(This item was heavily overprinted with type from another page, so it was not easy to transcribe accurately; I have done the best I can with it, because it seems to be the most complete report on a lecture by Doidge.)
Daily Gleaner, February 10, 1899
Lecture on Bee-Keeping
Yesterday afternoon Mr J Doidge delivered a lecture on bee-keeping at the office of the Jamaica Agricultural Society. Among those present were: Mr McFarlane, Dr Graham, Messrs. Newman, Harman, Hutchins, Tillman and several students from the Mico Training College. Several ladies were also present.
As practical demonstrations[?] Mr Doidge had a ten frame dove tailed hive, with frames, foundation, honey-board and cover, also a Bingham smoker, uncapping knife, [ ] extractor, capping [ ], hive bees in cages, (drones, queens and worker bees) bee cages, queen cages.
The Hon. Colonel C J Ward, C M G, took the chair and introduced Mr. Doidge. He said that he was glad to see so many persons present, and he hoped that the lecture would stimulate the industry, which was terribly neglected here. He was glad to see ladies present.
Mr. Doidge said he was also glad to see ladies present. One of the bee-papers in America was edited by a lady, Jennie Atchley, of Beeville, Texas. He thought ladies could well and profitably engage in the industry, and referred to two ladies who had seen him at work a[ ]ing the bees one day, and joined in readily with him, and although knowing nothing of the matterdid not receive a single sting.
The lecturer showed the audience a copy of every bee paper published in the world in the English language. He also had copies of “The Honey Bee” by Langstroth revised by Dadant, and “The A.B.C. of Bee Culture” by A. I. Root.
TRANSFERRING BEES
Some persons thought that transferring from the ordinary box hive to the movable frame hive was difficult. He thought it was very easy. The way to do it was to get your frames ready; then give the bees in the box hives a puff of smoke. Then turn up the box hive and cut out a comb, which you fit into one of your frames fastening it in with wires, do the same with each comb until they are all in frames and which are put into the dove-tailed hive. All the bees must be shaken into the new hive, which must be put in the spot where the old box hive stood. In a few days the bees will [get] the comb on the top and [?ed] bars as well as the bottom bar. If there had been five or six frames of comb obtained, the hive must be gradually filled up with frames containing full sheets of foundation. Ten frame hives should always be used in Jamaica, but only nine frames should be put in. When the frames have been filled with honey and brood, a honey board is put on, and a super is put on top of this. The super contains ten frames with foundation and when one is about three parts filled with honey, another super is put on but not on top of the other, but next to the broad nest or hive. The best results are obtained in this way. The lecturer then explained the process of extracting, and using the extractor, showing a full frame of honey. A section of pure white logwood honey from Messrs. Hooper Brothers’ Apiary at Four Paths was exhibited. The lecturer then touched on the price of honey in the American market. He then illustrated the use of the Porter bee-escape. The escape is put between the super and the brood nest some time before the super is removed to the honey house to be extracted , to permit all the bees to run down into the brood nest so that as few bees as possible are carried to the honey house. The lecturer then showed the use of the Porter honey house bee-escape which is to permit any of the bees taken in the super to the honey house to escape. Mr. Doidge then explained the use of the honey-board or queen excluder, which he said kept the queen from going up into the super, and laying her eggs there, which would be followed by the bees depositing pollen in the combs in the super.
On the subject of introducing queens Mr. Doidge said that he believed in the Simmons’ method. The queen is taken away in the morning and the bees are left queenless. After sun set the queen to be introduced is put in a west queen cage at say 6 o’clock, at 6.25 you smoke the bees with tobacco smoke and stupefy them, then in 5 minutes after you let the queen run in to the hive from the top giving her two puffs of smoke. The queen immediately gorges herself with honey, as she will be in a starving condition after half an hour’s confinement and as bees only recognize each other by the smell, when she runs down among the bees those few that have not been stupefied by the smoke will not recognize her as a stranger. The hive should not be opened for three days. He had never lost a queen by introducing in this way. The way to get rid of a fertile worker is to remove the hive containing the fertile worker some distance from its site, and shake off all the bees; then take back the hive, the bees will remain but the fertile worker will be lost, care must, however be taken that there are hatching bees in the colony. Mr. Doidge then explained what a fertile worker is. He said that the only fully developed female in the colony is the queen. The worker bee is neuter. When a colony is hopelessly queenless, that is there are no larva or eggs from which a queen can be raised, a worker starts business as a queen, laying eggs all over the combs, sometimes as many as six in one cell. When this happens the colony is ruined. Fertile workers in an apiary cause great trouble and loss and should be guarded against as far as possible. Mr. Doidge explained that the term fertile worker is a misnomer as the bees laying the eggs have not been fertilized, and the eggs laid by them produce only drones.
Several other points were touched upon by the lecturer, and at the conclusion of the lecture, questions in elucidation of some matters were asked by the audience which Mr. Doidge readily answered.
