THE ffiMERICISNi BEE JQliJRNair. 



39 



t *-"*—•* z' 



"But I supposed from what I had 

 read, that bees 'hibernated' when win- 

 tering well, and gave no signs of life." 

 In this you mistake, for bees never 

 liibernate as do ants, wasps, flies, eto., 

 Init go into what would more properly 

 be called a " quiescent state," in which 

 you see these to be. 



"Hark, there is a bee flying. Do 

 they fly out here in the dark ?" Yes ; 

 that is only a bee ready to die of old 

 age, and as instinct prompts the old 

 bees to leav(^ the hive when the tem- 

 perature will permit, it is only obeying 

 nature's law in flying out. See, here 

 are quite a few bees on the floor, bnt 

 not nearly as many as is the average 

 of most winters. I often come in here 

 in the dark, and listen for these old 

 bees ; and many times before, this win- 

 ter, from two to five would fly out 

 while I was slowly counting 100, but 

 this winter scarcely more than one 

 comes out while I count 500. 



" What have you on the floor hei-e ? 

 Sawdust ?" Yes, every month I bring 

 in a bushel or more of fine, dry bass- 

 wood sawdust, such as is made while 

 sawing sections, and scatter it on the 

 floor. This sawdust will absorb almost 

 its bulk in moisture, so that I retain it 

 here to keep all dry, sweet and nice. 

 Before I used this, the dead bees on 

 the floor would mold and smell badly, 

 but now all smells sweet and nice, and 

 no mold appears. 



" Here is jour thermometer. I see 

 that it marks 45-. What are the ex- 

 tremes of temperature in here ?" From 

 43^' to 46° abo\e zero, after the first 

 few days when the bees are put in. 

 The disturbing of the bees in putting 

 them in, causes the temperature to 

 rise for a few daj's, up to from 50° to 

 55°, but soon lowers to where it now is. 



"What, doesn't a warm spell in win- 

 ter, or a long, cold spell, have any ef- 

 fect on the temperature in here ?" No ; 

 and a cellar that allows the outside 

 temperature to aflect to any extent the 

 inside, I should consider faulty. There 

 arc two roofs, and three feet of dry 

 earth between them, over this, which, 

 with the three doors, keeps an even 

 temperature. Now step up and look 

 at these yellow bees as they show un- 

 derneath the combs at the bottom. 

 And again, look at them as I roll back 

 the quilt at the top. See, they go from 

 the bottom to the top of the hive. 



" Whj% Doolittle, they are dead." 

 No, I guess not. 



"But they don't stir." Let us 

 breathe on them the least bit. 



" They are alive ; that is a fact. Do 

 they always keep thus quiet ?" I have 

 never seen them more uneasy this win- 

 ter ; but the j'ear I used artificial heat, 

 and lost so heavih% I could not lift a 

 quilt without their boiling all over the 

 tops of the frames. 



" Where are your ventilators ?" 

 Here, at this end, is what used to be 

 the sub-earth ventilator, and in the 

 back end is the; ui)pcr ventilator ; but 

 I have not used cilher for soiuc years, 

 as 1 find that all the air which the bees 

 need to keep them in the best condi- 

 tion, comes through the mason work, 

 doors, and eartli covering. This is 

 what some would call no ventilation 

 whatever ; but you see that the air is 

 pure and good in here. 



"Well, I would not have believed 

 that the air would keep so pure, if I 

 had not seen it for myself. But don't 

 the mice trouble you in here ?" As you 

 will see, many of tlie hives have a few 

 fragments of bees on them, so you may 

 know that there have been mice here ; 

 but there are no mice in here now, for 

 they have been caught with a trap. 

 The cellar-doors arc left open during 

 every fall, till the bees are put in, and 

 hence a few mice are always in at first; 

 but after the doors are shut, no more 

 can get in. We will go now ; but first 

 notice that the Isecs are nearly, if not 

 quite, as quiet now as thej' were when 

 we first entered, a quarter of an hour 

 ago. If our entering does not disturb 

 them any, why should I not have the 

 privilege of coming in here as often as 

 I please ? 



Reader, I have tried to make all 

 plain. If I have not done so, tell me 

 wherein, and I will try again. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



SMOKE. 



Hotv to Use Bce-Sniokers, and 

 Avoid §ling§. 



Written for the Farm, Field and Stockman 



By S. E. MILLER. 



Experience teaches me that bees are 

 more apt to sting a stranger than the 

 one who is in the habit of working 

 with them. Bees have an aversion to 

 an)' one who has a bad breath, caused 

 by catarrh or other disease. In fact I 

 am almost certain that bees have a 

 dislike for anything having an un- 

 pleasant odor. Aside from the above- 

 mentioned facts, there is no reason 

 whj- one j)erson should not be as cap- 

 able of handling bees as another. That 

 is, after becoming acquainted with the 

 little workers, and learning their 

 habits. 



To avoid being stung, follow these 

 rules: 1. Never wear black or dark 

 clothing when working among bees. I 

 learned soon after commencing to 

 keep bees, that they were ready to 

 malie battle whenever I went into the 

 apiai-y with black on, while with gray 

 on I was not likely to be bothered. 2. 

 Use tlie all important bee-smoker. This 



is the secret of handling bees. With 

 a good smoker in full blast, I think 

 that any one can handle them. 



When you wish to work among your 

 bees, get your smoker well fired up, 

 so that you can send a big blast of 

 smoke thrive or four feet from the noz- 

 zle, remove the cover of tlie hive, and 

 then gently raise the cloth that c(jvers 

 the frames, give the bees a few puffs of 

 the smoke, and if they go below, and 

 are willing to mind their business, j'ou 

 can go on with your work. As a gen- 

 eral thing tliis is all that is necessary 

 with pure Italians. If you have blacks 

 or bad liybrids they will be pretty sure 

 to show fight and fly at you every 

 time you make a move that they do 

 not approve. 



I generally pour the smoke upon 

 such bees until tliey are ready to go 

 below and submit. Whatever you do, 

 Iceep your smoker in good trim, and 

 always have it within reach. Then if 

 you make an awkward move and ex- 

 cite their anger, you can grasp it in an 

 instant and defend yourself. If sev- 

 eral bees dart at your hand, do not 

 jerk it away. If you do, they are al- 

 most certain to sting, but if you hold 

 it perfectly still, they will generally 

 alight and appear surprised that the 

 hand remains quiet, and instead of 

 stinging, will proceed to examine it. 

 You can then take the smoker in the 

 other hand and drive them oft'. It is a 

 good thing to have a boy as assistant, 

 to handle the smoker when you have 

 much work to do among your bees. 



3. Never allow bees to think you are 

 afraid of them — on the contrary, have 

 them afraid of you. Bees always de- 

 tect the least sign of nervousness on 

 your i^art, and will generally take ad- 

 vantage of it. 



4. A beginner should wear a veil. It 

 gives a feeling of safety. 



Last, but not least, to avoid being 

 stung, keep pure Italians — no black 

 or hybrid bees. 



Blufl'ton, Mo. 



DO BEES HEAR? 



Tlic Various Sounds 9Iadc by 

 the Bees. 



Written for thr. American Bee Journal 



Uy C. E. WOODWARD. 



This is a question that has been 

 asked of me so many times the past 

 few months, and by some of those who 

 are readers of the Ameiucan Bee 

 Journal, as well as others, that I will 

 try to give some of the experience and 

 observations in my own apiary in 1885. 



I would say that bees have different 

 sounds to accomplish diflerent ends. 

 The only natural sound of bees on the 



