70 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



eral interesting articles on " Prevention of 

 Increase," otl.ers on "Wintering Bees." In 

 fact we already liave al)0ut !\.« many leading 

 articles as we can use tbis year and all are 

 from the best contributors the bee frateiuity 

 affords. 



The API will be licpt up to a high standard 

 and its well-deserved reputation will be main- 

 tained. All our contributors are practical 

 men as well as men of brains. We are very 

 proud of the entire corps. 



AU the colonies in the Bay State Apiary 

 had a fliglit on Sunday, Feb. 5. Every colony 

 has been on the summer stand all winter, no 

 packing around the hives, yet we never saw, 

 and think it would be hard to find, lifty-thrce 

 colonies of bees in such fine condition; no 

 dead bees, no mold nor dampness about the 

 hive, and every colony apparently in as line 

 condition as in Sept ember last. 



The "Api"will be ^ent to several thous- 

 ands oflj^^keepers whose address has been 

 ^ent us w.lhin iix months We are recemi^g 

 from twenty to one hundred and twenty- 

 live calls per day lor sample copies ol tlie 

 APICULTURIST. Tlioso who advertise with us 

 U.eSl^eVent year will reap a rich harvest Jor 

 such au investment with the Api. 



Please look this issue of our paper over and 



then send us 75 cents in postage stamps, or m 



■ nv cnu ency, and got twelve more cn'ies ot 



he AP eqna ly as^aluable and inte.Lsting. 



Can you afford to be wi thout thein i 



Club Rates of the different bee-papers 

 wail the API, lound on anoUier page, will not 

 p. iViinne lifter May 1. The prices are very 

 IZZu-^^v^o^Ay made to quicken subscnp- 



'■ The'n-lce'o^r'tbe- API, without pre^nium is 

 75 cents per year. Any one who subr,cribes 

 at th t p ice can get one of our fine queens 

 by rem tung 75 cents more at the tune the 

 queen is needed. Price of sample drone-aud- 

 mieen trap to subscribers, by mail, 40 cen s. 

 Our subscription li^t is growing rapidly, 

 thanks to the hundreds of friends who are 

 aiding us to increase it. 



Do not induce rolibing in the apiary by 

 leaving a liive on tlie Mimnier stand lioiu 

 which the bees have died. When a colony 

 begins lobbinti in the spring it is pretty apt 

 to keep it up all tlie season. "An ounce ol 

 prevention is better than a pound ol cure. 



The essays on the " Productions of Comb 

 Honey" by J. E. Crane and Mr. Isham will 

 appear in our April issue. 



After February 29, we can mail the drone- 

 and-qucen trai)8 to our friends in Canada. 



COMBS BUILT CROSSWISE. 



Gibson, Pa. 

 Mr. Alley: I have three colonies that 

 have built tlieir combs crosswise of the 

 frames. How can 1 best straighten them and 

 when can it be dune to best advantage ? 



F. C. Scott. 



[The best time to operate on a 

 colony of bees whose combs are 

 in the condition described, is late 

 in the spring or, say, just before 

 the bees begin to gather honey. 

 Probably I have purchased one 

 hundred colonies of bees and 

 found the combs in as bad condi- 

 tion as those above described. The 

 bees were purchased of people who 

 had no idea what movable frames 



were for. 



The combs were treated as fol- 

 lows : The bees were driven into 

 the cap of the hive after removing 

 the board that covers the frames, 

 when nearly all of them were driv- 

 en out, the frames were loosened 

 from the rabbets and the combs 

 detached from the side of the hive 

 if fastened there as they usually 

 are. Then the hive was inverted, 

 combs and all, the frames resting 

 upon two sticks to prevent any 

 bees from being crushed, and the 

 hive gradually lifted from the 

 frames and combs. Every comb is 

 then cut out, the bees brushed from 

 them and each one laid by itself 

 upon a board. One comb of brood 

 should not be placed on another, as 

 the heat thus created by the brood 

 would, in a short time, destroy the 

 immature bees in both combs. I 

 usually press the combs down flat 

 by using a smooth board as large as 

 the piece of comb to be straight- 

 ened. This process will not dam- 

 nge the brood in the least. We 

 are able to say this from thirty 

 years' practice. 



When all the combs are out cut 

 them into the frames with a sharp, 

 thin knife. Do the work so nicely 

 that the comb will just fill the frame 

 without more cutting. Now, tie 

 the combs into the frames by using 

 cotton twine. Don't use sticks, 

 wire or pieces of tin for such a 

 purpose. Those people who use 

 ami recommend such devices are 

 behiud the times, and their advice 

 should not be followed. Where 



