoffmann, of Janesville, who secured, dur- 

 ing 1909, from his 100 colonies, an average 

 of 100 lbs. of honey per colony, was present, 

 and explained his full method. Mr. Hoff- 

 man is an enthusiastic student of bee cul- 

 ture, and his knowledge of methods prac- 

 ticed by prominent bee-men of the country, 

 combined with his own lifelong experience, 

 makes him especially interesting as a speak- 

 er, and helpful in answering questions. 



Dr. L. D. Leonard, of Minneapolis, gave 

 an exjilanation of his method of getting rid 

 of foul brood. Those who heard Dr. Leon- 

 ard could not doubt that his unique meth- 

 ods solve this vexing problem successfully. 

 It is a method very easy to follow, besides. 



Both these papers were strengthened 

 much by the fact that the speakers made 

 use of actual hives with frames of comb and 

 all other fixtures, except the bees, to make 

 their meaning unmistakable. The talks 

 were thus real demonstrations. 



A great deal of interest was also elicited 

 by the demonstration given by C. F. Green- 

 ing, of Grand Meadow. He used small hive 

 models to show his way of getting the great- 

 est amount of honey from the smallest 

 number of colonies with the least work, and 

 also to show his plan of controlling swarm- 

 ing. An effective commentary on the suc- 

 cess of Mr. Greening's methods was the fact 

 that Lyman Smith, of Wayzata, who had 

 Mr. Greening a year ago, put the plan into 

 practice the past season, and was rewarded 

 with 2000 lbs. of honey from only ten colo- 

 nies. 



A committee was appointed to consider 

 needed changes in the State law concerning 

 foul-brood inspection. Action was also 

 taken looking toward the securing of recog- 

 nition for the bee-keeping industry in Min- 

 nesota by the creation of a chair of apicul- 

 ture in the Agricultural College. 



The association endorsed the resolution 

 passed by the National Association at the 

 conclusion of President York's address at 

 the Albany meeting. The Minnesota offi- 

 cers feel hopeful that the next National 

 meeting will be held in this State. 



St. Paul, Minn. 



