1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



663 



13 in. long, K square; :3 strips 4 in. long, % 

 square; one strip 15 in. long, >.<x3 wide, nailed 

 together as per diagram, and covered with cot- 

 ton cloth, but light oil cloth is much the best, 

 with the gloss side in: :.' light sash, A. covered 

 with wire cloth, are slipped into a groove at B, 

 and fastened by a spring C. A flap of cloth is 

 tacked to the upper slide at D, and when the 

 catcher is moved it falls over the entrance and 

 keeps the bees from getting out. When the 

 swarm has issued, take hold of the wire bale at 

 E. and go to your hive and sprinkle the bees 

 through the wire cloth: then tui'n the catcher 

 with wire screen down, and a shake places the 



lor. of Forestville, Minn., used a similar device 

 last year. Of its practical workings in a letter 

 received he says: 



Friend Root;— I send you to-day photos of 

 two swarm-catchers invented by myself. I used 

 one of them last season; and I will say that it 

 does the work with absolute perfection. One 

 person can adjust it to the hive instantly, with- 

 out killing a bee, and it will be tight whether 

 tilted much or little. The self-hiver is equally 

 perfect, and offers no obstruction of any kind to 

 the bees while at work. I took all these things 

 to the Keokuk convention, with the intention 



MKS. UOI.DEN'S SW.\RMEK CATCHING A SWAUM. 



bees on the screen spring: the screen at C 

 which comes out, and the bees, are shaken off 

 and harmony reigns supremely. Any one us- 

 ing the above catcher, old or modern, will be 

 blessed with a mild temper in swarming time. 

 ^ , J. A. Golden. 



Reinersville, O., June 25. 



[These devices will doubtless work very nice- 

 ly if you can get to a hive just as the first bee 

 of the swarm are coming forth; but in most 

 cases a swarm is entirely or neai'ly out and in 

 the air before they are observed. There are 

 cases when these hi vers would be very useful: 

 During the height of the honey season, swarm- 

 ing-out is contagious: and while one swarm is 

 in the air, another, hearing the swarming-note, 

 is very apt to come forth. Hy keeping up a 

 careful watch at such times these swarms can 

 be trapped, and so prevent them from uniting 

 with the one already in the air; but the apia- 

 rist must be spry. 



We have engraved in half-tone the photo- 

 graph of Mrs. Golden hiving the swarm, so that 

 our readers can witness an actual case. 



I am unable to say whether Mrs. (rolden was 

 the first one to conceive the idea. Mr. li. Tay- 



of giving them to the bee-keeping friends, but I 

 was met in a different spirit Irom what I ex- 

 pected, and had no chance to otter them. 



B. Taylok. 

 Forestville, Minn., May 14. 



It is quite possible that these devices may be 

 very serviceable in a good many instances. We 

 should be glad to get reports from others who 

 have used them. By the way, there ought to 

 be a good many who have tested the Alley 

 automatic swarmer. How has it worked ?] 



E. R. R. 



RIPENING SAGE HONEY ARTIFICIALLY. 



qlTESTIONS FKOM A CALIFOKNIAN ANSWERED 

 BY A CALIFORNIAN. 



In our locality— Coast Mountains— the sage 

 honey is too thick to allow it to ripen in the 

 comb. We use a tank of 300O to 4(KX) lbs. capa- 

 city. The greatest heat is about 115° in the 

 shade. . , , j 



1. Do you advise setting the tank in the shade 

 or in the sun? 



