THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



39 



interest. It is said that ever}' little 

 helps, so here goes. 



The harvest is past ami the 

 summer is ended, and our bees are 

 once more to winter on summer 

 stands, packed in dry maple leaves. 

 Last year our bees were packed 

 the same as this, and we did not 

 lose a single colony, although one 

 or two came out rather weak, and 

 another had lost its queen. The 

 honey harvest in this section, 1887, 

 was short and of a dark color. 

 The past season's experience shows 

 us that a colony with just bee 

 space between the brood combs 

 will store more hone}^ in the sec- 

 tions than a colony of the same 

 size that has the usual space given 

 in a ten frame L. hive. 



TESTED QUKENS. 



Those who advertise queens for 

 sale offer both tested and untest- 

 ed that one may take his choice : 

 a tested queen at a fair price or 

 an untestetl one for little or noth- 

 ing. Allow us to say to all who 

 contemplate purchasing queens 

 that, while we do not blame the one 

 who otters both tested and untested 

 queens for sale (because the}' must 

 do this in order to suit all custom- 

 ers) we do blame those who pur- 

 chase an untested queen for 75 

 cents or $1.00, when they can get a 

 good tested one for from S2.oO to 

 S-4.00 each. It is evident that we 

 do not have to go abroad to get a 

 liybrid queen, and we all know 

 that an untested queen too often 

 turns out to be nothing more than 

 a hybrid. So, friends, in summing- 

 up, we come to this conclusion : 

 If we want bees for honey, regard- 

 less of race and bad tem[)er, per- 

 haps the untested queen is the one 

 to buy ; but if we value pure stock 

 and gentleness, then a purely mat- 

 ed queen is what we want. 



Horner stoion, N. J. 



For the American Aptculturist. 



HIVING BEES. 



F. C. Cuoss. 



The hiving of bees that have 

 clustered on a tree, as the}' often 

 will at swarming time when the 

 queen is allowed to fly, is, to many, 

 a difficult operation ; but with a 

 bag fastened to a hoop and pole 

 similar to a scoop-net it is an easy 

 matter. 



JNIake hoop of ^ inch round iron 

 and 14 inches in diameter ; fasten 

 securely to a handle 5 or 6 feet 

 long, in such a way that when the 

 handle is held upright the hoop 

 will be horizontal. Make a bag 

 of white cotton cloth two feet 

 long, and sew neatly to the hoop. 

 Have several poles of different 

 lengths to which the hoop may 

 be fastened, so as to reach bees at 

 various heights conveniently. 



After the swarm has alighted 

 and become quiet, place the bag 

 carefully underneath the cluster, 

 give a quick upward push so as to 

 jar the limb on which the bees are 

 and cause them to fall. Lower the 

 bag a little way, wait a few minutes, 

 and the bees that are flying will 

 enter the bag with the rest. If 

 some are slow to leave the place of 

 first clustering, reach the limb with 

 another pole and give it a shake 

 and you can soon lower the swarm 

 and carry it where you like and 

 shake out. 



MOVING BEES. 



To move bees short distances we 

 are told, in the bee books, to move 

 a few inches daily until at the place 

 wanted ; but often this is impossi- 

 ble. In such a case take hive 

 when bees are all in and place 

 where desired ; some of the bees 

 will of course go back to the old 

 stand, give these a hive with one 

 empty comb on which to cluster 

 and at dark shake off in front of 



