THE AMERICAN BEE KEEl'ER. 



139 



In case of a four inch barrel, hot, di- 

 rect draft, well fed smoker, four pres- 

 sures or less ou the bellows brings a 

 cloud of smoke that no bee can endure; 

 the comb may be carried in one hand 

 while the smoker held in the other. it 

 may be safely guarded until it is safe- 

 ly in the comb bucket. At the comb 

 bucket we may find the lid lined with 

 knots of bees trying to get at the 

 combs on the inside; one such blast 

 changes their minds as they shoot out 

 of the cloud of smoke in all direct- 

 ions so choked as to fall to the grouud. 

 Blow a dense cloud inside so if any 

 robber has gotten in , it will be chok- 

 ing for breath instead of handing honey 

 out through the hinges of the lid. 

 On arriving at the honey house there 

 too, are found bunches and Hues of bees 

 trying to get in at the door and only 

 for dense clouds of smoke no one 

 could enter without admitting a small 

 swarm of robbers also. 



One load to a robber multiplies 

 their number at least a dozen times so 

 it saves to begin with plenty of smoke 

 and use It understandiugly. Smoke 

 and manipulations in this way, even 

 after robbing has gotten under head- 

 way, in large apiaries, will cause them 

 to become less and less troublesome 

 until they give up the business. Such 

 a smoker will effectively stand guard 

 over a comb or comb bucket, or if all- 

 owed to remain in the honey house it 

 will drive robbers from the windows 

 anddoois. 



A band of robbers learn to detect 

 colonies which have surrendered be- 

 fore the manipulator's smoke by the 

 kind of roar, the bees set up and are 

 watchful to pounce upon the combs 

 or in at the entrance at such times 

 and for this reason the sentinels should 



not be driven from the entrance; and 

 robbers being always promptly met at 

 the entrnace will soon decide that en- 

 trances are not successful 01 custom- 

 ary points to attack. 



My smoker burns any dry, hard or 

 rotten wood or barks, cut to one inch 

 square by four, the same as a stove 

 and is lighted with shavings whittled 

 with a jack knife from a pine stick. 



Light the shavings and throw them 

 into the fire box and pile the wood on 

 top of the burning shavings. Large, 

 constant blast, smokers burn lots of 

 wood but the wood is the easiest kind 

 to get and prepare. This item is very 

 small which the trouble robbers may 

 cause, or the time of the user that 

 may be wasted with fussing with weak 

 half spirited ones. 



I buy of those in the market the one 

 most nearly right, and alter it to suit 

 my notion. In moving bees on wagons 

 if a colony becomes unfastened so that 

 the bees pour out, a smoker of th:'s> 

 description will either drive them back 

 or burn their wings off which is far 

 preferable to a runaway; and I have 

 stood efficient guard, with smoker in 

 hand, overteoms and men when cul- 

 tivating land close by the apiary; and 

 teami may be safely driven through 

 the apiary under cover of clouds of 

 smoke. — Bee-Keepei s Review. 



ROBBER BEES AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE 

 TREATED. 



At times when bees can find but little 

 honey to gather in the field it some- 

 times happens that strong colonies- 

 will attack a weak colony, and if the 

 apiarist is not watchful, robbing nay 

 become general and all the apiary may 

 be demoralized. To prevent this the 

 beed^eeper has to be very watchful 



