THE AMERICAN APTCULTURIST. 



89 



hives cxeopt the one ([)os.sil)ly two 

 hivos) which contains tho<h'ones wo 

 use for niatinij; our queens. Now 

 if our colonies wei'e to have their 

 way about swarming as much and 

 as often as they are allowed to, the 

 trap wouUl need some metal with 

 larger perforations so that the 

 young queens could pass out for a 

 fligiit. All that trouble is done 

 away with in the Bay State apiary. 

 "When a colony swarms, at the 

 proper time the queen-cells are re- 

 moved and a fertile queen intro- 

 duced, general!}' the queen that 

 leads the swarm. Wlien a swarm 

 issues, the queen is caged and taken 

 away from the hive for a few days, 

 the cells removed, and then the 

 queen is introduced again. 



Now, in case the cells are not 

 removed, but a young queen is 

 reared, she can be compelled to 

 meet a drone from any colony the 

 apiarist desires, b}' simpl}^ remov- 

 ing the metal from the trap and 

 replacing with a piece that has 

 slightly larger perforations. While 

 the virgin queen can pass the metal, 

 the drone cannot. Traps thus ar- 

 ranged would cost but about 

 twentj'-five cents more per dozen, 

 and as the time required to change 

 the metal would be but a few min- 

 utes to the trai), it seems to us 

 it would pay for the trouble. Some 

 such arrangement as this must be 

 devised if we are to improve the 

 races of bees and prevent in-breed- 

 ing. 



If all who keep bees would show 

 the same disposition as Mr. Massie, 

 there would be less rattle-traps in 

 use in the shape of bee-hives and 

 other fixtures used in the apiar3^] 



FERMENTED HONEY. 



\ew RocheUe, iV. Y. 

 Can I do anything with honey tl)at has be- 

 gun to get -our i 1 li:ive it in a deep can. Jt 

 looks very thin. I have seen in some bool< 

 that though it may be sour on the top the 

 lower part may be perfectly good. Is that 



so? Miss 11. JVlAUAGLlANO. 



[Place the can of honey in water 

 and then gradually bring the wa- 

 ter to tiie l)oiling {ioint. Do not 

 boil tlie water long, but keep it as 

 near the boiling point as possible. 



Keep the hone}' at that temper- 

 ature for several hours, and as the 

 scum rises remove it. The heat will 

 evaporate the water from the hon- 

 ey and the flavor will be much 

 better then it was when the honey 

 was in the fermented condition.] 



KED CLOVER BEES. 



Florence, W. Va. 

 Some parties advertise l)ees that will work 

 npon red clover. Is there any tUtng in that ? 

 Will you please answer in A))! ? 



G. W. Haetmax. 



[Yes, there is something in the 

 statement that bees will work and 

 gather honey from red clover blos- 

 soms. I never saw bees of any race 

 or strain that would not do it. 



No bees will gather honey from 

 the first crop of red clover, but all 

 will work upon the second or seed 

 crop and get more or less honey 

 from it. Occasionally, there is a 

 season when the weather is just right 

 at the time second crop of red 

 clover is in blossom for nectar to 

 secrete and at such time bees will 

 be found at work upon it. The 

 honey is very good, but rather dark.] 



BUCKWHEAT HONEY. 



Will buckwheat blossom and yield honey 

 in the summer if sown in tlie spi-ing? We 

 have nothing but fall honey in tliis section. 



J. N. E. 



[Yes, sow the seed early in 

 Juty, or it will do at most anytime 

 in July. "We like to sow the seed 

 early so as to have the bees work 

 upon the blossoms before the 

 frosts kill the plant. Sow the 

 SilverhuU buckwheat.] 



HIVING SWARMS. 

 Dear Api : For the benefit of 

 those who do not use the drone-and- 

 queen trap I will tell how I man- 

 age swarming. Just before the 



