July 4, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



423 



SwarminS— Moving Bees— Oiueens, Etc. 



BY J. M. DAVIS. 



*' T OOK ! thar's a whoppin' big swarm, whars ver cow- 

 1, bell? Guess I ken stop 'em." 



"Ohl Tom, don't hop so excitedly, and don't 

 punch a hole in the bottom of my wax-extractor. Just let 

 them alone, and j'ou will soon see they will settle without any 

 music. Hand me that little wire cage off the shelf, and 

 come with me, no danger at all. See. here's the queen 

 climbing this blade of grass. Ah I that's accommodating. 

 Just to walk right into the cage, off the grass. See, Tom, 

 they are clustering in the top of that apple-tree ?" 



" Wal, Kunnel. that's the fust swarm of bees I ever saw 

 stopped without a racket. Thet's the purtiest and longest 

 bee I ever saw, why, she is as yeller as gold. Wat was she 

 skirutin' in the grass fur ? Tho't kings went up with the 

 swarm." 



" Well, Tom, you stick to your kings, loyally — but you 

 will have to desert your cullors. Queens rule here. I keep 

 one wing clipped off all my queens to prevent them leav- 

 ing with the bees. See this one has her wing clipped." 



" I declar, the idee of cuttin' off a bee's wing. Sara 

 Jane cuts her chickens' and turkeys' wings off to keep 

 them out of the gardin ; but I never'd a tho't of cuttin' a 

 bee's wing. Whar's yer saw ? I'll jist clime that tree and 

 saw off the limb for you, Kunnel." 



"Ohl never mind doing that, Tom. Please just help 

 me move the old hive back here — that's alright. Now, 

 kindly help me place this new hive in place of the old one, 

 there, now place the caged queen at the entrance over at 

 that shadv corner. You will now see how I hive bees." 



"Yes, and I told you Kunnel, to let me rap on the old 

 basin, or they will lite out." 



" No, Tom, you just wait, see they are coming down to 

 the new hive on the old stand, and are going in nicely — 

 now you may unstop the cage and let the queen go in with 

 them. See how quick she went in; now the job is done, 

 they will all be back in a few minutes, and soon be at work 

 again. I think we have given the imported bees time to 

 have their flight; so let's take a look at her ladj'ship, the 

 queen. 



Why, yes, they are working as nicely as any colony in 

 the yard, although they haven't been here two hours. I 

 will first remove the screws that hold on this frame cov- 

 ered with wire-cloth, you see they have all gone down. 

 This frame is two inches deep, but when we arrived it was 

 full of bees clustered so as to relieve the brood-chamber of 

 as much heat as possible. In warm weather they need 

 fresh air, therefore when we move them far, an extra space 

 for a part of them to cluster in should be furnished, and 

 the hive covered with wire-cloth, then there is less danger 

 of overheating and melting the combs down." 



" What's thet sponge for Kunnel, tha don't cypher do 

 tha ?" 



"No, Tom, that held their drinking water, see [squeez- 

 ing] they used nearly all of the water. This enabled them 

 to keep the young brood alive during the journey. A few 

 folds of old linen, or cotton cloth, answers very well 

 soaked with water, and laid on the frames as was this 

 sponge. 



These corrugated sticks were put in to hold the frames 

 apart, one at each end on top and one in the center at the 

 bottom. I will place them in this new hive as I remove the 

 frames and then I won't be bothered with the corrugated 

 stick on the bottom." 



"Why, Kunnel, they seem to fit jist as well in this gum 

 as t'other. How did you hapen to git 'em so alike, four 

 hundred miles away ?" 



"Tom, these hives are made and shipped all over the 

 <;ountry ; every piece fits any hive, no matter if you buy it 

 in Australia. It would be a great help to us for all bee- 

 keepers to use a standard frame ; and I will be glad to see 

 one adopted. See, here is the queen and a fine one she is." 

 "Thet's tru', Kunnel, she's a whopper, broader between 

 the shoulders and longer than t'other one, but not so purty 

 gold-like, as t'other one, and these bees are longer too, 

 but three strips of gold around them. T'other was nearly 

 all gold lookin'. Say, Kunnel, what on airth is she craw- 

 fishin' into thet cell fur, has she sot down to rest ?" 



"Hal ha 1 why she is depositing an egg. Tom, see, 

 she is through, and peeping into other cells to find an empty 

 one — there, watch her." 



