THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



259 



we give freely to those -who are competent to de- 

 velop it. As for ourselves, Vfe are content still to 

 tnke a back seat and look on, as should a 



Novice. 



P. S. A neighboring beekeeper has just made 

 us a call, and speaking of Quinby's queen yards, 

 says he tried three last year, but hybrids would 

 swarm in spite of them. When they found the 

 old queen could not go, they killed her, and 

 raised young ones. The same thing has hap- 

 pened with us. When the ground is kept clear 

 about the hives, and sawdust banked up to the 

 entrance as we should have them, we cannot see 

 much use in the queen yard. If the queen should 

 crawl oti we have always found enough bees fol- 

 lowing her, to find her easily. For the last two 

 years we have, with the melextractor, prevented 

 swarming in every case when we wisJied, without 

 even taking the trouble to remove queen cells. 

 As they were not allowed to get the swarming 

 fever, we had no attempt at natural swarming, 

 with one exception only, in that time. 



P. S. No. 2. — Langstroth recommends, on 

 opening a hive to set the combs in an empty 

 hive, to keep away robbers, &c. We did this 

 imtil we found it did not suit us, as many of the 

 bees, especially the young ones, would get into 

 the empty hive, and it was some trouble to dis- 

 lodge them. In some cases, too, the queen got 

 off the frames with a cluster of hybrids, and 

 might in such cases get lost or be injured in shak- 

 ing the bees out. Now we stand each frame 

 on end against the stake that supports -the grape 

 vine we have before mentioned, and the young 

 bees that fall off, get off, or are shaken off", for 

 any purpose, have a smooth, clean, sawdust walk 

 back into the hive. In using the melextractor, 

 the bees are sometimes an hour or more in get- 

 ting in ; but we have never known them to fail, 

 if grass and weeds were kept away. As for 

 robbers, since our bees are all Italian, we have 

 almost forgotten there are any, and scarcely take 

 any precaution at all, now. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Review of the May Numbei\ Introduc- 

 ing Queens. 



In reading over the discussion in the German 

 Bee-keeper's Convention, I notice that Major 

 Von Hruschka recommended a method of intro- 

 ducing queens, which in its general features re- 

 sembles one practiced by me for over two years 

 past, with uniform success in every instance ; 

 and which, in practice is, I think, more simple 

 and easy than that recommended by the Major. 



In answer to the request made by Mr. R. 

 Wilken, on page 326, I will give, through the 

 Journal, the method practiced by me. Whilst 

 pondering over the subject of introducing queens, 

 I asked the question, " JEZbzo do bees recognize each 

 other f'' All intelligent bee-keepers answer, "iJy 

 the sense of smell.'''' Here we have the key at 

 once. If we perfume a bee, away from its own 

 hive, sufficiently to overpower its peculiar home 

 scent, that bee will be treated like a robber on its 

 return to its own hive. Again, in uniting bees. 



if both swarms, before uniting them, are perfumed 

 so as to be of nearly similar scent (other condi- 

 tions being right) they will never quarrel. Acting 

 on this knowledge, I proceed as follows : I take 

 the rose or jet of a common garden sprinkler, and 

 fill it with a piece of sponge. I then prepare a 

 mixture of sweetened water and essence of anise. 

 I next set an empty hive beside the one which is 

 to receive the queen, blow a little smoke into the 

 slock of bees, open it ; lift out successively each 

 comb and the adhering bees ; look for the queen, 

 and gently sprinkle the comb and bees by dip- 

 ping the spiinkler in the mixture, and hang the 

 comb in the empty hive. As soon as I see the 

 queen, I catch and destroy her. After all the 

 combs are removed and sprinkled, I sprinkle the 

 remaining bees and the inside of the hive. I 

 then spread a sheet in front of the hive, lift out a 

 comb, shake off' the bees to the sheet, sprinkle 

 them again, and replace the comb in the original 

 hive. In this manner I treat all the combs and 

 bees ; take the Italian queen, sprinkle her with 

 the same mixture, and drop her among the bees 

 on the sheet ; hive them like a natural swarm, 

 and all is well. I did not introduce quite as 

 many queens last season, as Mr. Wilken states 

 in the Journal, but I introduced nearly cne 

 hundred and lost not one. 



Patent Hives. — Rejoinder. 

 On page 232, Mr. D. L. Adair, expresses him- 

 self in language which leads us to infer that he has 

 the exclusive right to all frames constructed to 

 form a chamber independent of the outer case. 

 In making this statement he is probably not 

 aware that the Champion Hive, is so patented as 

 to cleai-ly embrace that feature. Nearly all of 

 these hives are made with their sides separated, 

 and Mr. Adair has probably not come in sight of 

 one of these double-sided hives. For the benefit 

 of all interested, I give a few extracts from the 

 specification of the patent. "The top bars K 

 and the vertical pieces m, ?«, are made wide 

 enough to have the edges of the several frames 

 to touch each other, forming a second wall, or a- 

 closed side, independent of the case. These 

 frames are constructed a little shorter than the 

 interior space, of leugth and height of the case or 

 body of the hive, so as to leave air-space be- 

 tween the case and the frames R." "Between 

 the sides of the case and the frames, in the inte- 

 rior, I have a movable side board," &c. Claims 

 granted : " The comb frames R, constructed and 

 arranged substantially as and for the purpose de- 

 scribed," &c. Any one wishing to see an exact 

 copy of the patent, can obtain it from the Patent 

 (3ffice, No. 67,123— while Mr. Adair obtained his 

 patent much later, No. 68,141. 



Stupifting Bees. 



I think that the use of chloroform on bees is 



very objectionable, since a little smoke properly 



applied, is sufficient to subdue the most vicious 



stock of bees, without injuring them in the least. 



All Aboard. 



Friend Price must undoubtedly belong to the 



passengers of Train No. 2, with mixed freight 



and sleeping car, if he counts all bee-keepers that 



believe in tight tops and side-doors as i nioag 



