1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



485 



same as the one does that has her liberty, which 

 noise is termed " quahking;" and so it happens 

 that, during the harry and bustle of the second 

 swarming, one or two of these queens hastily 

 finishes biting the cover off the cell and gets out 

 with the swarm, in which case two or more are 

 found with the swarm, as in the case of our 

 querist, although it is a rare thing to see more 

 than two or three queens with a second swarm. 

 If a third swarm is to issue, the bees now clus- 

 ter about the remaining unhatched queen -cells 

 as before, keeping all queens prisoners except 

 one, which queen scolds or pipes away, as did 

 the one before, the others in the cells showing 

 their anger back again by a chorus of quahk- 

 ings immediately after the first ceases piping, 

 when, after the lapse of two days or such a mat- 

 ter, the third swarm issues. As there are fewer 

 bees at this issue than there were before, and 

 more mature queens held as prisoners, the queen- 

 cells are quite generally vacated by the guard- 

 bees; and queens, bees, and all rush out, and in 

 such cases I have counted as many as from 12 

 to 20 queens with one such swarm, though from 

 one to five is the usual number. In the above I 

 have tried to give a short insight into the mys- 

 teries of the swarming of bees, many points of 

 which do not seem to be fully understood, even 

 by those who have kept bees for ten years. 



WHICH WAY SHOULD HIVES FACE? 



Question. — Should a hive face north or south? 

 Would east or west be preferable to either? 



Answer. — Nearly all bee-keepers agree that a 

 hive should never face north of an east-and- 

 west line, the majority favoring a southerly di- 

 rection. The reason given for this is, that the 

 morning sun entices the bees out to work earli- 

 er in the day, while a northern exposure keeps 

 them in later, and in winter is almost sure to 

 result in the loss of the colony in northern lati- 

 tudes, from our rigorous north winds blowing 

 in at the entrance, and the confinement of the 

 bees, caused by the entrance being in the shade 

 on mild, sunshiny days, when the bees in hives 

 facing south fly freely. In southern latitudes it 

 might not make much difference which way 

 hives face : still. I have the impression that 

 even in Florida and Texas the most of the hives 

 are faced as above. 



SHADE FOR HIVES. 



Question. — Is it best to have a roof over the 

 hives proper, or have them under trees for the 

 puipose of shade? 



Answer. — Some of our best bee- keepers use a 

 shade- board made of lath or light lumber to 

 shade the hive during the hot summer months: 

 but if the locality is at all windy, a weight of 

 some kind must be used to keep the wind from 

 blowing tliem away. This weight is generally 

 a 15' GO 25 lb. stone, which adds very much to the 

 labors of the bee-keeper, as it must be lifted off 

 and on every time the hive is manipulated. 

 Shade-trees (not very dense) are always good, 

 not only for the bees, but they add much to the 



comfort of the bee-keeper; but it often so hap- 

 pens that not every desirable spot for locating 

 an apiary has such trees upon it. After having 

 tried all kinds of shade I now prefer to paint 

 the hives white and let them stand in the sun, 

 where there is no danger of the cover leaking. 

 White has a tendency to reflect the heat rather 

 than absorb it; hence any thing painted white 

 does not become nearly as hot as do the dark 

 colors, so the bees in white hives remain com- 

 fortable at times when those in dark hives are 

 driven out by the heat. 



DEATH OF MRS. 0. 0. POPPLETON. 



The following letter tells us the particulars 

 of inis sad event: 



Friend Root:— I Imve just received very sad news 

 fr«)m fiiend Poppleton. His dear wife Mattle died, 

 after a sliort illness of less than a week. He writes 

 me thut tliey old not have any idea the sickness 

 would be fatal until three hours before she passed 

 away. She was taken clown with a coruplication of 

 diseases, but the final cause of death was heart 

 failure. 



Mrs. Poppleton was a native of Indiana, having 

 been born in Maysville about 41 years ago. She 

 will no doubt be remembered by a number of bee- 

 keepers, having attended the bational convention 

 at Cincinnati in 1882, and Toronto in 188)^, besides 

 other State conventions. She was a well-posted and 

 enthusiastic bee keeper; and ever since her mar- 

 riage to friend Poppleton she has been his tirst as- 

 sistant in the practical care of the apiary. 



Mrs. Poppleton has been a consistent and promi- 

 nent cliurcli-member for thirty-one years, having- 

 joined the Methodist Church when ten years old. 

 Cheerful, kind-htarted, and a lady in every sense of 

 the word, to know her was to value her highly; 

 and in her death, the community in which she lived 

 sustains a heavy loss. While the few who were 

 privileged to class themselves among her intimate 

 friends will feel their loss deeply, I know how much 

 friend Poppleton needs their sympathy in his great 

 bereavement. H. W. Mitchell. 



Hawks Park, Fla., June 4. 



[Our readers will recollect that Constance and 

 myself spent several days at the home of friend 

 Poppleton. Very soon after my arrival I was 

 deeply impressed with the bright Christian 

 faith and hope that continually shone forth 

 from every look, word, and action of our de- 

 parted sister. The Bible was her constant com- 

 panion and friend; and when writing some of 

 my notes for Gleanings, if 1 wanted a scrip- 

 ture text she gave it with remarkable readi- 

 ness, showing herself almost a living commen- 

 tary on the sacred pages. It was especially at 

 that Sunday-school 1 have told you about that 

 I was impressed with the thought that Mrs. P. 

 was a spiritual guide and sheet-anchor in that 

 little community. Our friend Harry Mitchell 

 has got it right, where he says the little flock 

 there has sustained a heavy loss. I often think 

 of that little new Congregational church, and 

 of the little flock that gathers there each Sab- 

 bath. 1 believe they have preaching service 

 only every other week, and this throws an ad- 

 ditional responsibility on the little Sunday- 

 school that is kept up on the Sundays when 

 there is no preaching. May the great Father 

 above sustain and cheer up our afflicted broth- 

 er in his great bereavement. The dear wife 

 was to a most remarkable extent his compan- 

 ion and helpmeet — not only in joy and sorrow, 

 but through all his daily tasks. She went with 

 him on his pleasure-trips, helped to manage 

 the boat, and seemed to be in reality a part of 

 his very self. May God give him grace to feel 

 that she is his friend and companion still, even 

 though she has stepped on, for the time being, 

 a little before him.— A. I. R.J 



