THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



179 



we used her all summer in this manner in a 

 dozen different hives as cases required, and 

 were about writing to you of a plan for making 

 use of imperfect queens. 



In the fall, having no further use for her, we 

 released her in a queenless colony, by Avay of 

 experiment ; and, strange to say, she com- 

 menced laying immediately, and produced real 

 Italian workers! Mrs. Tupper corroborated. 



Some time before this, we had noticed that 

 one of our heaviest stocks had- done very little 

 all summer — had cast no swarm, and stored but 

 little honey in the upper story. It was in the 

 improved Langstroth hive, and was in every 

 respect as good a stock as the one that gave us 

 the 203 pounds. 



Of course you see it all now. The imperfect 

 queen was the old one that we had clipped the 

 season before, and had torn open the cell imme- 

 diately, though it looked very much as if a 

 sound' queen had hatched from it. 



You knowing ones can laugh at our not being 

 able to tell a queen one year old from one only 

 one hour old ; but perhaps that too was because 

 it was Sunday. 



As the heavy stock had not succeeded in 

 raising a queen we gave them their old one 

 again, after she had been bandied about two 

 months iu a cage. Query, did she recognize 

 her old home ? She was received all right as 

 soon as presented. The blunder cost us at 

 least 100 pounds of honey. 



Is it not possible that Mrs. Tupper removed 

 two fertile queens, as it is now established that 

 two are frequently found in one hive ? 



When queens are suddenly removed why do 

 stocks so often fail in replenishing them, if left 

 to themselves? Such has been our experience 

 several times. 



A firm resolve to "look sharp" enough, so 

 that we may avoid falling into the same error 

 in future, is nothing new for 



Novice. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Our Honey-Emptying Machine. 



Mr. Editor : — We receive many inquiries 

 in regard to the above, which we will try and 

 answer here. We supposed your readers had 

 all seen the engraving and description of Mr. 

 Langstroth's, in No. 3, vol. 10 ; so we were 

 not as particulor as we should otherwise have 

 been in our explanation. 



Of course the comb has to be turned, as the 

 honey comes from only one side at a time ; and 

 very heavy combs should be only partly emptied 

 from the first side, as the weight is apt to injure 

 the comb, unless turned very slow. 



We do not know that it makes any particular 

 difference in regard to size of wire cloth, that 

 is, whether coarse or fine ; but should prefer it 

 rather heavy, as the weight of honey is apt to 

 stretch it out hollowing if too light. 



As to irritating the bees, the effect is quite the 

 contrary. As our time during the honey season 

 was much occupied otherwise, we very often 

 shook the bees from the frames as fast as we 

 could handle them, hybrids and all, without 



any kind of smoke or Bee Charm, and the 

 oftener we shook them, the less they noticed it. 



As we had, or managed to have, a full set of 

 empty combs with the American hive, we fre- 

 quently shook the bees from every ecmb in a 

 heap in front of tke hive, replaced the empty 

 combs instead, and let the bees crawl in at then- 

 leisure — paying no attention to the brood, 

 whether capped or uncapped, except to turn 

 slower, so that the larva; were not thrown out; 

 which any one can do with little practice. That 

 the brood is uninjured by the process we tested 

 repeatedly, by giving frames thus emptied to 

 weak stocks ; and in one case we raised a lot 

 of fine queens accidentally from a frame that 

 had a little uncapped brood in it, after being 

 whirled. Towards the last of the season we 

 made a fine swarm from brood remaining in 

 our extra set of empty combs ; that is, we gave 

 the empty combs to first stock, and so had a set 

 in their place when we finished which contained 

 brood. These, with a fertile queen, and per- 

 haps a pint of bees with her, soon made a tole- 

 rable swarm. 



The honey is not at present as saleable as that 

 in the comb, although \\ e have had little trouble 

 iu getting twenty-five cents a pound for it ; but 

 have had many calls for comb honey, when 

 nothing else would do. 



Both white clover and bass wood honey have 

 candied solid since the cold weather set in ; but 

 this can be melted again by keeping it in an 

 oven or other place at a temperature of about 

 20G° F. for some time. And we think, but are 

 not quite positive, that after this treatment it 

 will not cand} r again. 



Will some better chemist than ourselves tell 

 us of some harmless ingredient, to prevent this 

 crystalization process? 



Many correspondents ask us for samples of 

 our labels for the jars. We subjoin one for 

 their inspection. 



Medina, Ohio. A. I. Root. 



PURE HONEY, 



GATHERED FROM 



blossoms, by 



ITALIAN BEES. 



FROM TnE 



APIARY OF A. I. ROOT, MEDINA, OHIO. 



This is much purer and in every respect 

 superior to ordinary strained Honey, as it i3 

 separated from the comb by a new Mechanical 

 Process just as it is gathered, preserving the 

 respective flavor of the particular flowers irorn 

 which it was obtained. 



A circumstance which may render it very 

 necessary to feed bees, is, when several days of 

 bad weather ensue immediately after they have 

 swarmed; for then, being destitute of every 

 supply be}'ond what they carried with them, 

 they may be in great danger of being starved. 

 In this case diluted honey, or sugar water, 

 should be given them, in proportion to the 

 duration of the bad weather. — Wildman. 



