THE A.MElilCAM r»KE JOURNAL. 



119 



[For tho AnioricRn Bee Jnurnnl.] 



Experience of a Novice.— No. 8. 



Bolbre avo start in piuvuit of ",i,nantess" and 

 lu'i- n'tiiUK', perhaps 1 niiglit rriiiarkthat I forth- 

 with hiolced up all my rLinaiuing fertile queens 

 aud elipped one -wing of each, (clipping a leg I 

 have decided to be unnecessary). After having 

 thus made all the rest sale, I look up the pursuit. 



It was towards evening as 1 started otf across 

 the meadows, and the air was fdled with per- 

 fume from tlu! many blossoms which have always 

 possessed a double charm for me since I have 

 made bees a study, although they were fascinat- 

 ing before. As 1 passed a piece of rising ground 

 the sound of humming bees seemeil to till the air 

 with a continuous roar, as though it were full of 

 th(5m, although none Qould be seen. It Avas 

 some time before I could understand it, until I 

 came to the conclusion that it was occasioned by 

 the bees from toAvn passing to and fro from the 

 acres of snow-white clover, which seemed to in- 

 crease as I passed further on. I had been look- 

 ing for Italians, and had noticed them occasion- 

 ally at work until I got about a mile from mj- 

 apiary, where they almost ceased to appear, al- 

 though black bees were in great plenty. Half a 

 mile further on, as I ueared a piece of woods in 

 a direct line in Avhieh my swarm had fiown, 1 

 found the clover blossoms almost exclusively co\ - 

 ered Avith hybrids. The clover Avas so plenty 

 about there as to present almost a perfect mass 

 ofAvhi^e blossoms. And on going home in a 

 different direction, I found the hybrids gave 

 place to black bees at about such a distance, thus 

 settling the question that the truant sAvarm was 

 in that viciniiy. 



Perhaps I should have remarked that I had 

 previously examined mj' books, and found that 

 Langstroth mentions a similar case of bees going 

 off Avithout clustering, aud that they Averc lound 

 by taking the line on Avhich they Avere last ;-ecu 

 to move. 



In this case I had taken the direction by climb- 

 ing to the top of the house and noticing where 

 thej- Avould strike the forest in pas.sing over the 

 liouse of the friend before-mentioned. As I had 

 seen them at work, if I had not found their 

 precise location, I returned home Avell satisfied 

 with the progress made and my Avalk. 



In a fcAV days I again visited the locality Avith 

 bee-box aud honey, in order to line themas per 

 directions in Bee-Keeper's Text Book. But 

 though I caught a number, they did not seem to 

 care for lioney, and Avould not n(jtice it even 

 when I poked their noses into it. They had 

 evidently made up tiieir minds not to be It'nal. 



On further con.>ultation of tho Text Book, 1 

 learned that I must Avail until forage Avas not so 

 plenty. I did so, but as I Availed until the Avhite 

 clover Avas all gone, I couid not tind any bees to 

 start Avith; and after several unsuccessful attempts, 

 concluded that "bee hunting"' avus not my forte. 

 I Avas going to abandon them in despair, Avhen 

 in August we discovered Italians at Avork in a 

 buckwheat field near there. Bringing the bee- 

 box again into requisition, we soon had a line in 



the desired direction, and presently a host of 

 bees going and coming on a "bee-line." How- 

 ever, they did not all strike the Avoods at the 

 same point, and after looking in vain at all tho 

 trees Avithin a quarter of a mile, Ave decided to 

 "cross line." 



We had left the Text Book at home this time, 

 but thought we remembered the directions. 

 Catching a boxful ol' bees and carrjing them 

 about a quarter of a mile, Ave let one out to see 

 AvJiich Avay he Avould go dome. After circling 

 around some time, he struck off northeast, 'i'hinlc- 

 ing Ave had not come far enough, we went another 

 quarter of a mile and let out some more. Tliey 

 moved northeast also. Well, we reasoned, bees of 

 course know Avhich Avay home is, and we will take 

 them far enough, so that they will have to come 

 back. Ho Ave tried half a mile. Still northeast. 

 Another quarter oi' a mile, and on letting the 

 balance out, as they too settled in a northeast 

 direction, my companion (who only Aveiglis 240 

 pounds avoirdupois,) declined going further, as 

 he Avas sure they had located someAvhere on the 

 opposite shore of Lake Erie. 



Home again. Some of our acquaintances 

 shook their heads, remarking Avhat a crazy fel- 

 low that was, chasing after a swarm of 



bees, thfy knoAviug all the time he Avould never 

 find them. They (the bees) had been adver- 

 tised in the Gazette Avhen thej' first went off, so 

 that everybody knew about it. 



But rce were going to have them just for spite — 

 see if we didn't. 



We engaged the services of an experienced 

 bee-hunter, and prepared ancAV for the siege. 

 Being reinforced Avilh a bottle of oil of anise ac- 

 cording to his direction, Ave soon had half a 

 swarm at AVork, aud Avhilst Ave amused ourselves 

 in carrj'ing the bait along in the direction from 

 Avhich they came, he went to examine a piece of 

 Avoods beyond those in Avhich Ave had been look- 

 ing when tliey first Avent into the trees. It Avas 

 not long bei'ore Ave heard the Avelcome news that 

 he had "fbunil them." 



SAvinging our hats with loud huzzas for our 

 success, Ave approached the tree. Sure enough, 

 Ave found them in the top of a toAvering oak, 

 going in and out as much at home as if they had 

 a perfect right to be there. 



In going from the buckAvheat field they had 

 Ijcen compelled to pass a small corner of Avoods, 

 and as some had gone over it and others around 

 it, it had created the confusion in regard to their 

 locality. 



A suggestion from any of our readers as to 

 hoAv Avc can get "giantess" down without damage 

 to her majesty, would be esteemed a rare favor 

 by IS'oviCE. 



P. S. — As Ave propose leaving her till spring, 

 there Avill be ample time for hints on the subject. 



The economy of a nest of waspn differs from 

 that of the /;<<'.s', in that the eggs are laid not by 

 a single mother or queen, but bj^ several; and 

 t'.iat i hese mothers take the same care as the 

 Avorker^ in feeding the young grubs. 



£:^°Send us names of bee-keepers with tlieir 

 po.t office address. 



