542 



GLt:ANlKGS IN BliJi CULTUllii:. 



July 



MOIiE SWARMING. 



Since our last issue we have had consider- 

 ably more swarming ; though, in consequence 

 of the small inflow of honey, it has gradually 

 tapered off. We have somewhat moditied 

 the Manum swarming-arrangnment, so that 

 it can be used in securing swarms when the 

 queens are not clipped. We do not clip 

 here, and so Manum's little cage was enlarg 

 ed to the capacity of about a peck measure. 

 It is made of wire cloth. The mouth or top 

 is 10 inches square, properly stiffened with 

 i-inch round iron. Toward the bottom it 

 tapers so that it assumes the form of an in- 

 verted pyramid. To one side of the top is 

 hinged a square wire-cloth cover. The 

 whole cage, then, is simply a pyramid, the 

 base of which is hinged so as to open and 

 close. This whole cage is next pivoted, 

 small end downward, into a Y, made of,-*,; 

 heavy wire, the stem of the Y fitting into a 

 hole "in the projecting end of the tripod, 

 mentioned and described on page 469. This 

 Y serves a double purpose : At whatever 

 angle the swarming-pole is held, the mouth 

 of the cage will always be upward. Second, 

 the Y acts also as a spring. This was an 

 accidental feature which we have found to 

 be quite valuable. After the swarm has 

 been secured, the cluster is liable to jar off 

 unless it is eased by along projecting spring 

 while being carried to its location for hiving. 

 The manner of using this instrument will 

 be illustrated by the following incident : 



Just as the last form of June 15th Glean- 

 ings was put on the press, a lai<je swarm 

 arose, circled over our factoiy backward 

 and forward. I took up the swarm ing-device 

 which I have just described, and waited for 

 the bees to cluster. For several minutes 1 

 was uncertain whether they would go down 

 one of the chimneys or lodge in the cornice 

 of the building. They finally came down 

 the roadway, and for a few minutes ob- 

 structed the passage of teams ; for we did 

 not think it was safe for horses to go among 

 them, although they were gentle Italians. 

 From here they went over to a lumber-pile 

 and caused more or less disturbance to those 

 who were piling up boards. Without find- 

 ing any suitable place for clustering, they 

 returned and began to center toward a limb 

 on a basswood in front of the factory, the 

 limb being about 12 feet from the ground. 

 With swarming-device in hand I waited un- 

 til the bees had formed a full-sized bunch. 

 With the lid of the inverted pyramid turned 

 back, I gently thrust the cluster into its 

 mouth. When the swarm was entirely in- 

 closed, an assistant, with a pole to which 

 was attached a hook, gave the limb to which 

 they adhered a sharp quick jerk This 

 jarred perhaps nine-tenths of the bees into 

 the cage. Befoie they could recover them- 

 selves, the latter was lowered to the ground 

 and the lid closed before they had time to 

 rise. The cage was then elevated to the 

 point where the remaining bees were flying 

 thickest. The legs of the tripod were then 

 stuck in the ground, and, with folded arms, 

 we watched the speedy harvesting of the 

 swarm. Our proof-reader said, after read- 

 ing so much about swarming, but seeing 

 none of it, that it was a most refreshing 



sight to him to see the perfect control which 

 a person has over a swarm by the use of this 

 simple instrument. Theiemaining bees soon 

 clustered on the outside of the cage, and I 

 had the intense pleasure of lifting up the 

 tripod, folding its legs to the main arm, and 

 of carrying the bees and all to the hive 

 where they were to be permanently located. 

 Without this swarming-arrangement we 

 should have h;id s me ditflculty in getting 

 the swarm, as the limb on which they clus- 

 tered was located in ;ind among the branch- 

 es, quite inaccssible to one mounted on a 

 step-ladder, or even to one perched in the 

 tree itself. 



We have been using this swarming-ar- 

 rangement for the last week, and the boys 

 are loud in iheir praise of it. Sometimes 

 we manage to dump every bee in the cage, 

 from a cluster. With such a swarming-ar- 

 rangement I should very much prefer to let 

 the queen's wings go undipped ; for the 

 bees would then cluster sooner, and, when 

 clustered, are as good as hived. We have 

 quite abandoned the corn-popper, as it does 

 not hold enough bees ; and we have there- 

 fore decided to send out swarmers with a 

 large inverted pyramid cage. With this 

 there is no necessity for clipping a queen- 

 no danger of losing her under the hive or in 

 the grass. 



PROFUSE SWEATING. 



About a year ago, I stated that, in order 

 to prevent profuse sweating in the apiary, I 

 always wore a light woolen shirt (or, more 

 correctly speaking, half wool and half cot- 

 ton) under my white shirt. My better half, 

 in spite of some protest on my part, finally 

 induced me to try light gauze underwear in- 

 stead. 1 did so, and I believe I never sweat 

 so in all my life. For the first time in my 

 experience I literally mopped my face. I 

 finally said, one evening, I guessed I would 

 take that gauze shirt off and put on a good 

 substantial woolen one instead. As usual, 

 I met some protest, but I was allowed to 

 have my way. Accordingly next morning, 

 when the day was equally warm. I went out 

 prepared for iinother hot spell. Profuse 

 sweatings ceased almost entirely. We have 

 had several hot days since, yet I have not 

 begun to sweat or feel as uncomfortable as 

 I did with that light gauze wear. I know 

 now, without any doubt, that a moderately 

 heavy woolen shirt, half cotton and half 

 wool, in summer, keeps me cooler, and pre- 

 vents excessive perspiration. Now. I am 

 not going to say that everybody is like me 

 in this respect ; but I do feel quite certain 

 that a few— perhaps I might say quite a 

 large number— would be cooler and more 

 comfortable with a little light underwear, 

 such as I have described. AVhy is it that 

 workers in blast-furnaces and foundries, and 

 other places where the work is around melt- 

 ed metals, wear woolen shirlsV It is be- 

 cause they are protected more. Is not the 

 back of an apiarist exposed to a sun hot 

 enough to warrant him in putting extra pro- 

 tection on his back? 



I have been wondering whether C. C. Mil- 

 ler has tried light underwear this season in 

 the apiary ; and if so, what was the result V 



