a little more than 3-16 of an Inch long, and a 

 little more than % as wide. 



Here at Lansing, the small, yellow, oval 

 eggs appear late in A Mgust. In Tennessee 

 they wonld be found under the scales in 

 their cotton wrappings many days earlier. 

 The eggs are 1- 40 of an inch long, and 1-05 

 of an inch wide. These eggs, which are very 

 numerous, hatch in the locality of their de- 

 velopment, and the young or larval lice, 

 <iuite in contrast with their dried, inert, mo- 

 tionless parents, are spry and active. They 

 are oval, (Figs. 5 and 0), yellow, and 1-3.3 of 

 an inch long, and 1-40 of an inch wide. The 

 eyes, antenna (Fig. .5), and legs, (Fig C), are 

 plainly visible when magnified 30 or 40 di- 

 ameters. The9-jointed abdomen is deeply 

 emarginate, or cut into posteriorly, (Fig. 3), 

 and on each side of this slit is a projecting 

 stylet or hair, (Figs. 3 and 4), while from be- 

 tween the eyes, on the under side of the 

 head, extends the long recurved beak, (Fig. 

 4). The larvie soon leave the scales, crawl 

 about the tree, and finally fasten by insert- 

 ing their long slender beaks, when they so 

 pump up the sap that they grow with sur- 

 l^rising rapidity. In a few weeks their legs 

 and antenufe disappear and the scale-like 

 form is assumed. In the following summer 

 the scale is full-formed and the eggs are de- 

 veloped. Soon the scale, which is but the 

 carcass of the once active louse, drops from 

 the tree, and the work of destruction is left 

 to the young lice, a responsibility which 

 they seem quite ready to assume. 



In my observations I have detected no 

 males. Judging from others of the bark- 

 lice, these must possess wings, and will 

 never assume the scale form. 



REMEDIES. 



If valued shade or honey trees are at- 

 tacked by these insatiate destroyers, they 

 could probably be saved by discrete pru- 

 ning—cutting off the infected branches 

 before serious injury was done, or by 

 syringing the trees with a solution of whale 

 oil, soap— or even common soft soap would 

 ■do— just as the young lice are leaving the 

 scales. It would be still better to have the 

 solution hot. Whitman's Fountain Pump 

 is admirable for making such applications. 



Fig. 1 is slightly magnified; the others 

 are largely magnified. The drawings were 

 made from the objects by W. S. Holdsworth, 

 a senior of the Michigan Agricultural Col- 

 lege. A. J. Cook. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



An old, old Hive. 



Being told there was a hive, near here, 35 

 years old, I determined to see it. Accord- 

 ingly a drive of 6 miles took me to the resi- 

 dence of Rev. W". Winn, an old settler of 

 this county. I found him at home, and very 

 willing to show his old hive. lie said he 

 bought it with bees in, 30 years ago, and it 

 was 5 years old then. Says the bees have 

 never swarmed but one season from it, aiul 

 that was 5 or 6 years ago. During that 

 summer, 4 swarms were cast off. The hive 

 was made of black walnut, by a master 

 mechanic, and thoroughly painted. Since 

 Mr. Winn has had it, it has stood entirely 



unprotected, winter and summer, except 

 being partially shaded by an apple tree for 

 the last few years. 



The hive consists of 5 boxes, 34 inches 

 long by 15 wide. The lower one is plain, 

 and 8 inches deep ; the other 4 are 6 inches 

 deep, plain on one side and panneled on the 

 other, with 2 glasses, 23^ by 10 inches in 

 each box, darkened by sliding boards. Each 

 box had a few slats nailed across the upper 

 edge. The lumber is % of an. inch thick. — 

 The top is one flat board, 1 inch thick. The 

 boxes are held together l)y an iron rod on 

 either side, fastened to the side of the lower 

 box with a bracket, and passing up through 

 the cover, with a bur on the top to screw 

 down, making all tight and solid. These 

 burs can be taken off and top boxes removed 

 to secure surplus honey. He has never 

 removed but one box, but has cut and taken 

 some honey out of the next box. The 4 

 lower boxes have never been taken apart. — 

 For several seasons he has used a .50 Bb. cap 

 on top. 



The alighting boards (there is an entrance 

 on each side) are set at an angle of 60 

 degrees, and run together in the center, and 

 running well down at the lower edge, giving 

 the bees about 8 inches of surface to alight 

 upon. It stands on 4 legs, 15 inches long, 

 bracing out like the legs of a saw-buck. 



The bees have never been fed, never 

 sliowed signs of disease and have always 

 been very numerous. They are the com- 

 mon black Ijees, but not inclined to be cross 

 or troublesome. 



Some of the combs in the lower boxes 

 look as black as tar. 



WILD BEES. .y'-4t/>*' 



There has been a vast number of w;ild, di* - 

 stray swarms passing to anfl fro i-n this 

 vicinity, this year. Many "bee trees " have 

 been found. Bees were never known tO''^ 

 increase so much before. I know one 

 farmer who had a few colonies last spring 

 that increased so-, he got tired of making 

 hives and put some into nail kegs, salt 

 barrels, old boxes, etc., but most all have- 

 prospered nicely. Besides all this, he let 

 several swarms go away for want of care 

 and hiving. 



CATCHING BEES IX A BABBIT TRAP. 



Two little boys had a rabbit trap (an in- 

 verted box) set last winter, half a mile from 

 where my bees were kept. When the trap- 

 ping season was over, they carelessly left . 

 the box setting on the ground, bottom up.— 

 The first «if July a nice colony of bees, with 

 plenty of honey to winter on, -was found in 

 It. 



Several swarms have been caught by 

 fastening hives up in trees. One man 

 caught a swarm of nice Italians in this way. 



THE WREN AS A BEE PROTECTOR. 



After the other birds had deserted my 

 martin box, a pair of wrens took possession 

 of it. They are now raising their brood. I 

 have often seen one of them skipping about 

 the bee-hives, getting upon the alighting 

 boards, going under the hives, passing from 

 one to another,— apparently having no fear 

 of the bees, nor attracting their attention in 

 the least. I think its object is to obtain 



