118 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Fel). 2A, 



stock Italian. You know, further, that we have had what 

 they don't have in Italy — we have the 5-banded stock, the 

 pure yellow all over. I am inclined to think there is more or 

 less a tendency towards a lighter color. That is not disputing 

 Mr. Wheeler's statement, that the tendency of his bees was 

 towards black stock ; that was my experience, but I think it 

 was because of the mixing of surrounding bees. I do not 

 think, if you had the same stock all around you, there would 

 be a tendency towards daik, but rather lighter. 



Mr. Baxter— In my neighborhood I don't know of any one 

 else who has any bees now within four or five miles of my 

 place, but I have got to keep changing every year, so as to get 

 Italians. 



FINDING DABK QUEENS. 



Mr. Norris — I am comparatively a novice in the bee-busi- 

 ness ; my efforts have been hindered a good deal about being 

 able to find queens, particularly dark queens. 



Pres. Miller— That is a very proper questiotj to ask. How 

 do you find queens, especially dark ones ? Tell us, Mr. Norris, 

 if you please, something about the condition of affairs when 

 you want to find the queen. 



Mr. Norris— I can tell my method of looking for them. I 

 smoke them as long as 1 reasonably can, and use an extra 

 brood-chamber to set out the combs carefully, and look them 

 over carefully as I take them out and put them in, and find 

 it difficult to find queens. 



Mr. Baldridge— I think I should put a cover on the hive 

 about two inches deep, something similar to the Simplicity cover, 

 and as you blow the smoke at the entrance, rap on the hive. 

 I find that the queens are generally in the cover, and in a very 

 few moments, without taking the comb out of the hive, I find 

 them frequently on the cover. It is a very easy matter to rap 

 on the hive, ond if you take that cover off at the proper time, 

 you will find, almost invariably, the queen in the cover. 



Dr. Besse — Black queens are very shy; they don't stay on 

 the hives ; they will slip around and hide in the corners; my 

 experience is when I want to find them, the same as Mr. Bald- 

 ridge's — drum them out, and it you can't see them then, shake 

 them on the alighting-board In front of the hive; then take 

 out one frame and shake them on, and the next one, and so 

 on ; they are a trouble to find, sometimes. 



Mr. Norris— Once I was bound I would find the queen, so 

 I shook the bees out of the frames on a large sheet of paper 

 in front of the hives. I got all the bees out and watcht them 

 carefully as they went in, and could not find any queen until 

 they were nearly all in, and about made up my mind there 

 was no queen. I then raised up the paper, and the only bee 

 under it was the queen ! 



Mr. Green — I once had to find queens in a large lot of 

 hives in which the combs were hard to handle, and the queens 

 very shy. A great many of them were dark bees. I found 

 that when rapping on the hive and smoking I could find them 

 in that way much quicker than any other. I could almost 

 always find the queen that way within five minutes. In my 

 work In the apiary in finding queens I generally use the plan 

 of shaking the queen out. To make operations easier I have 

 a large alighting-board made of perforated zinc, and shake 

 the bees on that. 



Mr. Wheeler— In using Mr. Baldridge's plan, I wish to 

 mention that you should lift the cover carefully, and not take 

 It off with a snap ; the queen is likely to knock down if the 

 cover is taken off with a snap or jar. 



USING BAIT SECTIONS. 



"How many think it necessary to put bait sections in the 

 super? 



Pres. Miller — I think you can have two questions of this. 

 Suppose I say I can get work done without any bait sections 

 at all, but on the whole I think it is better to have them. It 

 would be advisable in that case but not necessary. Let us 

 take the question as it is given. How many think it neces- 

 sary to put bait sections in the super ? [Six.] 



How many think it unnecessary ? [Five.] 



How many think it advisable to put bait sections in the 

 super? [Twelve.] 



Mr. Wheeler— There Is an "if." It depends entirely 

 upon the kind of hive you use, and what you arc doing. If I 

 use a Heddon hive and queen-excluder I don't want any bait 

 sections. My queen is quite apt to come up and lay in bait 

 sections. If I use a Langstroth hive then I want to use bait 

 sections. 



