S64 



ULEANINGS IN BEE CUL'J'URE 



between the brood-nest and bottom. This 

 gives an entrance % inch deep on two sides 

 and the back end and in front, enlarging 

 the entrance about "% inch more. You Avill 

 tind this plan illustrated and described in 

 our ABC and X Y Z; and in this issue, 

 page 610. Said Mr. Burt : " I do not have 

 over two or three per cent of swarms ; and, 

 what is more, I do not even stop to cut out 

 the cells. Yes, it does away with the nui- 

 sance of cell-cutting, and what few swarms 

 I get can be easily handled." 



Inspector Morris was along. Said he, 

 " Mr. Root, that plan looks mighty good to 

 me. If I know myself I shall be using it 

 next season." 



We have found Mr. Burt to be almost 

 unerring in liis opinions. He is slow to 

 come to a conclusion ; but when he does he 

 is nearly always right. 



.It has been stated by authorities' that 

 swarming comes as a result of overcrowd- 

 ing, particularly of overheating the brood. 

 The remedy, obviously, may be applied in 

 one of two ways — reducing the foi'ce of 

 bees by swarming or dividing; or, second, 

 cooling off the brood-chamber by ventila- 

 tion. This may be accomplished by the 

 method illustrated on page 610 of this issue, 

 or by the use of slatted dividers, a la As- 

 ]3inwall. Whether the foair-en trance scheme 

 is as good as the Aspinwall we are not pre- 

 pared to say. But certain it is, that Mr. 

 Burt says he can eliminate all but two per 

 cent by the simple expedient of raising the 

 liive up on foiu' blocks. Nothing else is 

 needed — not even cell-cutting. 



Others have advocated the plan, and have 

 spoken highly in its praise. It is worth 

 tliinking about, brethren; and it is worth 

 giving a thorough trial next summer. 



The four little blocks would cost less than 

 a cent, and the time taken to apply them 

 not over a cent. Good investment! espe- 

 cially when it sometimes costs all a swarm 

 is worth to get it out of a tree, sometimes, 

 to say notliing about the loss of honey due 

 to the loafing period just preceding swarm- 

 ing. 



TWO VIRGINS LIVING PEACEABLY IN THE 

 SAME HIVE. 



We have just run across a case of two 

 virgins in the same hive. The history of 

 the case is as follows: On July 31 we in- 

 troduced a ripe cell in a protector to a 

 three-frame nucleus, which we supposed 

 was queenless. The combs contained some 

 sealed brood, but no unsealed brood. The 

 cell was due to hatch the next day, August 1. 



On August 8, in looking over the combs 

 in this nucleus Mr. Marchant found this 



virgin; and then, as he was about to place 

 the comb back in the hive, to his astonish- 

 ment he found another running about on 

 the same comb and on the same side of the 

 comb. The two virgins showed no tendency 

 to fight, and all was peaceable. 



Desiring to watch the outcome, Mr. Mar- 

 chant looked over these combs each day. 

 On Monday, August 11, he saw both virgins 

 as usual early in the morning. About 10 

 o'clock, looking over the combs again, he 

 could find but one of them at first, but 

 finally located the other on the bottom- 

 board, dead. Two hours before, both vir- 

 gins had been running over the combs as 

 unconcernedly as usual. 



There are three possible explanations: 

 First, the nucleus, by some oversight, may 

 have already had a virgin on July 31, when 

 the cell was first introduced. The old vir- 

 gin already in the hive, jjossibly because of 

 some injury to the wings, had never mated, 

 and was allowed to live, even with another 

 virgin in the hive, until August 11, when 

 the second virgin showed signs of having 

 been mated, although she was not as yet 

 laving. 



Second, a young virgin returning from- 

 her flight from some other hive may have 

 gotten into this hive by mistake. As she 

 did not show signs of having been mated, 

 her trip, if this supposition were correct, 

 Avas evidently not a successful one. 



Third, by an oversight there might have 

 been a ripe cell in the hive at the time the 

 second cell Avas introduced July 31. A cell 

 from Avhich a virgin had recently emerged 

 on the opposite side of the comb seems to 

 give Aveight to this theory. Unless by some 

 mistake this cell in question, which the 

 nucleus already had, had been put in just 

 a day or two previous, the bees must have 

 carried an egg from some other hive into 

 the hive in question, for there had been no 

 unsealed brood in these conibs for some 

 lime. 



The true exi)lanation, Ave shall prob- 

 ably never know; but the fact remains that 

 there were two virgins in the same hive 

 for two or three days. 



INTRODUCING OLD VIRGINS BY THE SMOKE 

 PLAN ; A SEVERE TEST. 



The direct method of introducing with 

 smoke according to the Arthur C. Miller 

 plan as given in the June 1st issue, p. 370, 

 Avas given a most severe test in one of our 

 yards recently. Our Mr. Marchant had 

 lAventy-three virgins, Avhich, according to 

 his i-ecords, were six days old. They Avere 

 so old, in fact, that they would fly from the 



