THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL AND GAZETTE. 



199 



made. You can easily see that one-thirteenth 

 taken from the old stock has not injured it, and 

 you have a new swarm complete, so that if the 

 honey should be cut off, you have all complete 

 stocks, for twelve of those frames are suflicient 

 to winter on. 



I have been here in this State but two sea- 

 sons, (and they were called poor ones for bees 

 by old residents,) but I find that the great 

 trouble has been too much honey and too few 

 bees in the majority of stocks fhat I have 

 examined. Furthermore, I find that if you in- 

 sert frames filled with empty comb, the bees 

 will fill it with honey; but if you insert it with- 

 out comb, the bees consume so much honey in 

 making comb, that the queen tills it with eggs; 

 so that, taking away a full frame, and inserting 

 an empty one, is an actual benefit. 



To my bee-keeping friends in the East, I 

 would saj^ do not be alarms d at this story, for 

 I have kept bees in Canada, Q^ miles north of 

 Vermont, and I have kept bees in Wisconsin, 

 20 miles west of Fond Du Lac City; and now I 

 am commencing here. What I have endeavored 

 to get at in this communication is, that a very 

 small quantity of bees, v/ith a fertile dueen, in 

 the right kind of hive, can be built up to a 

 strong and numerous colony. When you take 

 a good colony in the spring, and make 125 from 

 it in two seasons, you have done nothing but 

 Avhat has been done before. What has been 

 done once, can be done again. 



And here let me say I do not wish to have it 

 understood that the kind of hive that I use is 

 the best. By no means; but it is the principle 

 Everybody knows that a small swarm in a large 

 hive is good for nothing, and if put into a small 

 hive that you cannot build up to the standard, 

 it is the same. 



Eltsh.^l Gallup. 



Osage, IMitciiell Co , Iowa. 



A VARIETY of experiments have been made 

 in England to ascertain the quantity of honey 

 consumed by the bees, in that country, during 

 the respective monthsof winter and spring, and 

 they all lead to^ one conclusion — namely, that 

 upon the average it amounts there to eight 

 pounds, taking the season through, from the 

 beginning of October to the end of ]\lay. Dur- 

 ing the first six months the consumption was 

 not more than five pounds upon an average; 

 and the colder the weather, the less" the con- 

 sumption. The quantity here stated is too 

 small to be be depended on, by two or three 

 pounds, even in that country. 



Attextio^t to the following particulars may 

 guard the bees from many of their enemies, 

 viz: A frequent cleaning of the hive-floors; the 

 use of nev/ or well-cleaned hives; the timely re- 

 newal of the coverings; and keeping the ground 

 bare around the apiary, particularly in front of 

 it. This last precaution may also prevent the 

 entanglement of the bees in rubbish or long 

 straggling vegetables, should they, on their 

 rt turn home, fall down through fatigue or the 

 weight of their loads. 



Bees and Humble Bees. 



Huber relates a singular anecdote of some 

 hive-bees paying a visit to a nest of humble- 

 bees pi ced under a box not far from their hive, 

 in order to steal or beg their honey, which 

 places in a strong light the good temper of the 

 latter. This happened in a time of scarcity. 

 The hive -bees, after pillaging, had taken almost 

 entire possession of the nest. Some humble- 

 bees, which remained in spite of this disaster, 

 went out to collect provisions, and bringing 

 home the surplus after they had supplied their 

 own immediate Avants, the hive-bees followed 

 them, and did not quit them until they had ob- 

 tained the fruit of their labors. They licked 

 them, presented to them their probosces, sur- 

 rounded tb.em, and thus at last persuaded them 

 to part with the contents of their honey-bags. 

 The humble-bees after this, flcAvaAvay to collect 

 a fresh supply. The hive-bees did them no 

 harm, and never once showed their stings, so 

 that it seems to have been persuasion rather 

 than force that produced this singular instance 

 of self-denial. This remarkable manoeuvre was 

 practiced for more than three weeks; when the 

 wasps being attracted by the same cause, the 

 humble-bees entirely forsook the nest. — Kirby 

 & Spence. 



For fho American Bee Journal. 



Langstrotli says : "It should therefore be con- 

 sidered a first principle in bee-culture never to 

 melt good combs." But how, then, is the honey 

 to be obtained ? I have never been able to re- 

 move the honey from new combs without melt- 

 ing them. I find the application of heat suffi- 

 cient to cause the honey to drain, makes new 

 comb very soft. Will some of your readers say 

 how it is to be done ? Does the Lungstroth 

 patent extend to Canada ? 



Novice. 



C. W., January, 1807. 



Some have been of opinion that bees might 

 require to be protected against ants; -but Reau- 

 mur says that ants never originate the pillage 

 of a hive, though ready to join in it after it has 

 been commenced by others. In this I quite 

 agree Avith hini, having never known an in- 

 stance to the contrary. When, therefore, ants 

 are seen entering in a predatoi-y manner, it may 

 fairly be suspected that some other enemy has 

 been at work. Reaumur was of opinion that 

 ants are not to be reckoned among the enemies 

 of bees, and he relates an instance of their liv- 

 ing very close neighbors, yet in perfect har- 

 mony.- — Bevan. 



The usual time of the issuing of a swarm is 

 from ten o'clock in the morning till thr^e in 

 the afternoon. I have, however, known a 

 swarm to rise as early as seven in the morning, 

 and as late as five in the evening. Butler nn n- 

 tions an instance of one rising later than five. — 

 Bevan. 



