44 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[August, 



the frames, scenting the cage first with sweetened 

 water, and giving the bees another sprinkling or 

 feeding. Next morning, if the bees clustered on the 

 cage show any signs of hostility by hissing or other- 

 wise, carry it ten or twelve stc]is from the hive, and 

 gently brush them all off. Replace the cage on 

 the frames; scent and sprinkle or feed, as before; 

 and close the top. Repeat this on the second day, 

 and subsequent days, if the bees crowded on the cage 

 give continued signs of discontent ; but if otherwise, 

 merelv sprinkle or feed, as before; and in the even- 

 ing, having brushed off the bees, carry the cage to a 

 closed room, lest the queen make her escape ; remove 

 the cork or sponge, and tie over a piece of soft tissue 

 paper, besmearing it with honey ; replace it on the 

 frames, sprinkle or feed once more, and close the 

 hive. Next morning, if the bees have not liberated 

 the queen, and there are no evidences of animosity 

 on their part, you may safely liberate her yourself, 

 first dipping your fingers in peppermint water. We 

 prefer not putting bees in the cage with the queen, as 

 they sometimes play " tit for tat" with angry out- 

 siders, thus keeping up fight or the show of it, and 

 preventing a speedy acceptance of the queen. 



We have introduced many queens safely in this 

 manner, not having failed in a single instance since 

 we adopted it. The advantage is that you have the 

 whole operation entirely under your eye, and are en- 

 abled to act as may seem expedient. Whether the 

 process will prove equally efficient in the hands of 

 others, remains to be ascertained. — Ed. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Natural, Prolific and Hardy Queens. 



Mr. John M. Peice : 



Dear Sir :— I have for years been in the habit 

 of raising my queens on stocks kept in full heart 

 by liberal feeding or otherwise— and have not 

 found any appreciable difference between queens 

 thus raised, and those raised by the bees when 

 preparing to swarm. I had one-half of the 

 queens iii my apiary from swarming cells at one 

 time ; but thi'y proved no better than others 

 raised under favorable circumstances,* from 

 queenless stocks. While I differ entirely from 

 you on this point, I still think your plan a good one 

 for getting choice quee7is\— perhaps better than any 

 other. Yours truly, 



L. L. LAKGSTROTn, 



Per J. T. L. 



Oxford, Ohio, April 24, 1871. 



* I have been raising queens for my own use since 

 1805, and have never had one that was equal to natu- 

 ral queens, which I either bought or found in a colony 

 on the eve of swarming. Three out of every five 

 queens raised were lost on their wedding flight. 

 ( Queen raiser'' s exjilcmatiori.) The balance would either 

 be non-prolific, or be short-lived, or be a season ma- 

 turing, and not able to keep up her swarm until one 

 year old. Mr. Langstroth, and a few others, may be 

 able to hit favorable circumstances once in awhile; 

 but the majority of bee-keepers, under favorable cir- 

 cwnstances, might do so only once in a lifetime. 



t Choice queens. — Who wants to raise any other? 

 Especially when they can be raised more easily, 

 cheaper, and with less trouble, than an inferior kind. 



Mr. Langstroth, for passable queens raised by the 

 forcing process, finds it necessary to charge from ten 

 to fifteen dollars each. So few can be raised out of 



the whole number started, that choice queens, by that 

 process, cannot be raised with profit for les8. 



Mr. Alley says he has paid twenty dollars for a 

 queen ; and when he hits on a choice one of his own 

 raising, he will not take fifty dollars for her. See 

 back numbers of the American Bee Journal. 



I put six queen cells into one of Dr. Davis' queen 

 nurseries on the 20th of May, and they all hatched 

 out in due time. The weather was very chilly at 

 nights while they were maturing. 



John M. Price. 



Buffalo Grove, Iowa. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Queens Piping. 



Mr. Editor : — I wish to tell you what I saw 

 and heard. My hives were very full of bees this 

 spring, when I set them out. The swarming 

 season proper has not yet come with us, though 

 one of my hives has been preparing to swarm for 

 the last four weeks. For five days in succession, 

 I heard the queen piping before the swarm came 

 out. In nine days more they swarmed again, 

 and once more on the thirteenth— making three 

 swarms. 



Now, if any of our bee-men ever saw the like 

 I would like to have some account given of it in 

 explanation. 



George W. Wheeler, Jb. 



Westerlo, N. T., June 20, 1871. 



iJC3" In the above case, the first was what the Ger- 

 mans call a " singing first swarm." These are pro- 

 duced when an old queen dies, or is superseded, before 

 a swarm has issued, and a number of queen cells are 

 siarted to provide a successor. Piping will then be 

 heard before tlie issuing of the first swarm, as there 

 are in the hive several young queens mature and 

 ready to emerge, just as in the case of a natural second 

 swarm. After swarms will issue at the customary 

 time, if at all ; and piping will be heard as usual on 

 each occasion. It is an unfrequent occurrence. 

 The first swarm we ever had was one of this class. 

 It came out of an old straw hive, and was followed 

 by another on the tenth day. 



Sometimes a first swarm issues unobserved and 

 makes its escape. If another swarm issues subse- 

 quently from the same hive, piping will usually be 

 heard before it leaves, and is assumed to proceed from 

 a queen about to leave with a first swarm. This, how- 

 ever, is not a true " singing first swarm," for if further 

 swarming occurs, it will not take place on the ninth 

 or tenth "day, but already on the second, third, or 

 fourth— showing that the supposed first swarm was 

 really a second. 



Glycerine Balsam. 



Take white wax (pure) . 

 spermaceti 

 oil of almonds 



1 ounce. 



2 ounces. 

 9 ounces. 



Melt together by a moderate heat, in a glazed 

 earthenware vessel, and add 



glycerine (best) ... 3 ounces, 

 balsam of Peru . . . ^ ounce. 

 This mixture is to be stirred until nearly cold, 

 and then poured into pots. (Instead of Balsam 

 of Peru, 12 or 15 drops of Ottar of Hoses may be 

 employed. ) — Druggists'' Circular. 



