426 





Bees are swarming in full blast, and 

 the increase will be good. There are 

 about 400 or 500 colonies iu this (Lan- 

 caster) county. 



There are a few box-hives iu the 

 county yet, but most of their owner's 

 become tired of them, when they see 

 their neighbors getting more of in- 

 crease of bees, better yields of honey, 

 and the honey in finer shape, and thej' 

 bid farewell to the old box, and pre- 

 sent their bees with a handy house. 



I would like to have this question 

 answered : Is it a good plan to put 

 old black comb into a hive for tlie bees 

 to breed in ? 



Emerald, Nebr., June 18, 1889. 



[The color aniouuts to nothing, and 

 unless the cells are mucli smaller by 

 reason of repeated cocoons being left 

 therein, they are just as good, practi- 

 cal!)', though we should prefer to re- 

 new them when convenient. — Ed.] 



WATER IN HONEY. 



Evaporating ^Valer from Honc}' 

 in the Cells. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY HENRY PATTERSON. 



Quei-y 63(5, on page 374, brings out 

 a chorus of "yes." Now before I 

 make my decision. I wish to draw a 

 shadow of the other side. We know 

 well that water will evaporate from 

 honey if kept warm in a dry atmos- 

 phere, which can be said of most 

 liquids ; and as Mr. Heddon says, it 

 "may absorb water" in damp air; 

 but does this answer the Query ? Tlie 

 direct point is. does the water escape 

 from the honey in the individual cell, 

 before sealing ? 



The thought of wax-secreting creeps 

 in hei'e. which is an unsolved question, 

 as to the direct cause for it. Now if 

 Mrs. Harrison will promise to hold 

 her criticism, I will drop in a thought 

 on a new theory (at least it is new 

 with me). 



First, do bees build comb faster 

 from thin honey, than from ripened 

 honey ? We notice that bees build 

 thicker comb at times, caused from an 

 over supply of wax, which is readily 

 seen by their bridging and daubing 

 everything inside of the hive. Is this 

 caused from an over estimate on the 

 part of the bees — hardly, I think. 



Again, we notice that the first honey 

 that comes in, is always placed low 

 down in the combs ; if it is to be evap- 

 orated by generated heat, why has not 

 Nature placed it above ? Now. will 

 some one say, for convenience for 

 dishing out to the young bee ? Prof. 



Cook tells us on page 375 of the last 

 issue, that it must be digested before 

 the young can receive it. 



If we look at the process of securing 

 gum from trees, we find that it is done 

 by breaking cells, and allowing the sap 

 to flow to the surface, allowing the air 

 to take up the water, and leaving the 

 crude gum. This we can see on our 

 peach and cherry trees, caused bj- in- 

 sects. Now is it not possible that the 

 secretion of wax is similar ? When 

 bees gather nectar, is it not possible 

 for the evaporation to be done by the 

 bees filling their honej--sacs, and clus- 

 tering so that perspiration will begin, 

 and the heat that the bees generate is 

 for evaporating the water from the 

 wax on the l)ee, and not for the honej" 

 in the cells ? 



Has any one ever seen bees gather 

 nectar, but what in a ver)' few days 

 they were secreting wax ? This will 

 occur in a hive full of comb, as bees 

 have no use for wax only for capping ; 

 and in this case, if I am correct, you 

 will find the frames and bottom-board 

 glazed with a substance similar to wax, 

 which, I think, is wax unprepared for 

 comb-building, which is removed with 

 the water as fast as it comes to the sur- 

 face ; and, also, is this not the glue 

 that bees leave on glass, when confined 

 in a room ? 



If this theory seems plausible, will 

 some one, who is situated so that he 

 can experiment, test itb}' feeding well- 

 ripened honey, with tlie bees excluded 

 from water ? for if wax is caused Ijy 

 perspiration, force of mature would 

 cause the bees to use water in the ab- 

 sence of it in the inpened hone}-. 



Humboldt, Nebr. 



