1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



355 



a particle of honey or brood In them. Some feed has been 

 given occasionally since, and now the work of gathering pol- 

 len goes merrily on. 



HIVE CLAMr.S AND RABBETS. 



I omitted to say in the proper place that I buy all of my 

 frames In the flat, and that I use metal rabbets and Van Dcmi- 

 sen clamps for nearly all of my hives. I tried hive hooks, but 

 prefer the clamps. I have almost come to consider the clamps 

 and rabbets as indispensable parts of a hive. 



PREVENTING SWAKMING— PACKING COLONIES. 



Some of those colonies in 8-frarae dovetailed hives whicli 

 were so immensely strong last fall, seem to be equally strong 

 this spring. Since the advent of fruit-bloom some of the bees 

 In some of these hives have had to camp out on the alighting- 

 board over night. As I did not want any swarms to feed a 

 mouth before the Bow, I put on hive-bodies filled with frames 

 of heavy foundation. Here is when and where I feel sure that 

 the use of heavy foundation will pay. Not many swarms 

 would be likely to Issue anyhow, and in the meantime there 

 would of necessity be an Immense number of idle bees in the 

 hive If not given the additional room. 



Some readers will perhaps remember that I told them 

 that I wintered a few colonies in big hives without any pack- 

 ing of straw around the hives. These hives were mostly 

 double-boarded on the north and west, and I left them un- 

 packt in order to compare results in wintering with bees in 

 hives of S-frame dovetailed size packt as I usually pack them. 

 The big, unpackt hives were all very low in stores at the ad- 

 vent of fruit-bloom, and one was entirely destitute. The well- 

 packt colonies in the small hives have not had to be fed yet, 

 but some of them may if this cool weather continues much 

 longer. I shall pack everything after this. 



It is satisfying In such a season as this to note the condi- 

 tion of the bees in the S and 10 frame hives having bodies I'J 

 inches deep, and also in the 10-frame hives of standard depth. 

 These hives were all well packt, and the bees have required 

 no loeking after, and will need none till it is time to put on 

 sections. 



Some writers on apiarian subjects claim that a 10-frame 

 hive is no better for wintering bees than an 8-frame hive, be- 

 cause, they say, the bees in a long, cold spell cannot move 

 about to get the honey in the outside combs, and may starve 

 with honey in the hive. This may be partially or wholly true 

 in colder climates, and unpackt hives, but it is not true here — 

 at least not true with me. I have lookt into some of my 

 packt hives in quite cold weather, and never found the bees 

 very closely clustered. Generally they were pretty well dis- 

 tributed between all frames. Sometimes I may conclude to 

 protect the fronts of my hives with a packing of chaff. If I 

 do, it will be by means of some device that can be easily re- 

 moved when the coldest of the weather is over. 



GETTING BEES INTO THE SECTIONS. 



I read much about the trouble some folks have to get the 

 bees to work in the sections. I have never had any trouble of 

 this kind. I have had more trouble to get the bees out of the 

 sections than I have had to get them in. Colonies are gen- 

 erally so strong that the bees are glad to get somewhere in a 

 hot day, and they will not hang outside if you give them room 

 above, and plenty of air. 



A man about 10 miles away told me that he got no sur- 

 plus from 10 or a dozen colonies in box and log hives last sea- 

 son. His surplus receptacles were air-tight boxes placed on 

 top of the hives, and the communication was one Inch, or less 

 than an Inch, auger hole through the cover of the hive. See ? 

 Those bees had good sense. Who would work for such a man ? 



Allow me to return to the subject of wintering bees in 

 hives of different capacities. I would not be deterred from 

 keeping bees in 8-frame standard hives because of the Increast 

 difficulty of wintering, over the trouble of wintering in hives 

 that take deeper frames, or more of them. The trouble of 

 wintering in this hive need not be great. The conditions for 

 successful wintering in almost any kind of hive are few and 

 obvious. Given a queen, warmth, dryness, air and a plenty 

 of honey, or some good substitute, when and where It is 

 needed, and your hives ought not to be without living tenants 

 in the spring. Sealed covers are foes to dryness. 



I believe that the 8-frame hive with frames of standard 

 length and depth will always be largely used — perhaps more 

 largely than any other, and yet I could not be persuaded to 

 confine myself wholly to that size of hive. Variety Is the 

 spice of life, and there are some things I want to find out. 



