GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June. 



P. G, objects that we have not given the rea- 

 sons for advising that the nuclei be given fresh 

 eggs every three days. They are fourfold: 

 First, that their population may be kept up; 

 secondly, that all hands may be kept employ- 

 ed ; thirdly, to keep the bees at home when the 

 young Queen goes out, and lastly and most 

 important of all, that there be no possibility 

 of cells or Queens being reared from any other 

 than choice brood, even should some accident 

 happen to the Queen. 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING, 



consists simply in giving these nuclei, as soon 

 as they have laying Queens, combs of brood, 

 from strong colonies, until they are good colo- 

 nies of themselves. See page 72, last para- 

 graph. 



ALL ABOUT SMOKERS. 



[AL L WE KNO W ABO UT 'EM.] 



MiR NOVICE & Co.— Please give us the easiest and 

 best method of smoking bees. This may appear 

 i to some of your readers a very simple request- 

 that any one knows how to smoke bees— well I must 

 confess 1 for one, do not. I have been using a short 

 iron tube with a plug of wood at each en<% the plug at 

 the firing end removable. I get a full share through 

 this end into my eves and nose. I saw Mr. E. Kretcn- 

 mer's advertisement, A "JBee Pipe" to direct the smoke 

 where needed, eyes and nose perfectly safe, price 40c. 

 I ordered one forthwith— ree'd it, loaded up— the soft 

 solder melted down, my new -Me. tin smoker tumbled 

 down— burnt my lingers— eves and nose received full 

 charge. Mr. Quinby's blacksmith forge arrangement 

 is too big and unwieldy— I apply to you for relief- 

 please help, "Numi-o." 

 Our first smoker was tobacco, rolled up in a 

 rag, and we blew the vile stuff in their poor 

 little faces and eyes under all circumstances 

 and' conditions, aiid at all times, whether they 

 were cross or not, and many times when they 

 stood in the door of their own domicile with- 

 out any feeling of ill will, or evil designs 

 toward any one on the face of the earth. But 

 smoking them was a part of the programme, 

 and smoked they must be, so we thought ; and 

 we really pity them now, when we look back 

 and think of it. After a while we got out of 

 tobacco and tried the rags alone and they did 

 very well ; pretty soon Mrs. N. got out of rags 

 — we burned such an awful sight of 'em — and 

 'twas such a bother to be fussing so much, roll- 

 ing them up etc., before we < ould do anything, 

 that we felt grateful to Dr. C. C. Miller, now of 

 Chicago, when he paid us a visit and demon- 

 strated that rotten wood was not only as good, 

 but even better. After that, we had our chunk 

 of rotten wood, and went on our way rejoicing 

 until we burned up a hive of fine Italians, by 

 sparks blowing in the sawdust. Then we read 

 over the A. B^J. and made a tin • with 

 wire-cloth and a knob to blow through, this 

 worked beautifully to be sure, but who could 

 watch a smoker to see that 11 lidn'1 "go out" 

 when intent on the interi d : ive? 



Well, it had to be tinkered so much to be 

 kept "going" that Ave get out of all pati 

 at being obliged to fuss so long just to open a 

 bee hive, and so we threw it away — no, v 

 it "in the loft" and by the way if that lofl 

 getting to be an "old curiosity shop" Ave don't 

 know. 



Now 'twas Gallup ninl wh : ' 

 of chi; . - i 



could be set oj - Id 1 



half a day ; an 



at all, why, all the better, but 'tAvould always 

 be ready if you did want it. We never like 

 great clumsy implements so we got a nice lit- 

 tle tin basin, and it worked beautifully till 

 the pesky thing got hot and burnt our fingers, 

 Avhen we picked it up excitedly. If A\-e remem- 

 ber rightly we set it down again, and made 

 some remarks ; can't say now Avhat the re- 

 marks Avere but think they AVere not concerning 

 the Aveather. 



Shortly after, we saw Mrs. N. using a very 

 pretty, small, enameled sauce pan, in her culi- 

 nary operations, and we innocently asked if 

 the handle never got hot ? 



"Certainly not. See how thin and light it is." 



As she persistently declined listening to any 

 proposal to trade it for our tin basin, Ave bought 

 a "bran nevv one" for 40c, at the "tin shop," 

 put in some coals of fire, some rotten wood, 

 and from that day to this, Ave haA-e had no 

 trouble. Fire will keep in it an hour or two, 

 any thing Avill burn in it that is dry. For a 

 brisk smoke in a hurry, Ave sprinkle on a little 

 saw-dust because 'tis always handy, and if 

 placed at the windward side of an open hive, 

 the cloud of smoke that arises is all that is 

 many times needed, and it requires almost no 

 attention. We should add before concluding, 

 that we have a square tin bos — bought at the 

 druggists for a "few cents, (they get them Avith 

 Castor oil in, or something) large enough to 

 set our sauce pan in, out of the rain, and also 

 to contain the fuel, that Ave scatter around, 

 when we icish it to gO out. The opening being 

 on the east end, our fuel is always dry, and 

 when scraped into the sauce pan with a few 

 live coals from the kitchen stove, it is all in 

 running order, and the faster Ave travel about 

 with it the moi^e it smokes. 



We can't imagine how "cog wheels" or "bel- 

 lows" would add to its efficiency, and when we 

 take into consideration that 'tis very often 

 alloAved to smoke away for hours without 

 being required at all, it seems to us that its 

 greatest merit is its simplicity. Occasionally 

 a stubborn, colony Avill need considerable smoke, 

 but the practice of "smoking" them until Queen, 

 Avorkers and all, tumble "pell-mell" on the 

 bottom-board, when they haven't even "said a 

 word," it seems to us is barbarous, and he Avho 

 does it should have the "machine" pointed at 

 his oavu eyes until he sees how it is. Now 

 don't undertake to use utensils. made Avith sol- 

 der, for they will just prove a bother. 



At least tAvo persons, Avhose eyes Avill meet 

 these pages, have tried old brittannia teapots, 

 and when the block tin melted aud caved in, 

 they concluded they Avouldn't do "first rate." 



P. S. — "P. G." remarks Ave have only consid- 

 ered one side of the question. The other side 

 is, that occasionally our "pet smoker" gets go- 

 ing at a rate that sometimes makes one think 

 they had almost as lief be stung to death, as 

 smoked to death ; to which we reply, 'tis a 

 matter easily remedied ; take out some of the 

 fuel and make it "go slower." 



A subscriber from Middlebury, Vt., writes; 



Wormwood was livst used bj u- in subduing bees in 



the summer of 1872. We wei overpowered 



\ great variet; of articles 



when 

 my son lofl proposed to trj worm- 



wood; and v. e > < 



1 would nl it. 



A. C. Hooker. 



