512 



GliEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



trouble, probably because all my combs are 

 side to the entrance, and all nuclei or small 

 colonies are kept at the front so that a 

 queen on entering passes at once among the 

 bees. Where the frames are the usual way 

 it is probably good practice to use a tight - 

 fitting division-board to restrict the space 

 and then take pains to run the queen in 

 right where the bees are. A tight-fitting 

 division-board is something every beekeeper 

 does not have. I know I have none, and it 

 is not an easy thing to make in a hurry, nor 

 unless one has just the right sort of lumber. 

 But a perfectly satisfactory one may be 

 quickly obtained in the folloAving manner : 

 Take a brood-frame with or without a comb, 

 and wind about it a few times lengthwise a 

 strip of burlap or other bulky cloth which is 

 about as wide as the frame is deep. Pusli 

 this into the hive, and it will meet all ordi- 

 nary requirements. 



With the smoke method of introduction 

 any queen may be used, from a very young 

 virgin to an old "breeder," land from a hive 

 right at home, or from the mails after a trip 

 half around the globe, but it is poor econ- 

 omy to put a virgin into a full colony. The 

 queen may be put in at the entrance with 

 one's fingers, or run in from the mailing- 

 cage, together with the attendants. They 

 will all be accepted. When running in from 

 llie cage, the latter should be placed wire 

 side down or else have the wire well covered 

 to exclude light ; otherwise the bees of the 



hive may rush into the cage, plugging it 

 tight. I prefer to remove the card covering 

 the wire and place the cage wire side down ; 

 then I can hurry the queen and bees out by 

 a gentle whiff of smoke under the cage. 

 Great caution must be exercised wlien smok- 

 ing bees in a cage, for they cannot move 

 away from it if it is a trifle too hot, nor 

 successfully ventilate if a suffocating 

 amount is blown in. Use only the most 

 gentle whiffs. If the cage is dark the queen 

 and bees usually pass vei-y quickly into the 

 hive, the commotion therein seeming to has- 

 ten their movements. Ordinarily when run- 

 ning in from a cage I push the cage into 

 the entrance (wire down), plug any space 

 which may be above or beside it, and let it 

 alone until I am ready to give the colony its 

 first small outlet. But as I want all queens 

 clipped I usually release the queen indoors, 

 ratch and clip her, and then run her in from 

 my hand or from any sort of cage or little 

 box. If the cage has no hole in the ends, it 

 will be necessaiy to make one with a knife, 

 taking pains not to injure the queen. Do 

 not make the mistake of pushing in the 

 candy end of the cage. This has been done, 

 strange as it may seem. 

 Providence, R. I. 



To be continued 



[In Mr. Miller's next contribution he 

 discusses the reasons why the smoke method 

 is successful, requeening without dequeen- 

 ing, etc.— En.l 



THE ENGLISH SEASON 



EARLY THINGS 

 IN A MUSH 



EAMLY AND THE SUMMER 



BY G. G. DESMOND 



Apart from a rather slow January, and 

 less winter brood than usual, we are having 

 a phenomenally early season in England. 

 Gooseberry blossom, due on the average on 

 March 29, was ready to open on the 10th. 

 Some cold winds checked it, but still it was 

 nearly a fortnight early. Half way through 

 April we got wonderful summer weather, 

 and every thing seemed to come with a rush. 

 The bush fruits were nearly finished, and 

 we had laurel, chen'y, plum, pear, apple, 

 horse-chestnut (buckeye), dandelion, in the 

 sort of procession you see at a well-contest- 

 ed horse-race. 



With the old beekeepers, a May swarm 

 was the summum bonum. This is the rhyme : 



A swarm of bees in May 

 Is worth a load of hay. 

 A swarm of bees in June 

 Is worth a silver spoon. 

 A swarm of bees in July 

 Is not worth a butterfly. 



Cottagers have been spinning yarns of 

 April swarms for a great many years now, 

 without much credence; but this year quite 

 a number of beekeepers, ancient and mod- 

 ern, hived their increase from April 19 on- 

 ward. I suppose that the date for an old 

 straw hive to swarm is about the same as 

 that of dandelion blossom. Last year we 

 were picking dandelion heads for wine on 

 May 21. This year, May 7 would have been 

 too late, for all the heads had gone to seed. 



Tickner Edwardes says that all honeys are 

 outstripped in flavor by a blend of hawthorn 

 and apple. " It is as rare and almost as 

 priceless as the once famous Comet vintages. 

 It is to be had only when the apple blossom 

 and the hawthorn come into full flower to- 

 gether." Tliis year we are having that, and, 

 moreover, have got our bees up to supcring 

 strength in time for it. But then we have 

 also at the same time hedge maple and 



