18<12 



GLEANINCJS IN BEE CULTURE. 



373 



of tiot's. w hilc ilu' trap as coniinonly used will 

 hold hut a (luait of lu-t'S. 



Fi^. - also shows ilu> hivor in brokon parts, 

 iu order tliat the interior maybe illustrated. 

 The box is resting upon its side, bottom to the 

 front, and showinjr the tubes through which 

 the queen passes when the swarm issues. .Inst 

 in front of the tnl)es will be seen a strip of per- 

 forated metal. This is so arranged that it is 

 exactly over the entrance to the hive when the 

 swarnier is in position. Now, when a swarm 

 issues tlie bees do not rush pellmell up through 

 th(> metal iu the swarmi'r. The metal is not 

 designed for that purjiose. When the bees return 

 from the air after missing their qu(>en, tliey 

 then rush pelhnell through the metal to join 

 their queen, which is lield in confinement di- 

 ri'ctiy over the entrance to their hive by a piece 

 of perforated metal 

 placed diagonally 

 across the end of the 

 box to cover the tubes 

 ami confine the queen 

 in a place easily and 

 (luickly found by the 

 ;. The bees read- 

 ily find their queen, 

 and at once enter 

 the box and cluster on 

 the little comb, when 

 they are ready to be 

 hived at the option of 

 the apiarist. 



Although this 

 swarmer works well, 

 I do not consider it as 

 practical as the one I 

 illustrated in a recent 

 issue of Gleanings. 

 Swarmers are as nu- 

 luany of them are of 



meroiis as hives. 



practical worth ? 



This swarmer. 



How- 



regular queen -trap 



like tl _ . 



swarmer. will trap all the drones and keep 

 them out of the way of the entrance; hence it 

 is a safe one to use in an out-apiary, as there is 

 no danger of drones clogging the entrance and 

 smothering the bc^es in the absence of the bee- 

 keeper. 



li, in Fig. 3. represents the part placed at the 

 entrance of the hive expected to swarm. C is 

 the cover to the box. Henry Ai.lky. 



Wenham. Mass.. Mav. 1892. 



SELF-HIVERS. 



WESI.KV DIHIU.I-: S NEW II)E.\. 



Are self-hivers worth any thing? Do the 

 parties who advertise them, make them, and 

 sell them, deserve to be recognized as truthful 

 men? Can we go to their yards and find these 

 parties using wliat they advi'rtise? are they 

 succeeding exactly as they tell us they are? If 

 so. let us give these men credit. 



What is a perfect success w ith them would be 

 a total failure with others by a little deviation 

 from their plans. (Jo slow now. and give these 

 men justice: give them credit for their hard- 

 earned inventions. The above picture will 

 hardly need any desciiption. as it is so plain. It 

 is intended to carry a swarm from the lower to 

 the upper hive. It would be amusing to you to 

 see my museum of traps since 1888 to accom- 

 plish the above object. I have succeeded far 

 enough to say. when you visit me you will find 

 these traps in use all through my yards. 



One object I have always in vi(;w: (iive the 

 bee free access to the hive, and don"l obstruct 

 the entrance. A trap of any kind in front of the 



hive is a hindranci' to the bees. It affords a 

 shade and place to cluster in front, and in real 

 hot weather they are a nuisance. To illustrate: 

 I have an out-yard supplied with entrance 

 traps. Tlie bees are lying out, covering the 

 traps and fronts of hives. Now, I arrive at this 

 yard at 4 p. m.. because I can't get there sooner, 

 and I (ind from one to ten hives have swarmea 

 during the day. What would be the chances of 

 knowing which one of those hives swarmed? 

 Give us an intelligent answer if you can. Put 

 >/ie down as saying the man who succeeds in 



THE DIBBLE SELF-IIIVEK. 



giving us a successful trap of any kind will give 

 us something besides an entrance trap. We 

 must have a trap when we can at a glance tell 

 where our queens are. We must know instant- 

 ly, when passing through a yard, which colonies 

 have cast swarms, without opening a hive. 

 We haven't any time to spare in digging clus- 

 ters of bees froiii in front of hives. We are, for 

 instance, alone with three or four yards to care 

 for, and can't get intelligent help, and the fam- 

 ily is large; bread and butter to get: children 

 to school and clothe; and perhaps, as I have, 

 invalid parents to take care of. You see, it is a 

 good deal like the boy digging a woodchuck 

 beside the road on Sunday morning. The min- 

 ister comes along and says, " My boy. do you 

 expect to get that woodchuck?" " Yes, sir," 

 the boy says; "'got to get it; the minister is 

 going to he at our house for dinner, and we 

 have no meat." The minister got woodchuck 

 meat for dinner. We have got to "get there," 

 as did the boy, and get meat for dinner. Now 

 look at the above picture, and I haven't a doubt 

 but you will want to ask some questions. W^hat 

 kind of hive do I use? 



Answer. Eight-frame, 9>§'xl7^, Langstroth 

 exactly. I use the frame reversible by notions 

 of my own. I like them after live years' ex- 

 perience. 



Question. How does that trap fasten to the 

 bottom -board? 



Ansu^er. A small strip of tin nailed across 

 the trap slid<'S behind one like; it nailed on the 

 bottom board. With these, one can put on or 

 take off 100 in half an hour. 



Question. Where does the queen get into the 

 tra p ? 



Ansirer. Cut off the strip on the bottom- 

 board, two inches; slot in the trap to corres- 

 pond: and also the top of the trap connects 

 with the upper hive in the same way. There 

 are two cones in the trap, so afranged they will 

 not clog. The trap furnishes a cavity for dead 

 drones and bees, bees having free access to the 

 trap by the queen-slide, as shown in the picture. 



My next article will be a continuation of self- 

 hivers hived at the side; size of swarms, etc. 

 Wesi-ey Dibble. 



Middleburgh. N. Y., March 7. 



