626 



THE AMER1CA^ BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 



pertinence, relegating tiiein where the heat is hotter and the 

 smoke more sulphurous than that of his trusty Cornell. 



Mr. K. v/ould have felt that full honor had not been paid 

 his nationality had not a band — niusie — graced the occasion. 

 Their coming was the signal for a general bee-attack— front, 

 flank and rear. They seemed especially anxious to reach the 

 big trombone. The frantic waving of his red bandana 'ker- 

 chief only Intensified their investigating propensities, and 

 when they espied a large, shiny head, with no hair to hinder, 

 they swarmed on the devoted spot, not deterred by the ejacula- 

 tions, "Ach!" Hlmmell !" and other cholceGermanic phrases. 

 Presently they recognized the man of the big fiddle— and the 

 way he was made to dance, outdid a plantation darkey. By 

 a sudden "scoot" under netting, they avoided further inter- 

 view, but their subsequent playing had an air of vindictiveness 

 that portended danger. 



On the whole, the occasion was unique and interesting. 

 The group having been effectively photographed, we bade 

 adieu to Herr Kreutzlnger, and a hundred souIj, more or less, 

 with one accord extend to him and his genial frau, their 

 choicest beuizons. Dr Peiro. 



It is hardly necessary for us to add more to the foregoing. 

 So far as we know, it was the first case of the kind to be put 

 on record. It was all written up for the Chicago daily news- 

 papers, and created quite a deal of interest. 



All such exhibitions help to familiarize the people with 

 honey. Mr. Kreutzlnger sold a number of cases of the beau- 

 tiful comb honey to visitors. And they seemed glad to get 

 it, too. 



Mr. Kreutzlnger Is perhaps the largest bee-keeper in this 

 (Cook) county. He contemplates establishing another apiary 

 next season, several miles away from the present one. He also 

 has an apiary in Pasadena, Calif., in the care of a bee-keeper 

 employed to look after them. 



Mr. Kreutzlnger is certainly deserving of much success in 

 his various apiarian undertakings. 



A Self-Hiving or Noa-Swarming Hive. 



BV A. DUNCAN. 



The lack of an infallible plan to prevent swarming and 

 robbing of colonies has ever been the great bar to perfection 

 in bee-culture. The subject has engaged the exercise of the 

 best minds, and has been the objective of the inventive genius 

 of those interested in this most fascinating and profitable 

 occupation. The difficulties have seemed to be insurmount- 

 able, and the writer has frequently, in his efforts to solve the 

 problem, given up in despair, only to again and again take up 

 the work in the apparently vain hope of finally stumbling 

 upon the secret which, like a will-o'-the-wisp, seemed so en- 

 ticing, yet elusive. After years of experimenting I believe I 

 can confidently claim to have solved the problem, and have 

 overcome the objections which attacht to all previous plans. 

 My patent, which has been recently granted me, covers my 

 "self-hiver or non-swarming hive." 



This hive Is a double one, twice the size of an S-frame, 

 and consists of a brood-chamber and a reserve chamber. The 

 two apartments are separated by a partition, in which is a 

 perforated slide with a wire tube vent leading from the brood- 

 chamber to the reserve chamber, through which the queen 

 passes in her efforts to escape with the swarm. Her escape 

 Is prevented by a perforated metal strip across the opening in 

 the front of the hive, the aperture being so gauged as to per- 

 mit the egress and ingress of the swarm, but not the queen. 

 It Is seldom that a queen will be found small enough to pass 

 through with the swarm ; this difficulty is overcome by de- 

 stroying the under-size queen. 



At swarming-time the opening in the front of the brood- 

 chamber Is closed by a solid block to divert the bees tlirough 

 the reserve chamber. This block Is removed after the swarm 

 Issues. 



Thorough experiments with this hive have proven it a 

 perfectly practical apparatus, and one which I feel conlident 

 will mark a distinct era of progress in bee-culture. I make 

 this claim from the standpoint of a practical apiarist. 



A few of the points of advantage which my hive possesses 

 over all others, and which cover all essential features of a 

 self-hlver and non-swarmer, are these: 



1st. When they are placed upon the stand, there are no 



hives to be moved during the season, there being a reserve 

 chamber for the increase. 



2iid. The swarm need not be moved until the following 

 spring. 



^rd. All the queens needed can be reared previous to 

 swarniing-time, without weakening the colony or removing 

 the old queen. 



4th. By it swarming can be absolutely prevented, or the 

 swarm hived as preferred. 



.5th. The reserve chamber acts perfectly as a drone-trap, 

 and is so constructed as to prevent clogging by the drones 

 with ihe usual disastrous results. 



(ith. The bees can invariably be induced to remove honey 

 from culls placed In the reserve chamber, to incomplete sec-* 

 tions, with the same activity that they display in the storing 

 of honey during the honey How. This is accomplisht by the 

 removal of a slide in the side of the hive, thus permitting 

 light to enter throueli a wire-screen covered aperature. As is 

 well known, Doolittle's plan of producing comb honey — the 

 best extant — is to hive the bees on the old stand, carrying the 

 colony to a new stand. With my hive all of this troubls is 

 avoided. 



The great advantage of my method of self-hiving Is the 

 ease with which two colonies are created by the act of self- 



Mr. L. Krcxilslnijer. 



hiving. When the bees swarm and are hived in the reserve 

 chamber, I leave in the perforated slide separating the cham- 

 bers for two or three days, in which time over one-half of 

 the swarm will return to the parent colony. I then remove 

 the perforated slide and replace It with a solid slide. Thus, 

 the swarm is hived, atjd two working colonies created ; the 

 solid slide being placed In position before the young queen is 

 hatcht, otherwise the old queen would be killed. 



My experiments have convinced me that swarming is an 

 unnecessary evil, involving unnecessary loss of profitable labor 

 on the part of the bees, to say nothing of the loss of queens 

 and swarms, and the trouble and loss of time occasioned by 

 awaiting their pleasure. 



I have two methods with this hive, by which swarming is 

 prevented, and all losses avoided with no injury to the bees, 

 but lack of space, as well as other considerations, prevent my 

 going further Into the subject here. There are grand possi- 

 bilities along various lines In the use of this hive which 1 have 

 not yet followed up to definite conclusions, but I believe I 

 have already transgrest the limit of your patience, and will 

 reserve further remarks for another time. If I have invented 

 a distinct iinprovemcijt in the hive line, the tradeshould know 

 it, and I am glad to be able to take advantage of the columns 



