THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



115 



QwM&TiQ^^ !i^x^ ^jsrmrmm&. 



CONDUCTED J5Y Cil. DADANT. 



QUESTION. 



In Vol. ix. \o. 5, jiatic lod, of tlic Amkiucan 

 Bkk .JoiKNAi, in an iirticlc from V. V. I), that 

 no qiu'cn can o(H'U|)y more than 8(),(HH) to .S5,(X)0 

 inches of brood at one time. .J. IJ. K. 



Aberville. Pa. 



A.NSWKK. 



There is a Utpsus pliuiHrov typographical 

 error, it is not so.ooo Indies, but SO.UOO cells of 

 brood. 



l^rESTIONS. 



1st. I have four swarms. One 1 want to 

 transfer to a Langstroth hive, 1 would lilce to 

 know how to transfer them. 



'2nd. (iive me sonu; reci])es for bee stings, 

 and tell nie where I can prociu'e bee gloves 

 and a good smoker. Mrs. W. M. 



p]lyria, O. 



AXSWKUS. 



The best time for transferiug bees is April 

 and May. ('hoose a warm day ; send some 

 puffs of smoke in the hive to be transferred 

 and remove it, putting a decoy hive in its 

 place, carry the hive a few yards from the 

 apiary, invert it and put upon it a box or 

 empty hive, as nearly as possible of the same 

 width, wrap them up with a cotton cloth to 

 prevent the bees foom running outside, while 

 drumming the bees in the empty box. 



The drunuuing is done with two sticks of 

 wood and should last from fifteen to twenty 

 minutes. It is not necessary to drum all the 

 time, but at intervals. When only a few bees 

 remain in the combs, remove the box, in 

 which the swarm has ascended, and put it in 

 place of the decoy hive. The bees that are 

 hovering aboiit will enter it. Take care not 

 to shake or jar it, for the bees would fall on 

 the gi'ound. 



Bring the hive, deprived of its bees, in a 

 room ; with a long knife loosen the combs 

 from the sides of the box, and pry off one side 

 with chisel and hammer. If there are sticks 

 across it, remove or cut them. 



You should have prepared beforehand some 

 No. 10 wire, cut in pieces half an inch longer 

 than the height of the frames, in which you 

 intend to transfer. The wires are bent at 

 right angles, three-eighths of an inch from 

 both ends. With an awl bore a small hole in 

 the edge of the upper part of the frame, three 

 or four inches from the end ; then, with a 

 light hammer diive in the end of one of the 

 wires ; the opposite end is driven In the lower 

 part of the frame ; put two or three wires at 

 equal distances. Then lay the frame upon 

 the table, with wires under. You sever the 

 first comb from the hive ; cut it off the exact 

 measure ; put it, or part of it, in the frame, 

 so as to fill it, you fasten two or three wires 

 to hold the coml)s in place, where they will 

 remain straight and firm. 



To fix the small bits of combs, put across- 

 the wires some stiff straw or dry weeds to 

 make a kind of grate which will hold the 

 combs firmly. 



Take care to have the comb in the sanu? 

 way that they were in the hive. Do not put 

 drone comb in the frames, and when you ])ut 

 the frames in the hive be careful to put all 

 the brood combs together. 



The vacant space in the hive should be filled 

 with empty frames, or better, with worker 

 combs fastened in frames, if you can get 

 some. The proper place for drone comb is in 

 the surplus box if you have an extractor. 



Do not put the frames in the hive as soon as 

 the combs are fastened in them, but put theuk 

 somewhere to drain ; for the less running 

 honey you have in the hive the less will be the 

 danger of robbers. When all tlu> frames are 

 placed, shut up the hive and bring it on the 

 stand where the transferred hive stood. Re- 

 move carefully the box containing the bees,^ 

 put the frame hive in its place, spread a cloth 

 in front of it, and shake the bees on this- 

 cloth. As soon as they have nearly all en- 

 tered, contract the entrance to help the bees 

 in repelling the robbers. 



Six or eight days after you should visit all 

 the frames, one after another, and remove the 

 wires with a knife. 



Some bee-keepers in transferring use twine, 

 some employ sticks of wood. I have tried 

 both, but I find wire greatly superior. Do not 

 be alarmed at the immensity of the work, but 

 try it and you will succeed. The transferring 

 is the work best adapted to familiarize tlie 

 beginner with the bees and the building of 

 comb. 



2. Several recipes are given to remove the 

 pain and prevent the swelling of bee stings. 

 As both these effect very capriciously,^ 

 sometimes the pain and swelling being im- 

 mense, while at other times they are a mere 

 nothing, all the remedies applied have in turn 

 won and lost the reputation of being good for 

 bee stings, while the truth is that not one is 

 altogether effectual. The small drop of venom 

 being deposited under the skin, no drug ap- 

 plied on the skin can penetrate deep enough 

 to neutralize it. Yet when one fears that the 

 subsequent effects will prove fatal, the appli- 

 cation of compresses soaked in cold water are 

 to be resorted to in order to remove the subse- 

 quent inflamnuition. 



It is also an obvious fact that the human 

 body can get used to the venom of bees, and 

 that the more you are stung the less will be 

 the pain and swelling of the sting. But as 

 this last remedy is not very pleasing, I advise 

 the beginners to avoid the sting as much as 

 possible, and they can obtain this result in 

 learning to handle bees. 



First. Use a veil of black material put upo» 

 a round hat with a large rim, a common 



