252 



THB BEE-KEBPERS' REVIEW. 



tions in loo. The only danger is in 

 using too much tobacco smoke. You see, 

 the bees all get gloriously drunk on to- 

 bacco. They may have cells started, but 

 before they are fairly over their spree the 

 queen has run about and destroyed the 

 cells; perhaps, commenced to lay. The 

 after-smoking is because of danger from 

 late bees returning and balling the queen; 

 or in case of not reaching all the bees 

 sufficiently at first to keep them in a 

 stupor until the queen has actually got 

 possession. When morning comes they 

 are ready for work. 



In your " Advanced Bee Culture" you 

 speak of using chloroform. I cannot 

 think that it is just the thing for a novice. 

 The vapor is invisible, and there is no 

 way to regulate it with a smoker, and the 

 treatment I think is too cruel — tobacco is 

 bad enough. 



Now, friend Hutchinson, don't you 

 see that my method of introduc:ng is a 

 better one for you to recommend, especi- 

 ally when a shipment is made a long dis- 

 tance, and the queen gets tired out, and 

 the nurse-bees are weak and sometimes 

 dead? You ship, we will say, Saturday 

 noon, the queen arrives here in two dayfe, 

 or possibly, Wednesday morning; for two 

 days she remains in the cage, and, possi- 

 bly, weather prevents opening the cage 

 to remove her one day more, and she has 

 practically spent a week in an exception- 

 ally small cage. With my way you in- 

 troduce directly upon the combs the night 

 she arrives. 



The reason I continue feeding for three 

 days is that I think it gives the colony a 

 more contented feeling; it starts the queen 

 to laying, and gives a better opportunity 

 to find the queen. After the third day I 

 inspect the colony, and, if doing well, I 

 put back the super. 



It is needless to say that the last two 

 queens you sent me are doing splendidly; 

 they came in good condition. 



I admit I a:ji very thick to catch any- 

 thing, but don't you think your title, 

 "Advanced Bee Culture," very mislead- 

 ing? Before I took up bees I bought 



everything which I judged an amateur 

 wanted. Did I buy your book? No. I 

 was looking for primers and first readers. 

 Now, had your chapter on " Mistakes of 

 Beginners" only have reached me in 

 Langstroth, Quinby, or A B C, half of the 

 "know it all" would never have consumed 

 me, and the discouraging experiences 

 would not have been as many. I would 

 in a friendly wa}' suggest that a depart- 

 ment in Review be set apart for begin- 

 ners to give their mistakes. Perhaps it 

 would amuse the old timers and would 

 give us youngsters a few points that we 

 are all looking for. Gleanings has a 

 strong tendency to Dr. Miller and Doo- 

 little, this, and that, and very occasion- 

 ally an item occurs to interest the novice; 

 at least this is as it occurs to me. Pardon 

 me for being so lengthy — it's my way. 

 E. PeppERELI., Mass., August 7, 1900. 



[Friend Johnson, 1 am very favorably 

 impressed with your description of how 

 3'ou introduce queens by the use of to- 

 bacco smoke. I have never used it, 

 neither have I used chloroform. Mr. D. 

 A Jones, who was once so prominent in 

 the bee-keeping aflfairs of Canada, was 

 very enthusiastic over the introduction of 

 queens by the use of chloroform. He 

 used it in a small smoker in about the 

 same wa}' as Mr. Johnson uses the tobac- 

 co. He first puts a dry sponge in the bot- 

 tom of the smoker, then a sponge satur- 

 ated with chloroform, and, on top of this, 

 another dry sponge. The vapor was then 

 puffed into the hive the same as smoke. 

 I doubt if the use of chloroform is any 

 more cruel, if it is cruel, than the use of 

 tobacco smoke, but I should expect the 

 eflfects of the tobacco smoke to be more 

 lasting than that of chloroform. Without 

 having any experience to guide me, I 

 should be inclined to give preference to 

 tobacco smoke as compared with the use 

 of chloroform. ToDacco is something 

 very easily obtained, even away out in 

 the country, and, without knowing posi- 

 tively, I should think that the effect of 

 the tobacco would last longer and give 



