BEES. 901 



usually removed early in August so that the white quality gathered may not be tainted with 

 these later products. The number of honey-bearing wild flowers is very large, while many of 

 the forest trees, such as the varieties of Maples, Aspens, Linden, Willow, etc., are valuable 

 for this purpose. The practice is prevailing in some sections for bee-keepers to cultivate such 

 plants as are known to yield honey. Alsike Clover, Sweet Clover, White Clover, and 

 Giant Mignonette are among the best, together with others not so prominent. A few acres 

 of these will pay large returns in keeping up a fine bloom, producing the choicest quality of 

 nectar until frost comes. 



Pliny states that the practice of removing bees from place to place, in order to keep 

 them supplied with good pasturage, was common in the Roman territory; he says: &quot;As soon 

 as the spring food for bees has failed in the villages near our towns, the hives of bees are put 

 into boats and carried up against the stream of the river in the night, in search of pasture. 

 The bees go out in the morning in quest of provisions, and return regularly to their hives in 

 the boats, with the stores they have collected. This method is continued till the sinking of 

 the boats to a certain depth in the water shows that the hives are sufficiently full; and they 

 are then carried back to their former homes, where their honey is taken out of them.&quot; This 

 custom is still in practice in Italy, France, and Egypt, floating barges of bees being frequently 

 seen in the river Po, the Nile, and many of the rivers in France. This practice has been 

 tested to a certain extent on the lower Mississippi, with good results, and when properly 

 conducted would doubtless prove a very remunerative enterprise. 



Enemies and Diseases of Bees. Bees have many enemies, among which may be 

 mentioned the wasp, hornet, the bee-killer (Asilus), a two-winged fly which seizes the bee 

 and sucks its fluid, spiders which sometimes entangle them in their nests, ants which 

 sometimes prove troublesome in the hive, the king-bird, woodpecker, 

 swallow, sparrow, rats, mice, lizards, toads, etc. But the worst enemy 

 to bees is the moth, two species of which (Galleria mellonella and Achroia 

 grisdla) find their way into the hive, where they deposit their eggs on 

 the comb in such vast numbers that the hive is soon filled with the 

 larvae, which spin their webs and destroy the comb to such an extent 

 that the bees are forced to leave the hive. The female moth is consid 

 erably larger than the male, and is in color a silver gray. As long BE ^ MOTH 

 as a colony of bees is strong and in good condition, it is safe from these worms, but if 

 weakened by overswarming, loss of queen, or in any other way, the moth is pretty sure to 

 make depredations on the hive, and fill it with larvae. There can really be no perfectly moth 

 proof hive, as the. moth finds entrance where the bees do, and in order to be perfectly moth 

 proof, a hive must exclude the bees also. A trap for the moths can be made of a mixture of 

 vinegar and water well sweetened and placed towards evening in white dishes among the 

 hives, in which many of the moths will be drowned. Worms may also be caught early in 

 the season, by laying pieces of shingles down upon the bottom board. The worms will 

 retreat under these for a sheltered place to spin their cocoons, and must be destroyed once or 

 twice a week. The moth is less troublesome in large apiaries than small, as the former have 

 better care and management, and the colonies are kept in a more vigorous and thrifty 

 condition. 



A good authority on this subject, Mr. Hutchin, of Farlinville, Kansas, recommends the 

 following method: &quot; The sprightly little wren, if encouraged to build its nest near the hives, 

 will destroy myriads of worms and insects. They are easily attracted, by putting up boxes 

 made three inches square, with an inch and a half hole for an entrance.&quot; 



The following method will frequently prove effectual in destroying the moth: Set a pan 

 of grease or oil in a tub of water; light it and set it in the apiary, and keep it burning all 

 night. The light attracts the miller, which flits around it and either perishes in the flame or 

 is drowned in the water. Various other means may be employed for the destruction of the 

 bee moth, and moth traps of various styles have been invented, but they are apt to be neg 

 lected, and, unless properly attended to, and emptied once or twice a week, they become 

 moth nurseries instead of traps, and aid in breeding this pest. 



Bees are subject to but few diseases, but these are sometimes very fatal. The dysentery 

 occasionally makes great havoc in a hive, and is generally caused by neglect of sanitary con 

 ditions, by close confinement, dampness, lack of ventilation, by their being forced into undue 

 excitement in cold weather, improper food, etc. This disease is indicated by the appearance 

 of the excrement within the hive, which the bees, when in a healthy state, are particularly 



