98 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sep*x. 



OUR OWN APIARY. 



JO- day, July 30th, after getting our Aug- 

 ust number all safely in the Post Office — 

 we always feel as if we had got the washing 

 done and ironing too for that matter (as the 

 women say) when they are all printed, ad- 

 dressed, wrapped, and tied in their respective 

 bundles — well, after this was all done, as we 

 were saying, we repaired to the Apiary which 

 had been for about three days pretty nearly 

 running itself. Now before telling you of the 

 wonderful sight that met our "optics," we 

 shall have to remark that our friend Dean had 

 just one week ago to-day, brought, us a box of 

 bees, to be exchanged for brood from our im- 

 ported Queen. Well, we took out three combs, 

 and cut the eggs out of the centre of each — D. 

 only uses eggs for all his Queen-rearing — and 

 then just forluu we put these three combs into 

 an empty hive, and after filling it out with 

 seven more containing stores only, we poured 

 the bees he had brought, in front of the hive, 

 and straitway had a fine colony, for he in his 

 generosity had brought about a peck. These 

 bees he had obtained from ditt'erent hives and 

 as he had hastily shaken them from the combs, 

 of course they comprised all ages. Now the 

 big wonder we have been so long trying to tell 

 was, that we counted on these three combs, 

 Queen cells to the number of — to be exact, 

 Novice found fifty eight, but P. G. only made it 

 forty nine, but 'twas nearly night, and she says 

 she skipped some that weren't good ones, "as 

 if she could tell by the looks of the outside," 

 Novice says. Well as part of them are very- 

 close together we shall get out our "conserva- 

 tory hatching machine" and then we'll tell all 

 about how many good ones there were. 



Aug. 3rd — Yesterday was Sunday. That is 

 one fact ; another is that it was the tenth day 

 since our mammoth lot of Queen cells were 

 started. In anticipation that something might 

 happen to make Sunday work necessary to 

 save them, about a dozen hives were located 

 and furnished with combs late Saturday even'g. 

 About half past five on Sunday morning, Nov- 

 ice arose put on a clean pair of linen pants etc., 

 washed his face and proceeded to wipe it and 

 comb his hair as usual while he sauntered 

 about among the hives and grape vines. After 

 finding all on duty apparently as they should 

 be, he proceeded to enjoy the tranquility of the 

 early Sabbath morning by reading his favorite 

 papers seated in the camp chair beneath one 

 of the Lombard plum trees. It may not have 

 been purely accidental, his having chosen a 

 seat nearly in front of the hive containing the 

 Queen cells; these he proposed examining a 

 little later in the day, but intended to keep 

 them until Monday if practicable. As he sat 

 reading, his eyes wandered occasionally toward 

 the entrance and finally to get a fair view of 

 every thing brought out by the bees, he got the 

 broom and commenced sweeping away the im- 

 mature plums and leaves that had dropped 

 about the hive. Suddenly he stops and ejacu- 

 lates, "As sure as you're alive that is a dead 

 Queen, and here's another." Away went the 

 papers; one of the Queens that seemed alive 

 was placed in the sun in a cage, ami then the 

 iii\" was examined. A tine Queen was para- 

 ding the combs and perhaps a dozen cell wi re 



torn open, or had the lids hanging. Four 

 Queens were found "loose," two of which were 

 fighting; like friend Grimm of old, he tumbled 

 these a yard apart in the grass, and the othei 

 two were put on separate combs, which were 

 carried to new hives, bees, brood and all. Our 

 bee house stove was wheeled out, the tin Sim- 

 plicity hive with hollow walls, mentioned a 

 year ago, was placed upon it and the lamp 

 lighted. In this the two combs containing the 

 cells were placed, after shaking off the bees, 

 and four more nice Queens were found scat- 

 tered about, after all was done. In fact Nov- 

 ice soon began to examine every bee found 

 crawling on the ground, thinking it might be 

 a Queen. Five more Queens were hatched 

 during the day, and as fast as they hatched 

 they were given to nuclei hastily extemporized 

 by placing three combs of hatching brood, bees 

 and all, in one of the new hives, or given to 

 Queenless colonies. Toward evening to dis- 

 pose of the last one a black Queen was killed 

 from one of our natural swarms, and the 

 young Queen placed almost the same instant 

 on the same comb she had occupied. To-day 

 we find her all right and no Queen cells star- 

 ted. Is not that a simple way of introducing ? 

 The whole operation scarcely taking three 

 minutes. With the Simplicity hives we fre- 

 quently open the hive and find the Queen in 

 one minute. 



To- day about a half dozen more have hatch- 

 ed, and we have increased our number of stocks 

 to 54. 



Aug 4th — Sixteen more fine strong active 

 Queens have hatched, and we have 61 colonies, 

 and more Queens that we know not -what to 

 do with. We could very easily turn them into 

 dollars if they were fertile, but the problem is 

 to get bees to care for them until this be ac- 

 complished; we have already gone further than 

 we intended increasing, and begin to fear we 

 may not be equal to the task of making all 

 strong for winter. We find ourselves often, 

 wondering if it be really possible that Queens 

 just hatched can really be put safely in any 

 colony of bees, without any bother of caging. 



Our experience has been for the last three 

 days, the same as last year, that Queens- 

 hatched witfunit bees, can be placed in any 

 Queenless hive, under any circumstances with 

 impunity. As they have seen no other bees, 

 they at once hasten to those presented them 

 with perfect confidence, and this confidence is 

 seldom a mistaken one for the bees receive 

 them with a manner that seems to imply. 

 "Well, she must have been hatched in our hive, 

 for how else could she get here in that shape ?" 



Aug. 1th — As our colonies now number sixty 

 eight, we think it is about time to stop, and 

 direct what skill we are possessed of to 'keeping 

 what we have. For the past two days our 

 plan of making colonies has been something as 

 follows : As soon as a Queen is hatched in our 

 nursery we proceed to any full colony, and 

 lift out the comb containing the Queen; then 

 with thumb and three fingers of each hand, we 

 lift out at once three combs, brood, bees and 

 all, and carry them gently to a new hive Af- 

 ter dropping the newly hatched Queen on top 

 of these frames among the bees the swarm is 

 made, and we have only to put empty combs 

 in both hives until they are ton again. 



