JULY 15, 1914 



557 



DO BEES ANTICIPATE THE END OF A FLOW? 



Dr. Miller, in Stray Straws, March 1, 

 quotes Dr. A. Ludclen as having explained 

 the ci'ossness of his bees with a theory that 

 the bees anticipated a stoppage in the hon- 

 ey-flow. Perhaps Dr. Ludden is right, for 

 such is the case "here in the Mesilla Valley 

 of New Mexico. Even as long as two or 

 three days before the end of a honey-flow, 

 and while the scale hive may still be show- 

 ing a good gain, the bees are often so cross 

 that one needs a veil to go among the hives. 



I wonder, though, if Dr. Ludden has a 

 locality similar to mine— one where the hon- 



ey-producing plants are cut down in full 

 bloom. I had it figured that hives No. 1, 20, 

 60, 80, and so on, had been working on the 

 fields, we will say, of Mr. Davidson and 

 PhilliiDS, and that their fields, having stop- 

 ped yielding in a single day, these bees were 

 quite naturally on the war-path. Still other 

 colonies in the same yard had been working 

 mostly on other fields in different directions. 

 With his theory in mind I had supposed 

 that where a honey-plant was allowed to 

 bloom itself out, and therefore shut off the 

 honey-flow gradually, there would be none 

 of that vicious fighting. 



SOME NEW- OLD PLANS THAT ARE GIVING SUCCESS 



BY JOHN S. REESE 



For the benefit of the ever increasing 

 number of beginners and new recruits in the 

 ranks of the army of beekeepers, we will 

 mention a few of the new-old things that 

 are being used successfully by the veterans 

 and large producers of honey. 



Painting queens is one of the most helpful 

 of the new-old things we have adopted very 

 recently. Having painted more than one 

 hundred black and yellow queens the past 

 season, we failed to find a single objection, 

 in any way, and we tried it on virgins just 

 hatched, and, in fact, every way we could 

 think of. It is simple and easy to do, and 

 enables one to find his queens quickly every 

 time. 



Introducing queens direct by the smoke 

 method, with a few tobacco crumbs added 

 to the smoker, as described many years ago 

 by Alley, "^^ '3 have practiced with success, 

 but now prefer the Miller plan of stopping 

 up the entrance for a short while. The to- 

 bacco or a few drops of carbolic acid may 

 be added to the smoker, if you like. We 

 have never found it necessary to plug up 

 the entrance at all if the introducing is done 

 late in the evening, when the bees have quit 

 flying for the day. 



Greasy, discarded waste for your smoker 

 may be had at any machine-shop or around 

 where engines are used. You will want noth- 

 ing else in the fuel line. Use largest size of 

 smoker alwaj^s. 



Now how about those carbolized cloths? 

 If you have never tried them, do not wait 

 any longer. Get busy. 



The steam honey-knife has come to stay, 

 and works like a charm. Begin with a good 

 one, and save time and money. 



The bee-escape has undergone improve- 

 ments until the Porter double-ender seems 

 to have reached perfection, and is an indis- 



pensable little implement. The first styie 

 published was invented by a beekeeper (the 

 writer), who just had to have some way of 

 getting the bees away from the honey auto- 

 matically, and he thought of the wire-cloth 

 fly-trap with the small hole in the apex of 

 the cone, and applied it to the bee-escape. 

 It works well yet; but use the double-ender 

 Porter and be haj^py. 



Now, Mr. Bee Ginner, have your queens' 

 wings clipped; and when the swarm comes 

 out, catch the queen on the ground, put a 

 glass tumbler over her, as my wife does, if 

 you like; move the old hive to a new loca- 

 tion, and hive the returning swai'm on the 

 old stand, then read A B C and X Y Z 

 again, also Gleanings. 



Bee-tents will be fully tried out this 

 season, especially the style that fits snugly 

 over the top of the hive; also the bunch -^f 

 horsehair or cow's tail placed at the en- 

 trance to stop or prevent robbing. The left 

 wing tip of the turkey to brush off the bees 

 from extracting frames, and may be other 

 thing's, would be all right. 



Well, the capping-melter has also come 

 to stay; and of the many good styles that 

 are offered, here is another, not new, with 

 plans that may be varied as to size, etc. The 

 first box of this kind we saw at Muth's place 

 in Cincinnati some years ago, which he used 

 for rendering old combs and dirty wax 

 through a Hatch press. As the plans indi- 

 cate, the inside of this double box is 20 

 inches wide, 16 tall, and 36 long. It will 

 hold about 47 gallons. This size can be 

 made from two sheets of galvanized iron, 36 

 inches wide by 7 or 8 feet long, and two 

 sheets costing about two dollars, and a few 

 hours' labor by a tinner who has a folding 

 or bending machine. A honey-gate put 

 through one end at the bottom will let out 



