118 



THE AMEBIC AN BEE JOUENAL. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



What is the Matter ? 



Some time in July last I noticed indications 

 of queenlessness iuone of my Italian stocks, 

 and as it contained a queen for which I had 

 paid Mr. Langstroth twenty dollars, I felt 

 somewhat mortified to find that she was indeed 

 dead, and that the bees had failed to supply 

 her place with another. 1 immediately gave 

 ihcm eggs and immature brood, intending, 

 when tiiey should have sealed queen cells 

 nearly ma'ture, to remove these, and give them 

 a fertile queen. In ten days I examined then), 

 and could liud neither queen cells nor young 

 bees of any kind. Felt beat, but as I wished 

 to save the stock, I gave them a choice Italian 

 queen, taken from one of my most populous 

 stocks, for wliich they seemed very thank- 

 ful. 



►• Supposing all to be Avell now, I paid no further 

 attention to" them for about three weeks, when 

 I examined them again, and could find neither 

 queen, egss, nor brood in any stage. Here was 

 a pozer. "The bees had probably killed her 

 before she laid any eggs. I now took a young 

 fertile queen from a nucleus, and introduced 

 her. They fought her for nearly two weeks, 

 and then stung her to death in my hand. 



I now let them remain for a few days, hoping 

 they would repent ; and finally I ofltered them 

 another 'queen, which shared the fate of her 

 predecessors. Supposing now that they had 

 exalted one of their own number to the royal 

 throne, I moved the hive to a new stand, and 

 when the bees were in full flight, I placed on 

 the old stand a similar hive supplied Avith full 

 combs. When nearly all the bees had gone 

 back to the old stand, I smothered the rest with 

 brimstone, hoping thereby to destroy the false 

 queen. After their old hive was given them 

 again, they manifested unmistakable symptoms 

 of loss of queen, and I now gave them a full 

 swarm, taking the pl-ecJiution to confine the 

 queen. 



The workers agreed very well. In two 

 days I liberated the queen, and in an hour after- 

 ward had the satisfaction of finding her at the 

 entrance— dead ! Having one more fertile 

 queen, I resolved to make one effort moi'e to 

 save the stock, and after she had been caged 

 for a week, I liberated her. An hour later I 

 examined, and found her on one of the combs, 

 and the bees fondling her. "Got 'em now," 

 thought I, as I closed the hive. But judge of 

 my feelings when, this morning — twenty hours 

 afterward— I found her on the ground in front 

 of the hive, with a teacupful of dead bees. She 

 was still alive. I fed her and gave her to 

 another stock. As the bees of this perverse 

 stock are still killing each other off, Ipropose 

 to run the thing my own way, and will brim- 

 stone them. 



If any one can offer a solution of such 

 "strikes" of the usually easily-managed in- 

 mates of the honied workshop, I would be 

 edified. 



During all this time I could find no eggs nor 

 brood. H. C. B. 



CriAKLESTON, IlL. 



Bee-feed. 



l\Ir. A. Hoffman, of Blankenheim, near 

 Weimar, communicates to the Bienenzeitung 

 the following recipe for preparing an economical 

 bee-feed, which, he says, can be safely and 

 advantageously used where honey cannot be 

 procured except at an exorbitant price : 



"Into an enamelled iron vessel put four 

 pounds of crushed loafsugar, two pounds of 

 water, and one ounce of cream of tartar. Stir 

 the wliole well, and set it on the stove or a fire, 

 and keep it boiling for half an hour. Add as 

 much Avater as evaporates Avhile boiling, so as 

 to prevent the syrup from l)ecoming discolored, 

 and take care not to overheat the sides of the 

 vessel, the bottom of which only should be ex- 

 posed to the fire. When the syrup is perfectly 

 formed, remove the vessel from the fire, pour in 

 a little more water, and stir in very gradually, 

 in small portions, two or three ounces of pre- 

 pared chalk previously mixed with water. The 

 introduction of the chalk will cause ebullition, 

 so long as the mass contains any acid. When 

 this ceases, the acid is completely neutralized, 

 and litmus paper dipped in the syrup will not 

 turn red. The vessel must now be replaced, 

 and the boiling continued, till no more foam or 

 scum rises, and the weight is reduced to six 

 pounds, or fifty per cent, more than that of the 

 sugar used. Then cover and let it stand till 

 the following morning, when the syrup is to 

 be poured off carefully from the white deposit 

 in the vessel. The syrup thus prepared is a 

 transparent pale yellow, of about the consistence 

 of new honey; has a pure sweet taste; is readily 

 consumed by the bees, and maybe safely fed at 

 any season. It will keep for years without crys- 

 talizing, and if in lime it thicken somewhat, 

 quickly liquifies again on the application of a 

 moderate heat. The preparation of it is prac- 

 tically much less difficult than the process 

 described would lead one to suppose." 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Large Stock of Bees. 



A few jeaTs ago I Avintered 163 stocks of bees 

 in a room eight feet broad by twenty-eight feet 

 long. The live last days of February being 

 Avarm and damp, and having neglected to re- 

 move to their stands soon enough, tlie bees left 

 their hives in such numbers as to conceal the 

 hives by hanging in front and in every available 

 space. The ceiling above was nearly covered. 

 One bunch was as large as eight or ten swarms 

 that get together at swarming time. I supposed 

 at the time that the queens had left their hiA'es, 

 and expected to save but a few stocks. Smoke 

 Avas introduced to drive the bees in, but it in- 

 creased the number outside. They were carried 

 out at night, the bees being brushed out of the 

 Avay of the hands to take hold of the hives. 

 The bees Avere brushed off from the bottoms or 

 bunches of hay before placing the hives on their 

 stands. After flying, the number was equalized 

 in each hive by changing places. Each queen 

 staid in lier own hive, and no stocks were 

 lost. J. M. M. 



St. Chakles, Koe Co., III. 



