1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



269 



in any hive except its worth to the public, have 

 freedom of speech too. One of the greatest 

 benefits the .lournal has accomplished has been 

 in exposing fraud and imposition. 



That fraudulent bee-hive vendors may turn 

 honest men, and learn that it is far better to 

 earn their bread (and honey i by the sweat of 

 their brow, is the sincere wish and prayer of 



Novice. 



[For the Aiuericau Bee Journal.] 



"Wire Clamps «;*• Splints. 



Mk. Editor :— In reading Mr. Quinby's Bee 

 Notes in the American Agriculturist for May, I 

 was once more reminded that some of us had a 

 better way of fastening combs in the frame, in 

 transferring, than by means of the splints which 

 he still recommends in said notes. So I wrote 

 to him how we do it, and now I write to you. 



i^i**"?* ^g ^^ge "vvii-es one inch longer than the frame 

 is, from outside to outside, crosswise, or up and 

 down, as you choose, and bend them half an inch 

 at each end, as shown in the cut above. Hook 

 one or more of these wire-^, so bent, on one side 

 of the frame, turn the frame over, put in your 

 comb, and hook on one or more of the wires 

 over the comb, on that side, and the work is 

 done in about half the time I have been writing 

 this. 



I use the old-fashioned pincers for bending the 

 ends. Perhaps you can find something better, 

 but they answer a very good purpose. 



Please tell the people, so that they may no 

 longer waste their time with splints. 



The honor of the invention belongs to ./. /. W. 

 Billingly, Spring Yalley, Marion county, Indiana. 



J. J. WniTSON. 



Yalley Mills, Ind., May 1, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Questions for Novice. 



Dear Novice, will you please answer through 

 the A. B. J., the following questions, viz. : 



What is the depth and length of the frames 

 you use in your two-story hives, inside measure ; 

 and how many frames do you use in each hive ? 



What is the distance across the frames ? 



Do you use the old triangular guide, to secure 

 straight combs ? 



Have you ever had any trouble with the mel- 

 extracted honey souring? 



Do you boil the extracted honey, as recom- 

 mended by Mr. Langstroth ; or do you put it in 

 ca7is immediately after it is exti'acted? 



Are the cans you use air tight, after they are 

 filled, and ready for market ? 



Inquirer. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Death from a Bee-st nsr. 



"A young man, named George Pelham, was 

 stungbyahonev-bee, in Westkill. Greene county, 

 N. Y., on Thursday last, (April 27th, 1871,) and 

 died from the ert'ects in less than an hour. The 

 local accounts say that, soon after being stung, 

 he 'complained of feeling faint, and turned 

 spotted.' " 



I copy the foregoing from the JVeio York 

 Times of April 2Sth. This is another instance 

 of sudden death from the sting of a bee, and 

 shows how intensely virulent the poison acts 

 sometimes, perhaps according to the predispo- 

 sition of the body under certain circiimstances. 



J. N. ROTTIERS. 



E^" A speedy application of the cold water 

 cure, recommended by Mr. Gallup in a former 

 number of the Bee Journal, might have saved 

 life in this case. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Seasoa in New Jersey. — No. 4. 



Several of the swarms I purchased were quite 

 populous, and as I was not at that time prepared 

 to use them all in my nucleus boxes, I disposed 

 of them in the following manner. Beginning 

 with the most populous, I drummed them out, 

 and hived them in hives fully stocked with 

 worker combs. This was done, not from any 

 preconceived theory, but because I had lost so 

 many bees, and had an abundance of combs on 

 hand. It was done about the first of June, and 

 proved to be the most profitable way I could 

 have adopted ; at least it seemed so to me. 



There were several objects in view, which led 

 me to adopt this way. I wanted to save the 

 combs, as they were straight and nice ; the 

 queens were natives, and I had no Italians to 

 replace them with ; and in this way the breeding 

 of drones was prevented. Diy and hot weather 

 soon came on, and for nearly two months bees 

 could scarcely do more than gather a living. 

 Bees, having their combs to build, could neither 

 breed much, nor gather much honey ; but these 

 colonics, having a full supply of combs to begin 

 with, laid in a good store to carry them through 

 the season of scarcity, and bred rapidly. In the 

 meantime Italian queens had been given to them, 

 and by the time buckwheat blossomed, they 

 were well stocked with yellow jackets. A few 

 dozen di'one cells were built in some vacant 

 spaces, but were removed in season to prevent 

 drones from being hatched. I was somewhat 

 surprised, on receiving the July number of the 

 American Bee Journal, to find a plan thei-ein de- 

 scribed almost identical with the one I had fol- 

 lowed—which was translated from the German, 

 as an excellent mode of securing surplus honey. 

 The combs containing brood were fastened in 

 frames, and given to colonies where it would be 

 properly cared for. 



The exceedingly hot and dry weather for two 

 months in midsummer, effectually stopped small 



