1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



803 



is very simple. The hive containing the 

 queen is uncovered; or, if the cover next 

 the bees is a mat or quilt, this is rolled 

 back till the comb next the vacant side of 

 the hive is exposed, when I go, smoker in 

 hand, to those ready to be united with it, 

 blow a few dense puffs of smoke in at the 

 entrance, quickly uncover the hive, blow in 

 freelj' of smoke over and around the spread- 

 apart combs, when I quickly set down the 

 smoker and place the first finger of each 

 hand between the first two combs next to 

 me; and if three, the big fingers between 

 the next, when the third and little fingers 

 clasp over on the outside of the frame the 

 farthest away, the thumb tightening on the 

 side of the frame next to me at the same 

 time, when the three frames, bees and all, 

 are lifted out all together and carried to the 

 open hive having the queen in, which is to 

 hold the united colonies, and lowered into 

 said hive all at once, in a body, the same 

 being placed close up to the side of the ex- 

 posed comb, and, after the fingers are ta- 

 ken out, the frames are adjusted to the dis- 

 tance I wish them to stand for wintering. 

 The quilt is now rolled over all the frames 

 but the last, when another lot, and still an- 

 other, if necessary, are brought in the same 

 way, till the required number are in, when 

 the hive is closed and the uniting accom- 

 plished, so far as that hive is concerned." 



"Why did you spread the frames apart 

 as you told about when fixing for uniting-^ 

 so you could put your fingers between the 

 combs easily? " 



"Partly on that account; but mainly so 

 that, if the day is cool and raw enough, or 

 the night before has been cold enough, the 

 bees which are to be carried will all be 

 compactly clustered on and between the 

 spread-apart combs; and after j'ou get the 

 hang of the thing a little you can carry 

 them whc^e you wish, with scarcely a bee 

 flying in the air or being left in the hive." 



"That is quite a scheme, surely. But 

 why not leave more than three combs?" 



"The reason why only three combs are 

 to be left under any circumstances is, that 

 a person can not grasp more than these 

 with the hands at one time; and to sepa- 

 rate the clustered bees in any place is to 

 make a bad job in losing bees and have 

 them fly all over and out into the cold and 

 perish." 



"Is that all there is to be done in this 

 matter of uniting?" 



"All that is entirely necessary; but it is 

 better, both in looks and to insure that none 

 of the bees return to the old stands to stay 

 there, that the empty hives and all pertain- 

 ing to them be removed from the old loca- 

 tion. By thus removing the hive and stand, 

 and clearing every thing away that would 

 look in any way home-like, no bees are lost 

 by returning, although some will return 

 and hover over the old spot on the first flight 

 for a little time; but you will soon find them 

 with fanning wings at the entrance of their 

 new home, which they accept ever after- 

 ward." 



Thk account of my visit to Dr. Gandy, at 

 Humboldt, will take the place of my regu- 

 lar travels in this issue. The western se- 

 ries, taking in the region of Portland, Ore., 

 and returning by Idaho, will be resumed 

 in our next issue. 



I HAD a delightful visit with Dr. Miller 

 after returning from Humboldt on my way 

 home. At 71 the doctor seems to be hale 

 and hearty, and is as enthusiastic about 

 every thing that pertains to bee-keeping as 

 he ever was in his life. May he live long 

 to bless the bee-keeping fraternity with his 

 helpful advi,ce and bright breezy para- 

 graphs. 



A 6,'< -POUND girl has recently gladdened 

 the home of Mr. Harry Howe, of Artemisa, 

 Cuba. Mr. Howe, it will be remembered, 

 was one of Coggshall's lightning operators, 

 and he had the reputation at one time of 

 slinging more honey out of the combs than 

 any other man. Indeed, I believe he holds 

 the record yet. I have no doubt that the 

 new arrival will be something on the light- 

 ning order. Congratulations to our friends. 



The fall flow of honey over the United 

 States will be heavier than for many years 

 past, but not heavy enough in most cases to 

 yield any surplus, but to render the feeding 

 of sugar syrup unnecessary. The heavy 

 and copious rains early in the season have 

 given a wonderful stimulus to the white- 

 clover plants all over the United States; 

 and their effect on goldenrod, heartsease, 

 and many of the other fall bee-pasturage 

 plants, has been such as to make them all 

 abundant and vigorous in growth. It has 

 been many years since either heartsease or 

 goldenrod yielded honey in our locality; 

 but both are well covered with bees during 

 the warm portions of the day. 



DR. MILLER THE AUTHOR OF ANOTHER BEE- 

 BOOK. 



I HAVE before me the Pennsylvania Re- 

 port of the Department of Agriculture, Part 

 I. This volume is particularly interesting 

 from the fact that it contains 113 pages of 

 matter on bee culture, written by no less a 

 personage than Dr. C. C. Miller. It seems 

 the State of Pennsylvania decided to place 

 in one of its reports an elaborate treatise 

 on bee culture, and this now appears, as I 

 understand it, for free distribution to the 

 people of Pennsylvania, at least. I have 

 read over a number of pages, and I do not 

 see how any thing could be more orthodox 

 or more ud to date than that which Dr. 



