AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



203 



times stated in these columns, had charge 

 of this exhibit at the World's Fair, and to 

 say that he faithfully and wisely looked 

 after Ontario's best interests, would be to 

 put it very mild indeed. He was the first 

 apiarian superintendent to reach the Fair 

 grounds, and the last to leave. He labored 

 from the beginning to the end to show the 

 world that Ontario can " get there "' when 

 it comes to honey production, as was clearly 

 shown in the large number of awards cap- 

 tured by this exhibit. We often met Bro. 



Ontario Honey Exlubit at World's Fair. 



Pringle in the apiarian deparment of the 

 Exposition, and felt that in him we had 

 found a gracious gentleman, a wise and 

 pleasant bee-keeper, a firm and faithful 

 friend — yes, a man whom all apiarists 

 delight to honor. 



Honey sis Foo<1 and JVIecliciiie is 



just the thing to help sell honey, as it shows 

 the various ways in which honey may be 

 used as a food and as a medicine. Try 100 

 copies of it, and see what good 'sales- 

 men " they are. See the third page of this 

 number of the Bee Journal for description 

 and prices. 



answered by 

 Marengo. III. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing- immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufDcient special interest to 

 require replies from the 'JO or more apiarists 

 who help to make "Queries and Replies" so 

 iuteresting on another pag-e. In the main, It 

 will contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners. — Ed. 



Knowing when Bees Prepare to Swarm 



Is there any way of knowing when bees 

 are preparing to swarm, without looking 

 for queen-cells ? A. W. S. 



Sheltein, Neb. 



Answer. — I don't know that there's any 

 infallible way of telling in advance that a 

 swarm will issue. Even by looking for 

 queen-cells, you can't always be certain, 

 for bees seem to change their minds some- 

 times, and give up swarming after starting 

 queen-cells, and again they will swarm — at 

 least some say they will — before they have 

 made the least start toward queen-cells. 



In the old box-hive times, the hanging 

 out of a colony in tbe midst of the honey 

 harvest was counted a sign of intended 

 swarming, and it was pretty reliable. Some 

 allowance must, however, be made for 

 conditions. If the hive be roomy and well 

 ventilated, there may be no hanging out 

 at all before swarming. If. on the other 

 hand, the hive be small, with little chance 

 for the admission of air, the heat and the 

 lack of room may crowd the bees out and 

 make them hang in clusters when they 

 have no notion of swarming. Then, too, 

 the position of the hive makes a difference. 

 Let a hive stand where the least breeze 

 that stirs gives a refreshing coolness, the 

 hive standing in a good shade, and bees 

 will not hang out as they will in a hive 

 that stands directly exposed to the sun's 

 rays, but walled around to prevent the con- 

 stant admission of fresh air. Po-ssibly you 

 may be able with experience to distinguish 

 between the hanging out of a colony from 

 other causes, and the sulky demeanor of a 

 lot of bees that have made up their minds 

 they must have a new home or "strike." 



Drones — Finding Black Queens. 



1. In using Alley's queen and drone-trap, 

 how many drones would you leave alive — 

 that is, return to the hive ? (All the drones 

 but about a dozen I usually kill.) 



