were'permitted to'judge, we' should say 

 that we have failed to see the improve- 

 ment made, by many American breed- 

 ers, that should have been made. — 

 They are as much susceptible to im- 

 provement as any other stock ; and had 

 they received the necessary care to 

 develop and bring those qualities out, 

 it would be apparent now. But we 

 cannot expect it under the present sys- 

 tem of management. While so many are 

 engaged in breeding, and sending all 

 over the country, hundreds and thous- 

 ands of untested queens, just so long, 

 we shall see improvement in the Italian 

 honey bee retarded ; it cannot be other- 

 wise. Hundreds of these queens are 

 impurely mated, and many of them are 

 sent intb places where the Italian bee 

 is bred in its purity. It will be neces- 

 sary, in order to continue, to breed them 

 pure, to get rid of these impure bees. — 

 This costs time, and is very much to 

 the injury of those breeding genuine 

 stock. 



This system will, no doubt, continue 

 until people appreciate the value of 

 pure stock. 



Eome, Ga. A. F. Moon. 



Swarming and Surplus Queens. 



MY MANAGEJIENT FOR SWAKINHNG. 



I am professionally a telegraph oper- 

 ator, and keep bees for both amuse- 

 ment and profit. My business keeps 

 me away from my pets during the day, 

 and I have been somewhat concerned 

 as to what plan I shall pursue during 

 the coming swarming season, and have 

 decided upon the following : 



1. I shall have 2 or 3 very light, por- 

 table hives, made to contain 6 Gallup 

 frames, so arranged that they will not 

 shift about while carrying the hive 

 from one place to another. I shall 

 have a large opening, covered with 

 cloth, in the bottom of each, to allow 

 plenty of ventilation. 



2. I will have all my empty hives 

 properly arranged where they are to 

 remain. 



3. I M'ill have every queen with one 

 wing clipped. 



Now for the mode of operating : — 

 Whenever a swarm shall issue, I will 

 have my wife to catch the queen and 

 cage her, which she can do very well. — 

 Then cover old hive with a cloth, so as 

 to hide it from the returning bees. — 

 Then place the portable hive in front 

 of the old stand, and as soon as the 

 bees commence to return, release the 

 queen in front of the hive. As soon as 

 all are in, she will remove the portable 

 hive, and place it upon the alighting 



board of one of the new stands, and 

 remove the cloth from the old hive. — 

 Thus they will remain until I return 

 home in the evening ; and then, I will 

 remove the frames and bees to the 

 larger hive, where they are to remain, 

 and make everything snug. 



HOW TO KEEP SURPLUS QUEENS. 



I have a frame, made very much like 

 the one described by Mr. Davis, (page 

 134, vol. xiii, A. B. J.,) but differs m 

 some respects. The frame is divided 

 into sections ; one side is covered with 

 wire cloth, the other has small doors, 

 made of perforated tin. In each sec- 

 tion have a shield, made by bending a 

 strip of tin about H in. wide, and 4 in. 

 long into the shape of [j. In this I put 

 a piece of comb, containing honey. I 

 fasten the tin in with a tack. 



In this frame of cages I keep all 

 rejected queens, and I think it will 

 answer very well for surplus queens. I 

 place the frame with the queens in a 

 strong colony, and there they will live 

 all summer. ' In winter they are apt to 

 chill to death. I have no doubt that 

 this plan of keeping queens can be 

 made very useful to some bee-keepers. 

 S. C. Dodge. 



Chattanooga, Tenn., March 19, 1878. 



Sumter Co., Ala., Feb. 22, 1878. 

 "1. Bees are brhiging in pollen and honey. 

 If too bountifully supplied, shall I use the 

 extractor for the brood chamber at swarm- 

 ing time? 2. How can I keep the queen out 

 of the surplus department ? 3. If a comb 

 is full of honey, and only partly capped, 

 would it be safe to extract without waiting 

 for it to be finished ? 4. How shall I unite 3 

 colonies? .5. If a hive has a tendency to send 

 out more than 1 or 2 swarms, will cutting 

 out the queen cells stop them ? 6. Do you 

 think it advisable to heat honey before 

 sending it to market, to prevent it turning 

 to sugar ? 7. Can you tell me what smoker 

 will remain lighted, after laying it down, to 

 use again in a few minutes? Unless I 

 keep mine continually working, it will go 

 out uiimediately." Subscriber. 



[1. Extract whenever it is necessary to 

 give the queen room. 2. If the surplus 

 department is above, the queen will not 

 generally trouble it. 3. Yes ; though it 

 would be better if capped. 4. Remove the 

 poorest queen, smoke the bees thoroughly, 

 sprinkle with sweetened and scented water. 

 If in box hive, shake the bees on to a sheet 

 and hive them together. If in movable 

 frames, select the frames having brood and 

 the most honey, omiting others. .5. Yes.— 

 6. If crystalizing threatens, yes. If not, 

 no. 7. Bingham's will do it.— Ed.] 



