268 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



posed of ill some wny, either by selling tiiein 

 or destroyint^. If sold, of course you will 

 sell only tiood qneeus; but if killed, then the 

 poorest iire the ones to select out. By thus 

 selecting and killing the poorest we can 

 improve our apiary in ijuality, as well as to 

 save buying sugar to feed. Hut were there 

 no difference in the (lueeiis I would remove 

 all l)ut those I expected to winter over, for so 

 far as 1 have practiced this plan, I lind that 

 (lueenless bees are less inclined to quarrel, 

 and are more disponed to stay where put, 

 than are those having (jueens. 



Having the (jueens dii-posed of, from the 

 colonies which are to be united, wait three 

 days to a week ( three days in any event, so 

 the colonies may realize their (lueenless- 

 uess ) for some cool, cloudy day, when it is 

 a few degrees colder than the bees desire to 

 lly in, when you will find the bees all clus- 

 tered compactly, sometliing the way they are 

 in winter. When taking the qutens away, 

 take all the combs f rt)m the hive but three, 

 unless (he colony is too large, leaving only 

 those wliich contain the most honey. 'I'he 

 combs left are to be spread apart from ■'.! to 

 an inch, setting them out two or tliree inch- 

 es from the sides of the hive, so that the bees 

 may be all clustered on these combs instead 

 of hanging to the sides, or any part of the 

 hive. 'J'he hive which is to receive these 

 bees and combs is to be also prepared be- 

 forehand, by taking away all the combs but 

 three or four, those left being the ones 

 having the most honey in them, said combs 

 being placed close to one side of the hive. 



When tlie right day arrives as to tempera- 

 ture, light the smoker put on your bee-veil, 

 for in following the j)lan described you may 

 not be able to use the hands to get a stinging 

 bee off the face as you otherwise would; but 

 during a part of the operation, both hands 

 will be so employed that you cannot use 

 them at anything else. Now go to the hive 

 having the queen and uncover it, giving the 

 bees a little smoke to keep t hem quiet, and 

 leaving the hive open so that you can set the 

 other frames rigiit in without any hindrance. 

 Next go to one of those you took the queen 

 from, blowing smoke in at the entrance 

 (juito freely while uncovering the hive. 

 Hlow a few pulfsof smoke around the combs 

 and over them, when the smoker is to be set 

 down, and the front lingers placed between 

 the first two frames near their ends, the 

 large fingers between the second and last 

 frames, while the third and little fingers are 

 I)laced beyond the third frame. Now close 

 up with the thumbs and all of the fingers, 

 thus lifting the frames and cluster of bees all 

 out of the hive at once, when they are to 

 l)e carried to tiie open hive where they are to 

 stay, and set down in it all together, close 

 up to the frames of fjees that are in this hive. 

 (to back and get the smoker, and blow 

 smoke enough on the bees to keep tliem 

 down, when you can arrange the frames, di- 

 vision-board and hive, as you like, without 

 very many, if any, bees flying. 



Should a few bees stick to the hive you 

 took the frames out of, bring the hive to the 

 one having the united colony in it, and 

 brush them out on top of the frames, as they 

 will be pretty well chilled by this time. In 



doing this you will have to smoke those in 

 the united colony pretty well, or many will 

 lly at you, for these partly-chilled bees will 

 throw their poison out on their stings so that 

 the scent of it will anger the bees of that 

 colony that are in the united hive. 



If you fixed all as it should be when tak- 

 ing the (lueeu away and preparing for unit 

 ing, and smoked the bees as I have told, 

 there will he only now and then one that will 

 re(iuiro this last operatien, as all will be 

 snugly clustered on the combs. 



Close the hive as soon as you haye things 

 fixed to suit you, when everything is to be 

 removed from the stand of the colony that 

 was united with the other, so that, when the 

 bees come to fly on the first warm day, they 

 will find that all which looks like their old 

 home is gone. Some bees will fly or hover 

 over the old spot where home was, but, not 

 finding it, return to the united colony, hav- 

 ing marked their new location enough on 

 flying out to know where to go, seeing the 

 old home is not found. 



In this way I never have had any quarrel- 

 ing of bees, nor any queens killed, and it is 

 so simple and easy that I like it much the 

 best of any plan of uniting bees in the fall, 

 and hero give it in time so that all who wish 

 can take advantage of it." 



A Condensed View of Current 

 Bee Writings. 



B. E. HASTY. 



'' nIGHTING " of the queens heard in the 

 i^ hives of Michigan's apiary, eh? First 

 the dull thud as No. 1 plants the heel of her 

 big boot in No 'i's ribs; then No. 2 has No. 

 1 by the " bangs " and bangs her head 

 against the division board — sending forth 

 an indescribable mixture of jungle and 

 smash, such as the man who never wrapped 

 his ample ear around a hive hath no proper 

 conception of. Review 'J'i8. 



Looks a little as though I was a convicted 

 slanderer in intimating, as I did last month, 

 that the public departments published plates c 

 in the style of which Gleanings was recently 

 guilty — nothing to show which was which, 

 or what species were being illustrated. The 

 Washington ofBoe immediately sent me a 

 copy of the plate in (juestion, and the gen- 

 eric name of the species which furnished 

 each leg is given. By the way, all six are 

 distant relatives of the honey bee. The 

 honey bee itself and its nearest relatives of 

 the meliponas and bumble bee, till another 

 plate; and both plates should have been 

 taken if either was. 



HEDDON'S QUARTERLY. 



This has at last got through with its 



