THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



37 



then bought twtMity swarms of bees, 

 mostly black, in Lanp;strotli hives, 

 with three or four hybrid colonies 

 of Cyi)rians and Italians. Winter 

 came on before the walls of the 

 cellar got dry, and I was obliged to 

 put my bees in. 1 lost one colony 

 in February b}' placing the hives 

 too near together when setting 

 them out for a tlight. One of the 

 hybrid colonies seemed to break 

 up and join the other bees. 



My bees came out of the damp 

 cellar with the combs somewhat 

 moulded ; but in a day or two the 

 liives and combs were as a new 

 house after house cleaning. I ob- 

 tained 1,800 pounds of section 

 honey in one- and two-pound sec- 

 tions with an increaseof ten swarms. 

 The next fall 1 cemented the cellar 

 bottom in time to get it perfectly 

 dr}' and as hard as a rock before 

 the bees were put in. Last spring 

 I had no mouldy combs and the 

 good fortune to bring out alive ev- 

 ery swarm I put in, notwithstand- 

 ing the great destruction among 

 the bees of this state and counti-y 

 generally ; four colonies, however, 

 were rather feeble. If I had changed 

 stands with my strongest swarms 

 as 1 afterwards did with two of the 

 weak ones, I should not have lost 

 any. In this way the bees equalize 

 themselves, because when the bees 

 take a flight many will go back to 

 their old stands. Of course a few 

 bees will be killed. The same rule 

 works like a charm with robbers. 

 First find the robbers and then 

 change stands, putting the robbers 

 on the stands of the colony being 

 robbed, and you will see the most 

 astonished swarm of bees you ever 

 saw. The robbers won't know 

 " t'other from which." They will 

 find -plenty of business at home, 

 and at the same time 3'ou will build 

 up your weak swarms, as many of 

 the robbers will go to the old stand 

 and make themselves perfectly at 

 home and help defend it even 

 against their own family. 



The past season, as all beekeep- 

 ers know, was probably the worst 

 one for twenty years for surplus 

 honey. I cannot boast much this 

 year, not having got as nnich sur- 

 plus by one-half from double the 

 number of swarms as I did the 

 year previous. About eighty col- 

 onies, having bee« added to my 

 apiary by j)urchase and increase, 

 are all in the cellar in good condi- 

 tion. It is just a pleasure to go 

 down and slide back the door and 

 listen to their contented, happy 

 hum. 



1 tier them up, one on top of the 

 other, with an inch strip between, 

 with the enamelled cloth, with cap 

 removed, giving them free ventila- 

 tion over the top. 



My wife, by the bye, is very 

 fond of helping work among the 

 bees and quite plucky withal. 

 So last summer a swarm came out, 

 alighting far out on the end of an 

 apple tree limb, not a very good 

 place to get near the bees with a 

 ladder. She said she could stand 

 on a high stool and hold the 

 swarming box on her head, while 

 I should shake the bees into it. 

 The cluster fell on her hands 

 and stung her fearfully. But she 

 is composed of better stulT than 

 the " darkey" in the story, which 

 went the rounds of all the bee 

 journals last summer, placed in 

 the same predicament; my wife 

 hung to the box, bees and all until 

 I came to her relief. However, I 

 would not advise beginners to let 

 their wives help to hive bees any 

 way. I would have a sack stitched 

 in the mouth of a wire hoop and 

 a bail hooked on the end of a pole 

 of convenient length by putting a 

 ferret wMth a hook on the pole. I 

 would then go under the swarm 

 and push the sack up until the 

 bees were completel}' in the sack 

 and give a sharp, little push up- 

 wards against the limb when all 

 the bees will be in the sack read}' 

 to dump into or in front of the 



