12 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAj^, 



An Experience With Swarms. 



I had a swarm of bees come out, fly 

 around awhile, and go back. In about 

 five minutes they did the same thing 

 again, then remained all quiet for about 

 a week. They then came out and clus- 

 tered, and were hived in the usual way. 

 Forty-eight hours later the old colony 

 cast another swarm, and they were 

 hived in regular order. "What was the 

 cause of this unusual proceeding ? 



W. S. G. M. 



Morenci, Mich., June 16. 



Answer.— The first was a prime 

 swarm, and it went back to the hive be- 

 cause for some reason the old queen was 

 not able to accompany it. The rest was 

 all according to the usual course of 

 affairs— a second and third swarm com- 

 ing off after the young queens emerged 

 from their cells. 



Cross Swarms, Mating Queens, Etc. 



1. I send some blossoms and plants. 

 What sort of plants are they ? Are they 

 good for bees ? 



2. I had a swarm of bees the other 

 day, and they settled on the body of a 

 sappling, and when I went to hive them 

 they went to shooting their little darts 

 at me, and hit me every shot, till I was 

 "crazy." But I hived them. This was 

 the first time I have been stung by bees, 

 when at work with them, in two years, 

 only when I would press them too tight. 

 What made them so cross ? I have 

 hived from the same queen twice before. 

 What shall I do with the next cross 

 swarm — smoke them ? 



3. Will bees kill off drones when they 

 are just gathering enough pollen and 

 honey to keep up brood-rearing ? 



4. Will a drouth cause the timber — 

 such as sour-wood —to yield no nectar 

 for bees? I mcsan a drouth that would 

 injure field crops ? 



5. How will the method of mating 

 queens at will, spoken of by Mr. Russell 

 on page 47(J, bo made known? or will 

 it ever be ? M. W. G. 



Bankston, Ala. 



Answers. — 1. It isn't always easy to 

 be sure after being through the mail, 

 but I think the one is Alsiko clover, an 

 excellent honey-plant. The other is 

 also good — hoarhound. 



2. Generally bees are very good- 

 natured at time of swarming, but occa- 

 sionally they show bad temper, and I 

 don't know any explanation for it. It is 

 barely possible that something about 

 your clothing or person was displeasing 



to them. Yes, smoke or sprinkling with 

 sweetened water would help matters. 



3. Sometimes they will, and some- 

 times not. 



4. I would suppose it would take a 

 severer drouth for trees which have 

 their roots deep. 



5. I don't know. Possibly Mr. Rus- 

 sell may tell something about it. He 

 speaks as if it would be forthcoming 

 whenever a suificiently liberal reward is 

 offered. There is no doubt that a man 

 giving such a secret to the bee-keeping 

 public would be well i-ewarded, but I 

 doubt if any of the veterans who read it 

 put any faith in the matter. They have 

 been so many times disappointed hereto- 

 fore. 



« — « <» » I 



Sweet Clover Questions. 



I have become very much interested 

 in sweet clover as a honey-producing 

 plant, and wish to ask some questions. 



1. Will white sweet clover grow and 

 bloom the first season after it is sown ? 



2. Is fall or spring the proper time to 

 sow it ? 



3. Will it grow on sod or waste places 

 without any preparation of soil? 



Glen Rock, Nebr. C. L. C, 



Answers. — 1. No, it is a biennial ; 

 comes from the seed one year, makes a 

 rather small growth, next year grows 5 

 to 8 feet high, then dies root and branch. 

 There is no bloom the first year, only 

 the second. 



2. Either will do, but it seems to do 

 perhaps best self-sown in the fall. 



3. Yes and no. I sowed a number of 

 acres on pasture land, and I don't know 

 that a single seed grew. Again I have 

 seen it growing in close sod, and on the 

 barest tough clay. I suppose if I had 

 sown in the fall instead of spring, and 

 then had the seed well trodden in by 

 stock, the case might have been quite 

 different. Sown on waste places, it 

 might do well and it might not. Scat- 

 tered on the hardest roadside, it is pretty 

 sure to make a good catch ; but if it 

 wore not trodden in, I doubt about it. 



Capons and CaponizinsT? by 



Edward Warren Sawyer, M. D., Fanny 

 Field, and others. It shows in clear 

 language and illustrations all about 

 caponizing fowls ; and thus how to 

 make the most money in poultry-raising. 

 Every poultry-keeper should have it. 

 Price, postpaid, 30 cents ; or clubbed 

 with Bee Journal one year for $1.10. 



