594 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 23. 



directly to any part of the hive as tho it were not there, and 

 the incline makes it much easier for them to enter. I use 10- 

 frame hives, with full-width entrance, and if further ventila- 

 tion is needed than described above, I put a square piece J-i or 

 % inch by 16 long under the rear end of the hive. 



Hives may always be placed with the entrance to the 

 south, southeast or east, and have the prevailing summer 

 winds at the side, and with proper shade-boards and 10-frame 

 hives, no loafing or idle bees will be found, if there is any- 

 thing for them to do, and they will be comparatively comfort- 

 able if compelled to be idle. 



Uees usually leave the hive at the nearest exit, but on re- 

 turning nine-tenths of them will go to the alighting-board, 

 and as only covered colonies need ventilation, there need be 

 no fear of robbing. 



Unless one studies the requirements of bees until he can 

 quickly meet any emergency that may arise, he should con- 

 sider himself a tyro, and endeavor to learn how to readily 

 meet all requirements, without being obliged to ask someone 

 a thousand things he ought himself to know. Printing the 

 same questions, year after year, would be avoided, and the 

 space given to something more interesting to the general 

 reader, and if a man begins the bee-business without books 

 and papers from which to inform himself and }\ecp posted, he 

 will be sure to fail, eventually, and I would have but little 

 patience in answering his questions. 



Absconding Swarms. — Observation should teach us the 

 requirements of the apiary, and correct conclusions, the 

 proper management of it. Long ago, I observed there was 

 something wrong when bees absconded, but not one swarm in 

 100 will leave a hive if they have a queen, the hive properly 

 shaded, and the inside of the hive polisht with propolis imme- 

 diately, before hiving them. I save up suflicient clean propo- 

 lis to always have a ball of it on hand, and by vigorously rub- 

 bing the inside of the hive for a minute, it gives it a clean, 

 homelike smell, and for many years 1 have not lost a swarm. 

 When I do my work properly the bees will do theirs. 



That Dkone Question. — I settled that for myself some 

 time ago, by leaving two combs on the cool side of the hive, 

 for a fair supply of drones, when the queen reacht them, and 

 I have no more trouble with drones being reared in worker- 

 combs. I tried for some time to get along without drones, 

 and succeeded nicely, but the bees didn't, for they never gave 

 me as much honey as where a fair supply of drone-comb was 

 furnisht them ; and I have ever since noticed that colonies 

 with a liberal amount of drones workt much earlier and Idler 

 daily than where there were none, and I came to the conclu- 

 sion that the excess of honey so gathered would more than 

 offset the amount needed for the drones. I am confident we 

 can " drone " too little as well as too much. 



While the bees are breeding up in the spring, and not 

 much honey coming in, no drones are needed, but if the queen 

 is prolific, and tho colony strong as it should be, the stores 

 will be exhausted in at least one of the combs containing 

 drone-cells, and so furnish all the drones needed to relieve 

 the brood-nest of the workers during the honey flow, which is 

 continuous here from the first of March until the middle of 

 July ; swarming usually beginning about March 15. 



I am aware it will be well to regulate the amount of 

 drone-comb to be used, but I do not believe a good, average 

 colony, with a prolific queen, will build much more drone- 

 comb than is really needed for the welfare of the colony. 



In taking bees out of trees, where there was no cool and 

 warm side, but ample room, I almost always found the drone- 

 comb at the bottom, and where deep frames are used, and 

 hives well shaded, I have noticed the same thing ; as the 

 stores are used up In the spring, the cluster enlarges, and tho 



drone-comb is reacht and utilized for drone-rearing at the 

 proper time. I shall hereafter follow more closely that man- 

 agement which has given best results. 



Selecting Queens. — Some apiarists report bringing in 

 the best colonies from their out-apiaries for the purpose of in- \ 

 fusing new blood into their home yards, but they do not tell 

 us by what kind of hocus-pocus management that choice blood 

 is produced in their out-yards. 



The best queen is not always the first to leave the cell, 

 and here is where the selecting should be done. Immediately 

 after a swarm issues, it is but a minute's work to destroy all 

 inferior cells, leaving but one or two, and I never allow a 

 young queen to leave the hive without seeing her and believ- 

 ing she will prove satisfactory. 



There are usually but two or three flrst-class queen-cells to 

 be found in a hive, when natural swarming is permitted, and 

 while we have the opportunity to select the best, why not pro- 

 tect our interests by doing so '? And as we increase the size 

 of our bees by judicious selection, we will also increase the 

 length of their tongues in the same ratio, and the " desirable " 

 will have been attained. 



A California Apology. — If it will not be out of place, 

 I would like to offer an apology in behalf of some of the bee- 

 keepers of California, and for some who are not bee-keepers. 

 Those who come to California, if they do not come especially 

 for their health, come under a degree of excitement usually 

 termed " California Fever ;" and if this "fever" is not soon 

 abated, it often results in an abnormal development of the 

 leading propensities of the individual. If some things they 

 say do not sound quite reasonable, you may know to what 

 cause it should be attributed. Having lived here seven years, 

 I " know how it is myself," and am sorry to say this same 

 weakness, or whatever you may be pleased to call it, has been 

 largely transmitted to the coming generation, and my conclu- 

 sion is, that it is a great drawback to the moral soundness of 

 the human family, and more difiScult to get rid of than a lot 

 of laying-workers or a case of foul brood, for "shaking off" 

 and giving new conditions and surroundings only enlarges the 

 opportunities, and seems to intensify the "disease" rather 

 than diminish it. I hope this will be satisfactory " to all 

 concerned." Ventura Co., Calif., Aug. 10. 



That " Detestable Bee-Space " Defended. 



BY I'ETEP. SC HARTZ. 



Ou page -±82, "Common Sense" has a great deal to say 

 about the "detestable bee-space," that he thinks is a great 

 injury to apiculture, which I do not believe to be true. Quite 

 right is he, that the bee-space is handy, for that is just what 

 we want; nor do I see that it makes any difference to the 

 bees. Why, any man with "common sense "would know bet- 

 ter than that! Just thiuk of having the bee-frames glued to 

 the bottom, ends and sides! And just think once more, 

 and have your sections all stuck fast to the top of the frames ! 

 The idea is enough to make any bee-keeper shake in his boots. 

 My hives have a space all around the frames, and a 9i-inch 

 space on the bottom. And I don't see that there is any loss in 

 bees or honey. I wonder if "Common Sense" has a bee-space 

 between tho combs or not for the bees to wigglo through. 



He says that he never owned a box-hive in his life. He 

 might just as well have them as the hive he describes, and 

 makes a mistake when he calls our bee-spaced hives clap-trap 

 inventions. 



Again, he says bee-spaces above and around tho brood- 

 frames are an injury to apiculture. First, in the wintering of 

 bees ; second. In booming tho colony in the spring ; and, third, 

 the early storage of surplus honey in the sections. Now, he 



