256 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



never found any better way than the one 

 recommended by the editor; viz., that of 

 simply picking up the queen by the wings, 

 using the thumb and forefinger of the 

 right hand, then transferring her to the 

 left thumb and forefinger, taking hold of 

 her by the thorax. As he explains, the 

 thorax has a hard, chitinous covering, 

 and, with ordinary care, there is no 

 danger of injuring a queen in holding her 

 by this part of her body. While holding 

 her in this manner, clip her wing with a 

 pair of scissors. The only trouble is that 

 when the queen feels the scissors she is 

 likely to thrust up a leg, and the careless 

 or nervous operator may cut off a leg as 

 well as the wing. The remed}' is not to 

 be nervous or careless. There is no need 

 of haste. Do the work slowly and delib- 

 erately. If a leg comes up in the way, 

 wait until it goes down. 



INTRODUCING QUEENS — REDUCING 

 THEORY TO PRACTICE. 



Introducing queens by confining them 

 against the side of a comb where young 

 bees are hatching out is a good plan in 

 theory. It is also good in practice when 

 the one doing the practicing is an experi- 

 enced, thoughtful man; but in the hands 

 of a novice there are failures. 



The plan of taking away the queen and 

 all of the brood, thus making the colony 

 hopelessl}' queenless, and then allowing 

 the bees to release the queen by eating 

 out the candy from the end of the cage, 

 worked well this season until the time of 

 the year came when robbers gave trouble. 

 A colony robbed of its brood and queen, 

 although it has a caged queen, does not 

 put up the fight that a colonj' will that 

 has brood to defend. The disturbance 

 caused by taking away the brood and 

 giving it to other colonies, sometimes in- 

 cites robbers to begin their depredations. 

 I know that the plan of releasing a queen 

 upon combs of just hatching brood from 

 which the bees have been brushed, and 

 then keeping the hive closed a few days, 

 is an infallible method, but it is considera- 



ble trouble, causes a loss of some brood, 

 and maj' cause robbing in a time of 

 scarcity. I would like to find some easier 

 and better method than these for the 

 novice, and one that is, practically, in- 

 fallible. I am looking forward with con- 

 siderable hopefulness to the use of tobac- 

 co smoke. 



GOING TO THE FAIRS. 

 How the leading article of this month 

 brings back memories! Mr. Grant has 

 been there — the fact crops out between 

 all of the lines. The getting of things in 

 readiness so as to be taken down quickly; 

 the packing and shipping in such a man- 

 ner as to avoid breakage; the cot that 

 saves I r.oo a night at a hotel; and. last 

 but not least, the "lying awake nights 

 trying to devise some novelty whereby to 

 get ahead of the other fellow, when we 

 well know that the other fellow is doing 

 the same thing." What old exhibitor 

 does not recognize all of these? Happy 

 were the days when such men as H. D. 

 Cutting, M. H. Hunt. Dr. A. B. Mason, 

 myself, and some others that -I might 

 mention, met each year in an annual pic- 

 nic on the fair grounds, bringing our tent 

 and provisions, and good comradeship, 

 but meeting in battle royal in the exhi- 

 bition hall. There is a fascination about 

 all this that is hard to resist; but, one by 

 one, all of these old fellow-exhibitors 

 have dropped out. For 15 years I clung 

 to the making of these exhibits of bees 

 and honey, but other duties have become 

 too pressing and too numerous, and I 

 presume I have made my last exhibit. 

 I^et the others take oui places, and may 

 the}' be as happy as we were. 



A CHEAP BUT DURABI.E I'AIXT. 



Painted hives look better. The paint 

 keeps the nails from drawing oat, and 

 the lumber from warping. The less the 

 lum1)er warps, the better the covers, 

 supers, escape-boards, etc. fit. Some 

 months ago, Mr. F. D. Lacj*, of Nirvana, 

 Michigan, sent me a description of a 



