19(>3 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



189 



tbi'V are attacking one another, spin- 

 niug in pairs upon the ground iu front 

 of The Live, and otherwise ehnthing 

 iu mortal eoiiibat, the oegiuner may 

 know that he has a case of genuine 

 i-obl»ing on hand. 



The remedy is to contract the en- 

 trance to such a narrow space, by the 

 use of blocks of \.ood, that but one 

 bee may pass iu at a time. This gives 

 the iuvaded hive a better chance to 

 protect itself from ihe intruders. An 

 additional advantage is given Ihem al- 

 so by placing a ^isp of wet grass 

 loosely over this s iiall entiauce, and 

 ktep it sprinkled for &ome time. A 

 Avet bee cannot light, and the wet 

 grass through which she would have 

 to pass is extremely discouraging. It 

 is imprudent to use smoke about a 

 hive being robbed. It disorganizes the 

 defense. 



The chief cause of robbing is the 

 scarcity of honey iu the field. If, at 

 such a time, the bee-keeper is careless 

 and leaves honey daubed about 

 where the bees can get at it, it will 

 almost always start robbing in the 

 apiary. Strong colonies in normal con- 

 dition and which have a moderately 

 small entrance, are never troubled by 

 robbers. The young bee-keeper should 

 therefore endeavor to keep his colo- 

 nies strong; or- be very careful to not 

 incite robbing by exposing honey dur- 

 ing a dearth of nectar iu the field. 

 When no honey is coming in, hives 

 should not Ifa opened during the day 

 time, unless covered with a tent to 

 exclude robbers. 



There are numerous methods of in- 

 troducing- a new queen to a queenless 

 colony. It is better for the beginner, 

 however, to closely follow the instruc- 

 tions which are always sent with 

 every queen from a first-class breeder. 

 All such questions are thoroughly dis- 

 cussed in the text-books on bee-keep- 

 ing, and by reading up on the various 

 plans, experimenting and using one's 

 own genius, he will rapidly acquire 

 a store of knowledge which will ena- 

 ble him to practice any of the meth- 

 ods now recomniended, and to pursue 

 independent lines better suited to the 

 case iu hand' than any set of stereo- 

 typed rules. It is not possible to in- 

 troduce a new queen without first 

 removing the old one. unless the col- 

 ony has by some other means been 

 deprived of the queen. The Benton 

 mailing cage, in which queens are 

 usually sent, with full instructions for 



introducing, is all that is needed when 

 (lueens are received through the mails 

 iu this Avay. When if is desired to 

 introtluce a queen not received in this 

 cage, the Miller introducing cage 

 serves every purpose. The cage con- 

 taining the queen is simply slipped 

 down between the combs, where the 

 bees will eat out the candy plug and 

 thus quietly liberate the new queen. 



CONTENTION AMONG IRISH BEE- 

 KEEPERS. 



While we have been busy with our 

 American Association muddle, our 

 Iri* brethren have been having their 

 own time, over the sea. The follow- 

 ing is extracted from a letter received 

 recently by the editor of The Bee- 

 Keeper. from a subscriber of the Em- 

 erald Isle, which will present the Irish 

 situation clearly to our readers: 



The Irish Bee-Keepers' Federation, 

 a co-operative union upon a large scale 

 for the marketing of honey and pur- 

 chase of requisites has for the past 

 year, been busily engaged resisting a 

 campaign of relentless hostility on the 

 part of a few traders who, until the 

 Federation was formed, enjoyed a 

 monopoly in the sale of bee-keepers' 

 supplies. The traders, not content with 

 legitimate opposition and competition 

 in the markets, proceeded to publish 

 all sorts of violent charges against the 

 Federation, and to attack even indi- 

 vidual characters.; and they started a 

 bee-paper to carry on the campaign 

 and to wreck if possible the establish- 

 ed journal, which is the organ of the 

 Irish Bee-Keepers' Association. The re- 

 sult has been that all the traders 

 and their supporting- friends have 

 beeil evicted from the committee of 

 the association by the vote of the 

 members, and a resolution has been 

 passed condemning in no measured 

 terms the "scandalous charges" and 

 two of the leaders have been removed 

 from the Association's examining 

 board and list of experts, having been 

 found wanting in the knowledge requi- 

 site for such offices. Meanwhile the 

 Federationists proceed with their or- 

 ganization, confident in their right to 

 manage their own affairs, and grate- 

 ful for the timely support given them 

 by the Association. 



Occasionally dipping the uncapping 

 knife into water greatly facilitates 

 smooth, easy work. 



