130 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



1 have sometimes separated two 

 swarms by setting the hive on a stand 

 on two seven-eighth square sticks. 

 On top of the hive 1 lay two more 

 square sticks and place another hive 

 on them. Then two square sticks 

 across that and another hive on top, 

 making three hives high, and in an 

 hour or so each swarm is a separate 

 hive. 1 have had to try the trick so 

 many times that I know it has work- 

 ed, and I have inner seen it or known 

 it to fail, but I very much prefer the 

 two boards in place of the hive. I 

 then hive them by putting a hive 

 over each cluster, and give two or 

 three puffs of smoke and let them 

 alone till all is quiet, then set each 

 hive on the intended stand. 



Woodbury, Conn 



^ .i. ^ 



reeding, Swarmingj &c, 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



In the American Bee- Keeper for 

 August, page 115 Stanton E. Hitch- 

 cock gives directions for feeding bees 

 which is a puzzler to me. He says: 

 "My method of feeding is by using 

 an inverted paper box on the frames. " 

 1 asked my partner in the stings and 

 sweets how it was done. He said: 

 ' ' 1 suppose the fellow has a Heddon 

 hive, and he whirls it over on to the 

 box of feed." In Webster's diction- 

 ary 1 find that "inverted"' means 

 turned upside down, and how it can 

 hold syrup in that position is a mys- 

 tery. 



It is a great pleasure for me to read 

 how other persons manipulate their 

 bees, and those who write should tell 

 of their methods so plainly ' • that a 

 way-faring man. though a fool, can- 

 not err therein. " In my early days 



of bee-keeping I was haunted with 

 the fear that my bees would swarm, 

 run off, and that I should lose them. 

 In order to prevent this I thought 

 that 1 would swarm them artificially, 

 and with that end in view I looked up 

 1 'Artificial Swarming" in all the books 

 and papers that I then had. I was 

 very anxious to do it just right, and 

 when they said take frames of brood 

 from different hives I was puzzled to 

 know whether I was to take the bees 

 also, and could not find out by any 

 means that 1 then had. I suppose 

 the writers inferred that no one would 

 be so dumb as not to know that the 

 bees were to go along, to feed and 

 care for the brood, but it would have 

 been well to have said so. 



Let us all remember the days when 

 we were groping in darkness and in 

 uncertainty, as to the best ways that 

 leads to success in bee-culture, and 

 be careful to remove all stumbling- 

 blocks from the road. 



HONEY AND BEES. 



About one-half of the colonies of 

 bees in this locality "passed in their 

 checks " before the first of June, and 

 the remainder that had not been fed 

 continually during the spring were 

 weak. There has not been increase 

 enough to fill up -the hives, where the 

 bees died last winter and spring. New 

 hives were made and painted four 

 years ago, and there has been no de- 

 mand for them, and this explains why 

 supply dealers have so few orders. 



There has been considerable white 

 clover bloom, but only a few good 

 honey days, which were like angels 

 visits, few and far between, and only 

 a few colonies finished cases of hone}'. 



Peoria, 111. 



