l88^ 



GLE AIRINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



563 



number of reports in favor of the honey- 

 gathering abilities of the hybrids, several 

 even claiming they gather more honey 

 than the pure Italians. Well, now, one of 

 the greatest objections that have ever been 

 urged against untested queens is, that an in- 

 experienced person might get one, and, not 

 knowing a pure (jueen from any other, in- 

 nocently Italianize his whole apiary, raising 

 his queens from a hybrid. Now, I confess I 

 can not see that he has made such a terrible 

 bad job of it, if he does; for almost invari- 

 ably the result is that he doubles his yield of 

 honey, even if they do turn out hybrids.— I 

 am very much oljliged, friends, for your val- 

 uable report, and to know that Minnesota 

 has basswood honey yet, even if Ilosmer 

 does not tell us any more about it. 



REPORT FROM AN APIARY OF 6 COLONIES. 



Here is my report for this season: — 



No. J, increase 3, extracted 81 lbs $10 VZli 



No. 3, " 0, " 330 " 40 00 



No. 3, " 0, " 48 " 6 00 



No. 4, " 0, " 330 " 37 50 



No. 5, " 0, " 231 " 3T 62'i 



No. 6, " 0, •' 191 " 33 !>7i i 



Total 1081 lbs S135 13' e 



Increase, 3 swarms 10 00 



Grand total $145 ViVi 



From No. 3 I extracted 13 galloES during 13 con- 

 secutive days, when linden was in bloom. No. 3 was 

 nearly destroyed by mice last winter. My bees are 

 black except a few hybrids. G. D. Black. 



Brandon, Iowa, Oct. 11, 18S3. 



A gallon a day from 12 colonies is pr(»tty 

 fair, friend J>. Wasn't No. 2 one of the hy- 

 brids? ________ 



HOW TO TRUE A SQUARE. 



You say, file a square to true it; but I think that 

 should by no means ever be done; for if a square is 

 filed, accurate work can never be done with it again; 

 for where a square is filed it is made either too 

 short or too long, and alwaj-s too narrow. Now, as 

 squares often get out of true (at all events mine do, 

 although I have the best I can buy, and am as care- 

 ful as I can be; but a fall from a work-bench, sulfl- 

 cient to spoil it for accurate work, sometimes hap- 

 pens), I am not able to keep mine perfect for any 

 great length of time without occasionally truing 

 it. The way I true my square, and I was taught to 

 do so by a man of very great experience in carpen- 

 ter and joiner work, is by taking hold of the main 

 branch of the square; and if the tongue has sprung 

 in, as is usually the case, near the end, tapping the 

 end of the tongue on a block of wood until it has 

 sprung out sufficiently. It is best to spring it out a 

 little beyond true, then tap it back true, and it will 

 be more apt to remain correct. 



If the tongue has gone out, of course reverse the 

 operation, but by no means ever use a file on a good 

 square. I own a square costing $4.00, and of the 

 best quality before getting out of order and filing, 

 which renders it now worthless. If you cau not suc- 

 ceed with my plan, take it to a machine shop. 



DRI^^;KG bees out of a room by burning sul- 

 phur. 



I have noticed, too, the difficulty you had in keep- 

 ing bees out of a cider-mill. If you had burned a 

 little sulphur occasionally in the mill you would 

 have had no further trouble. I have kept them out 

 of my kitchen in the month of August, when honey 

 was scarce and they were disposed to rob, and I was 



straining honey in the old-fashioned way, within ten 

 feet of a colony of blacks, and with an open window 

 between me and them besides. They came in like a 

 swarm, but a little sulphur sprinkled on the stove 

 now and then drove tbem out and kept them out. I 

 have never had trouble in driving them oot of a 

 room in this way. 



introducing virgin queens. 



Introducing virgin queens seems to be attended 

 with loss, though it is at times very desirable to 

 the small bee-keeper. I have never had a failure 

 when I caged my queen and changed places with 

 this colony and another until the strange bees came 

 in in sufficient numbers to confuse both parties, and 

 then letting her go in at the top of the hive. I have 

 not, however, tried this plan often enough to rec- 

 ommend it to others. D. H. Perry. 



Dresden, Ont., Can., Oct. 13, 1883. 



Thanks for hints about squares, friend P.; 

 but it seems to me you would need a tile to 

 bring the edge of the blade exactly straight 

 again. If I were you I think I would have 

 my tools arranged and kept in places so they 

 would not get tumbled down in the way you 

 mention. l)owe not have mechanics who 

 never let their tools get knocked off the 

 bench? IIow is it, friends?— It strikes me 

 that, unless you make your room so suffocat- 

 ing with the fumes of sulphur you could not 

 stay in it yourself, you will find that bees well 

 started in robbing will push in, in spite of 

 the sulphur. We tried smoke at the cider- 

 mill, but it was too much trouble to keep the 

 smoke going. — I do not think that your plan 

 for introducing unfertile queens can be de- 

 pended on, for we have tried nearly the same 

 thing. Mixing two colonies, while it an- 

 swers at times, at other times seems to make 

 them worse. JNIany thanks for the sugges- 

 tions, nevertheless. 



ANOTHER BIG REPORT. 



Bees have done remarkably well this season. I 

 have taken over 6060 lbs. of honey from .54 colonies, 

 and increased to 138; 4000 lbs. was comb, the rest ex- 

 tracted. 



HOW TO make returned SWARMS STAY. 



I have obtained the best results by returning first 

 swarms, and removing the four center frames of 

 brood, and placing in their stead four sheets of fdn., 

 being careful to remove all queen-cells. Colonies 

 thus treated have given, on an average, over 150 Jbs. 

 of comb honey. From the best, I have taken 264 

 lbs., and I have yet more to take. 



HOW TO prepare SECTIONS FOR FOLDING. 



In dampening your Simplicity section boxes, in* 

 stead of using a paint-brush, according to dii-cc- 

 tions sent, I simply pour a small stream of water 

 along the joints while the sections are in the box, 

 thus dampening 500 in about 5 minutes. 



Sterling, III., Oct. 8, 1883. Ezra Baer. 



Many thanks for your valuable facts, 

 friend )J., as well as for your excellent re- 

 port. I have used a similar plan in return- 

 ing after-swarms ; that is, by giving a large 

 amount of room in the center of tlie hive, 

 and have generally succeeded in making 

 them stay ; but others have not succeeded 

 so well. Your plan for dampening the 

 joints of sections is a most ingenious idea, 

 but we rather object to getting the section 

 wet any further than just on the joint, and 



