328 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



gage the tip of the wing, and at the same 

 instant cut off about three-sixteenths of 

 an inch of the upper wing thus held. 

 This is accompHshed by simply giving a 

 slight stroke of the knife across the wing 

 against the finger-tip, without pressure. 



It sometimes occurs that the queen 

 carries her wings separately for a moment. 

 While the novice will recognize this as 

 his chance to catch the wing more easily, 

 and hasten to improve the opportunity, 

 the momentary separation is but the re- 

 sult of some excitement, and unless she is 

 standing still, in a very convenient posi- 

 tion, it is usually better to allow her to 

 adjust her wings to a natural position be- 

 fore beginning the operation. Should 

 both wings be caught when endeavoring 

 to take but one, the right one may be in- 

 stantly relea.sed by rocking the thumb 

 in the opposite direction. 



Should the queen be moving when wing 

 is caught and the operator has not be- 

 come sufficiently expert to do the clip- 

 ping instantly, the hand should move 

 steadily as does the queen, so that she 

 shall not pull or twist the wing. 



With a little practice the clipping is ac- 

 complished so easilv andquickh that the 

 queen gives no apparent sign of knowing 

 that she has been touched at all; in fact, 

 only the tipof the wing has been touched, 

 and at the same instant it has been so 

 cleverly removed that she continues with- 

 out interruption toiook for vacant cells 

 in which to deposit eggs. Nothing 

 could well be simpler; even a child, if 

 properly instructed, can clip queens with 

 a knife as well as the experienced bee- 

 keeper. Drones and workers afford ex- 

 cellent practice for the beginner, until he 

 has learned just the proper movement. 



I have no doubt that, after practicing 

 awhile "on drones and workers," as Bro. 

 Hill suggests, one could clip queens 

 successfully in the manner that he de- 

 scribes. I have never tried exactly the 

 plan that he gives, but to all plans of 

 clipping on the comb I have found the 

 objection that the queen becomes fright- 

 ened the moment she is touched. It is 

 possible that with with sufficient practice 

 this objection can be overcome. I have 

 much confidence in what is recommend- 

 ed by Bro. Hill. 



Just here another point comes up: Some 

 bee-keepers who are buying queens wish 

 to have them clipped before they are in- 

 troduced. If they are clipped they can 



not fly away when they are liberated; and 

 there is the satisfaction of knowing that 

 the queen found afterwards in the hive is 

 really the queen that was introduced. In 

 this case the queen can not be clipped up- 

 on the comb; that is, unless she is clipped 

 by the shipper. I see that Gleanings 

 and Dr. Miller are advocating the clip- 

 ping of queens before shipment. I' be- 

 lieve that the Roots now clip all of the 

 queens that they send out. One of the 

 reasons given for this practice is that dis- 

 putes arise regarding the identity of the 

 queen. A tested queen is accused of pro- 

 ducing hybrids. If an examination shows 

 that she has perfect wings, while the 

 queen sent out was clipped, it shows that 

 the tested queen was lost in introducing, 

 and that another queen has hatched and 

 taken her place. It is evident that this 

 practice often affords considerable satis- 

 faction to the shipper. I know that I 

 have often been accused of sending out 

 an inferior, unfertile, or hybrid queen, 

 when the queen that I had sent had been 

 lost in introducing, but there was no way 

 of proving it. The shipper and the men 

 who wi.sh their queens clipped would be 

 satisfied with this plan; but how about 

 the men who don't clip their queens nor 

 wish them clipped ? It seems to me that 

 it is not exactly fair to them. If I did 

 not wish my queen clipped, and had not 

 ordered it it clipped, I should feel quite a 

 little vexed to receive a clipped queen. 



HONEY VINKGAR. 



How to Make a First-class Article for Market. 



All the great industries and nianufac- 

 turies look most carefully after what are 

 called by-products. Look at the number 

 of products that are utilized in the refin- 

 ing of crude petroleum — from vaseline to 

 axle-grease. See how carefuUv every 

 part of an animal is saved in the great 

 slaughter-houses. The horns are made 

 into combs and buttons; the bones into 

 knife-handles, and bone-dust for use as a 



