1 89', 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



741 



tries this method we would like to know his experience at the 

 end of the season. 



We advise the use of warm, thin food because it thus 

 more nearly resembles a spring harvest, and also because 

 watery honey is best for larva food ; but such food, if given in 

 unnecessary quantities, would prove injurious as it might be 

 stored for winter. 



If the colonies are exceedingly weak, and the winter near 

 at hand, with stormy days and cold nights, it would be of no 

 use to try this method, which can be successful at best only 

 when there is a chance for the bees to take flight during the 

 day. On the other hand, as pollen is needed, if there is none 

 in the hives, the experiment would be sure to prove a failure, 

 (or there are no blossoms at this season, and we doubt whether 

 the bees could be induced to take artificial pollen in the shape 

 of flour or meal. 



In such a case, nothing is left to be done but uniting sev- 

 eral of the colonies into one. This requires a great deal of 

 care, and is not always successful, and rather than attempt it 

 on a large scale we would risk wintering all those colonies 

 that were worth it by placing them in the cellar at the open- 

 ing of the coldest weather. When cellar-wintering is carried 

 on in favorable circumstances a smaller colony may be win- 

 tered in this way than out-of-doors. 



It has been a question with many bee-keepers whether a 

 hive containing no young bees could winter as well as one con- 

 taining both young and old bees, and from discussions on this 

 subject the fact has been elicited that the old bees would win- 

 ter fully as well as the young, but that they were not so well 

 fitted to rear brood as the young bees were. It appears that 

 the glands, which help them in the process of making the 

 larval food or jelly, become atrophied or shrunken with age, 

 so as to render them unable to produce it. 



But it is not astonishing that bee-keepers generally should 

 have become distrustful of colonies containing only old bees 

 for winter, for the appearances are against them. Taking 

 two colonies of apparently equal strength, the one with brood 

 the other with none, the conditions are evidently not equal, 

 as the one has an advantage in the expected Increase which 

 places it in much more satisfactory circumstances than the 

 other. But at this season of the year there is but little brood 

 in the hive. And, to speak plainly, in our opinion, it is a mis- 

 take to mistrust hives that have only old bees, if conditions are 

 otherwise satisfactory. Aside from the fact that they are less 

 able to take care of the brood, they are otherwise fitted to go 

 through winter fully as well as the young bees. Their bowels 

 do not so readily become distended with discharges as those 

 of the young bees, for they eat less. In transporting bees 

 long distances while importing them from Italy, years ago, we 

 ascertained beyond a doubt that the old bees could stand the 

 trip better than the young, and we ascribe it to the reason 

 above given. Hamilton, 111. 



Description of a Fly Bee-Fighter, Etc. 



BY S. T. TETTIT. 



Thinking some might care to know more about that inter- 

 esting insect I sent to the Buffalo meeting, I will give the fol- 

 lowing : 



I was passing through my bee-yard, and upon a bee-quilt 

 lying in the sun, down side up, I noticed what I took to be a 

 bumble-bee. On other parts of the quilt or cloth were a few 

 honey-bees collecting propolis, or had been just a few minutes 

 before, but I am not sure that any were present just then. I 

 was amused at the sight of a bumble-bee, as I supposed, gath- 

 ering propolis, but I noticed his long wings and little abdomen. 

 Then I lookt closer and saw in the grasp of his long, powerful 

 legs a poor, helpless honey-bee, with its powerful enemy ap- 

 parently tasting the back of its neck. I took in the whole situa- 

 tion in a moment, and with a quick, sure grab I seized him by 

 those dark, long wings. He releast the bee at once, but it 

 was dead. Then he struggled hard for liberty, and his 

 strength was a matter of surprise. 



