THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



345 



After tendering a vote of thanks to 

 the sheriff for the use of the Grand 

 Jury room, the Association adjourned 

 to meet at the call of the Secretary. 

 II. R. BoAEDMAN, Sec. 



Dan. Wuite, Pres. 



Philadelphia Preaa. 



Moying Bees in the Spring. 



KEY. O. CLUTE. 



Spring is usually the best season to 

 buy and to move bees, for the hives 

 have then less honey and less brood 

 than at most other seasons. In mov- 

 in<r them three things are essential : 



1. That they have good ventilation. 



2. That the combs be securely fast- 

 ened so that they cannot shake about. 



3. That the bees be securely fastened 

 in. With bees in box-hives all that is 

 necessary, as a rule, is to turn the 

 hive bottom-side up, letting it stand 

 on its top, and then to tack wire-cloth 

 securely over the bottom or open 

 end. In these box-hives the combs 

 are securely fastened by the bees to 

 the top and sides, and cannot shake 

 about. And if the hive js transported 

 standing on its top, the open bottom 

 will give ventilation, and the wire 

 clotli will confine the bees. 



Hives with movable combs must 

 have the combs so fastened that they 

 cannot shake. If such combs have 

 not been lifted from the hives, nor 

 their fastenings broken loose, since 

 the previous year, they can often be 

 transported some distance without 

 any other fastening than what the 

 bees gave the combs the previous 

 fall. The gluing done by the bees, 

 and the little supports they often 

 build between the combs, are suffi- 

 cient, with careful handling, to hold 

 the combs in place. But it is best to 

 be very careful about this. 



If there is any doubt about the 

 combs being secure, better take the 

 trouble to fasten them rather than 

 have them strike together and kill 

 the bees in transit. If most of the 

 combs are secured, and only now and 

 then a loose one, the loose ones can 

 be fastened by boring the ends of the 

 top-bar with a brad-awl and setting a 

 small wire nail through the top-bar 

 into the hive. But when most of the 

 frames are loose, or when the bees 

 are to be sent some distance with 

 danger of rough handling, it is always 

 best to take special measures to 

 fasten the frames both at top and 

 bottom. To fasten at bottom I use a 

 bent wire. Have screws or nails set 

 in a board so that as you wind the 

 wire from one to the other to make a 

 series of angles like the letter W. 

 When this is of the right length to 

 stretch across the hive cut it off. leav- 

 ing the ends about three-fourths of 

 an inch long. Now put this wire in 

 the bottom of an empty hive, putting 

 it at a right angle with the direction 

 in which the frames hang. Drive the 

 ends of the wire into the sides of the 

 hive, and, if necessary, fasten the 

 wire at two or three points on the 

 bottom-Vjoard by using very small 

 staples, like blind staples. The wire 

 ■will then stand with its projecting 



parts upright. Now lift the frames 

 of comb of the colony you wish to 

 transport from the old hive and hang 

 them into the prepared hive, with the 

 bottom-bar of each frame hanging 

 down into one of the open angles of 

 the wire. The wire projecting upon 

 each side of it, will prevent the frame 

 from swinging. 



To keep the tops of the frames 

 from jari'ing together, a thin strip of 

 wood of the riglit length cau be pre- 

 pared by driving nails through it so 

 that they project about an inch. Then 

 lay this strip across the tops of the 

 frames, with the nails projecting 

 down between the frames, and fasten 

 the strip at each end to the hive. The 

 projecting nails between the frames 

 will keep them in place. Now cover 

 the whole top of the liive with wire 

 cloth, leaving off honey-board or quilt 

 or enameled clotli, or whatever you 

 use to cover the tops of the frames, 

 letting the whole top of the hive have 

 no other cover except the wire cloth. 

 The wire cloth confines the bees per- 

 fectly, it gives abundant ventilation, 

 even in the hottest weather, and it 

 allows the bees to be seen by every- 

 body. This last is an important point 

 in sending bees by express. The 

 average porter has an intense horror 

 of stings. Now, if he sees a whole 

 colony of bees with nothing between 

 himself and them except the wire 

 cloth, he will handle those hives with 

 the most tender care. 



