124 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



Jiihj 



Such is truly a tearful case, for the war- 

 riors are all well equipped with lancets 

 tipped with poison which, if hurled at 

 their master, unprotected, would drive 

 the man to the wall or lay him low in 

 death. Such a case is possible ; and it 

 becomes every bee-man to know how to 

 proceed in such an emergency. 



Smoke will answer a good purpose in 

 preparing the way to handle bees suc- 

 cessfully: but after the bees have become 

 enraged and are in the air, smoke is of 

 no avail. Such cases occasionally will 

 transpire, when the bees are full of 

 revenge and war is inevita'ile; and if 

 the case is very serious, the question of 

 this article is, how can we meet it? 



An extreme case of this kind once oc- 

 curred in my apiary. From a densely 

 crowded colony I removed the case of 

 honey in which the queen had deposited 

 a small amount of brood, to which the 

 bees clung with the greatest tenacity. 

 In brushing them off, they became more 

 and more enraged until I found the air 

 was full of angry bees venting their spite 

 on me. They covered me from head to 

 foot, pricking my body in every part. 

 Wherever there was a vulnerable spot 

 they seemed to know it and would pour 

 in their forces. The disaffection seemed 

 to be extending wider and wider ; and I 

 became greatly alarmed for the safety of 

 my neighbors. My wisdom was not 

 equal to the occasion, and I knew not 

 what to do. In my extremity I looked 

 up higher, and a new thought struck me 

 with great force. 



IT IS A BIBLE IDEA. 



If I were dealing with an angry man, 

 I would be likely to subdue him by 

 "heaping coals of tire on his head.'" 

 Jacob killed the wrath of his brother by 

 sending him a present ; and the Master 

 says : "Overcome evil with good." 

 The thought occurred to me: "I will 

 try this ' law of love ' on my bees ; I will 

 giv(! them honey." I quickly placiKl 

 more than a pound of honey at the front 

 of the enraged colony, and at once the 

 device worked like a charm ! The pick- 



ets were called in: the army was ordered 

 home; peace was declai-ed, and in five 

 minutes not a warrior was seen on the 

 field of blood. And from that moment 

 all remembrance of the strife was at an 

 e'ld. 



I think I will leave the philosophy of 

 such an event to Bro. Doolittle. 



]}runswiok, Maine. 



"Ill fares the hive, 



To hastening ills a prey. 

 Where wealth accumulates 



And bees decay." 



A HOUSE APIARY. 



Something of its Construction and 

 Operation. 



BY F. G HERMAN. 



DESIRING to try the merits of a ' 

 house-apiary, I thought I would 

 have one built on the following 

 plan : The lumber used in this build- : 

 ing is common inch matched boards, 

 planed on one side ; the frame is made 

 of 2x4 inch wall strips. The roof is 

 covered with Neponset paper, and is 

 perfectly water-tight. The building is 

 nine feet wide and fourteen feet long ; 

 there is a window in each end and one 

 on the opposite side. The door is on 

 the rear end which faces northward. 

 The building rests on large stones ; has 

 a good floor in it ; is neatly painted; was 

 built by a mechanic, and cost just $53. 

 This house is located on a berry farm, two 

 and one-half miles from my home apiary. 

 It contains twenty colonies of bees in 

 two tiers of hives. The broad side of 

 the house, which is in view, faces east- 

 ward and the end southward. There an- 

 no hives facing on the other two sides. 

 The hives used in this house are known 

 by the name of "Long Ideal." They 

 were made to order for me by The W. T. 

 Falconer Manufacturing Co., of James- 

 town, N. Y. They hold twenty Lang- 

 stroth frames each, crosswise, and are 

 expressly used for extracted honey. The 

 total cost of hives, fixtures and house 



