1110 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



moved to the other yard, made a united 

 force of bees for a nucleus that was formerly 

 weak; for the would-be robbers, discovering 

 they were in a new location, naturally went 

 back to the homes they had been trying to 

 despoil. 



The horseless carriage had the advantage 

 that it could be driven right up among the 

 bees, without any danger of a fracas; and 

 ■even if a nucleus' should be broken out or 

 tumble out on the road, as did happen in 

 •one case, no harm will be done. You see, it 

 was this way: A lot of mating nuclei had 

 been made lip at an out-yard, some six miles 

 distant. In hauling home over the rough 

 roads, one of them fell out. bumped over 

 the ground, and dumped all the bees out in- 

 to the road. Things were lively for a little 

 while; and had a team of horses been hitch- 

 ed on to pull the load, there is no knowing 

 what might have happened. But the horse- 

 less carriage stood its ground, when one 

 man was sent up the road to stop a team 

 that was coming, to warn the driver of the 

 danger until the bees could be scooped up 

 and carried away. This was done without 

 any trouble. 



The horseless vehicle has come to be al- 

 most a necessity in our out-yard work. 

 While the yards are located on street-car 

 lines, yet the cars are often tied up for want 

 of a current, and sometimes clear out of 

 their' regular running schedule. But the 

 automol)ile, as now perfected, enal^les us to 

 go any time when it does not rain, get to 

 the yards in a very shoi't space of time, and 

 to haul light loads" every now and then. 



This detachable carrying-box which we 

 have made to fit our machine will carry 

 eight ten-frame colonies or 150 combs or 

 frames of foundation. When a larger load 

 is required we use the team and big wagon. 



THE JENKINTOWN MEETING IN THE EVENING; 

 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1061. 



After the general field-day woi'k the bee- 

 keepers were invited over to a large hall 

 near by. where they were entertained by a 

 lecture' from Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington. D. C. 

 This was followed by a stereopticon lecture 

 by Dr. D. E. Lyon', at the conclusion of 

 which we were e'ntertained by a vaudeville 

 bee performance by E. L. Pratt, or " Swarth- 

 more." 



The hall was crowded. The address by 

 Dr. Phillips was listened to with the closest 

 attention. He stated briefly what the gov- 

 ernment was doing for bee-keepers; how it 

 was taking hold of this question of bee dis- 

 eases, and what it expects to do in the future. 

 As usual he delighted his audience, for be it 

 said bee-keepers generally are higly pleased 

 with what the govei'nment is doing for bee- 

 keeping. 



Dr. Lyon then gave his popular lecture on 

 the general subject of bees and bee-keepers, 

 illustrating it with a stereopticon followed 

 by some moving-picture work. The doctor 

 is a natural and easy speaker and a good 

 story-teller. The stereopticon views, mostly 



of his own taking, need to be seen to be ap- 

 preciated. The moving-picture work was 

 then put on the screen, illustrating the han- 

 dling of bees as it is practiced in old mother 

 England, beginning with the capturing of a 

 swarm of bees, driving bees from a straw 

 skep into a modern hive, ending up with a 

 demonstration of how hives are opened, etc. 



The last featui'e on the program was what 

 might be called "a vaudeville bee perform- 

 ance." Mr. Pratt had prepared, atconsidei'- 

 able expense ( with the special view of giving 

 it in vaudeville theaters), a mammoth wire- 

 cloth cage with some colored scenery of a 

 neatly kept apiary in the background. Join- 

 ing on to the picture were the real hives of 

 bees that Mr. Pratt manipulated, explaining 

 as he would to a popular audience the gen- 

 eral subject of bees and honey production, 

 illustrating his remarks as he proceeded. At 

 the close of the work he took frame after 

 frame of live bees out of the hives, hung 

 them up to the frame of the cage, making 

 an arch of live bees. The whole effect was 

 quite pleasing, and elicited a substantial en- 

 core from the bee-keepers. 



Thus closed a day of actual demonstration 

 work among the bees, the like of which had 

 never been attempted before in this country 

 — at least not on so large a scale. In a sub- 

 sequent issue we hope to present a picture of 

 the veteran Henry Twining, who at this 

 meet made an artificial swarm on his bare 

 arm. My camera did not catch this, but 

 another camera did, and this I will later 

 present to our readers. 



VIRGIN QUEEN, AND WHAT BECOMES OF HER 



W^HEN SHE ACCIDENTALLY GETS INTO 



THE WRONG HIVE. 



Our readers will remember there has been 

 a little controversy between Dr. Miller, a 

 comb-honey producer, and myself as a 

 queen-breeder, over the kind of reception 

 accorded a young queen just returning from 

 a mating-fiight, when she goes into the 

 wrong hive by mistake. I made the claim 

 that the interloper would, in the great ma- 

 jority of cases, supplant the old queen. Dr. 

 Miller dissented; but. apparently, he was 

 basing his claim on the kind of treatment a 

 virgin would receive when introduced in the 

 regular way. I admitted that such queen 

 would generally be killed, leaving the old 

 queen in control as before. Dr. Miller ap- 

 parently still felt, however, that the condi- 

 tions would not be materially different when 

 a returning virgin accidentally goes into the 

 wrong hive. In relation to this whole dis- 

 cussion, Mr. J. E. Chambers, a honey-pro- 

 ducer as well as a queen-breeder, has this to 

 say. He also offers in this connection a bit 

 of experience on the subject of burr and 

 brace combs. Mr. C'hambers' letter is as 

 follows: 



Friend Boot: — Your answer to Dr. Miller's Straw, 

 pase 929, is correct according to my experience. I 

 have made many experiments in order to find out for 

 certain whether or not it was practical to requeen in 

 this manner. With the Chambers cell-starting de- 

 vice on the hives I have allowed queens to mate, and 

 have then torn off the zinc and allowed them to go 



