1875 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



67 



any back breaking, or luprglnR combs or top stories 

 iibout ill llie imut, wliicli we always have In Afeiiina 

 Co., both in I'all and spring. 



That one exception where tlie old boes do not die, is 

 the colony that was lound Queenless and willioiit 

 l>rood, see 'page O'i. Mr. VVui-eter's statement, on page 

 li, tliat it is our brood rearing tliat uses up the bees, 

 Ss corroborated. This colony has not hatched a young 

 Ijce lliis spring, and yet they are about as prosperous 

 as wlien set out in March. We I'orgot to mention tliat 

 they have taken to tiie meal again with avidity, and 

 It seems to us, that tliis substitute at such limes, must 

 l!€ of very great value. All the pollen in the hives is 

 exhausted, and tiie niajjle blossoms are frozen up in 

 lull bloom. It is amusing to see bees thatare so young 

 as to be all downy, gatliering meal ; poor little Inno- 

 •cents there is no one else to do it, and even if their 

 Joads are tiny, they seem to feel in full their responsi- 

 bility. "What can we do to Jielp tliese weak colo- 

 ailes ?" our i>ostals enciuii'e. A knotty riuestion ; we 

 can give tiiem lialching brood from tlie stronger 

 stocks it is true, but many times it does them as nuicli 

 liarm as it W'Ould to take a small swarm from tliem a 

 luontli later. Taking them in-doors may do, but in a 

 large Apiary tliis is no light task. Blanketing them, 

 unless the covering is removed as soon as tlie air gets 

 warm, does more liarm than good, for it often keeps 

 tliem cold, as it would a block of ice, because they have 

 no internal heat of their own, or but little. Had we 

 not better reduce our stocks in the fall until we have 

 only extra heavy ones, with abundance of pollen etc? 

 A dozen sucli colonies in the spring we verily believe, 

 would be of more profit than 50 oruinary ones. 



P. S. — We are going to let our Standard swarm, just 

 to try our Automatic swarmer. l^erhaps we can get a 

 Photo of the whole aflair for tlie Medlei". 



». 



A. JONES' AUTOMATIC SWAKOT 

 CATCHER AN1> HIVEK. 



^ ET A, represent a pole arranged to swing 

 ■£M| easily in the top of the post, something 

 like an old fashioned well sweep. C, is a box 

 to contain stones enough to keep the end D, 

 up, unless about one lb. in weight be applied 

 to it. E, is a hive so located that the pole D, 

 will strike it gently on the top, when it de- 

 scends with the weight of the swarm that has 

 clustered on the end at D. The dotted line F, 

 represents the ground, and G, is a block or 

 platform that C rests on, to prevent its getting 

 stuck in the ground or entangled by grass or 

 weeds. In front of the hive E, is a platform 

 nicely ari-anged for the bees to run into the 

 hive. At B, is a bell or pistol that will be rung 

 or discharged by the string H, on descent of 

 D, to tell the owner that his swarm is safely 

 in the hive, and ready to be cared for. 



G p 



To test the working of the machine, we have 

 had one put up in our Apiary. We used for 

 the pole A, a strip of pine board 3 inches by 20 

 feet long, stiffened by an inch strip I, bent over 

 blocks as shown in the cut ; this makes it light 

 and not liable to be much influenced by the 

 wind. The post B, is of oak 3x4, and the hinge 

 :'.t the top is made by driving a yi inch iron 

 rod through the strip A, which is allowed to 

 turn in iron plates, screwed to each side of the 

 lop of the ix>st. This gives us all metal for 



the working parts, so that they cainiot swell 

 and get tight, even with years of exposure. 



The main i)oint, is to get the first swarm of 

 the season to alight at D; to secure this, we 

 would advise tying on a bundle of mullein 

 heads, dipped in ink, so as \o resemble bees. 

