THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



119 



thick. One of the dented sids turneel to the 

 bottom board aud the other against the front of I 

 the hive, gives diul)le the amount of entrance | 

 and ventilation. With the smooth sides of any j 

 of the blocks bees are readily shut in, to remove j 

 to and from their winter quarters, or otherwise ; ! 

 also, momentarily in case of robberj'. But in the 

 latter case, ventilation must be given ; for which 1 

 I use 1 



The Robber Block. ' 



On this block the cleats on both sides, No. 1 , 

 and No. 2, are ^ inch thick. It is used in the t 

 same manner as the drone block, aud gives con- I 

 siderable ventilation, while no bees can pass in j 

 or out. The back ventilators of the hive may ' 

 always be used to give an opening corre-^pondiug i 

 with that given by any of the blocks in use at i 

 the entrance. 



Both drone and robber blocks should be fast ] 

 ened with a thin wedge pushed in between the i 

 ends of the blocks and the sides of the hive. 

 When opening hives under circumstances likely | 

 to induce robbing, I find it a good plan to use ; 

 the robber block until the bees have recovered i 

 from their confusion and are ready to defend j 

 themselves. i 



To obtain the results above stated the measure ■ 

 of the cleats must be exact, aud the sides of the ! 

 block as well as the bottom board aud hives all i 

 straight and true. Blocks made on the same j 

 basis can be used also on some other kinds of ; 

 hives. Of the common blocks, one for each hive 

 should be provided ; of the oiher two kinds, a 

 less number will do for emergehcies. I 



Henry Crist. i 



Lake P. O., Stark Co., Ohio, Nov. 1, 1869. ! 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



My Expei'ience. j 



Mr. Editor : — As I am a clergyman, you will | 

 allow me to follow the ruling passion of the min- | 

 isterial fraternity, by dividing my remarks into j 

 heads and horns. I shall present results rather i 

 than theories : } 



1. Does Beekeeping Pay? | 



I keep bees for my own recreation and table ; '■ 

 hence have but few swarms. I commenced the ! 

 present season with three. They increased to six ; 

 and have yielded^ie three hundred (300) pounds 

 of cap honey. It is worth thirty cents per pound 

 in this market. 



Suppose I had paid ten dollars, in thti spring, 

 for each colony (and they are worth that or more 

 in the hive I use), then we should have the fol- 

 lowing result : 



Dr. 



Three colonies, at $10, each $30 



Three new hives, at $5, each 15 



Honey boxes, say 5 



Total $50 



Cr. 



By 6 colonies in good condition at $10, each $60 

 " 300 lbs. honey at 30 cts. per lb 90 



Total $150 



Net profit $100 



or two hundred per cent, on the investment. 



I have not estimated the great satisfaction I 

 have had in attending to them. 



2. What kind op Hive is best ? 



I am often asked this question ; but my expe- 

 rience is not sufliciently extensive to furnish a 

 positive answer. 



Two of my three stocks in the spring were in 

 J. Hazen's Eureka hives. One of them, slightly 

 tinged with Italian blood swarmed and went to 

 tlie woods or lost their queen, as I found them 

 queeuless, with queen cells capped. This swarm 

 gave me 67j lbs. of cap honey. 



The other, full-blood Italian, swarmed May 

 19th, and from it and the issues of May 19lh, I 

 made another ; s.o that stock increased to three. 

 From the old one I took ninety-three (93) pounds 

 of cap honey ; and from the issue of Aug. 19th 

 I took seventy-two (72) pounds. Thus, from 

 one colony in the Eureka hive, I have two new 

 swarms aud one hundred and sixty-five (165) 

 poumls of honey. Or, from the two old stocks 

 in the Eureka hives, I have an increase of two 

 swarms and two hundred and thirty-two (232) 

 pounds of honey — an average of one hundred 

 ■and sixteen (116) pounds. Who can give a bet- 

 ter show this year in Wisconsin ? 



The other colony of the tlireeold ones, is in a 

 hive similar in general form to that of Mr. Lang- 

 stroth. From it I have one swarm. The old 

 stock gave me thirty -four and a half (34^) pounds 

 of box honey, and the swarm thirty-five and a 

 half (8o^) pounds. The new one or swarm is 

 in the Eureka hive. This is an increase of one 

 swarm and sixty-seven (67) pounds, against an 

 increase of one swarm and one hundred and six- 

 teen (116) pounds in the Eureka. But there are 

 so many contingencies, that I am not prepared 

 to say that the hive made all this difference ; 

 though I can see no other cause. The last was 

 Italian also. 



3. How to Prevent Swarming. 



The box described by Mr. Quinby in the "Bee 

 Journal," works like a charm. My Italian 

 swarm that issued May 19th, cast a swarm six 

 different times, during the season. But her royal 

 highness being secure in the box, returned and 

 of course the bees followed her. (I ought to say 

 that the last time they hung clustered for seven 

 hours, and finally returned. Will some of our 

 bee men explain?) I am much obliged to Mr. 

 Quinby for describing it in the Journal. Cutting 

 out the queen cell is no preventive against 

 swarming, as the bees sometimes go as soon as 

 eggs are laid in the cells ; at least my May 19th 

 swarm did that. 



4. Wintering Bees. 



Last winter I put mine in the cellar, which is 

 dry, and I removed the honey-board, nailing 

 wire cloth in its stead. I also closed the front 

 entrance with wire, and let the bees have full 

 ventilation above and below. They came out 

 this spring in very fine condition, with some 

 brood in all stages, when set on their summer 

 stands. I shall try the cellar again. 



And now, as no sermon should have more 

 than four heads, I close. 



A. C. Manweix. 



Whitewater, Wis., Oct. 9, 1869. 



