NOVEMBER 1, 1914 



The instance I wish to speak of happened 

 rather late, after the swarming season was 

 over. I had gone fishing; and when I came 

 home about dusk my wife told me that 

 tliere was a little swarm hanging in an 

 apple-tree. The next morning I shook them 

 into a basket and found them to be beauti- 

 ful yellow Italians. I had a hive of dark 

 hybrids that had no queen, but plenty of 

 lioney ; so I thought I would unite them. I 

 picked up the queen and smoked her in, 

 and dumped the bees on the alighting-board 

 and smoked them in. They began fighting 

 immediately, so I smoked them as much as 

 I dared to, and closed the entrance nearly 

 tight, and left them, thinking it a failure. 

 They fought all day, and were still at it the 



843' 



next morning; but by that time there were 

 only about a dozen yellow bees left. I felt 

 pretty blue over it. for I hated to lose that 

 beautiful queen. Two or three days later I 

 opened the hive to find out what was best 

 to do with them, and there was that yellow 

 queen with a nice patch of brood, but not 

 one yellow worker could I find ! 



In smoking in queens I watch a few 

 minutes until the guards begin to come out; 

 then I consider the job finished unless there 

 is danger from robbers, in which case it is 

 necessary to watch until every thing is all 

 right or else stop the entrance with green 

 grass. 



Hadley, Pa. 



BY C. V. RICE 



I am so much pleased with my cement 

 hive-stands that I want to tell the readers 

 of Gleanings about them. These cement 

 stands are of just the right shape, size, and 

 weight to be most convenient to adjust, 

 wherever the hive is placed. They are espe- 

 cially handy when it comes to lifting a 

 heavy super, as they take up so little room, 

 and allow standing close to the hive. 



I make my stands 15% inches long (for 

 ten-frame hives), with a six-inch base, two- 

 inch crown, with concave sides, and in two 

 sizes, 5 and 6 inches high. By making the 



sides concave I save cement. They are 

 neater in appearance, are easier to handle, 

 and will keep a drier resting-place for the 

 hive. The cement has a tendency to draw 

 moisture from the ground ; but the shape of 

 these stands gives them such a drying sur- 

 face in proportion to their volume that 

 practically all moisture is dispersed before 

 reaching the crown. 



When placed on level ground a six-inch 

 stand at the back and a five-inch one to the 

 front will insure the hive of proper drain- 

 age in wet weather. 



Pig. 1. — C. V. Rice's concrete hive-stands, and lonn for niakin 



