142 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



I should liave written this for the November 

 number of the Jouknax, but did not get uiy 

 October number number till yesterdaj'. So do 

 not think I am asleep, Mr. Querist^ but like 

 yourself, I read every article in the Bee Joub- 

 NAL with care, and then lay them away to have 

 them bound, as I have the first four volumes in 

 two books ; and when I have notlilng else to 

 read, I often re-read many articles in them, with 

 much interest. Hoping tliis viill satisfy fi-iend 

 Querist, I am, yours truly, 



H. Nesbit. 



Cynthiana, Ky., ISTov. 7. 18(59. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Experimenting, 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Natural Swarms. 



I clip the wings of all my queens as soon as 

 they commence laying; tllen, when a natm-al 

 swarm issues, the queen falls to the ground.' I 

 seek for her carefully, and as soon as most of the 

 swarm is out, I move the hive away ten or fif- 

 teen feet, and set an empty hive \vith frames all 

 in proper position in the place where the hive that 

 has swarmed stood. I keep the queen till the 

 swarm begins to return, which it always will do 

 when the queen is not with it, even if it has 

 meantime alighted and clustered. In a little 

 while back they will come. 'Now place the 

 queen on the alighting Ijoard, and watch her 

 till bees enough come back to induce her to 

 enter the hive, and all is right. 



Then take a fertile reserve queen, cage 

 her and put her between two of the brood 

 combs in the old hive from which the s^varm 

 issued, after removing or destroying all the 

 queen cells. Keep her caged two or three days, 

 then release her, and the work is done. Egg- 

 laying, in the old hive, is stopped only thi-ee or 

 four days, and in a little while the old hive will 

 again be strong in bees. This season, nine 

 treated in this manner nearly all swarmed again, 

 sending off good strong swarms. 



P. W. McFatridge. 



Cakthage, Ind. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Profits of B&ekeeping. 



From seven full swarms (ten frames of comb 

 each) wintered through last winter, I have ob- 

 toained seven hundi-ed (700) pounds sm*plus hon- 

 ey, and have on hand twenty-five swarms of 

 bees. I used the revolving honey-emptier, and 

 had no honey stored in boxes. Whole amount 

 of full frames of combs and honey on hand 350 

 pounds, making an increase of four-fold. 



ISnewswanns, (^ $10 each , $180 



700 K) honey, @, 25 cts. ~fj pound 175 



Total $355 



Which is $50 on each of the seven swarms. 

 Tliey were mostly liybrid Italians. 



J. L. Feabody. 

 ViRDEN, Ills. 



On the 10th of July. 18G8, I hived in my 

 northern apiary a middle-aged swaiTU of bees, in 

 a hive nearly filled with comb, and caged the 

 ([ueen — suspending her between the two central 

 combs. This swarm filled the combs about two- 

 thirds full of honey while the bassAvood trees 

 were in blossom, closing July 25th. At that 

 time I found the combs of a hive which I had 

 stored away in my bee-chamber, and which con- 

 tained about fifteen pounds of honey, were 

 largely infested by Avorms, and I had concluded 

 to let the bees carry out the honey. Fearing I 

 might cause robbing, I carried both hives to "the 

 cellar and placed them on the floor, about three 

 feet from the cellar door. In order to start the 

 bees immediately I shook them oft' from one of 

 the frames into the hive I intended to ha^e 

 cleaned, moved the two hives close togetlier. 

 and closed the cellar door. When thus closed, 

 the cellar Avas perfectly dark, except that be- 

 tA\een the bottom and the door frame there Avas 

 a small opening about a quarter of an inch wide. 

 I had no idea that the bees AA'Ould cravvd three 

 feet over the sandy floor of a cool cellar, and 

 make use of that small opening for an entrance. 

 Two weeks later, to my great surpi-ise, I found 

 that this colony had actually become accustomed 

 to its ncAv location and entrance, and had gone 

 to Avoi-k. They had carried nearly all the honey 

 from the AA'orm-infected hive to their own, and 

 built some new comb. 



To ascertain hoAV long a colony Avould surAaA^e 

 witliout an addition of brood or bees, with its 

 queen caged, I left tliis colony in this condition, 

 in the cellar, till the 20th of September, aa hen I 

 found it had increased its stores somcAA-hat, and 

 still contained about three pints of workers. 

 AAlth the caged queen apparently in perfect health . 

 It had not become drone-breeding, and had 

 gathered and stored very little pollen. During 

 the period of the bassAvood blossoms it had 

 gathered only about as much honey as otlier 

 SAA-arms of the same size, although it had no 

 combs to build ; and in the montli of August it 

 stored scarcely one-fourth as much honey as 

 other swarms AAith queens at liberty. I could 

 not, therefore, say that it would be advisable to 

 keep the queen of a colony caged for the pur- 

 pose of saving all the honey that bees gather. 

 It Avonld seem that the Avorker bees do not labor 

 AAith the same energy and perscA^erance, as Avhen 

 they have brood to nurse and proAide for. 



Adam Grimm. 



Jefferson, Wis. 



ChXiOROFORMING, Bees! — "Sometime after 

 this, I attempted to quiet an angTy SAvarm of 

 bees bj^ slipping under the gum a sponge con- 

 taining something over half an ounce of chloro- 

 form, and succeeded admirably. When they 

 had become quiet, I removed AAiiat honey could 

 be spai-ed from their stores, and left them all 

 quiet. Tliey are quiet still, for the chloroform 

 killed the last bee !" — Dr. A. Love, in Southern 

 Cultivator. 



