look clean. This may be a good indica- 

 tion ; but then the question arises, 

 What becomes of the feces ? 



Another thing I noticed, when de- 

 livering a few colonies sold early this 

 spring, to be taken on sleighs a long 

 distance, upon examination by remov- 

 ing the top protection, I found a moth 

 worm on two respective hives. This 

 was the first mild day of spring. What 

 should this denote V 



Callicoon, N. Y., May 3, 1870. 



[Very rarely do bees discharge their 

 feces in the hive, unless diseased or 

 disturbed, hence their combs should all 

 be clean ; and as they were not dis- 

 eased, they flew so far away from the 

 hive before relieving themselves, that 

 you did not notice it all. The moth 

 worm you speak of had, no doubt, win- 

 tered over in some stage, or it would 

 not have been there so early in the 

 spring.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How I Catch Swarms. 



ROBERT CORBETT. 



For the past 10 or 12 years, I have not 

 cut my fruit trees to catch swarms. I 

 get an ordinary sized basket, and nail 

 a % in. board on the bottom, with some 

 suitable springs under it ; then bore a 

 hole in the center, and put an iron 

 down through, with a loop on the top 

 and a nut on the inside, and screw it 

 fast ; buckle a strap, 6 or 8 in. long with 

 a snap on it, in the loop. Have a pole, 

 cut from the edge of a 2-in. plank, 

 dressed any length, from 8 to 10 ft., 

 with a ferule on each end and 34 to- 

 iron rod 16 in. in length ; take a small 

 ring, and bend an eye on the end 

 of the rod, with the ring in it; taper 

 the other end, and make it secure in 

 the end of the pole ; then curve it so as 

 to project it 6 or 8 in., in which snap the 

 basket catcher. 



To use it, push it among the branches 

 of the tree which the bees are making 

 for, and if they do not light upon it, 

 when they begin to cluster, put the 

 catcher up against them, and when 

 you get part of them on your basket, 

 move it a little away and toward the 

 branch that they are on, and they will 

 all settle on the basket in 5 minutes. 



To complete the pole, get a % in. rod 

 of iron, 12 in. long, tapered at each 

 end, and secure it in the lower end of 

 the pole ; and when the bees begin to 

 settle on the basket, stick the spear in 



the ground and let it stand, while you 

 are preparing the hive, etc. Then take 

 down the pole and unhook the basket 

 with bees, which may be carried any 

 distance you wish. Shake off the bees 

 on an open sheet, in front of the hive, 

 showing them the way, and they will 

 go in faster than a flock of sheep into a 

 yard, after the gate is open. 

 Maiden, 111., May 1, 1879. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Cause of Dysentery. 



J. O. SHEARMAN. 



What causes dysentery V Too much 

 cold, poor honey, moisture or moldy 

 combs. But how about prevention in 

 such a season as this ? In all hives I 

 have examined, where the bees died of 

 dysentery, either this season or 2 years 

 ago, I found dead brood in some of the 

 combs, with more or less punctured 

 caps. The latter is one indication of 

 foul brood, but the combs and honey 

 have generally been used, after warm 

 weather came, with no bad effect. I 

 was at the Michigan Convention, in 

 Kalamazoo, the May after the great 

 fire, and heard Mr. Rood say that the 

 cause of the death of his bees was be- 

 yond his knowledge ; he never saw or 

 heard of the like before. Many in this 

 section, also, lost heavily, and laid it to 

 the smoky atmosphere, the fall previ- 

 ous. Some claim that it is a disease. 



I generally winter successfully, and 

 thought I knew all about it. But this 

 season takes the conceit out of many of 

 us. By the time we get out of the 

 woods, some of us won't feel much like 

 whistling. It is often asked, " Why 

 did not bees act so, years ago ? We 

 never heard of so much trouble in win- 

 tering, until within a few years." I 

 have an opinion upon these points, and 

 would like to express it, with a view of 

 bringing out the opinions of others 

 through the Journal,. I believe in 

 cause and effect. We have the effect 

 (an accomplished fact) ; now, for the 

 cause : 



1. Anything that causes unusual ex- 

 citement in a hive, without the privi- 

 lege of voiding properly, i. e., on the 

 wing, conduces to dysentery. 



2. Sudden changes of temperature 

 causes excitement among the bees, if 

 shut in. An unusual amount of breed- 

 ing causes excitement, as the bees 

 want to feed them and carry water. A 

 bad smell in the hive causes excite- 

 ment, and is the most fatal of all causes. 

 Sour honey also causes excitement, as 

 it physics the bees and makes the air 

 foul. 



