June 9, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



409 



[ Our Bee-Heepln§ Sistersj 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Clipping Queens and Swarming' Out. 



My Dear Miss Wilson : — I must write and tell you 

 how I think I almost ruined my apiary by clipping my 

 queens. I have had such success with the few I have 

 clipped in other years that I decided this spring- to clip all I 

 could find. And so one warm day during early fruit-bloom 

 I did it. But I think I made one mistake. To make it 

 doubly sure, I clipped both wings instead of one. I did not 

 think of any harm coming from it, and I was especially 

 careful to hold the queen gently as near the head as possible. 



Since then I have discovered three of my queens hop- 

 ping around the ground. Several others are missing from 

 their hives, and one persists in swarming out. They act as 

 if they are completely demoralized. I have heard that cut- 

 ting off the antennae will render a queen useless, but I never 

 heard that depriving her of her wings would have that 

 effect. Well, to say the least, I am surprised at the results 

 of my clipping, and I think after this I will let the queens 

 most severely alone. Illinois. 



I don't believe that clipping your queens' wings was the 

 cause of their swarming out. You would probably have 

 had the same experience if they had had one wing left on, 

 or if they had not been clipped at all. However, clipping 

 the wings on one side is all that is necessary to make every- 

 thing perfectly sure. Indeed, unless cut pretty short a 

 queen can make a better attempt at flying with wings cut 

 on both sides than with them cut on only one side. Just 

 try it with a hen, and see if she will not fly better with both 

 wings cut than she will if only one is cut. If one wing is 

 entire she will flop over on her side if she attempts to fly. 



The swarming out was either because your colonies 

 were weak, or without food. 



There has been a good deal of trouble with bees swarm- 

 ing out this spring, no doubt on account of the severe win- 

 ter and spring. 



One remedy is to put a queen-excluder under the hive 

 and thus fasten the queen in until she makes up her mind 

 to stay. 



Bees Cause Matrimonial Troubles. 



American Bee Journal.— 



We are taking the liberty of sending you the enclosed 

 which we received from Mr. W. D. Soper — one of our whole- 

 sale customers. He states in a letter that Mrs. Ward is an 

 old customer of his. 



We have not consulted Mr. Soper or Mrs. Ward about 

 sending this to you-, but think there can be no objection. 

 As this is a little out of the ordinary line of bee-news, we 

 thought it might possibly be of interest. 

 Very truly yours, 



Lewis C. & A. G. Woodman. 



The letter referred to in the above reads as follows : 



Calhoun Co., Mich., May 16, 1904. 

 Mr. W. D. Soper.— 



Dear Sir : — I wish you would come and get my bees, 

 and everything belonging to them, right away, or at least 

 write and tell me what you will do about them. If you can 

 not give me anything for them, why, take them just the 

 same. I will send stamp. Please write immediately. 

 Respectfully, Sarah S. Ward. 



The local newspaper had the following account of this 

 unfortunate affair : 

 bee-woman did not dispose of stock, so her husband 



LEFT HER — latter HAD MADE A PROVISO THAT 

 THE BEES MUST GO. 



"May 17. — Mrs. Ward, the bee-woman, is again left 

 alone, her husband having taken his departure unexpectedly, 

 leaving his clothes and personal effects, for which he will 

 return to-morrow. 



"Mrs. Ward is respected and highly esteemed by her 

 many friends and neighbors, who sympathize with her in 



her domestic troubles. She is a good woman, kind, gentle, 

 and affectionate, and the only thing that has marred the 

 happiness of her latest marriage has been several colonies 

 of bees. . Most of the bees died in the winter, and if they 

 had all winter-killed Mr. Ward would not have had occasion 

 to leave her roof. He said to the representative of this 

 paper repeatedly that either the bees would have to go or he 

 should take adieu of the apiary. Time has dragged along, 

 and the season for bees to swarm is approaching, and 

 the presence of the little buzzing honey-makers fairly 

 haunted him. He saw his wife in the top of a tree sawing 

 down a swarm of bees every time he closed his eyes. He 

 never imagined himself engaged in any such occupation, 

 for he wouldn't have stopped the bees if they had all started 

 to leave, not even if they had taken the hives and bee-house 

 along with them. He had honey three times a day and be- 

 tween meals, and yet he became impatient. Could the bees 

 ever be sold ? Could they be given away ? Could they be 

 killed? Either they must emigrate or it was his move, and 

 he moved yesterday afternoon. He went to Eaton Rapids, 

 or it is supposed he did. As to whether any of the bees 

 stung him good-bye, it is thought perhaps they did. At 

 any rate, his place at the table is vacant, and his grand- 

 daughter accompanied him. Their voices are no longer 

 heard, and the only sound is the buzzing of bees. 



" Mrs. Ward is a thrifty business woman, having made 

 money from her bees. She is a neat and tidy house-keeper. 

 She is a very agreeable woman, with a loving disposition. 

 She consented to sell the bees ; in fact, that was a condition 

 upon which Mr. Ward promised to take her for better or for 

 worse. The bee-market seems to be responsible for break- 

 ing up the home, as the bees didn't sell, and Mr. Ward lost 

 confidence in futures. He got so he couldn't sleep. Some- 

 thing had to be done, and he concluded that it was " up to 

 him " to act. He postponed that event for days, but yester- 

 day afternoon he began to pack. His goods were nailed up 

 in boxes and tied up in bundles, and when it was done he 

 cast a look of infinite loathing toward the bee-hives, a 

 glance of sadness toward Mrs. Ward, and taking his grand- 

 daughter by the hand, he walked away, accelerating his 

 pace as the thought dawned upon him that he would cever 

 again live at an apiary. 



" Poor Mrs. Ward, the bee-woman, was almost overcome 

 with sadness, for life during the last few months had been 

 a very happy one. She has reached an age when most old 

 people are feeble, and she is not so spry as she used to be, 

 but she faces the future with hope and courage." 



Here is a sister that is in trouble on account of divided 

 affections. It seems that when she was taken for better or 

 worse the bees were not included, and the contract was that 

 the bees must go. As she failed to keep her part of the con- 

 tract, he evidently did not feel called upon to keep his. 

 However, she seems anxious now to do her best, as she is 

 willing even to give them away to get rid of them, f jr 

 honey three times a day and between meals failed to recon- 

 cile him. 



We may question her wisdom in making such aeon- 

 tract, but having made it she should surely keep it. 



This is a warning to any of the sisters who may be con- 

 templating matrimony, to look out for the contracts they 

 make. 



P.S. — A clipping received later shows that even if the 

 husband is lost, all is not lost. The law will allow the 

 deserted wife to have half her husband's pension, and the 

 promise to sell her bees doesn't count in law, because not 

 made under oath. 



On the whole, this thing of marrying is sometimes 

 rather troublesome, and any of you girls who have not yet 

 made the fatal plunge, may do well to think it over 

 carefully before taking on yourselves the care of a man. 

 Unless you happen on one of just the right kind, he may be 

 more troublesome to manage than a whole lot of bees. 



" The Mum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song— words by Hon- 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a " hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



