442 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



gjBJPf. 



hive they came from, and destroyed the re- 

 mainder of the quecn-cells, and broug-ht the swarm 

 back and threw them down at the entrance, and 

 went along about my work, and that was the last I 

 would notice them until I went to extracting. By 

 so doing I had the bees to make the honey when it 

 came in the blooms. For the surplus chamber I get 

 common lath, and I tlnd the wide frames a great 

 deal belter to extract from than narrow brood- 

 frames. When one of these frames is full and sealed 

 half over, it will make 9 lbs. of honey. 

 Sherman, Texas, July 23, 18SSf. H. D. Heath. 



Incessai^t swarming, and how to 



STOP IT. 



SWAR»lS dOlNG OUT AND COMING BACKj ETC. 



sJITIe swarm that came out the 1st of June has 

 filled the lower frames, and commenced in the 

 sections. A swarm from another hive the 

 l2th of June has filled thd lower frames, and com- 

 tnenced in the sections; besides, we took one frame 

 of brood from them to put in another hive. The 

 bees had to build all their own comb in the frames 

 IVithoUt founilation. 



HIVES OF DIFFERENT SIZES —DISADA*^ANTAOE. 



We had one swarm go to the woods with a nice 

 old queen. Thdy came out of the new hive the next 

 day after they swarmed, and clustered, and we put 

 them bac'k; but we diil not have any brood <>r comb 

 to give them, for our new hives are not quite the 

 Size of oUr old ones. Our new ones are the Lang- 

 stroth, and we are going to get all like them after 

 this, 'fhe next day, they came out and took A bee- 

 line for the woods. I never had clipped a queen's 

 wing, and was afraid to try, but now I wish 1 had. 



DO swAUMs Come out and Cluster without a 



QUEEN? 



We had rtn after-swarm come out the 8th of June, 

 thdy clilstered all right about 4 rods from the old 

 hive. We got them into the swarming-box, and 

 Shook them in front of the new hive on the sheet. 

 At first they seemed to be going in all right. After 

 awhile they rose and llew away. AVe followed them 

 aboilt half a mile, and lost sight of them; then I 

 Came back, and found il queen, almost dead, on the 

 sheet. Mr. H. found the bees a few rods further 

 OHi clusterihg on a sapling. After they had all set- 

 tled, he Cut it down and brought the bees and all to 

 the house carefully. This time we put them in at 

 the top of the hive, and spread the sheet over it un- 

 til they would crawl down among the frames ; but 

 they did not go down among the frames — they clus- 

 tered up on the sheet. Toward night I gently put 

 the sheet down on the frames inside of the top. 

 They made their way up around the sheet, and clus- 

 tered on the cover, and hung there until the next 

 morning. Then we shook them in front of the old 

 hive. They crawled in all right, and stayed there. 

 They swarmed out again in about two weeks, and 

 we hived them, and they are doing well now. One 

 of our neighbor bee-keepers says they had two 

 queens, one besides the one they left on the sheet, 

 or they wouldn't have left and clustered again. If 

 they had another queen, why did they act so after 

 we put them into the hive again? We have had two 

 after-swarms come out and then go back into the 

 old hive. The first one came out, and we thought 

 they were going to cluster on a tall tree near by. 

 Before the bees were all out of the old hive they 



starteil to go back; they were going in and coming 

 out as fast as they could for a few minutes, but 

 soon they all turned and went back. Once they 

 came out and clustered, and we put them down be- 

 fore a new hive, but they would not go in; they 

 went back to their old home. They came out and 

 went back without clustering, 3 times. I watched 

 them closely, and could not see any queen either 

 time, coming out or going in. Finally they came 

 out, and we got them hived all right, and gave them 

 a frame of brood. They have filled 3 frames with 

 comb, and seem to be doing well. 



A swarm came out the 3d of this month, and clus- 

 tered. We cut the limb off, and let it down in front 

 oC the hive, and thought the bees were going in; but 

 the first we knew, they were going back to the old 

 hive. These did not all rise at once and go back, but 

 went a few at a time at first, then began to go thick- 

 er and faster until they all got back. We did not 

 see any queen. Will you please tell us what you 

 think about it? We are watching for them to come 

 out again, every day. We had 3 colonies this spring, 

 and now we have six. They are the common black 

 bees. Mrs. S. U. Hunter. 



Kendalville, Iowa, July 10, 1S82. 



Swarms will come out and cluster, with- 

 out a (jueen ; but thev will seldom stay clus- 

 tered more than a few minutes. I think 

 about a quai-ter of an hour is as long as I 

 have known them to stay away. Very oft- 

 en they miss their queen, and come back 

 without clusterins at all, as in the cases you 

 have given us. It is because of such mis- 

 haps and delays (which are very annoying 

 when one is hurried), that I have so strenu- 

 ously advocated giving every swarm a comb 

 of unsealed brood. This will hold them 

 anywhere, queen or no queen, and in a very 

 few hours you can tell whether they have a 

 queen or not, by looking to see if they have 

 started queen-cells. ^Vhere a swarm keeps 

 coming out and going right back again, as 

 in the case mentioned, as soon as you see 

 them starting out again, move the old hive 

 away and give them a new one with the 

 comb of brood, and swarmed they are, in 

 s]nte of themselves. As a continual swarming 

 is a great waste of time, both to the bees and 

 their owner (for they will often gather no 

 honey for a whole week, right in the height 

 of the season), I would by all means stop it 

 at once by the methods I have mentioned. 

 When a colony wants to swarm, make them 

 do it up and be done with it. Putting them 

 back is seldom of any use, unless the hive is 

 moved to a new location, or something of 

 the kind. 



li. L. liANGSTROTH. 



IS HE FORGOTTEN BY HIS FJIIENDS ? 



I RECEIVED a sample copy of the ICttJisfls Bcc- 

 Kccpcr yesterday, and on examination I find p 

 — ' plea in aid of L. L. Langstroth, now of your 

 State, by Mr. Pond, Jr., who states that Mr. Lang- 

 stroth is now unable to work, and is on the charity 

 of others. He also claims that Mr. L. is the inventor 

 of the movable-frame hive, and had it patented, but 

 that he was robbed of much of the benefit by un- 

 scrupulous parties who set up false claims for them- 

 selves, and even asserted that L.'s was nothing but 



