826 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUUE. 



Oct. 



to think that the whole world had turned 

 against him and deserted him, and it made 

 7rte feel glad to think that I had remember- 

 ed him ; and although I could not lake the 

 place (if a docU)i-, he told me of his mistakes 

 and misfortunes ; and although he did not 

 then declare he would choose Christ and his 

 righteousness, I felt that his attitude of 

 heart, when I left him, was something 

 near it. 



Now, my friends and neighbors, wherever 

 you are and whoever you are, remember that 

 good looks— yes, even a sunny disposition — 

 may lead you into trouble if you are not 

 careful how you use the ,God-given gift. I 

 am older than many of you, and I have been 

 saddened by these troubles that have come 

 upon a good many ; and let me now, in a 

 closing word of these neighborly talks to- 

 day, bid you beware how you trifle with 

 these holy relations that ought to exist be- 

 tween man and wife. And let me suggest 

 to our younger readers who have not yet 

 thought much about these holy relations, to 

 beware how they trifle with them in any 

 way. When tempted, just breathe the little 

 text, " Blessed are the pure in heart,'' and it 

 will carry you' safely through all such trou- 

 bles. 



A JUVENILE'S EXPERIENCE WITH 

 SWARMING. 



ALSO SOiME OTHER MATTERS. 



tASSWOOD ended with June; and as it was so 

 rainy during its blooming', it did not pro- 

 duce much honey. The rains kept the white 

 clover going-, which is still in full bloom, 

 July 18. Sweet clover, or melilot, grows in 

 acres along the creek bottoms, and it seems to 

 thrive best in gravel and sand banks. The bees 

 fairly roared on it. 



Our first swarm came out May 13. It clustered 

 on a bush, was hived on the spot, and immediately 

 moved away, a good piece off, but not far from 

 the old hive. Ne.xt morning it came out and be- 

 gan to move off, going slowly and near the ground, 

 ill a very straight line, for over a mile. On Bear- 

 ing the woods it raised above the tree-tops, and, aft- 

 er going a short distance, entered a hollow tree 

 that had been before occupied by bees. We then 

 cut the tree, brought them back, gave them a 

 frame of unsealed brood, and they went to work 

 all right. After tilling their hive and making .30 

 lbs. of surplus, they cast a heavy swarm July 1, 

 which now has its hive well filled. Now, do you 

 think the swarm of May 13 sent o\it a second party 

 of scouts, or did the first party, on returning, find it? 

 May 2U, we had a second swarm come off. It was 

 early in the morning, and the thermometer stood 

 but 60° in the shade. While coming out, thousands 

 of bees fell down in front of the hive. They raised 

 up, and some of them tried to go back, but got- in- 

 to another hive near by. The occupants of the 

 latter rushed out, gave battle, and in a few min- 

 utes hundreds were slain. The rest of the swarm 

 scattered out badly, and finally clustered, and was 

 hived on a frame of brood. The next three or 

 four days they fought among themselves and 

 many were killed. Then they wont to work. Aft- 

 er a while they were discovered to have been 

 queenless, and that they had raised a queen. Do 



you suppose their quccnlcssucss caused the fight- 

 ing among thethselvcs? 



We had a large first swarm June 23, and it v.as 

 hived on a frame of brood. It built a considerable 

 amount of cf)mb and honey, and appeared to be all 

 right. The ne.xt day it slowly swarmed out, and 

 after a few minutes it began to go into a box-hive 

 swarm. This box hive had got thi-ough swarming, 

 and had a young queen at the time, about the 

 age for a wedding-flight. Half an hour before, a 

 young queen was found in front.of this hive balled 

 up, and we put her back into the hive. A little 

 later the swarm first mentioned began to move in. 

 Their hive was brought, and as many of the bees 

 as possible were got back by brushing them from 

 off the box hive. l$ut thousands went in, which 

 we never got. Next morning two dead queens 

 wei-e found in front of the new hive, one a virgin 

 and the other apparently a laying queen. The 

 young queen in the bo.x hive must have run out 

 during the excitement the day previous, and was 

 brushed into the new swarm. Both were now 

 queenless. The new hive raised a queen from the 

 frame of brood. A piece of eggs and larva' was 

 placed in the top bo.x of the box hive, with which 

 they raised queens. Now the question is. Why did 

 the bees swarm out and act so? (.'ould it be that 

 the new swarm had a virgin queen, which, while 

 taking her wedding-flight, fell down in front of the 

 box hive, and that her bees, after finding where 

 she was, swarmed out and followed her? 



DRONE ASSEMBLIES. 



Last year the drones assembled within half a 

 mile of us. The assembly spread over several 

 acres. I could hear their loud roaring, but could 

 not see them. This year I again found where they 

 assembled, but there seemed to be several assem- 

 blies. Two were a quarter of a mile apart. 



MILKWEED. 



There is a good deal of milkweed near us, and 

 the bees work considerably on it. During its 

 blooming I noticed what I thought to be fighting 

 going on among the bees; but on closely examin- 

 ing them I found out that, instead of fighting, 

 some of the bees were pulling away at the wing- 

 like milkweed pollen on the others' feet; and as 

 thousands of these wings were in front of every 

 hive, I suppose they succeeded in getting them 

 torn off'. If this is the case, old as well as young 

 bees can be freed from this wing-like pollen. 



A FEW QUESTIONS. 



Do bees, when they gorge themselves with hon- 

 ey, while being smoked, ever put it back into the 

 cells again? Does melilot bloom every year? Will 

 swarms that have not quite filled the brood-cham- 

 ber with comb in the honej'-season finish it during 

 fall blooming? Chahlie L. Greenfield. 



Somerville, Butler Co , O. 



In answer to your first question, I think, 

 Cliarlie, the scoiits that went off while the 

 swarm was hanging on the bush found the 

 hive where you had placed it, and led off the 

 swarm next morning. In answer to your 

 second (piestion, I do not think the fighting 

 was caused by queenlessness, but I do think 

 the qiaenkssness was caused by fighting. I 

 think the suggestion at the close of your 

 third query is the right one.— The facts you 

 give in regard to the drone assemblies are 

 valuable. ' I think drones do congregate 

 thus, and I have no doubt that they some- 



