458 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



adulterated; that, if he were bad enough to go 

 into any such fraud, he would not stop at 10 

 per cent, but would put in enough to pay him 

 for doing it, and that would be 50 or at least 33 

 per cent. 



On the other hand, when analysis shows a 

 very small percentage of glucose, it is pretty 

 certain that some one put it there. Glucose is 

 very easily detected by the chemist, and it is no 

 difficult matter to determine even the very ex- 

 act per cent of it. The adulterant (glucose) by 

 reason of its very low price, and the fact that it 

 is almost devoid of any color, is what we have 

 to fear. It pays, from a financial standpoint, to 

 mix honey and glucose, provided the mixture 

 can be palmed off as pure honey. But our food 

 commissioners in our various States are becom- 

 ing more and more alert; and with good laws 

 back of them in every State in the Union, the 

 chemists would enable them to hunt down the 

 guilty parties and make them pay the penalty 

 of the law. The United States Bee-keepers' 

 Union will undoubtedly work to secure the en- 

 actment of pure-food laws in States where they 

 have none. There is no question but this is the 

 proper way to handle the glucose problem. 



HIVING SWARMS AT THE HOME OF THE HONEY- 

 BEES. 



Swarms are beginning to come forth, and it 

 sometimes happens that several of us have to 

 take a hand in hiving them. The bees seem to 

 take special delight in coming forth exactly at 

 the noon hour, when we would like to have a 

 little quiet, for we are, and have been for some 

 time, running night and day. 



On Friday, June 4, as I was standing in front 

 of the basswoods near my house, talking with 

 A. I. R., some one called out, " Swarm of bees ! " 

 They were just emerging from between the 

 tall evergreens surrounding the apiary; and 

 the way they were piling through led me to be- 

 lieve they meant to "light out" for parts un- 

 known. I grabbed up a pail of water and a 

 spray-pump, and started after them. As I 

 sprayed, the little fugitives did not drive back 

 like a flock of sheep, as they ought to, or as I 

 have made other swarms do on many former 

 occasions. They seemed to be driving right 

 through my artificial storm. I followed them, 

 nevertheless, slopping the water on myself, but 

 keeping up a continual spray among the thick- 

 est* part of the swarm. Mr. Weed, the foun- 

 dation man, seeing my predicament, rushed to 

 my assistance; and A. I. R. called on two of 

 the gardeners to bring me buckets of water as 

 fast as I used them up. Still the bees kept 

 moving northward over the berry -patches, and 

 over the raspberry-bushes, seeming to take 

 special delight in gliding over objects that 

 were serious obstructions to us poor mortals 



* Here I made the mistake. I should have sprayed 

 the bees in the lead. 



who had to climb through the bushes. Pailful 

 after pailful of water was used up, and the bees 

 were nearing the railroad track, and immedi- 

 ately over a pile of tile. I then got clear around 

 on the outskirts of the bees, aud wet down 

 thoroughly the outposts, as it were, and finally 

 succeeded in holding them at bay. As I was 

 getting tired with the continual squirting, Mr. 

 Weed took up the pump and Avent at it like a 

 regular steam-engine. He set such a hot pace 

 for himself that he was soon " outwinded," to 

 use a little bicycle parlance. But he managed 

 to hold them where I stopped them. 



The bees hitherto seemed fairly wild to get 

 away, and it looked at one time as if they 

 would accomplish their object. Spectators 

 here and there were eagerly watching to see 

 which side would come out ahead, while the 

 spray-pump was forcing water out among the 

 bees. After getting them pretty well wet down 

 they alighted on the tile, in the grass, in the 

 road, all over every thing, and finally, to our 

 delight, they began to form a cluster on one of 

 the raspberry-bushes. Mr. Weed and I, in our 

 eager haste, had sprayed almost as much water 

 on each other as on the bees; for as soon as we 

 drove back one set of outposts, another set 

 would start in another direction "to make a 

 break." and immediately the spray was turned 

 in that direction, and it did not make any dif- 

 ference whether any one was in the way or not 

 — he had to take his dousing with the bees. 



To-day, June 10, another swarm came forth, 

 and was starting off in a like manner; but this 

 time I managed to get the spray on the very 

 outskirts of the flying bees. I got them started 

 back in the opposite direction, and with very 

 little trouble forced them to cluster on the 

 evergreens, and then of course we had things 

 our own way. 



I know of nothing that will ordinarily change 

 the course of a flying swarm of bees so effectu- 

 ally as a spray-pump. As I have often de- 

 scribed in these columns, 1 have generally been 

 able to drive swarms like a flock of sheep in 

 almost any direction I chose. I remember once 

 a swarm was making off. I ran ahead of it, 

 sprayed the leaders, changed the direction of 

 their flight, and then chased them toward a 

 certain tree; and, having arrived there, I held 

 them until they chose to alight. 



I never had a case before, I believe, where 

 we came so near losing a swarm in spite of the 

 spray-pump as the one I described at the outset, 

 for it is very rare that we are not able to make 

 them cluster very quickly. 



We keep a pail of water, a spray-pump, a 

 Manum swarmer, and a long pole, in the center 

 of the apiary. As soon as a swarm comes out, 

 we make for these implements of swarming; 

 and if the bees act as if they were going to run 

 away and leave us, then we douse them until 

 they are glad to alight. 



