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If for any reason one has combs 

 otherwise, then I find, if free from 

 honey, the best place is a cool, dark 

 room ; a cellar partially underground 

 is very good — of course it will not do 

 to have honey in the combs, as it will 

 absorb moisture and sour. 



I have found it no easy matter to 

 keep moths out of combs in a warm 

 room, with fresh pollen in the combs. 

 Brimstone is all right enough, but 

 when our time is fully occupied, the 

 first thing we know, the combs will be 

 destroyed. The ease of doing the work 

 looks nice on paper, and also looks well 

 to say, " If you have not time to attend 

 to combs, don't keep bees ;" but the 

 fact I'cmains that many do keep them 

 who often are so busy that they foi'get 

 such a matter. 



If well fitting, moths can be kept 

 pretty well out of supers, by putting 

 one on top of another, with a layer of 

 j)aper between each — the entrances 

 should be stopped up, of course. 



I thought perhaps a few hints upon 

 the subject might be of value to begin- 

 ers. Man)- are in a position to so place 

 their combs. 



Romney, Canada. 



SUNDAY. 



Do Bees Swarm more then tlian 

 any Other Day ? 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



Many persons think that bees swarm 

 more on Sunday than any other day. 

 I do not think that they do, but we 

 notice it more. It is a day of rest, and 

 after hiving all the Aveek, bee-keepers 

 would like to enjoy a rest. Last Sun- 

 day I felt that swarming was about 

 over, and that I could enjoy a day of 

 rest, and lie down upon a lounge, with 

 some choice reading-matter, when that 

 familiar cry, " Bees swarming,'"sound- 

 ed upon my ear. "Where are they 

 from ?" "Don't know ; the}' are cluster- 

 ing in the peach tree." 



I tied on my bee-hat, with a resolve 

 to find out where they came from, even 

 if I had to look at evei-y colony in the 

 apiary. This can be definitelj' ascer- 

 tained, by the young bees in the grass, 

 that are trailing after them. I soon 

 saw that they had come from a hive 

 where the bees had been clustered out. 

 This colony had swarmed about nine 

 days before, and I had caught the 

 queen, caged her. and left her on top 

 of a hive ; it was a verj' hot daj", and 

 although it was but a few moments 

 before I returned, I found her dead, 

 and no mistake about it. I know that 

 no bees had stung her, and what killed 

 her I do not know, unless it was the 



heat. The top of the hive where I 

 placed her, covered with a wire-gauze 

 cage, was painted white. 



The bees, missing their queen, re- 

 turned to their hive and clustered on 

 the outside, and remained there, wait- 

 ing for the young queen, when they 

 would swarm again. I do not take 

 much stock in such sulking and idle- 

 ness, and resolved to return them when 

 thej' swarmed. They had plenty of 

 room, and why not go to work ? I let 

 them hang clustered, while I took off 

 their case of nearly-empty sections, 

 and lifted out the combs. There was 

 very little brood, and what there was, 

 was sealed, and not a large amount of 

 honey. I saw where two queens had 

 left their cells, and there were a num- 

 ber of small ones on the face of the 

 comb ; these I removed, extracted the 

 honey, and replaced the combs. 



When I removed the combs, the i-e- 

 mainiug bees clustered on the outside 

 of the hive. There were not more 

 than two quarts of them, and it would 

 have been poor economy to let them 

 have the use of hive and combs, as it 

 would have been all that they could 

 possibly do to get strong enough to 

 endure the cold of another winter, 

 without laying up any surplus. The 

 swarm was a very large one, and when 

 I had brought part of them back, se- 

 curing the queen, the rest soon follow- 

 ed. I knew there were two queens, 

 and supposed one would be destroyed. 

 I noticed this morning that, appar- 

 ently, the bees that remained in the 

 hive were clustered on the outside, 

 hanging in a cluster to the projecting 

 edge of the cover. I lighted a smoker, 

 and taking a long-handled spoon, slow- 

 ly dipped them ofl", and placing them 

 in front of the entrance, watched them 

 carefully as they marched into the 

 hive. I soon saw a queen, which I 

 picked up and gave to a queenless col- 

 onj'. These bees were devoted to their 

 queen, andif shehad notbeen removed, 

 miglit have taken wing. Wl\en she 

 was removed, the bees united with the 

 swarm, and all was lovely. 



Queenlejss Colonies. 



I never remember of finding so 

 many swarms that had filled their hives 

 with comb and honey, and yet did not 

 contain one cell of brood, which was 

 proof that they were queenless. I have 

 supplied a number of such, by letting 

 virgins run in at the top, or down 

 through the sections as soon as they 

 left the cell. They are well received ; 

 the bees seeing the young, downy 

 things, appear to take no notice of 

 them. If they are a few hours old, it 

 makes a diflerence. 



When I have had second swarms 

 issue, I take out the combs and care- 

 fully remove all queen-cells, prepara- 



tory to returning the swarm. Many 

 times the queens come out while I am 

 doing it, as the guards are disturbed. 

 As fast as I can, I drop them into other 

 colonies where they are needed, being 

 careful to disturb the bees as little as 

 possible. Those cells containing 

 queens I place between combs, where 

 they can come out at their leisure. 

 Peoria, 111. 



EXCLUDERS. 



making ^Vire-Cloth Excluders 

 for Queen-Kearing. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY DR. G. L. TINKER. 



Many bee-keepers are desirous of 

 rearing queens over full colonies, while 

 there is a laying queen in the brood- 

 chamber, i have now found a plan by 

 which this can be done, viz.: 



Take any strong colony and place 

 on a zinc-excluder, then the "Queen- 

 Rearing Chamber ;" put in combs of 

 brood from other colonies and intro- 

 duce queen-cells about to hatch. Two 

 days after lift oft' the chamber, leaving 

 the cover on, and take away the zinc- 

 excluder, and put in its place a wire- 

 cloth excluder. Put on the queen- 

 chamber, take out the corks, and the 

 the young queens will duly become 

 fertilized. 



Lest the queen coming out in front 

 over the entrance, should find her way 

 into the brood-chamber with the flying 

 bees, and destroy the laying queen, I 

 put over the entrance a zinc-excluder : 

 this obviates all danger of the reigning 

 queen. 



The wire-cloth excluder is made as 

 follows : 



Take a frame of the same size, and 

 simular to the framing of the wood- 

 zinc honey-board ; put in a cross-piece, 

 and then tack on one side a sheet of 

 wire-cloth, 12 meshes to the inch — the 

 common painted article. Nail in be- 

 tween the cross-i)iece and the frame, 

 narrow strips of wood, to come up 

 against the partitions in the queen- 

 chamber, so as to close each of the 

 apartments from below to the bees. 

 Thus the heat of the colony will pass 

 up, and aid in protecting the brood 

 above, and keep the bees in the queen- 

 chamber of the same scent as the col- 

 ony below, so that they may be re- 

 united at anytime. This arrangement 

 may also be used over any colony 

 working in the sections. 



My present belief is, that this is the 

 easiest and cheapest method that we 

 shall get to rear and secure the fertil- 

 ization of queens. 



New Philadelphia, Ohio. 



