THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



879 



tliS natural liabitiuies of the bee not 

 being interrupted, our colonies go 

 tlirough the winter safe and free from 

 disease. 



It is true an adventurer eomes down 

 here once in awhile, buys out an 

 apiary, extracts all the honey, even up 

 to frost, and relying upoii artilicial 

 feeding, by his neglect of tlie office, 

 loses many colonies. But to leave 

 the brood-chamber unmolested with 

 all its stores, ninety-nine in every 

 hundred will go through the winter 

 sound and in good condition. Tlien 

 the cause is as clear as the noon-day 

 sun, of that fatal malady among tiees 

 In the North ; that cause was clearly 

 set forth by one of the correspondents 

 of the Bee Journal for JSIay 27— to- 

 wit, long winters and no tlights. 

 Here with rs we scarcely ever have a 

 cold snap lasting over two vv'eeks at a 

 time. Our bees take a flight at least 

 once a fortnight, and generally in 

 half that time, and having a plentiful 

 supply of their natural food, viz., 

 honey, and I think bee-bread as a 

 relish, they come out strong, without 

 spring dwnidling, and swarm in April, 

 and sometimes in March. 



1 do not think that Mr. Ileddon 

 will surrender, as he is a little obsti- 

 nate in his peculiar views, which, by 

 the way, judging from his vs'orks, is a 

 trait that gives liim his individuality, 

 and, therefore, he will not agree with 

 us who oppose his views ; but there is 

 one ground, I think, where we will all 

 meet, that is, in defense of our Wis- 

 consin bee-keeper, in that outrageous 

 suit brought against him through 

 malicious selfishness. I second the 

 motion to nominate Mr. T. G. jSTew- 

 man as the secretary and treasurer of 

 a defense association, and I will re- 

 mit, when deemed necessary — let it 

 be one dollar apiece or five, I am 

 there. We should defend the friend 

 of the bee-industry in any part of our 

 vast country wlierehe is wronged and 

 opposed without cause and clearly 

 with •' malice aforethought." 



Peters, o* Ark. 



Western Plowman. 



Timely Hints for June. 



C. II. DIDBEUN. 



June is the busiest month in the 

 year for the bees and tlie apiarist. 

 During this montli, and the first half 

 of the next, we should reap the 

 golden harvest for which we have 

 waited so patiently during the stormy 

 months of winter, and for which we 

 have worked all the spring. As the 

 season is very cold and backward, the 

 main honey season will probably occur 

 between June 1-5 and July 1.5. 



As only strong colonies can be 

 depended upon, it is very important 

 to have every hive full of workers at 

 the right time. I am well aware that 

 this is not an easy matter, in this 

 changeable climate, where the ther- 

 mometer is liable to drop 40-' in a sin- 

 gle day. For this reason I am not 

 much in favor of spreading the brood, 

 and placing empty worker comb in 

 the centre, for the queen to till with 

 eggs, till settled warm weather can be 



depended upon. The important point 

 is to have the bees just at the right 

 time, and to attain this the apiarist 

 must use a great deal of judgment. 



.Some sections should be placed on 

 the hives with the appearance of tlie 

 first white clover blossoms. Tho-se 

 hives, so arranged that a few can be 

 put on at a time, are better than 

 where all are put on at once. If too 

 much rooui is given it will greatly re- 

 duce the temperature of the hive, and 

 bees will be slow to commence in the 

 supers. Sections should have either 

 pieces of nice white comb or thin 

 foundation fastened in them, to start 

 the bees to build straight combs in 

 the sections. If large sections are 

 used, they should also be divided by 

 separators of tin or wood. 



See to it that your hives are level, 

 the way the sections are placed, or 

 the combs will not be built straight. 

 Place more sections on as fast as the 

 bees commence working in them ; re- 

 move them as fast as the few cells are 

 capped, and if the honey-liow con- 

 tinues, put on empty sections in their 

 place. Care should be taken not to 

 have too many partly-filled sections, 

 when the honey season is over ; better 

 crowd the bees into fewer sections, 

 and get nearly all finished. 



This, too, is the swarming mouth, 

 and will keep the bee-keeper busy, 

 and give him something to think 

 about. Of course hives should be at 

 hand, all ready for tlie bees. If comb 

 or foundation is not used in the brood- 

 frames, then a sharp edge must be 

 given ttiem for a comb guide. I think 

 it pays to use full sheets of founda- 

 tion in the brood-frames, as nice, 

 straight combs are thus secured, and 

 all drone-comb is thus avoided. 