SWARMING-. 



Bees Selecting a Home Before 

 Swarming, ete. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY FRANK COVERDALE. 



" Do bees select their home before 

 swarming ?" is a question that is of at 

 least some importance to the Avhole 

 bee-keeping fraternity. The lo.ss of a 

 great many swarms is vested here. I 

 do not know whether all swarms send 

 out spies or not. but even inasmuch as 

 one swarm does, we will take it for 

 granted that all that swarm untler a 

 normal condition will do the same, 

 though, in my opinion, they do notall 

 succeed before swarming. 



For five successive years I placed in 

 a certain oak-tree, a box or nail-keg, 

 and every year except one there came 

 a swarm into these kegs and boxes. 

 As I was plowing corn or making hay 

 each season near this tree, I could see 

 quite easih" just about what was going 



on during nearlj- all the swarming 

 season. At first I would see perhaps 

 one bee, after that the number would 

 increase, and one not posted would be 

 verj' apt to think tlutt there was a 

 swarm in the keg. They would usually 

 protect and clean this keg from one to 

 three days before they would take full 

 posses.sion ; at other times they would 

 come in great numbers, and in due 

 season disappear, iu which case they 

 had been captured, or found more 

 suitable quarters. 



Place a keg in each of two trees 40 

 rods apart, and the same swarm will 

 bunt through both of them, and make 

 their choice. I do not think that there 

 were any chemical changes taking 

 place in these kegs, as Mr. Demaree 

 mentions on page 45b of the Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1888, Nature does not intend 

 to send the busy bee wandering from 

 place to place, just happening to come 

 across a hollow tree or log. Let anj- 

 who doubt this, do as I have done, and 

 they will be sooner or later convinced. 



Swarms that have chosen a new 

 home close by, are very apt, when 

 swarming, to rise high up in the air, 

 and go quickly, never stopping to clus- 

 ter, as they have a string or trail of 

 bees all the way from the hive, or 

 swarm, to tlie new home — the less the 

 distance, the more bees on the trail, or 

 the thicker they flj' ; thus ■ the further 

 away, the better are the chances for 

 them to cluster, for these bees flying 

 back and forth have quite an influence 

 on the swarm. It was such cases as 

 these that so strangely induced me to 

 adopt the method of clipping all of my 

 queens' wings ; for there is no one 

 thing pertaining to bee-keeping that 

 puts me more out of patience than to 

 have a portion of my swarms leave 

 me ; for in so doing, there goes the 

 profit. 



Alsike Clover in Itlooni. 



I have at jiresent about 20 acres of 

 Alsike clover in full bloom. It grows 

 with red clover, in the proportion of 

 about J Alsike and | red. It promises 

 well for hay, as it grows finely, and 

 just as tall as the red. It grows many 

 sprouts from (ine root, and looks as if 

 the hay would be superior to the red. 

 The bees take well to it. I sowed 

 Alsike in with all my 40 acres of seed- 

 ing this spring, that is growing finelv. 



Welton, Iowa, June 13, 1889. 



13^ The Northern Illinois Bee-Keepers* Associft- 

 tiun win hold its next meeting on Aiic. -20, 1>*h9, at 

 R. Marsh'8. in Guilford Township. 4 miles northeast 

 of Rockford. Ills. D. A. Fuller. Sec. 



fF~ The Internixtioniil Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will meet in the onurt-hMUse, at Brsintford. t>nt., 

 Canadii. on December 4. 5, and 0. ihh9. All bee- 

 keepero are Invitt-d to attend, and State and Di^^trict 

 bee-keepers' societies are requested to appoint del* 

 e«atos to the convention. Full particulars of the 

 meet inif will be driven in due time. Anyone desirous 

 of heconiinji amember. and receiving tlie last Annu- 

 al Report bound, may do so by forw:irding $i.o(t to 

 the l^ecretary.— R. F. Holtek.mann, Sec. Brants 

 ford. Ont.. Canada. 



