For the American Bee Journal. 



Block for Nailing Prize Boxes. 



BY C. H. DIBBERN. 



After a good deal of experimenting 

 and some failure, I have hit upon a 

 block for nailing, that I think is hard 

 to beat. Take an inch board a sixteenth 

 of an inch larger than the outside of a 

 prize box ; then take two pieces 1 inch 

 thick and a sixteenth of an inch smaller 

 than the inside of the box ; then nail 

 on the first in such away that the grain 

 of the wood of the middle piece will 

 run crosswise to the two outside pieces. 

 This is to keep it from warping. Now 

 take two pieces of Russia iron, such as 

 is used for stove pipe, about 4 in. long, 

 by 3 in. wide ; cutting 1 in. square out of 

 the corners on one side. Nail the pieces 



to the block, so that the notched side 

 shall be nailed to the largest piece of 

 the block. Bend the iron slightly at 

 the ends, so that the spring in the iron 

 will hold the pieces to make the box, 

 firmly in place, till nailed. This block 

 is very neat and handy and not at all 

 inconvenient to use. Sections, if 

 careful, will be perfectly true, and are 

 quickly made. I think a person can 

 nail one-third more than without a 

 block, and do it much better. 

 Milan, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Careful Handling of the Bees. 



BY C. F. GREENING. 



I see that I was elected one of the Vice 

 Presidents of the North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Association. Unavoidable 

 circumstances excepted, I shall be pres- 

 ent next October, and will gladly con- 

 tribute my mite, towards making the 

 Association a success. Never having 

 met with a body of bee-keepers, I hope 

 to learn, and shall eagerly look forward 

 to the time when I can have an inter- 

 change of thought and ideas with the 

 best bee-keepers of the United States. 



UNTESTED QUEENS. 



I am pleased to see the discussions in 

 regard to " cheap queens " and wish to 

 array myself against the dollar queen 

 army. I have raised many queens from 



imported mothers, but cannot afford to 

 raise them at that price, and never will. 

 I have paid $15.00 for one queen in the 

 fall, and the next year she paid me back 

 over $50.00, in honey, swarms and 

 queens. Since I bought her, I have 

 30 colonies from her. I get a new im- 

 ported queen every year or so, to infuse 

 new blood in my stock. The best al- 

 ways in the long run pays best. I claim 

 to keep up to the highest standard of 

 purity, size, color and prolificness. 

 Amiability I do not strive for. For I 

 claim if we use our pets well, they sel- 

 dom injure us. But if we kill a few of 

 the most amiable bees in the world, 

 some of their friends are as certain to 

 take it up, as we would if our friend 

 were ruthlessly murdered — the most 

 amiable of us would be very liable to 

 seize the first weapon we could get hold 

 of, and inflict summary punishment, if 

 the offender were caught in the act. 



HANDLE BEES WITH CARE. 



Careful handling will cure nearly 

 any cross bees, and careless handling 

 make the most gentle ones cross. In 

 handling my 50 colonies the past season,. 

 I have found it necessary to protect 

 myself but once or twice. With a 

 Bingham smoker in one hand, and coat 

 off, I find no difficulty in transferring T 

 dividing, doubling, or doing any needful 

 work among them. One main secret I 

 claim in handling bees, is for one per- 

 son only to manipulate them. I am 

 positive they get to know their keeper, 

 as well as a horse or cow knows its 

 master. I have lain for hours with my 

 face not a foot from the entrance of a 

 hive, watching the different work going 

 on. A poor tired bee alights on my 

 face to rest with his load after a long 

 weary flight, do I brush it off ? No ! 

 In a few moments it flies to the 

 entrance, and is at home. Had I 

 injured my friend, what then ? It 

 would have resented it, and so would 

 the rest of the family. I never kill a 

 bee when it is possible to avoid it. I 

 once killed a queen that I wished to 

 supersede, and carelessly left her on 

 top of the hive. Shortly after, I passed 

 the hive, when, lo and behold, the col- 

 ony had found her, and there they were 

 all piled on top of the hive, trying evi- 

 dently to warm her back to life, or at 

 least to remain with her corpse. They 

 left house and home, willing to brave 

 any danger, for the love of mother was 

 uppermost. It was so human-like, that 

 I never liked to kill a bee since. I put 

 them back in the hive and in a few days 

 gave them a capped queen-cell and in 

 three days more they had a new queen, 

 who distroyed the cells started in their 



