THE AMERICAN BEE JOURKAL AND GAZETTE. 



187 



from the truant artificial swarm, tlirough tlie 

 spout of the sprinkler, cu the opposite side of 

 the close fence, into the can, thus becoming the 

 cause of my sweetly-begotten gains. 



The bees, of course, were all ''icn animosity'''' 

 (luring the whole operation of cutting out the 

 hone}', and, on being requested on the part of 

 the Committee on Bee-Hives to give a public 

 specimen of my proficiency in the arts of "tam- 

 ing bees" and molecuhir micromimics, I opened 

 mj' mouth wide, and said : 



Ladies and Oentlemeti and Committee on Bee- 

 Hives ; 



1 thank you for the literal patronage you have 

 awarded to my original immovable inventions in 

 hee-hives, and the contents thereof. The science 

 of the apis, and the art of obtaining their melli- 

 fluous, regurgitated sweeiicli y, have engaged my 

 scruiinizi7ig ingenuity in the discovery of a 

 fluidity so charming to man and beast, that i 

 cannot, in spite of my youthful timidity, abstain 

 from the complication of your highly J'aoored 

 bequest. Behold the power of Prof. FUmder's 

 " Bee Charm !" Here I dropped three drops 

 of the '' TairW into my throat, drawing my 

 breath within me, when, presto ! the whole 

 swarm of bees, queen, drones, robbers and all, 

 '■'■unanimouf^ly'''' liew in, and,2;isi;t4/tie7' I clapped, 

 shut my mouth. 



And so 1 submit to keep it shut till your 

 readers shall feel a curiosity to know whether 

 I shall ever be able to say anything at all, here- 

 i(,fter. 



I am, most delectably, yours. 



Prof. Apiastek Alsatius, 



Apicultura3 Magister, and Corresponding 

 Secretary of Coon Island, Golden 

 Apiary, West End, 12j miles from 

 shore. 



Iksects, in various contingencies, often ex- 

 hibit the most ingenious resources, their in- 

 stincts most surprisingly accommodating them- 

 selves to the new circumstances in which they 

 are placed, in a manner more wonderful and 

 incomprehensible than the existence of the fa- 

 culties themselves. Take a honey-comb for 

 instance. If every comb that bees fabricate 

 were always nmAo. x)recisely alike, with the same 

 general form, placed in the same posiLion, the 

 cells are exactly similar, or where varying with 

 the variations always alike — this structure 

 would perhaps in reality be not more astonish- 

 ing than many of a much simpler confirmation. 

 But when we know that in nine casesout of ten 

 the combs in a bee-hive are thus similar in 

 their properties, and yet that the tenth one shall 

 be found of a form altogether peculiar, placed 

 in a dill'erent position, with the cells of a dif- 

 ferent shape — and all these variations evidently 

 adopted to some new circumstance not present 

 when the other nine were constructed — we are 

 constrained to admit that nothing in the instinct 

 of other animals can be adduced, exhibiting 

 similar exquisiteness; just as we must coni'ess an 

 ordinary loom, however ingeniously contrived, 

 far excelled by one capable of repairing its de- 

 fects when out of order. Kirby. 



Por the American Bee Joanial. 



Int.odueirig Queens. 



Mr. Editor : 



During the last fix years I have Italianized 

 more than four bundled colonies of bees. For 

 the first four years I had some trouble to intro- 

 duce an Italian queen safely; for the last two 

 years I have had no trouble at all. It is my 

 opinion that the Italian queen should be intro- 

 duced before the one removed is missed by tlie 

 bees. 



If the queen is taken from a colony of bees, 

 and in the course of a few days another one is 

 given to them, the bees know that the new 

 queen is a stranger, and will sometimes "hug" 

 them to death. Now, in the way I introduce 

 them, the bees have no chance to know that 

 their queen has been taken from them. I have 

 taken black queens away from bees in a glass- 

 hive, which had only one sheet of comb, and 

 treated them as I do a full swarm. Then, when 

 I let the Italian queen run in, I could see how 

 the bees received her. The bees will not take 

 the least notice of her. They do not seem to 

 know that they have a new queen. This ex- 

 periment I have tested several times, watcliing 

 the movements two or three hours each day. 



Mj mode of introducing Italian queens is 

 tills : After removing the black queen, let all 

 the bees run back into the old hive again; then, 

 give them enough tobacco-smoke to make them 

 all cling to the comb; not enough to make them 

 so drunk that they will fall on the bottom- 

 board. Give tJiem a little at a time for about 

 fifteen minutes. Blow in a little smoke, then 

 put your mouth to the entrance, and blow it 

 among the beis as much as possible. As soon 

 as all the bees seem to be under the influence of 

 the smoke, let the queen run in through one of 

 the holes which connects with the surplus 

 honey -boxes. If thej'- do not get smoke enough 

 the first time, the bees will "hug" the queen 

 and kill her. If more smoke is then blown into 

 the hive, the bees will release her. So to make 

 a sure thing of it, I blow in smoke two or three 

 times in the course of two hours after. 



To Italianize a new swarm, let the bees run 

 into the new hive, then give them enough 

 smoke to make it rather difiicult for them lo 

 hang on to the frames or top of the hive. Then 

 let the queen run in as stated above. If plenty 

 of fresh air is given them, there is no danger of 

 bees smothering. This last way of intj-odueing 

 a queen is perfectly safe. 



Henry Alley. 



Wenham, Mass., March 8, 18G7. 



When Schirach once smoked a hive to oblige 

 the bees to retire to the top of it, the queen 

 with some of the workers flew away, tlpon 

 this, those that remained in the hive sent forth 

 a most plaintive sound, as if they were all de- 

 ploring their loss. When their sovereign was 

 restored to them, these lugubrious sounds were 

 succeeded by an agreeable humming, which 

 announced their joy at the event. 