Then at evening, when all bees are 

 in the hives, nail a strip across the 

 entrance, which will effectually shut 

 them in. Of course it is understood 

 that enough honey is in the combs for 

 the use of the bees. It is a good 

 plan, especially in warm weather, as 

 you are preparing the hives for ship- 

 ment, to lift up one of the empty out- 

 side combs, hold it horizontally, and 

 pour evenly over the surface from a 

 pint to a quart of water. The water 

 will mostly run into the cells, and 

 when the comb is hung back will stay 

 in them, and will give the bees needed 

 water during the journey. I have 

 shipped many bees packed in this 

 way, and never lost one. 



Iowa City,+o Iowa. 



For the American Beo JoumaL 



Southern Wisconsin Convention. 



The Southern Wisconsin Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association met at the Court 

 House in Jauesville, Wis., on May 12, 

 1885. Although it was a very busy 

 season of the year for farmers, there 

 was a large attendance. The heavy 

 winter loss did not appear to cool the 

 ardor of the bee-keepers in the least. 

 The meeting was called to order by 

 the President. The minutes of the 

 previous session were read, and other 

 business attended to. The statistics 

 of the season were incomplete, only 

 10 members reporting ; and were as 

 follows : Put into winter quarters in 

 the fall of 1883, 41.5 colonies ; took out 

 406; winter loss, 9; spring loss, 29 ; 

 sold, 81 ; bought, 40. Commenced the 

 season with 400 colonies ; increase, 

 261 ; comb honey produced, 16,516 



pounds ; extracted, 4,.502 pounds ; 

 wax, 72 pounds. 



The wintering problem and minor 

 topics were then discussed, and many 

 good things said which the Secretary 

 failed to note. All present stated 

 their experience and opinions ; those 

 who removed the late unripe fall and 

 aphida? honey and replaced it with 

 early wholesome honey had good re- 

 sults, but the loss is very large. Ac- 

 cording to the notes taken, they reach 

 fully 65 per cent. Wintering in-doors 

 gave the best results. Two new mem- 

 bers were received. 



The next meeting will be held at 

 the same place on the last Tuesday in 

 August, at 10 a. m. 



John C. Lynch, Sec. 



Gleanings. 



Apis Dorsata Once More. 



A. BUNKER. 



The colony of Apis dorsata, men- 

 tioned on page 310, after staying for 

 twelve days with me, has absconded, 

 and I hasten to give the results of my 

 first experiment with this bee. 



1. Why did the bees abscond? On 

 examination of the comb I found 

 about half a pound of brood had been 

 jammed into a fold of the comb made 

 when putting the comb into the 

 basket for transportation from the 

 hills. It was smelling very rank, and 

 of itself was enough to drive them 

 off, doubtless. 



2. I am not sure they had a queen. 

 Before I got them into shape, about a 

 quart of old bees swarmed up on a 

 limb of a tall mango-tree, and after 

 two days they left. At first the en- 

 trance to the hive was too small, and 

 1 think they could not readily find 

 their comb, and so left. The queen 

 might have been among them. 



3. Perhaps this bee cannot be made 

 to stay in a hive at all, yet I am not at 

 all satisfied that this is the case, and 

 shall not be without much more ex- 

 perience. 



We have gained some knowledge by 

 this experiment. The young bees, 

 when first hatched, are long and 

 slender, very graceful in their shape 

 and movements, of a soft dark yel- 

 low, approaching brown, which 

 changes as they grow older. The ab- 

 domen grows fuller, and black bands 

 appear, until the bee appears much 

 darker, not only on the abdomen, but 

 all over. The head, however, at first 

 changes to jet black. As there was 

 a very little unsealed brood when I 



fot them, and all hatched out in 12 

 ays, I judge the time from egg to 

 bee is about 21 days, as with common 

 bees. 



The comb of the Apis dorsata left 

 with me, measures about 2 feet long 

 by m feet deep. The honey comb 

 and brood comb are quite distinct. 

 The honey comb is placed always 

 hiqhest up on the limb of the tree on 

 which the nest is built, and is called 

 by the natives the " honey-chaitei." 

 It does resemble a native chattel not a 

 little, in shape. From this, which is 

 on the right in my comb, the brood- 

 comb extends to the left, new comb 

 being added along the whole edge. 