" Now, if that ain't funny, didn't she hump thet long 

 back and crawfish as purty like. Say, Kunnel, I hev heard 

 -of hens layin' two eggs a day, but I never bleved they culd 



doit. Look, thet old huzzy ishumpin' her bak agin. Well, 

 that's three in a minute and a half, is she all eggs ?" 



" Very nearly so, Tom ; at least she can deposit from 

 three to four thousand eggs in a day of twenty-four hours. 

 You see, they do not stop at night. These eggs would 

 make a pile about as long as the queen I think." 



"Gee, whiz 1 Wish we could get some Italian chickens 

 and geese and turkeys an' ducks. Can't you 'port 'em 

 Kunnel ? 



"We could get them, Tom, but they would be no better 

 than yours, probably not as good. I see my wife at the 

 window waving her handkerchief, and here I've been over 

 two hours without going up to see whether she was dead 

 or alive. I became so engrossed with my bees that I forgot 

 everything, and I just now remember I haven't had my 

 breakfast and dinner. You see she pets me some when I've 

 been away." 



" Thanks, Kunnel, I jist thot of it, Bil Johnsin sed he'd 

 cum to my house at ten o'clock to buy my yearlings and I 

 reckon he thinks I have left these diggens. I will hev to 

 hurry on. I got that ocypide with the bees that I forgot 

 everything 'cept Sara Jane, and I jes wish she war here to 

 see 'em." 



"Very glad to see you take such an interest in them, 

 and you seem not to be afraid of them now. I will need 

 some help this summer, and if you can come over and 

 bring Jake to-morrow, we will extract some honey, and see 

 if I can't give you some further instructions. Say, Tom, 

 you need not wear out your cow-bells ringing down your 

 swarms, just spend that time getting your hive ready, and 

 you will spend it more profitably." 



"Kunnel, I will be ded sho to come and bring Jake 

 to-morrow an' help you. Jake is a peart lad, jist twelve 

 yest'day an he's mity fond of bees. I see your wife 

 shakin' thet 'kerchief at you, and you had better go, or she 

 will be after you. Good evening, Kunnel." 



"Good evening, Tom, I shall expect you." 



"Good mornin', Kunnel, Jake and me hev been here 

 /zi'o /lOurs and Sara Jane she thot we would de late." 



" Good morning, Tom, and Master Jake, I am especially 

 glad to see little boy bee-keepers. They make the best ones 

 in the end. Tom, you see the bees are cross early in the 

 morning. The sun has warmed them up now, so we will 

 get to work, everything is ready." 



"Well, Kunnel, Jake he's mighty struck and ses he's 

 goin' to be a bee-keeper and get some hitalan bees." 



"Alright, my boy. I will help you get started. Now 

 bring out the wheel-barrow, and nine dry combs, while I 

 start the smoker. I always have it handy — but use it as 

 little as possible. I find cedar bark, well packed, lasts 

 longer, and gives the best volume of smoke of any fuel. 

 Here is number one, see, I gently pry off the top, and use 

 just a little smoke, push several frames just a little nearer 

 together, so as to get room to draw out a frame without 

 crushing the bees. Now I give the frame a quick jerk, 

 which you see clears the comb of most of the bees, and 

 this long turkey feather soon gets off the balance ; now as 

 we have out three frames of honey, I will put in one of the 

 empty combs every time I take out a full one. Here is one 

 full of honey, but not capped ; we will leave that, as it is 

 too thin when not sealed to make a good grade of honey. 

 It is not '■ripe.' After extracting this honey, we will 

 exchange the empty combs with number two, for her full 

 combs, and so on through the apiary. Tom, draw your 

 honey-knife across the sharp edge of the cross-piece over 

 the uncapping can, to clear off the honey, and when the 

 knife gets gummy put it in a bucket of water, wliich dis- 

 solves the honey, and you will find that it will then shave 

 ofi' the cappings nicely. Here is a new tender comb, and I 

 will have to turn the extractor much slower to prevent 

 breaking the comb." 



" Kunnel, sum of these combs are made of black wax, 

 and sum of white wax, whar do they get the different 

 culors ?" 



" All combs are like this new one when first made, but 

 become black with age. I have old black combs just thirty 

 years old, but I get just as nice clear honey from them, as 

 from these new ones — besides they are tough and stand 

 more rough handling than new comb." 



"Kunnel, here is a low gum. What we goin' to do 

 here ?" 



" Let us see how they are getting along. Ohl nicely, 

 they are sticking on little bits of white wax along the top 

 cells, and are crowded with bees. Hand me that queen- 

 excluding zinc oft' the wheel-barrow, and I will put on 

 these freshly extracted combs, which will put them right to 



