AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



467 



might as well spare the life of the fox, 

 wolf, hawk, and other beasts and birds 

 that prey upon our stock and poultry, if 

 we wish to be so very sentimental, for 

 were they not so created ? Is it not their 

 nature ? 



Mr. B. cites that the king-birds do not 

 always build their nests near an apiary, 

 as proof that it is not their intention to 

 subsist upon bees. I might ask, does 

 the hawk build its nest, or the fox 

 choose its den, adjacent to any particu- 

 lar farm, with the intention of living off 

 the fowls of that farm ? Certainly not. 

 Let us use good common-sense in this 

 matter, and not be too ready to conclude 

 that certain birds are enemies, but 

 when they have proved themselves to be 

 such, destroy them by the most available 

 means, and we will certainly not go far 

 wrong. 



Bluffton, Mo. 



Tirim-Oul Swarms— (Jiieeiiless Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Jownal 

 BY H. F. COLEMAN. 



I have been interested in the report of 

 the Cortland Union bee-convention, as 

 published on page 313. The idea of 

 tiring out the bees when swarming, as 

 advocated by Mr. W. Houglin, is a novel 

 one, and one that will probably work 

 well, but as some one, under his plan, 

 must be present to manipulate the 

 swarming hive, would it not be much 

 less trouble to catch the swarm in a 

 hiving basket? I use the hiving basket, 

 and with great success. 



In my home yard I have 60 hives, 

 and they are so situated that I can see 

 the whole yard at a glance ; and as soon 

 as a swarm begins to emerge, I take the 

 basket and place it at the entrance of 

 the hive, so as to catch the bees as they 

 come out. I try to catch from one-fourth 

 to one-half of the swarm in the basket, 

 and then by placing the basket in the 

 air among the flying bees, the whole 

 swarm will soon gather and cluster on 

 it, and it is then ready to be carried any- 

 where, or to any place it is wanted. 



With me it makes no difference as to 

 whether the queen is caught in the 

 basket or not — the swarm will cluster on 

 it anyway, and can then be managed. A 

 swarm with a virgin queen, however, re- 

 quires more attention than a swarm 

 with a laying queen. Virgin queens are 

 more easily frightened, and will take 

 wing quicker than older queens, and in 

 hiving them more care is required. 



I have used the hiving basket for 

 three years, and in that time I have had 

 but one swarm to decamp, and that was 

 after it was hived. I never clip the 

 wings of my queens, believing that with 

 a hiving basket and proper attention as 

 good results can be obtained with less 

 trouble. 



WHY BEES BECOME QUEENLESS IN THE 

 SPRING. 



The question is frequently asked why 

 bees lose more queens in the early spring 

 than any other season of the year, and 

 various are the answers. Some attribute 

 it to one thing, and some to another, but 

 in my opinion the cause is to be found 

 in the fact that the queens at this time 

 are distended with eggs, and are more 

 tender and juicy, so to speak, than 

 earlier in the season, and are conse- 

 quently more liable to be chilled or 

 frozen. 



I have noticed that at the breaking up 

 of a cold snap in the spring, after my 

 queens get to laying, I find more queen- 

 less colonies than at any other time. At 

 first I could not solve the problem, as to 

 the cause of this, but after a longer ex- 

 perience, and more thought, I am now 

 satisfied with the conclusion as above 

 expressed. 



A COKRECTION. 



Did you ever notice what a change 

 can be made in a word by putting into It 

 a new or different letter ? In my com- 

 munication on page 315, by using the 

 letter " 1 " instead of " o," I am made to 

 say that I have lost nine colonies of bees, 

 when It should have been none. I am 

 not complaining of the printer, for my 

 chirography is not the best, and my care- 

 lessness may have caused the mistake. 



Sneedvllle, Tenn. 



True Basis Of Ttiose Honey-PreflcHons. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY SAM WILSON. 



I notice some speculation going on in 

 the American Bee Journal as to what 

 my theory Is in regard to predicting the 

 honey crop. I will now set all doubts 

 to rest, and tell the best I can what my 

 theory is (or how I tell), for it Is no 

 theory with me, but a settled fact. 



I found out, eight years ago, that dry 

 weather through November and Decem- 

 ber here in Tennessee (if it was dry 

 enough), would cause a complete failure 

 of the honey crop ; but in the North, 



