Aug. 11, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



551 



same place between the frame of brood for the next frame 

 of prepared cell-cups which the first one occupied, and when 

 all ready it is placed there as was the tirst. 



Four days later the last dummy is removed, the frames 

 again drawn along till we come to a frame of brood, when 

 the last prepared frame of cells is taken out, one or two 

 taken off for royal jelly, and the frame "jumped " to the 

 outside of the frame of brood, which gives room for the 

 third prepared frame between the frames of brood again, 

 where it is placed as soon as it is prepared. As it is in- 

 tended not to do any work with the bees on Sunday, I time 

 it so that no cells need come off on that day, from being 

 "ripe," so prepare the next lot of cells three days later, 

 which makes ten days from the time we started, at which 

 time the first are ripe, so that we really have only three 

 prepared frames every ten days. 



The frame of ripe cells is now taken out and dis- 

 tributed where they are needed, when I lift out the two 

 frames of brood, look them over to make sure that the bees 

 have started no queen-cells on them, when these two frames 

 of now sealed brood are jumped over behind the two frames 

 of cells now remaining. I thei! take out a frame of honey 

 from each side, and shove all the frames along toward each 

 side of the hive, so as to make room for two frames contain- 

 ing eggs and larva;, taken from any hive in the yard, which 

 are placed in the center of the hive again as the first two 

 were, being left apart for the fourth prepared frame, which 

 is now fixed as were the others, and put in. 



This tells the correspondent all there is of it, only that 

 you keep on in this way all of the season. If a honey-flow 

 comes on, or the bees get too crowded for room so they are 

 liable to swarm, put on a hive of combs above this second 

 story, and extract the honey from it as often as it accumu- 

 lates, making the hive too heavy to lift off handily ; for you 

 must lift this hive instead of the cover, after it is once 

 put on. 



In this way I get hundreds, and up into the thousands, 

 of cells from the one colony in one season. 



Onondaga Co., N. V. 



[Every bee-keeper, whether a queen-rearer or not, 

 should have a copy of Mr. Doolittle's " Scientific Queen- 

 Rearing." We furnish it by mail at Sl.OO for the cloth- 

 bound book, or SI. 75 for the book and the American Bee 

 Journal one year ; or the leatherette-bound book for 75 

 cents, or with the American Bee Journal one year — both for 

 $1.50.— Editor.] 



Protect the King-Birds— Planting Trees. 



BY " CLOVER BLOSSOM." 



I WANT to shake hands with J. P. Blunk. I have just 

 been reading what he said about the king-bird on page 

 <829 (1903). It makes me feel very happy to find a brother 

 who takes such a good, square view of the matter. I am a 

 lover of the busy bee as well as of our beautiful birds. It 

 has often pained me to see how people are short-sighted 

 enough to slaughter the king-birds just because something 

 has happened to a virgin queen, and she has " turned up 

 missing." 



I can recall but one instance where it was claimed that 

 a king-bird was killed while in the act of catching a queen. 

 Now. where chickens are permitted to range in the apiary 

 they have been known to pick up drones, and even worker- 

 bees. The editor admits in a recent issue of Gleanings in 

 Bee-Culture, that it is entirely possible for the same chick- 

 ens to pick up a mated queen as she returns from her wed- 

 ding-trip. Now, why don't our more hasty bee-keepers kill 

 every chicken on the place in order that they may insure 

 the safe return of all the queens 7 There would be just as 

 much philosophy in this act as there is in swearing eternal 



vengeance on a harmless bird, which, instead, is actually 

 our friend. 



Let me digress a little and prove my statement by good 

 authority ; 



" Bee-keepers accuse the king-bird of a taste for honey- 

 bees, but an examination made by Prof. E. E. L. Beal, of 

 281 stomachs, shows that the charge is unfounded. Only 14 

 stomachs contained remains of bees, most of which were 

 drones, while iiO percent of the king-birds' food was found 

 to consist of injurious insects. "—Chapman's Bird Life. 



"One bee-keeper of Iowa suspected the king-biids of 

 feeding upon his bees, so shot a number near his hives, but 

 when the birds' stomachs were examined by an expert ento- 

 mologist, not a trace of a honey-bee could be found." — 

 Farmers' Bulletin, No. 54. 



The king-bird, besides destroying hosts of noxious in- 

 sects, renders us another service which is far more valuable, 

 namely, protecting us against crows and hawks. They 

 have been the means of saving many a little chicken, tur- 

 key, duck and bird from the ravages of the crows and 

 hawks. Plenty of data is on record to prove this state- 

 ment. I have seen them frequently attack a crow or hawk 

 with such fury that he has been glad enough to escape his 

 tormentors without his intended victim. I do not think I 

 am valuing their good work too highly when I say that I 

 believe a pair of these birds are worth $25 a year to any 

 community. I would like to become acquainted with the 

 sister who thinks she is spry enough to have a gun always 

 in her hand when the hawks come around. 



I trust that before any bee-keeper will again look over 

 a gun-barrel at a king-bird, he will drop a postal card to the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for Farmers' 

 Bulletin, No. 54, entitled, " Some Common Birds and Their 

 Relation to Agriculture." The bulletin will be sent free to 

 all applicants. By the perusal of this bulletin one can learn 

 more facts concerning our common birds than perhaps he 

 would gather in an ordinary lifetime. 



Be very careful not to mistake your friends for your 

 enemies. 



PLANTING TREES, OR REFORESTING. 



The scarcity of lumber seems to be quite an alarming 

 question at present. Prof. A. J. Cook has been doing much 

 to stir up the people to plant trees. He has recommended 

 an excellent list of trees for the warmer parts of the United 

 States. 



Why should we not, as a bee-keepers' fraternity, put our 

 shoulders to the wheel and help solve this great problem ? 

 There is a great army of us, and if we will all fall to and 

 celebrate Arbor Day once or twice a year, by each planting 

 a few trees, such as linden, locust, tulip-poplar, eucalyptus, 

 or some other trees that will not only make a beautiful 

 shade, but also yield nectar and grow into valuable timber, 

 we can accomplish a great deal. 



Last spring I brought a number of linden trees from 

 along the Delaware River, and planted them on red shale 

 near my home ; they all grew but tyo, and one of those the 

 chickens resurrected the day after it was'planted. I also 

 got three tulip-poplars started in spite of our long spring 

 drouth. 



This locality differs somewhat from Dr. Miller's, as I 

 can secure all of the young linden that I can use from be- 

 neath old trees along the river where there is a rich, moist, 

 sandy loam. 



The locust trees are somewhat more difficult to secure, 

 so I have started a miniature nursery in a corner of the 

 garden. 



True, we perhaps would never cut a figure on the lum- 

 ber market, but we at least would be beautifying our homes, 

 extending the nectar-resources, and, by extending forestry, 

 we would be able to help protect our land against drouths 

 and floods. Bucks Co., Pa. 



