1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



729 



cape is in place, at once all work in the su- 

 per stops; and instead of the curing- pro- 

 cess g-oing- on, the honey, from the breath of 

 the bees in that closed-up super, g-rows 

 thinner. 



Second. The consequent congested condi- 

 tion of the brood-chamber for 12 hours or 

 more has, I believe, a strong- tendency to 

 create a swarming- fever. 



Third. In many places the honey would 

 be too cold for the best work. You have to 

 smoke to put on the escapes, and you have 

 to smoke to take them off. I take out the 

 combs and replace with empty ones g-ener- 

 ally, with but one smoking-, and never an- 

 gler nor worry the bees at all. More of this 

 later on. Your method as figured on said 

 page, to put it candidly and courteously, is 

 barbarous. 



Let's consider it for a moment, bearing 

 in mind all the while that the bee is a frail, 

 sensitive, and nervous little creature, capa- 

 ble of suffering intense mental and ph3'si- 

 cal pain, whose rage under continued prov- 

 ocation is terrible, and it is endowed with 

 an indomitable determination, to the death, 

 against all odds, to defend its mother and 

 home. Their apparent ill nature and cross- 

 ness are always in self-defense; they never 

 pick a quarrel for the sake of it. Bad 

 treatment is largely responsible. 



Well, you smoke the bees, then pull out 

 one comb, give it a rapid shaking motion in 

 front of the entrance, then on top of the 

 frames you brush off the remaining bees. 

 Then the next comb is pulled out; but in- 

 stead of being shaken in front of the hive 

 you shake it in the hive. The remaining 

 bees are then dislodged with the brush in 

 the hive and on top of the combs, and so on 

 to the last comb. 



Now, what has come to pass during this 

 process? Some of these same bees have 

 been pulled up, shaken, and brushed off 

 again and again, and nearly suffocated 

 with smoke repeatedly; and all the time 

 their combs and stores are disappearing. 

 The process is surely most exasperating. 

 When I used the same practice their suffer- 

 ings used to pain my heart, and their stings 

 pained me elsewhere; but what could I do? 

 i knew of no better way. I could not be- 

 lieve that God ever meant that that sort of 

 fight and enmity should exist between man 

 and his dumb friends; and I am glad to 

 say that some thinking and reasoning to de- 

 vise a better way was rewarded by a short, 

 simple, humane plan which I have practic- 

 ed for years with entire satisfaction. Here 

 is the plan: 



On a wheelbarrow is placed a comb-box 

 filled with empty combs and covered with a 

 wet cloth if robbers are bad. In a good 

 flow no cloth is needed. First, I blow a 

 little smoke into the entrance, but not 

 enough to cause the bees to run up. Then 

 I smoke and flap the cloth rapidly and al- 

 ternateljs continue to flap and smoke suffi- 

 ciently to cause most of the bees to run 

 down out of the super. Now work rapidly, 

 and remove the combs quickly; don't be 



afraid of disturbing the bees. Shake each 

 comb at the entrance except the last one, 

 which may be shaken inside. Lean the 

 combs against the back of the hive or any 

 convenient thing. 



Now that the super is empty, grab the 

 empty combs, several at a time, and drop 

 them quickly into the super and close the 

 hive at once before the bees return to the 

 super. Next brush the bees from the combs 

 and drop them into the comb-box. While 

 brushing the bees from the combs I common- 

 ly rest them on top of the hive-cover and 

 brush most of the bees right on top of the 

 hive. Brush quickly and lightly. Don't 

 hurt them with the brush — just a light 

 sweeping and they roll ofl", and not a bee 

 will show resentment. 



I And a great improvement in the temper 

 and general behavior of my bees through 

 the use of the above plan. I am persuaded 

 that they neither fear nor hate me, as they 

 seemingly did under the common practice. 

 Any way, they treat me well, and I know I 

 love them more. 



The whole secret is in the fright and sur- 

 prise played upon them, coupled with the 

 quickness with which the work is done, 

 without arousing their anger by immediate 

 brushing and bruising. 



If the bees left on the combs after shak- 

 ing have not been hurt, 15 seconds out of 

 the hive, provided there be neither queen 

 nor brood present, takes all the fight out of 

 them. 



If there are no other bees to interfere I 

 can. without hat or veil, perform the opera- 

 tion in so incredibly a short space of time 

 that perhaps I'd better not give it. There 

 is exhilaration in that kind of work. It is 

 a revolution in that department of labor. 

 It has converted a painful necessit}' into a 

 pleasant piece of work. 



NOTES. 



1. I gave this plan to the Ontario Ox- 

 ford Bee-keepers' Association several years 

 ago. 



2. For taking off comb honey, and some- 

 times for taking combs for extracting, I 

 place on the hive an inverted box about 2 

 inches deep, and of the size of the hive, 

 which has a hole in each side for inserting 

 the nose of the smoker. Buttons are placed 

 so as to drop over the hole not in use. The 

 invention is not mine. 



3. If the super contains more than eight 

 combs you may find it advantageous to drop 

 in some empty combs when half or more 

 filled ones are out. 



4. To prevent crushing bees, and for con- 

 venience, it is a good plan to have a few 

 light pieces of boards with two cross-pieces 

 nailed on each, in dift'erent parts of the 

 j-ard. On these the combs can be set when 

 taken out of the hive. 



5. Bruised and angered bees dropping 

 back into the hive arouse the rage and re- 

 sentment of the whole colony. 



Aylmer W., Ont., Can. 



