154 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Fi>r the Aineiicau Bee Journal. 



How it Looks Here. 



It is not often tluit I attempt to write 

 for the JouKNAi., always believing that 

 better matter is fiirhished by others. I 

 am more discouraged tliis spring than I 

 have ever been about bee-keeping; the 

 season is as least one month later than 

 usual. Fruit blossoms of every kind are 

 killed or nearly so; a few blossoms are 

 left; the bees got barely enough to sus- 

 tain life. The succeeding blossom (locust) 

 is frozen, and leaves and all, killed. We 

 have nothing to depend upon but white 

 clover, which is abundent in this section, 

 and the succession of fall flowers. I 

 shall sow buckwheat and try to gain 

 something by that means. By this time 

 other seasons, I have had bees working in 

 the boxes and preparing to swarm, but 

 now they are just beginning to breed 

 rapidlj', and if they are fed to keep them 

 alive and breeding when clover conies, 

 if-that don't fail too, we may yet get some 

 surplus. Bee-keepers were very hopeful 

 as bees wintered so well, last winter; 

 there were scarcely any lost in wintering, 

 and good results were anticipated. "Man 

 proposes but God disposes." There will 

 not -only be a scarcity of honey, but fruit, 

 of all kinds, except the latest varieties. 

 Frost has killed the young clover, black- 

 berries, raspberries and strawberries. 

 Everj' thing in the fruit line is a fail- 

 ure. I would advise every one in localities 

 tliat sulTer as in this, to feed, and feed 

 sufficiently to keep their bees moving; 

 thej' will gather some little, and out of 

 the gloom that now surrounds us, we may 

 yet have sunshine. R. ^V. Harrison*. 



Melrose, Va. 



From Prattical Farmer. 



Transfsrriiig Bees. 



The apiarian often finds it necessary to 

 move his bees out of a defective hive to a 

 good one, and from box hives to those 

 with movable frames. They could be 

 driven into an empty hive just before 

 they have commenced gathering honey 

 freely in the spring of tlie year, and they 

 would do as well at least as a top swarm. 

 But the brood and bees bred in the hive 

 at that lime of the year would be of no 

 value to the bee-keeper, wliioh if given 

 to the colony would be worth as much to 

 them as a medium-sized swarm. We 

 have practiced the following method since 

 the introduction of movable comb frames, 

 which has been over twenty years. It 

 can be done out doors iu the open air, if 

 it is not too cold to chill the brood, and 



bees are not disposed to rob. We prefer 

 to use the kitchen, wash-house or clean 

 barn floor to operate in. The kitchen 

 table is very handy to lay the combs on. 

 when takeu out of the hive, and to work 

 on in fitting the combs into the frames; 

 a good substitute is made by laying a 

 broad board on the ends of two empty 

 barrels. Have a dish of water and cloth 

 to cleanse the hands occasionally, and 

 wipe up such dropping honey as cannot 

 be lifted with a knife-blade. Keep every- 

 thing clean, and allow no honey to run, 

 if possible, which prevents other bees 

 from troubling you. A hatchet, long 

 knife, and thin cold chisel, should be in 

 readiness, also a box to force the bees 

 into. You are now ready for the hive of 

 bees. Light your fumigator or smoker; 

 step up to the hi^e on the stand and 

 carefully give the bees a few whilfs of 

 smoke, when, if they be clustered on the 

 outside of the hive, they will soon leave 

 for the interior. Kaise the front of the 

 hive a little — this will allow the bees to 

 enter more freely, and also give a better 

 chance to reach those inside with smoke — 

 and administer enough to make them roar 

 well, as this is evid&uce of their giving up 

 or surrender. You can now proceed to 

 do anything with them you wish. 



Now take uj) the hive and carry it to 

 the place of transfer; turn it bottom up 

 on the table and blow more smoke down 

 among the bees; then place the forcing- 

 box on the mouth of the hive, so that the 

 bees cannot get out. Hammer on the 

 hive, which will cause the bees to fill 

 themselves with honey and travel up and 

 cluster in the top of the box, — which re- 

 quires from 7 to 10 minutes; then remove 

 the box containing the bees to the floor 

 near the table; pry oft" one side of the hive 

 so as to enable you by the use of the long 

 knife to get the combs out as whole as 

 possible; brush ofl' the few remaiuiug 

 bees with the feather-end of a goose or 

 turkej' quill, near the box containing the 

 bees which should be raised on one side, 

 so as they can i;,un under and cluster. 

 Take the frames out of the new hive; lay 

 one on a comb and mark it around on the 

 inside; then trim otV tlie comb in such a 

 manner that it will hang iu the hive same 

 as it did in the old one (top edge up); cut 

 the comb a trifle larger and spring the 

 frames over it. Fit in all good pieces of 

 gcfod worker comb, especially those con- 

 taining brood combs; those that are too 

 thick to let the frames together should be 

 shaved ofl'. 



The dr«ne comb may be known by its 

 large coarse cells and should be rejected 

 by which a stock is often rendered very 

 prosperous that was no profit to its owner 