 Mr. Jones suggests that some bushes be tied 

 above etc. Experiment will doubtless suggest 

 the best material. "We give below a part of 

 Mr. Jones' letter. 



A. J, KOOT & CO :— Dear friend, I wish to asdst Mr. 

 Langstroth, and I have an invention that I tliink it 

 my duty to give him tlie benelit of. I call it a swarm 

 catcher and hiver. It Pitches the swarm that issues 

 and hives them .' It then rings a bell or fires oil" a gun 

 or pistol to let you know the work is done, and you 

 can go and set the swarm where you want it, and put 

 another hive in i)lace of it ready for the next. 



I have tested it for three years, and it works like a 

 charm. I have kept it quiet and intend to use it onlv 

 tor the benefit of Mr. Langstroth in the United States 

 il trees are thick, more than one should be used ; one 

 for about every ten stocks. I put it in the most con- 

 spicuous place, the bees light on it, and after a suffic- 

 ient number alight, their weight brings down the 

 machine in front of the hive, and a stop striking the 

 pole jars ofl" the bees and they run into the hive. 

 Sometimes it does not jar them off well, but it alwavs 

 tires otl the gun or pistol (Wouldn't the boys be doing 

 this for the fun of it? better perhaus to have no ex- 

 plosion— L. L,. L.) to let you know they want attention. 



It is indispensable where there are no trees or bush- 

 es, but if there are bees in the yard next to you, you 

 would be liable to get their swarms. I hope in such 

 cases justice will be done. 



They can be made for a trifle, and if properly made 

 will save many a swarm. It is so managed that the 

 end ot the thing the bees light on just comes down to 



the entrance of the hive I believe that we could 



do a large amount of good to Mr. Langstroth by it, 

 it you wish to patent ic in the United States you can, 

 1 don't want any thing for it. I have no object in 

 view but to do good. The money sent for Mr. Lang- 

 stroth, should pass through your hands. 



Truly yours, D. A. JoNES. 



Tecumseth, Ontario, Canada. April 10th, '76. 



Mr. L. replies as follows: 



My experience in inducing swanns to cluster upon 

 some fixed place most convenient for hiving them, 

 makes me think favorably of Mr. Jones' invention. 

 Being unpatented and easily and cheaply made, its 

 practical workings can be quickly tested. Next month 

 I may show the best methods of using it. 



It would be a work of supererrogalion indeed, to 

 say anything of the generous spirit of Mr. Jones' oiler. 

 1 cannot however, think ot patenting his Hiver. To 

 patent inventions however novel and valuable, which 

 can be so easily made is usually vanitv and vexation 

 oj spirit! a strong temptatation to manv to violate the 

 legal riglits of patentees. Let no one send money to 

 Glkamngs for L. L. L., until he is well satisfied that 

 he can make the plan work in liis own Apiary. Mr. 

 Jones has succeeded, and if his very ingenious device 

 proves successful in the hands of careful Apiarians, 

 then another gi eat advance has been made in practic- 

 al bee-culuire. L. L. Langstkoth. 



April 2l8t, 1875. 



Mr. Langstroth, for reasons which he hopes 

 to give more in detail, will not secure a patent 

 on the Automatic Hiver, and we take pleasure 

 in presenting it to the public, trusting that 

 those who And it valuable, will in accordance 

 with Mr. Jones' wishes, express their gratitude, 

 and hand in their dollars to Mr. L. through 

 the medium of Gleanings. We consider the 

 idea worth to us $10.00 at least, and have 

 handed that amount to Mr. L., by Mr. Jones' 

 request. If Adair were yet among us, he might 

 now advocate strongly letting Queens have all 

 of their wings. Three cheers for the revival of 

 the old fashioned swarming time ! happy are 

 the memories of our childhood days that clus- 

 ter about it. 



As American postage stamps are of no use 

 in Canada, Mr. Jones requests that all queries, 

 in regard to the invention, ))c made through 

 Gleanings. 