Dr. Besse — Have a Ji Inch space between the supers and 

 the upper side of the frames ; there Is no danger of the queen 

 getting up ; that is my experience. 



Mr. Norris — It depends more upon the honey-flow, if they 

 are necessary, than on any other one thing. If there Is a 

 large flow, you don't need any baits. 



Mr. Baxter — I don't think it is necessary. If the bees 

 are going to work at all, they will work sometime— if not this 

 year, next. 



Tbe convention then adjourned until 9:30 a.m. the next 

 day. 



[To be continued.] 



Report of the Illinois State Couventiou. 



BY JAS. A. STONE. 



The Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association met in Spring- 

 field, Nov. IS, ISyT, for a two days' session, and was called 

 to order at 10:30 a.m. by 1st Vice-Pres. J. Q. Smith. The 

 minutes of the last annual meeting were read and approved. 



The committee on State Fair reported, and recommended 

 that, tho their work had met with general approval, still some 

 changes were needed in the premium list, as well as in the 

 code of rules. The committee reported that the State Board 

 of Agriculture gave us a good liberal premium list, and some 

 of the members of our Association did very well in trying to 

 make a creditable display. 



Since the State Board, and especially Supt. Cater, have 

 done so well by bee-keepers, in offering so liberal a premium 

 list, it should be the object of beo-keepers everywhere to see 

 that a grand display is made — one that will not only be grati- 

 fying to the State Board of Agriculture, but a credit to the 

 bee-industry of the State and of the whole country. Not only 

 did they deal liberally with us in our premium list, but Sec- 

 retary Garrard kindly gave us our score cards'in such a good 

 shape that if there was anything wanting it was our own 

 fault. Then Mr. Cater selected a good judge In Mr. George 

 W. York, of the American Bee Journal, and everything was 

 past upon in such a way that no right-minded person had any 

 room for complaint. If the State Board, and Supt. Cater, are 

 as liberal with us in the future as at the last Fair, we recom- 

 mend that the members of our Association especially guard 

 with zealous care to see that the exhibit is such that no pre- 

 mium be carried off which shall not have well deserved the 

 same. If we make a fine shoeing we can expect good pre- 

 miums, and if our showing is inferior we will be only treated 

 right in getting small premiums. 



The report was approved, and discussions followed, as to 

 what changes ought to be made In the premium list, and, 

 finally on a motion by Mr. Black, It was left to be settled by 

 the new committee on State Fair, which was named as follows: 

 Jas. A. Stone, chairman, Chas. Becker and S. N. Black. It 

 was the decision of the meeting that in recommending a pre- 

 mium list for Illinois bee-keepers only, that they should not 

 be compelled to be the producers, but that they ought to be 

 apiarists, and their honey the product of this State. 



Mr. Robbins thought that in the exhibit open to the world 

 the amount of comb honey ought to be limited to 250 or BOO 

 pounds. 



Mr. Becker thought it was only those who went the 

 rounds of the fairs, who demanded such a change, and it was 

 a question whether they were a benefit to the State Fair, or to 

 the cause of bee-keepers. The subject was well considered, 

 and argued on both sides, but seemed to be the prevailing 

 opinion that any changes to be made in the premium list 

 should be made to favor those wtio are showing in the inter- 

 terests of the cause, rather than those who are making the 

 rounds of the fairs. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The first on the program taken up was the question-box. 



GETTING BEES OUT OF COMB HONEY SUPERS. 



How can we with the least trouble get the bees out of our 

 comb honey ? 



Pres. Smith — I put about six section-cases into a tight box 

 with small strips of wood between the cases so the bees can 

 pass between, and have holes in the box, covered on the out- 

 side with cones of wire screen for the bees to pass out. 



Sec. Stone — For several years I have used only the Por- 

 ter bee-escape, and find it takes great care to see that no 

 spaces are left anywhere, or the bees will get back as fast as 

 they go out. 



COMMON FARMERS KEEPING BEES. 



Mr. Becker askt, "Should bee-keepers encourage the 

 common farmer to keep bees ?" 



Pres. Smith thought not ; that every extra-good year 

 brought everybody into bee-keeping, and as the years grew 

 bad they all went out of the business, with no good result to 

 any one. Others thought about the same. 



