230 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL^ 



is a very easy way of finding them : Get 

 a queen-excluder so constructed as to 

 fit exactly the top of your hives, put it 

 on the hive to be operated on, put on the 

 excluder a super with empty sections. 

 The whole must be fixed so that no bee 

 can get out of the hive, except through 

 the perforated zinc or the entrance, and 

 so that a bee space will be left between 

 the combs below and the zinc, and also 

 between the zinc and the sections. 

 Smoke a little through the entrance, 

 drum on the hive, smoking and drum- 

 ming alternately until about one-third 

 of the bees are in the super. Do not be 

 in too great a hurry, but give them time 

 to get ill the super. Then take off the 

 super, raise the queen excluder, look 

 sharp, and you will find the queen under 

 the zinc, trying to get through the holes. 

 I have tried the excluder without super, 

 or with a box above, but did not succeed 

 as well. In the daytime the bees would 

 scatter all over the hive. At night, the 

 first out would pile up on the zinc, and 

 prevent the others from coming through. 

 Adrian Getaz. 

 Knoxville, Tenn., Jan. 24, 1891. 



Illinois State Convention. 



If Springfield is a better place than 

 Chicago to hold the Convention, then I 

 am for Springfield. The only question 

 is, what place "will suit the greater 

 number. 



Mr. Dadant's idea, to stir up all the 

 local societies in the State, is good. 



Let me suggest what may be a good 

 plan, if there is time to carry it out. 

 Call on each bee-keeper in the State who 

 is interested in the matter, to send at 

 once to the American Bee Journal a 

 postal card, saying, in the fewest words 

 possible, at which place he will attend a 

 State Convention, if one is held there. 

 The card should read something like 

 this : 



" I will attend a State Convention at 

 Chicago. — John Smith." 



" I will attend a State Convention at 

 Springfield. — Peter Roe." 



" I prefer a convention at Springfield, 

 but will attend either there or at Chicago. 

 — James Smith." 



" I prefer a convention at Chicago, but 

 will attend either there or at Springfield. 

 — Mary Smith." 



Then, w^hen the answers are in, it will 

 take very little room to summarize in 

 the American Bee Journal, giving the 

 name in full, something like this : 



"The following will attend a State 

 Convention, if held at Chicago: — John 

 Smith, T. Opbar, W. I. Deframe. etc." 



"The following will attend a State 

 Convention, if held either at Chicago or 

 Springfield, but prefer Springfield : — 

 James Smith, Mrs. L. Harrison, T. S. 

 Uper, etc." 



Then the place could be chosen accord- 

 ing to the majority. Another very im- 

 portant result : If a goodly list of 

 prominent bee-keepers are known in ad- 

 vance to be expected at a certain place, 

 it would have no little influence in 

 bringing some who otherwise would not 

 come. 



I said this would be a good plan, if 

 there were time for it. On further 

 thought, it seems to me this could do no 

 harm in any case. If each one will sit 

 down and write a postal, before finishing 

 the reading of this Journal, you could 

 give us the result, at the farthest, two 

 weeks after calling for responses, could 

 you not ? 



AVhile Chicago would be decidedly 

 more convenient for me, I think it quite 

 possible that there may be good reasons 

 for preferring Springfield. 



Other places might be desired, but I 

 suspect the forces will be massed on the 

 two named. 



I believe we can have a rousing good 

 convention. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo. Ills.. Jan. 27, 1891. 



Decatur is Suggested. 



I suggest that a convention be called 

 to meet in Decatur about April 10. The 

 State encampment of the G. A. R. meets 

 that week, so that reduced rates could 

 be had, and we will agree to find a suit- 

 able place for the meeting. 



J. S. Hughes. 



Mt. Zion, Ills., Feb. 2, 1891. 



Favors Springfield. 



Mr. Editor : — You ask what I have 

 to say in regard to organizing a State 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention at Springfield. 

 I am strongly in favor of it, and enough 

 has already been said, as regards both 

 the need of such an organization and its 

 location. Mrs. Harrison, on page 150 

 of the American Bee Journal for Jan. 

 29, 1891, and A. N. Draper, on page 

 151, of the same issue, both give suffi- 

 cient reasons as to why and where ; but 

 who shall say ivhen f 



The Capital Bee-Keepers' Association 

 is located at Springfield. P. J. England, 

 President, and myself Secretary? con- 

 stitute the executive committee, and it 

 seems that the duty of action naturally 

 devolves on us. That action should be 



