1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



163 



CONDITIONS FSSENTIAL TO SUCCESS* 

 FIL IIMTROBI ( TIOM OF STKANUE 



(tUEKNS. 



fVHE rule is, "Cape the queen for about 48 hours, 

 then carefully look over the combs and cut out 



— ' all queen cell-? which may have been started; 

 release the queen from her cage, and all will bo well." 

 I have had success in this way, and I have also had 

 failures. To release a queen immediately after 

 removing the queen cells, even though the bees 

 have nursed her for 48 hours, I have found to be 

 attended with miith danger to the queen, because 

 the bees have not had time to become aware of the 

 loss of their cells, which they now cherish with 

 about the same zeal as they did their queen which 

 was removed. In this stage of the proceedings, 

 what must one do? Why, close up the hive for a 

 couple of hours, when the bees will become quiet 

 and miss their cells, which will again put them in 

 an emergency essential to their receiving a strange 

 queen. Then quietly release the prisoner, and, if 

 other conditions are favorable she will invariably 

 he received with favor. 



The great secret of successful introducing is, first 

 to temper the disposition of bees so they will be in a 

 proper mood, and the introducing of a queen will be 

 attended with little risk, and, to myself, is one of 

 the most pleasing sights to behold. My feelings 

 have been many times so animated as to cause my 

 eyes to moisten with dt light on beholding the little 

 fellows standing almost on their heads at first dis- 

 covering the approach of her majestj', and noticing 

 the gentle vibrations of their tiny wings, the con- 

 tagious increase of the same, until the whole interi- 

 or is resonant with that gentle hum recognized only 

 by those who are masters in the work. Why, friend 

 Root, say to your ABC class, when the above condi- 

 tions are complied with, release your queen, close 

 up the hive, and fear no danger. 



G. J. Flansburoh. 



Bethlehem Center, Albany Co., N. Y., Feb. 16, 18S0. 



Very good, friend F., but I shall be obliged 

 to say that the above conditions are not al- 

 ways to be relied on. We sometimes find 

 colonies that will not accept a queen after 

 all cells are removed, after waiting, after ta- 

 king away all brood and combs too, and even 

 after taking the hive away as well. There 

 is ho sure way, that will answer for all cases, 

 and for all colonies. 



CONCERNING MOISE-TKAPS. 



lr%EYOND all controversy, the apiarian and the 

 JJQejj) mouse are enemies the one to the other. The 



little "varmint" carries rolled up in his skin 



about as much mischief to the ounce as can be found 

 on the globe. H« gets into our hives and disgusts 

 the bees. He tunnels into our chaff cushions. He 

 gnaws our extra combs into crumbs to get the bee- 

 bread they contain. A box of unfilled sections he 

 speedily transforms into a grand hotel, crowded 

 with guests. The dainty little gingerbread-work the 

 apiarian so much delights in, — he thinks no more of 

 chewing it a'l up than a school girl does of chewing 

 gum. Yet all these counts of the indictment against 

 him are trifling compared with his one great vil- 

 lainy—everything he comes near is defiled forever 

 with his sickening, ineradicable smell. Who can 

 number the precious colonies of bees, newly hived, 

 that hare " asked not to stay " simply because of the 



unendurable mouse stench of their frames and 

 walls? Who can tell how many stands refused to 

 work in their sections simply because some of the 

 sections had been wet down by mice? 



Well, it came about not very long ago, that fresh 

 outrages of these little pests sent the writer excit- 

 edly in quest of his mouse trap, and behold, it was 

 lent! Seizing the saucer of a flower pot, and a little 

 tin dish, and a bit of string, and some squash seeds, 

 he then and there extemporized a remarkable trap. 

 So remarkable was it that he was moved to embody 

 its principles in some regularly constructed traps, 

 and then to write and tell the boys about it, that 

 they might make some for themselves and — enjoy 

 peace. The weak point of our defenses, hitherto, 

 has been that we don't think to set the trap until 

 the mischief has been done. Traps won't stay set, 

 or, if they do, they stay for "keeps," and become 

 worthless. The new idea is to have a trap that will 

 stay set and baited, and ready to grab, for a year if 

 desired. Let the apiarian, some time during the 

 winter's leisure, make a half-dozen of them. One 

 should be set in each depository. of our treasures, 

 waiting to catch the first wandering Queen Dido of 

 a mouse that comes to found a colony, and set up in 

 business as the mother of mischief. 



The readiness of mice to nibble off string gives us 

 the means of putting the idea into practical effect. 

 Bait which is near enough to being imperishable, we 

 have in squash seeds and nuts. Just set a diminu- 

 tive box trap on a horizontal string, in such a way 

 that when the string is bitten off the whole establish- 

 ment is down over Mr. Mouse's ears, as quick as a 

 flash. String the bait on the string with a darning 

 needle. I have once had seeds taken off without the 

 string's being bitten. A small nut, with the opposite 

 edges rasped off just enough to expose the meat and 

 admit of the needle's being run through, makes a 

 sure thing of It. A nut should be put on whenever 

 a trap is to be left for a long time "on picket duty." 

 A little loose bait sprinkled about helps. To reduce 

 fuss to the minimum, make a lot of strings of bait 

 at once, and have them on hand. 



A trap of this sort should be put in every organ 

 that is to be left in mouse-infested rooms. Had our 

 Sunday-school organ been thus defended, we should 

 have been saved a heavy bill for repairs, and much 

 vexation. 



An apiarian is supposed to have broad frame stuff 

 and tin and wire nails; so my arrangement of the 

 "Perpetual Trap" is made of these. In brief, it is 

 an outer tray with bottom but no top, an inner tray 

 with top but no bottom, and a little box of gravel 

 fastened to the top of the inner tray to give the de- 

 sired weight. The outer tray, although not abso- 

 lutely essential, serves three good purposes. By 

 waxing, it is made tight enough so that the little 

 culprit can be drowned, when caupht, by simply 

 pouring in a little water. It also keeps the mouso 

 from standing where the tray might fall on him, and 

 give him a chance to wiggle out. It gives a more 

 convenient attachment for the ends of the string 

 than could readily be had without it. A wire nail or 

 brad is driven diagonally through the top of each 

 side, midway; and a knot at each end of the string 

 is carried over the side of the outer tray and drawn 

 tightly under the projecting point of the nail, thus 

 holding it fast. The length of the string should be 

 such as to hold the trap at just the right angle of 

 elevation. Dimensions may be adapted to the strips 

 of tin the apiarian happens to have on hand. For 



