204 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



it, and the few will turn back only to return 

 the more persistent in the fight. At such a 

 time the smoke should be hot and dense 

 enough to send them spinning to the ground 

 or they will follow, as mad bees will, for 

 hours. Cold blasts or small Bingham s are 

 of little use in such emergencies. To clip 

 queens in May when the apiary is quiet and 

 the colonies not so strong and a little honey 

 coming in, not more than one colony in ten 

 needs to be smoked. Clouds, accidents, 

 early and late handling also modify cases. 

 A board cover cannot well be removed with- 

 out some jarring. 



In handling bees all day I find use for the 

 greatest as well as the least amount of 

 smoke. If there are a dozen angry bees 

 following me about I want a smoker that 

 will send a blaze out the nuzzle to clip their 

 wings for them. It is better than boards or 

 shingles which it takes time to hunt up and 

 the smashing of the bees leaves a scent 

 which angers other bees. The next moment 

 a very gentle colony may need to be 

 examined. 



A person who would direct such a volume 

 of smoke as would follow this blaze of fire 

 upon a gentle colony ought to be fined for 

 cruelty to animals. In such a case the 

 smoke should be blown by the side of the 

 hive and the wind be allowed to waft it over 

 the top of the frames, or if there is no wind 

 the smoker must be held far enough away so 

 that the smoke is diuted with the air before 

 reaching the bees, and as the bees begin to 

 retire between the top bars, we may set the 

 smoker down and begin taking out the 

 frames. By the time one or two frames 

 have been examined the bees will begin to 

 crawl up over the top bars again, and some 

 may be seen to flit their wings sharply and a 

 bee now and then will jump quickly at 

 another. These movements are warnings 

 for the manipulator to look a little out and 

 the smoker should be brought up with the 

 right hand and without moving any other 

 part of the body, and another whiff wafted 

 over the frames when the bees will settle 

 back as at first. Just a little smoke on very 

 slight occasions is the best use of it. When 

 one or two bees on the top of the frames be- 

 gin to get frisky and can't stand still ; a 

 quarter of a puff of dense smoke with the 

 nozzle held close by sobers them, when, if 

 they are not looked to, in a few moments 

 they would put the whole top of the hive in 

 commotion, as other kindly disposed bees 



catch the idea readily. If a comb is set out 

 of the hive the bees on it will seldom fight 

 unless aggravated by quick angular motions, 

 which are decidedly improper in the bee 

 yard, unless it be after dark. 



All motions should be smooth, easy and 

 not swift, but to work swiftly every move 

 should be made to count. 



The gait to acquire when working with 

 bees comes by practice and it saves smoke 

 as well as temper of both bees and keeper. 



Practice also makes one expert in taking 

 out frames, setting them down and doing - 

 other work with the least jars, all of which 

 saves reaching for the smoker if not a fight. 

 Some bee handlers open hives quickly, jerk 

 the frames out spitefully, and to make up 

 for their rashness send smoke in awfully 

 that drives the bees down in utter confusion, 

 often out at the entrance and they go flock- 

 ing around the corner of the hive or under 

 the alighting board. 



This is a shocking procedure ; it stops the 

 progress of work inside the hive ; destroys 

 the courage and interest the bees have for 

 their home, wastes honey consumed and 

 honey that might be gathered from the 

 flowers ; it also makes angry bees which at- 

 tack anything that comes near and often at 

 a distance for days afterward ; and bee 

 keepers who do not pay attention to the 

 gentleness of their bees out of respect for 

 their neighbors ought to be refused admit- 

 tance to the Bee-Keepers' Union : because it 

 is no more reasonable to provoke bees to 

 anger and let the neighbors look out for 

 themselves than for a farmer to turn a mad 

 bull loose into the highway. 



When I began to open hives I thought the 

 bees should all be smoked away from the 

 entrance before taking the cover ofi'. This 

 was a mistake because if the hive is not 

 jarred none of the entrance bees will bother; 

 nor should the bees on the top of the frames 

 be driven far down in the combs ; only the 

 threatening bees at guarded points need 

 smoking and the colonies may be handled 

 just as rapidly and the stream of flying bees 

 to and from the entrance need not be inter- 

 fered with. Beside the cruelty to the bees, 

 there may be loss financially, for example, 

 suppose the colonies are smoked as they are 

 examined until all the bees are sutidued and 

 retreat , this stops the working of the colony 

 at least an hour. Now if the bee handler 

 goes over a colony in every fifteen minutes 

 he will keep four colonies standing idle all 