Upon close inspection it proved to be a fly, and not a 

 bumble-bee at all ; but his mossy back, color and general ap- 

 pearance would deceive many. I placed his stinger end 

 against the back of my hand to test his powers to sting, but 

 he made no pretenses whatever at stinging. Then I put him 

 into a wire-cloth cage aud ran a bright Italian bee into the 

 cage with him, and watcht for results. They seemed to be 

 mutually afraid of eath other, but they soon came in contact 

 and clincht ; the fly wrapt his long, strong legs around the 

 bee and seemed to hug the bee pretty hard ; but they were 

 undersides together. A heavy buzz from the fly and a quick 

 loosening of his grasp told me the tale, that he was stung, 

 and they parted. The fly showed slight lameness, but did not 



appear to suffer much pain. But soon they again met, and 

 hurried through a similar process. When they parted a sec- 

 ond time the fly indicated increast pain and more lameness, 

 but at the third clinch and struggle the bee came off conqueror; 

 the fly soon became badly disabled, and could only drag him- 

 self along. 



Then I let the bee out to go home and tell of the thrilling 

 events, dangers, battles and victory through which it had just 

 past. Every time they would meet they clincht; they made 

 no effort to evade each other, and the bee would cutely and 

 quickly, every time, get its underside to the fly. The ques- 

 tion arises : Would not these creatures recover from the 

 effect of one bee-sting ? 



If we should have another hot wave sufficient to send 

 more of these unwelcome visitors away up North, I shall take 

 pleasure in experimenting with them. I believe if I had cut 

 the sting off of that bee, the fly would have sucked and hug- 

 ged the life out of it right before my eyes. 



A POOR COMB HONET COLONY MAY DO WELL ON EXTRACTED. 



As a rule about 4 per cent., or one colony of bees in 25, 

 will usually fail to do satisfactory work at comb honey, either 

 in quality or quantity. I have come to this conclusion, that 

 it does not pay to waste their time on comb honey. I just 

 blow a little smoke in at the top and let part of the bees run 

 down; then set the comb honey super in the shade a few 

 moments, that the bees may fill themselves, then place it, 

 bees and all, on some other hive, and give the idlers extract- 

 ing supers with drawn comb, and more likely than not the 

 former idlers will be transformed into bees as good as the best 

 in the apiary for extracting honey. I have practiced this for 

 years with the very best results in every case. 



The past season I treated one colony as above, and In 

 eight days the super put on empty and dry contained 88 

 pounds of good honey. But very likely some of that came 

 from the brood-chamber. And this splendid work continued 

 as long as the honey season held out. 



Ontario, Canada. 



Combs with Candied Honey — How to Save Both. 



BY M. M. BALDRIDGE. 



On page 647, a correspondent desires to know what to do 

 with combs filled with candied honey ; and one of the answers 

 is, that it might perhaps be a good plan to sprinkle the combs 

 with water before giving the bees access to them. 



Now my plan has been for several years past to uncap 

 such combs and extract any liquid honey there might be in 

 them, and then fill the empty cells full or part full of water. 

 Of course, I also wet or sprinkle both honey and comb in so 

 doing. I then hang these frames of comb in the hive, either 

 in the story where the bees are, or in an empty story under- 

 neath, and late in the afternoon. The honey will then be 

 quickly removed, and will be found nicely liquified, and with 

 no loss of comb or honey whatever. 



As a rule, I find it necessary to water the combs as stated, 

 two or more times before the last grain of honey is liquefied. 

 In this way I have saved many choice combs filled with can- 

 died honey, and with no loss whatever. Try this plan and 

 you will be pleased with the result. I know it is a success, 

 for I have been "through the mill " a number of times. 



Kane Co., 111. 



Somewhat Disheartened— Managing Swarms. 



BY J. S. HARTZELL. 



The honey season of 1897 is closed, and the consumption 

 of the crop collected is next in order. With the closing of 

 this season, and in my experience (after seven years' trial) I 

 have concluded for this section of the country especially there 

 is nothing to be made in keeping bees. Much has been, and 

 will continue to be, written upon the results attainable by 

 proper care and management of an apiary, setting forth most 

 particularly the hopeful side of making it a substantial and 

 profitable pursuit, but as seen by me, after seven years' ex- 

 perience, I can truthfully say as a pursuit or calling by which 

 to obtain remuneration for time and labor expended, I could 

 not conscienciously recommend any one to undertake it, espe- 

 cially in this locality. I have concluded, too, that much has 

 been written upon the care and management of bees that is 

 more theory than practical, and has led me to conclude that 

 one-half that even the wisest man knows is mere theory. This 

 is, in my judgment, thrice applicable in bee-culture, unless 



