1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



131 



and fall should be chosen if you wish 

 to get the honey and are not so partic- 

 ular about the bees. Choose a location, 

 of course, at considerable distance 

 from any apiary and near woods where 

 bee-trees are most probable. 



GETTING THE FIRST START. 



If possible, a bee is caught who is 

 seeking early pollen or getting a load 

 of water at some watering hole. The 

 glass lid is placed over her; she flies 

 up against it, the box is put together 

 and she is a captive. Many old bee- 

 hunters if unable to find bees otherwise 

 will decoy them by burning honey and 

 old comb to attract them. 



After the bee is caught, the box is 

 made dark to induce her to take of the 

 feed, and while she is feeding the cover 

 is carefully removed so as not to 

 frighten her. 



GETTING THE LINE. 



As soon as she is filled, the bee will 

 take flight, going first in circles very 

 similar to those of a young bee except 

 that they are elliptical with a gradual 

 trend in the direction of her home. 



At the first flight, the direction may 

 be hard to get, but the bee will not be 

 long in returning with re-inforcements 

 and a line will soon be established so 

 that the direction will easily be rec- 

 ognized. 



HOW FAR YOUR TREE IS. 



Mark one of your bees with flour, 

 crayon or paint on .ibdomen just before 

 she leaves the ba't for home. If she is 

 gone seven or eieht minutes, the tree 

 is a mile away. Each additional mile 

 will take from fiv • to six minutes. 



CHANGING LOCATION. 



When the line of bees has been well 

 established and the approximate dis- 

 tance ascertained, it is an easy matter 

 for the bee-hunter to move in the direc- 

 tion of the tree, leaving a little of his 

 bait at the original location to keep the 

 line constant. Always keep on the 

 winward side of the direct line when 

 moving towards the tree, then in case 

 you lose the line more bees can easily 

 be attracted to the bait. If the line is 

 well established and is kept going by 



frequent stops to bait more bees, it will 

 in most instances be easy to locate the 

 tree. 



The bee-hunter, new at the game, 

 will many times, however, move too 

 far at a time and may go past the tree. 

 This can readily be told by the lessen- 

 ing of the number of bees working on 

 his bait box, and also by the fact that 



the few he does get will go in the oppo- 

 site direction. 



Sometimes it is found expedient to 

 "cross line"; that is, to establish an- 

 other line to the same tree, starting 

 with a few bees carried away in the 

 box to another location. In most in- 

 stances, however, this need not be re- 

 sorted to. 



Bee-Keepinc ^ For Women 



Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson. Marengo. 111. 



Putting Full Sheets in Frames 



What is the best way, to put in full 

 sheets of foundation to prevent them 

 being torn down when a swarm is hived 

 upon them ? 



Would you recommend painting 

 them with wax ? 



I have had so much trouble this way 

 that I rarely use full sheets, but hive 

 swarms on starters and get too much 

 drone-comb. Hannah R. Sewall. 



Forest Glen, Md. 



It would be easier to advise if partic- 

 ulars had been given as to the way the 

 foundation had been fastened, and then 

 just what trouble occurred. In the 

 first place, foundation should never be 

 given to a swarm without being well 

 fastened in the frame. If fastened to 

 the top-bar by means of saw-kerf and 

 wedge, the wedge should not be lightly 

 pushed in, but crowded in tightly its 

 full depth. If rather light foundation 

 be used, it may pull out even with the 

 wedge in full depth. In that case the 

 edge of the foundation that is pushed 

 into the kerf may be doubled, or a thin 

 strip of wood such as a piece of wooden 

 separator may be crowded in beside 

 the foundation. Instead of the kerf- 

 and-wedge plan, the foundation may be 

 fastened to the top-bar by means of 

 melted wax (or rosin and wax, half and 



half), and some use the wax in addi- 

 tion to the wedge. 



No matter how firmly fastened to the 

 top-bar, no foundation will withstand 

 a swarm without being supported by 

 wires or foundation-splints, and these 

 should be well imbedded into the foun- 

 dation. If they be pressed in when too 

 cold, the bees may try to gnaw them 

 out. The work should be done in a 

 warm room or on a warm day. Elec- 

 tricity is perhaps the best thing to heat 

 the wire when embedding it, but you 

 can get along without it. Having your 

 frame wired and the foundation well 

 fastened to the top-bar, turn the frame 

 flat, wires down, and hold it over the 

 burner of a gas or oil-stove. While 

 holding the frame with one hand, press 

 down with a finger of the other hand 

 upon the foundation directly over the 

 heat, moving the frame slowly the 

 length of the wire, and letting the finger 

 slide along on the foundation. The 

 wire heats quickly, and melts its way 

 in while the rest of the foundation is 

 still cool. A little practice will teach 

 you how slowly to move. 



If all this is well done, there should 

 be no trouble about foundation falling 

 down. Still, in the middle of a swarm 

 is a hot place where the foundation 

 may break down, and you will do well 

 to have the hive well ventilated for a 

 few days, with the cover raised half an 

 inch or more. 



If you care to take the trouble, you 

 can have the foundation fastened into 

 the frame in advance. Give a frame of 

 foundation to a colony, either in the 

 brood-chamber or in the extracting 

 super, at a time when honey is coming 

 in well, and the bees will fasten the 

 foundation so there will be no danger 

 that a swarm will break it down. It 

 may take a day, or it may take three 

 days. Here is one way to have a full 

 set fastened. Go to a strong colony, 

 and put half the brood combs into an 

 upper story. Have the brood-combs 

 of the two stories alternated with 

 frames of foundation, and in two days, 

 more or less, the foundation will be 

 well fastened and may be taken away. 

 Of course, this cannot be done in a 

 cool time, lest the brood be chilled. 



Some succeed well by painting with 

 wax the upper part of sheet. 



A WILD BEE CAVE ON DANCER MOUNTAIN AT LLANO. TEX. 



May Disease 



Last spring I sent to New York for a 

 colony of bees, and they arrived on 

 April 17, in what I thought was good 

 condition. In May I was compelled to 