In reply to the question of Mr. Young (page 228), I will 

 say that at the time of my visit to Omaha I did not know that 



any such person existed. I am glad to know him now, 

 through the reading of his " notes and comments," which I 

 hope are " to be continued." I am waiting with some impa- 

 tience for him to tell us about that hive foundation. VV^hen I 

 go to Omaha again I shall consider myself invited to Mr. 

 Young's, and shall make that Journey of 22 miles to see him. 

 I will notify him before hand of my coming, and then if he Is 

 not at home, it is not likely that I will call again. 



Doolittle's old man is out in the same old garb, telling the 

 same old yarn, in the same old bland, persuasive way. 



Decatur Co., Iowa, May 17. 



How to Avoid being Stuug so Much. 



Question. — Why do bees sting some people more than 

 others? Some tell me they can hive a swarm of bees, take 

 away honey, transfer, or do any other thing necessary, and 

 never use a veil or gloves, and never get stung. Now, I get 

 stung every time I work with them, even with good veil and 

 gloves on. This morning I lookt into a hive having a new 

 swarm in it, and I received six stings before I could quietly 

 replace the cover. Is there any way to avoid stiugs? \ am 

 not afraid of the bees, and like to work with them ; but I 

 should prefer not to get stung every time I go near them. 



P. D. Wine. 



Answer. — I know there is a sort of current impression, 

 to the effect that bees will sting some people more than others. 

 While this is true, it is not because they are able to recognize 

 any peculiar physical condition or difference, nor is it because 

 one person smells to the bees differently from another. It is 

 because they notice a difference in behavior in different per- 

 sons. For instance, Mr. A made a close study of the habits of 

 bees, and particularly of the causes that Induce them to sting. 

 He recognizes that quick motions, under some circumstan- 

 ces, are quite liable to arouse the bees and make them stiug 

 very badly. There are certain things he can do with impuni- 

 ty, and others he can not; or perhaps, we had better put it 

 this way: He can do anything with bees he desires ; but if he 

 works in a certain peculiar way he will get stung badly ; but 

 if his motious are regulated to their whims, he will get along 

 with few or perhaps no stings. 



Another man, Mr. B, is not afraid of bees, and does not 

 care much whether he is stung or not. Perhaps he thinks a 

 veil useless, and does not wear one; or may be he rips the 

 cover off with a yank. He Is clumsy in his motions. One bee 

 stings him. He draws his hand back quickly, and receives 

 half a dozen more. He does not know the Importance of doing 

 all things decently and in order. Smoker? Oh yes, he has one ; 

 but he uses it at the wrong time, and does not keep it on hand 

 ready to quell any disturbance that is likely to arise. 



Mr. A, on the contrary, observes that bees are crosser on 

 some days than on some others ; but if he must handle them 

 on an " off day" (a cool day after a rain ; a day when the bees 

 have been robbing, or a day following a sudden stoppage of 

 the honey-flow) he will first make sure that his smoker is in 

 good order, and ready to give off a good volume of smoke. He 

 will blow a little of it in at the entrance, and then pry the 

 cover up a little very gently. As he does so he will send a 

 stream of smoke into the crack made by the putty-knife or 

 screw-driver. This drives down the guards, and then the 

 crack is made a little wider, and more smoke is then driven in, 

 when the cover is removed. If the bees show a quick, nervous 

 movement, standing up high on their legs, bobbing their bod- 

 ies quickly one way and then the other, he gives them a few 

 more light whiffs of smoke until they are subdued. With a 

 screw-driver he loosens the frames, holding the smoker in his 

 hand. Just as soon as the bees stick their heads up, ready to 

 show fight, he drives them back again, and then very cautious- 

 ly and deliberately removes the first frame. His movements 

 from now on are very deliberate ; and occasionally when the 

 bees are a little obstreperous he gives them another whiff of 

 smoke. Only a very little Is required — just sufficient to let 

 them know that he is master, and that they must let him en- 

 tirely alone. 



Last spring I workt with the bees nearly a week before I 

 received a single sting, and yet one of the boys who workt 

 near me at the time, doing the same work, was stung any- 

 where from three to five times a day. Perhaps some may feel 

 that these slow movements waste a good deal of time; but I 

 find that I can really do more work In a day by closely and 

 carefully watching any disposition on the part of the bees to 

 resent my intrusion. Right here rests the whole secret. To 

 one who is accustomed to handling bees there is a certain in- 

 describable action on their part that shows when they are 



