THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



157 



EXPERIMENTAL 

 BEE FARM NOTES. 



We have been longing for a rest- 

 ing spell when we could devote some 

 of our time to experimenting with the 

 bees but it has been one continual 

 rush and drive ever since spring 

 opened. We even worked the lar- 

 ger portion of the "Fourth." Well, 

 rest must come ere long. 



We seldom remember a time 

 when the bees seemed so. panic- 

 stricken with the swarming fever as 

 during the past month. 



The bees commenced operations 

 all at once and swarm they would in 

 spite of every precaution and we 

 sometimes had from five to six 

 swarms in the air at once. 



Where the hives were supplied 

 with drone traps no difficulty was ex- 

 perienced, as we had the queens ; and 

 the bees, if they united in one cluster, 

 could be easily and quickly divided. 



But many colonies unprovided 

 with traps cast swarms which united 

 and the queens got mixed up. 



This is quite annoying and we 

 know of but one remedy for it, viz., 

 the honey extractor. 



We have just received a note from 

 one of our subscribers in California, 

 to whom we had shipped a queen. 

 He says that " the queen was re- 

 ceived safe and in fine condition, 

 with not one dead bee in the cage." 

 This seems refreshing after finding 

 that sometimes a queen just as care- 

 fully prepared for shipment will die 

 before reaching a customer who 

 lives within loo miles. 



A short time since on opening 

 one of our nucleus hives containing 

 queenless bees, we discovered one 

 young bee just hatched which was 

 so pure white and transparent that 

 we almost went wild over it. Some 

 one secured the mother of that bee, 

 as we had sent her out. Had she 

 remained in the apiary until we saw 

 that bee, no money could have se- 

 cured her. 



We have at last completed our 

 shipping-cage, which is a combina- 

 tion of many of the good qualities 

 found in others and one new (we 

 think) feature. 



We are tired and weary of having 

 so many persons write that they had 

 received the queen all right, but 

 failed to introduce her successfully. 



Never disturb your colony for 

 three or more days after a queen has 

 been introduced. If the bees have 

 begun to ball her you cannot do her 

 much good, because oftentimes they 

 simply bother her for a while and 

 then let her go ; but, at any rate, the 

 chances of loss by this early dis- 

 turbing of the bees after introducing 

 the queen too frequently result in 

 her death. 



After many experiments with 

 frames of every character and de- 

 scription, we have, through our su- 

 perintendent, secured one which at 

 present promises to supersede all 

 others. We shall experiment with it 

 still more fully. 



The season with us has been a 

 peculiar one, and the white clover is 

 more abundant perhaps than for ten 

 years prior to this time and the bees 

 have been storing honey well from it. 



One of our neighbors near our 

 Albino apiary has a large tract of 

 alsyke clover and it is wonderful 

 how the bees will work upon it and 

 the flavor of the honey produced 

 from it is delicious. 



Our superintendent who does not 

 agree with Messrs. Dadant & Son, 

 that the drones from laying workers, 

 or other small drones, will pass 

 through the zinc on the "drone 

 traps," tried the following experiment 

 lately : 



One of our nucleus hives was 

 abundantly supplied with fertile 

 workers and their progeny. A few 

 of the drones were confined in a 

 cage covered on one side with 

 "Jones' zinc," and they remained 

 there until they were all dried up and 

 withered. 



