THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



117 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Introducing Queens. 



I have had some experience in introducing 

 queens last summer, some of which may not 

 come amiss to other beekeepers. 



Desiring to remove two black queens from 

 their hives, to introduce hybrid queens in their 

 stead, I searched for them at 1 p. m., giving the 

 bees sugar water to subdue them. I failed to 

 find the queens then ; hut searched for them 

 again at 5 p. m., on the same day, when I suc- 

 ceeded in finding them. I removed thom and 

 introduced the others as Mr. Langstroth_ does, 

 viz : remove the black queen and let the hive re- 

 main quiet six hour.? ; then give them the Italian 

 queen cagod, and in forty-eight hours release 

 lier. In ten or twelve days, in looking in front 

 of one of the hives I found one of the Italian 

 queens dead ; and at the other hive I found an 

 imperfect black queen dead. 



Now what seems strange to uie is this, that on 

 looking for the queen at 1 p. m., there was no 

 brood in the hives, and I supposed there was 

 none in them at 5 p. m., when I removed the 

 queens. Yet on examining the hives after find- 

 ing the dead queens as above stated, I found a 

 spot of brood as large as the palm of my hand, 

 with a nuQiber of queen cells in each hive. The 

 queens must have laid the eggs in the interval 

 between 1 p. m. and 5 p. m. the same day, that 

 is, within the brief term of four hours — which 

 looks strange to me. Can bees by feeding their 

 queen, have her develope eggs and lay them in 

 the short space of four hours, after she has 

 stopped laying at least twenty-one days ? If so, 

 she must have a powerful ^oill, for the old saying 

 is — " where there is a will there is a way ;" and 

 the queen must be able to find that way wonder- 

 fully quick ! 



Perhaps it is a common occurrence to find 

 queen cells as above, and for queens to lay eggs 

 in so short a time ; but as I am a novice in bee- 

 keeping, I would like to hear from experienced 

 beekeepers, through the Journal, whether the 

 like occurrence has been observed by them. 



D. H. OOGGSHELL, Jr. 



West Groton, N. Y. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Experience in Beekeeping. 



Mr. Editor : — In renewing my subscription, 

 it occurred to me to give you a little of my ex- 

 perience in beekeeping. My father bought a 

 swarm of bees when I was yet a little boy. It 

 was in an old-fashioned cone-shaped hive. I 

 used to watch the bees very diligently and with 

 great delight. This was in the fore part of the 

 summer, and they soon began to hang outside. 

 One day we were away from home, and when 

 we came back I went out to the hive as usual, 

 but the cluster was missing. My father said they 

 had swarmed, and went around looking on trees 

 and bushes ; but they could not be found. Prob- 

 ably they had decamped, and gone to the woods. 



My father always kept his bees in box hives, 

 as he knew no more about bees and beekeeping 

 at the end of many years, than he did when he 



commenced. I came to Wisconsin from the 

 State of New York some fourteen years ago ; 

 and went to beekeeping for myself, on a small 

 scale, in box hives, about nine years ago. But 

 after using these hives several years, I found that 

 they were not the kind I wanted, as I could not 

 control my bees in them as I wished to do. 



I was very anxious to learn all I could about 

 bees and their management. The first work I 

 got hold of was Weeks' small book. At that 

 time I thought it was a great work, but since I 

 have more experience I found that it is not of 

 much account after all. The Agricultual Ke- 

 ports contain better material. Mr. Quinby'sand 

 Mr. Laiigstroth's books furnish more ample in- 

 structions ; and then the American Bee Journal 

 is just the thing for the practical beekeeper to 

 keep him up with the times in the progress of 

 improvement. 



I have seventy colonies of bees in frame 

 hives. All have been Italianized, except a few 

 which are hybrids yet. I like the Italian bees 

 very much, although in some cases rather cross. 

 One word about barren queens. Last year I in- 

 troduced a handsome young Italian queen to a 

 swarm of black bees, and supposed all was right. 

 After a month or two I examined them, and 

 found no brood. They were pretty well reduced, 

 and I obtained a swarm from one of my neigh- 

 bors and put it in with them ; but the eggs laid 

 in the cells would not hatch. I had another 

 stock of the same description this year. Now, 

 can friend Gallup, or any one else, tell us the 

 reason ? 



In 1868, the bees here did not do very well in 

 surplus honey, though they gave us plenty of 

 swarms ; but this year, 1869, they gave us neither 

 swarms nor surplus honey worth mentioning. 

 In fact, they were starving with me at the begin- 

 ning of June, and I had to resort to feeding to 

 save my weak swarms. I actually found one 

 swarm on the point of starvation. It has been 

 \ a poor season here this year, there having been 

 much cold and wet weather ; but I live in hopes 

 that next year will be better. 



Last spring I built a high board fence around 

 my apiary, to keep the wind from blowing on 

 the hives. I also took out the frames, cut out 

 the drone combs, and inserted worker combs in- 

 stead. I think it pays, as it conduces to the 

 storage of surplus honey. I stick pieces of comb, 

 five or six in number, crosswise in the boxes, as 

 they come out easy and are nicer for the table. 

 I put on my boxes crosswise, with the honey- 

 board off'. I think the bees go to work sooner 

 when this is done, than when they have to pass 

 up through the honey board. One more ques- 

 tion : How much drone comb should be left in a 

 hive with a strong swarm, to satisfy the bees, 

 and keep them from building any to breed in ? 



The beekeepers' study now is about wintering. 

 I built a cellar last year, in which to store my 

 stocks. It was made as follows : Dimensions 10 

 feet by 23, inside measure ; grouted up with lime 

 and gravel wall 7 feet high. Sills laid on the 

 top, and joist piked to the sills ; a floor laid on 

 that, and covered with one foot of sawdust ; 

 rafters put up, and a board roof; with five ven- 

 tilators going through the floor, and only one 

 through the roof, each having a slide whereby it 