When a swarm issues wait quietly 

 till the bees settle on some branch or 

 other convenient place. If any are 

 afraid of getting stung, have a bee- 

 veil ; and if you have a pair of rubber 

 gloves use them, too, if you wish. 

 Put your hive at a convenient place, 

 spread a sheet in front of it, see that 

 the frames are evenly spaced, and 

 close up the hive and slnike the bees 

 in front, when they will readily enter 

 the hive. Should they cluster on the 

 outside, take a small stick and scrape 

 them down. As soon as about all 

 have gone in, put them to place and 

 mark the date of the swarm on the 

 hive, and also mark the hive of the 

 colony that has swarmed. In about 6 

 to 8 days the old hive is almost cei'- 

 tain to send out a second swarm ; this 

 should be returned after cutting out 

 all the remaining queen-cells. A bet- 

 ter plan, however, is to place the first 

 swarm on the stand occupied by the 

 old colony at the time the first swarm 

 issues, removing the surplus arrange- 

 ment to the new colony, and removing 

 the colony to a new location. In this 

 way the old colony will lose nearly all 

 working bees, and will not be so 

 likely to swarm again ; but if it should, 

 they, ought to be returned as before 

 described. 



Uomb honey, as fast as taken off, 

 sliould be stored in a dry, warm place, 

 where it is not exposed to bees and 

 flies. It will not do to put it into the 

 cellar, as it attracts dampness, and its 



beautiful appearance is soon spoiled, 

 and it is liable to sour and spoil. It 

 is only by having our honey in the 

 nicest possible shaiie that we can 

 hope to meet all competition in the 

 market. 

 Milan,^ Ills. 



For the Anierlcun IJee .hjiimal. 



Do Bees Really Annoy Sheep? 



D. .MILLARD. 



It was with much interest that I 

 read the articles from Messrs. Free- 

 born and Ileddon, on jiage ;U0, rela- 

 tive to bees doing damage to sheep 

 while pasturing. I, as well as nearly 

 all land-owners in tins vicinity, keep 

 both bees and sheep, and I have long 

 known that sheep, by their extremely 

 close biting, would nearly if not quite 

 ruin the growth of white clover, for 

 bee-pasturage ; but that bees should 

 annoy and drive sheep from their 

 pasture is news to me. In the first 

 place, bees never attack anything 

 while gathering honey ; and in the 

 second place, sheep are so well pro- 

 tected by nature, even their very eyes 

 being imbedded iu wool, as to make 

 them indifferent to the attack of even 

 Apis dorsala. 



Nevertheless sheep have their 

 much -dreaded enemies. Mr. Morrell, 

 in the American Shepherd, says : 

 " Sheep, during the summer mojiths, 

 are subjected to extreme annoyance 

 from flies, principally the gad-fly, and 

 several varieties of worm or maggot 

 flies. The insect passing under the 

 name of fly, though the most trouble- 

 some in August, attacks the sheep 

 from May to September. The gad-fly 

 deposits its eggs on the margin of the 

 sheeii's notrils, these are soon hatched, 

 and the larva', immediately find their 

 way up the interior of the nose till 

 they arrive at the frontal siinis, a cav- 

 ity situated between the layers of the 

 frontal bone and of considerable size 

 in the sheep. Here they remain until 

 the folkiwing spring, when they bur- 

 row quite into the earth for a short 

 season ; then become winged insects, 

 and ready to enter upon their career 

 of torment so ably gone through with 

 by their predecessors." 



The above may seem rather " sheep- 

 ish " for a bee-argument, but I quote 

 it to show the possibility of one's 

 being mistaken in regard to sheep 

 being tormented by bees. A little 

 careful observation will convince any 

 candid mind that.there is no trouble 

 between the bees and the sheep ; for, 

 who lias not observed, during hot 

 weather (and this is the time when 

 the flowers secrete their nectar), as 

 the sun climbs the eastern horizon 

 and casts- its lurid glare over the 

 fields, the sheep leave their pasture, 

 and with their noses to the earth, seek 

 shelter frequently under the sides of 

 logs, in fence-corners, etc., while the 

 busy bee takes possession of the field 

 and improves each shining hour ; and 

 in turn, as the sun recedes, the bee 

 repairs to its hum in the hive, while 

 the sheep again come out and improve 

 tlie twilight and early evening hours 

 to supply their natural wants. 



