1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1.93 



and suggestions concerning the matter of en- 

 tertaining tiie National. 



l^engthy discussions took place, and a par- 

 tial program was arranged, which, however, 

 will be sent to the General Manager of the 

 National Association to be further consider- 

 ed and completed. The plan as suggested, 

 subject to change or rearrangement, is about 

 as follows: 



FIRST DAY, NOV. 8, A. M. 



Address of welcome by President of Texas 

 Bee-keepers' Association. 

 Address of welcome to San Antonio. 

 General program. Routine business. 



NOON. 



The afternoon on the fairgrounds, on ac- 

 count of "bee-keepers' day" at the fair. 



SECOND DAY, NOV. 9, A. M. 



Morning and afternoon sessions; 4 P. m., 

 free trolley ride for bee-keepers; 6 to 8 p. m., 

 Mexican supper served by the Texas Bee- 

 keepers' *Assoeiation; 8 "p. m., evening ses- 

 sion, including an address by Judge Pascal, 

 on "The Bee-keeping Resources of Texas."' 



THIKD DAY, NOV. 10. 



General program. Adjournment. 



There were several other suggestions and 

 matters brought up for discussion relative to 

 making the entertainment a creditable one; 

 and as soon as the program is completed it 

 will be given in its entirety for the benelit of 

 the readers. It will be noted that the sub- 

 jects for discussion have not been inserted 

 yet in the above In'ief outline. 



One day preceding the convention there 

 will be a foul-brood inspectors' meeting. 



.^ 



SHAKING BEES OFF COMBS. 



Quite numerous have been the discussions 

 of late about the handling of frames when 

 shaking bees off combs. Editor Hutchison, 

 in Bee-keepers' JReview, wants all vf ood frames 

 with thick long top-bars, or frames with 

 •'long ears" as he calls them, to allow for a 

 good hold when shaking bees. Dr. Miller 

 has wide tlat-toi3-bar projections that allow 

 hnger-room for two lingers below; and Edi- 

 tor Root takes hokl of the frames by the top- 

 bars inside of the end-bars, and others have 

 still other ways. My attention was first call- 

 ed to this in one of Mr. Doolittle's articles 

 several months ago, with an illustration 

 showing how he takes hold of the ends of 

 the top- bars, as shown in Fig. 1. This meth- 

 od was used by myself for a number of years; 

 but the accidents connected therewith, as 

 shown in the tlrawing, turned me toward 

 something better. Too many heavy combs 

 would go down with the bees; and this with 

 both Hoffman and the old-style all-wood 

 frames. In the former the ends would split 

 off if the grain of the wood ran in that di- 

 rection, and with the latter the ends would 

 l)i-eak off at the intersection of the top and 

 end bars. Then there were the shortened 

 staple-spaced ends of the top-bars of the lat- 

 er Hoffman frames. A good hold could not 



be had on them, as the ends were so short in 

 the tirst place; the staple underneath these 

 was in the way of the fingers, and to this 



FIG. 1. — THE OTHER FELLOV^^'S WAY. 



could be added the danger of the ends split- 

 ting off. 



Mr. E. R. Root partly solves the problem 

 by taking an inside hold; but this was tried 



t. #"'"' "'■ "^ 



\\^ 



l/ DOWN 





FIG. 2. — SCHOLL'S "grab" W^HEN SHAKING 

 COMBS. 



by me several years ago without satisfaction. 

 Bees are generally clustered quite densely a' 

 these points; and if coml)s are bulged alon^' 



