264 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The American Hive. 



Will somo one who has had more experience m 

 tlie use of the above-named hive tha-u I have, 

 please tell me how to see if the bees in them have 

 sufficient stores to carry tliem through to the 

 spring, without taking out all or half of the 

 combs ? 



I am led to make this inquiry from the difficulty 

 which I had a few days ago, in ascertaining the 

 condition of a hive belonging to a friend. He 

 has three hives. One a box hive with a mov- 

 able cover to the honey chamber ; one a shallow 

 Langstroth ; and the other an American. On 

 removing the cover of the box hive, I could get 

 a tolerably good idea of its condition ; and by 

 separating the combs of the Langstroth hive, I 

 could at once see bolli the amount of honey it 

 contained, and the size of the swarm. But the 

 American was entirely beyond me. The top i)re- 

 sented nothing but the solid tops of the frames, 

 with about two by one-half inches cut out, for 

 the bees to pass through to get to the surplus 

 boxes ; so 1 could see nothing from there. I 

 then took off the movable side, but could only 

 see one side of one comb. When I attempted to 

 take out the comb, I found the frame glued fast, 

 with propolis, all along the top ; as are all the 

 rest. Having nothing "at hand to separate them 

 with, and having very little time to spare, I was 

 obliged to give it up. Separating these combs 

 would have been a very small matter in this one 

 hive ; but I should be very sorry to have to do it 

 to all the hives in my own yard, before I could 

 ascertain their condition in the spring. 



D. M. WORTHINGTON. 



Elkridge, Md., April 13, 1870. 



[For the American Bee .Tournal. 



A New Moth-trap. 



As the season is near at hand when that great 

 pest of the apiary, the Bee-Moth, begins its un- 

 tiring work of depositing eggs in every suitable 

 p'.ace, I deem it advisable to put all on their 

 guard, so that, if possible, they may baffle this 

 foe in some of its manoeuvres. 



The following is an excellent moth-trap, which 

 every bee-keeper would do well to put in opera- 

 tion as early in the season as the moth begins to 

 be troublesome. 



Take common glass quart fruit jars, " the 

 more the merrier," fill each two-thirds full of 

 water well sweetened with honey, molasses, or 

 sugar. Tie a string around the neck of each jar, 

 and suspend from the limbs of fruit or other small 

 trees near the hives. In the evening the moths 

 or "millers" are attracted to the sweetened 

 water in great numbers, and when once in sel- 

 dom succeed in getting out. 



I first saw this method practiced at the apiary 

 of a friend a few miles from this place, last season. 

 The top of the water was completely covered 

 with moths and flies ; and he assured me that he 

 was obliged to empty the jars, at least every 

 other day during the summer months, as they 



would get so full that there was no chance for 

 more to drown. 



One moth thus killed in Mayor June is equiva- 

 lent to hundreds of worms a few months later. 

 See to it tiien that as many are early destroyed 

 as possible. 



The bees will never trouble these jars when 

 there is honey in the fields. 



I. F. TiLLINGHAST. 



Factoryville, Pa. 



[Fortlie American Bee Journal.] 



To Keep Bees from Swarming. 



Mr. Editor :— In volume 4, page 185, Mr. 

 Quinby describes a box for preventing the queen 

 from escaping. 



I am soiry to saj'' I cannot understand fully 

 what is intended. Where is the box i^laced ? 

 It appears it has been understood, for at page 119 

 ofihe present volume, Mr. A. C. Manvvell says, 

 " it works like a charm." Will some one please 

 to explain how it it is used ? 



Tyro. 



Ontario, Canada., Feb., 1870. 



Honey Emptier. 



A correspondent of the Journal of Agriculture, 

 writing from Springfield, 111., says: 



" Our first swarm, hived May 32d, 1869, stored 

 in boxes, making all the comb, one hundred and 

 ninety-two pounds of honey. This has been re- 

 moved as fast .as the boxes were filled. The 

 hive now contains forty pounds net of honey, 

 some ten pounds more than it really needs for 

 wintering well, showing that the bees did not rob 

 themselves to store in boxes. They are half- 

 breed Italians, and when hived were supplied 

 with three frames of comb. Other hives have 

 given us from seventy-five to one hundred 

 pounds, while some of our hives were so full in 

 tlie early part of the season that there was but 

 little room for the queen to breed, and conse- 

 quently were deficient in bees to store honey. 

 Many of these hives were relieved of their surplus 

 honey with the honey-emptier, and they are Jiow 

 strong hives. This honey-emptier is a great ad- 

 dition to an apiary. In fact, I should hardly be 

 willing to do without one, though as generally 

 made they are quite deficient. Being made of 

 wood they absorb honey which is apt to sour in 

 warm weather. They are also made with flat 

 bottoms. Seeing these imperfections led us to 

 get one up ourselves, with which we are pleased. 

 It is made of tin, with the bottom sloping to the 

 centre, where the honey is drawn otf through a 

 tube, so that all of it will run out and ni)ne be 

 wasted. This makes it convenient for throwing 

 out small lots of honey, as every drop of it will 

 run to the centre, ready to be drawn off when 

 wanted. S. C. F, 



Springfield, III. 



♦-• 



Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an 

 attack. 



