1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



115 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Transferring Bees. 



I have transferred bees at almost all seasons, 

 but have not usually been pleased with the re- 

 sults when done later than the first of July. T 

 much prefer to transfer in April or May, making 

 two swarms of one, if the stren<;th of the colony 

 will permit — thus we have artificial swarmino- 

 and transferring combined. But the object of 

 this writing is to give my method of securing the 

 combs in the frames. I vised to use wooden or 

 wir6 clamps, and at first wax, but finally adopted 

 the f\<llowiug plan, which may not be new to 

 many, but it was new to me, and also original ; 

 and has given the very best satisfaction, being 

 neat and convenient, and doing away with the 

 necessity of several after jobs, such as removing 

 clamps, &c., which follow most methods. 



I sunply prepare my frame with a triangular 

 comb guicie on the top, as I would for the bees to 

 build on, also nail in a bottom, and if the frame 

 be a deep one, or the comb new and tender, I put 

 in a middle support with comb-guide on the 

 under side, just like the top bar. I now cut a 

 piece of comb just long enough to go from the 

 top of the frame to the middle support, or to the 

 bottom, as the case may be. I then cut along 

 the centre of the top of the comb, and into this 

 cut bed the comb-guide in the top of the frame, 

 and bring the sides down around the guide so 

 that it may lit closely. Now bring the frame to 

 an upright position, by lifting the transferring 

 board with it to support the comb until up, when 

 it will stand any reasonable amou-nt of shaking, 

 without falling out. 



Levant, Maine. G. W. P. Jerrard. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Honey Eesources from Strange Quarters. 



By Rev. E. L. Bkiggs, Ottumwa, Iowa. 



Dear Journal : — As anything strange or 

 new in the line of bee-culture always attracts my 

 attention, and wakes up my one ideaism on this 

 subject wonderfully, I write to say that a dis- 

 covery which I made last week raised this pro- 

 pensity almost to fever-heat. While visiting 

 about five miles in the country, ray host showed 

 me his five colonies of bees, with a manifestation 

 of pride and interest somewhat unusual. " This 

 Langstroth hive," he said, " has tilled six boxes 

 once, and about eight days ago, I put on another 

 set of boxes, and five of them are full again." 

 There they were, sure enough ! "White, clear, 

 beautiful, all full to the last cell. " Pretty well, 

 for black bees !" was my mental exclamation ; 

 and with something like a sigh, I thought of my 

 large, beautiful, yellow Italians, which had not 

 done as well as that. 



But the secret came out while walking over his 

 farm, about an hour afterward. "There," said 

 he, " are a couple of Jack oak trees, around which 

 the bees fairly swarm every morning and evening ; 

 and I can't see what they can get off a Jack oak." 



Turning our steps to the ti'ees indicated, I 

 saw the bees at work as he had said. This 

 variety of oak is forming its germs or bloom, if 

 it can be called such, for its next year's crop of 



acorns. These have already the shape of the 

 cup or husk in which the ripe acorn is embedded 

 before it falls out. In this cup the pistillate 

 I)ortion is formed, from which honey is constantly 

 oozing, and if not disturbed forms large drops, 

 which fall upon the leaves below. I picked off 

 several leaves on which it had fallen, and from 

 which, in turn, it dripped off upon others, where 

 it stood in large quantities. No wonder the 

 little jiets were revelling iii flowery nectar in 

 rich abundance ! 



But I was to meet another wonder, " You 

 see that little oak tree down in the field ? Well, 

 the bees have been swarming around that all 

 summer, and I have seen them gathering some- 

 thing off the ground, where it stood in a pool." 

 Of course, I went to that tree. "There," said 

 he, pointing to some dark patches on the ground, 

 " is where 'the bees work every morning." 

 Casting my eye up the body of the tree, I saw 

 it was wet with some substance, drops of which 

 were suspended from points on the rough bark. 



The woodpecker's had picked hundreds of 

 small holes in the bark, from about the size of a 

 small lead pencil to the size of a lady's thimble. 

 And from under the bark was flowing out a sub- 

 stance of about the consistency of honej'', per- 

 fectly transparent, and differing in no way from 

 common honey except that I thought I could 

 detect in this a slight oaky taste ; while that 

 from the Jack oak bloom was as free from any 

 disagreeable taste as pure white clover honey. 

 This tree was of the variety called Spanish oak 

 by the people here. 



Here were two sources of honey from Avhicli 

 the bees could father any amount that they 

 could find room to store. Mr. Novice, we will 

 believe anything that you can write concerning 

 the amount of honey a colony can gather, pro- 

 vided you ply your honey extractor diligently. 

 Yes, .we will believe Mrs. Tupper's seventy-two 

 four pound boxes from one colonji- report ; pro- 

 vided she will inform us that there are plenty of 

 Spanish oaks and corps of woodpeckers to work 

 them, and a forest, of Jack oak in bloom near 

 her apiary. 



Bees have generally filled all the surplus room 

 they had this year, in Southern Iowa. 



The melextractor is certainly an invention in 

 the right direction. Intelligent bee-culture is a 

 resource of pleasure and profit but little under- 

 stood as yet, by most of us. The multitudes, 

 too, engaged in promoting it are benefactors of 

 the race, who have sent and are sending bread 

 to the hungry, and "butter and honey" also. 

 Let the workmen be multiplied to gather the 

 sweets, and may all eat of the good of the land. 



My beautiful Italians still maintain their good 

 character. The three light colonies which I 

 brought here fi'om Mount Pleasant apiary, ai'e 

 now a snug family of twelve — all heavy and 

 strong in numbers. 



1 have been experimenting with a hive of my 

 own construction, in which I think I have found 

 the secret of inducing bees to build in surplus 

 boxes and frames at once. So far it has met all 

 my expectations, and I grant those expectations 

 were high. The public will have the benefit of 

 this hive shortly. Sept. 12, 1871. 



