MARCH 15, 1916 



237 



orchards, so that, when reaching their hives, 

 they are from ten to fifteen feet in the air. 

 Wlien the line of descent is reached they 

 suddenly drop, not straight down, but in 

 every imaginable direction to bring them 

 nearest to their respective homes. Altho 

 the excitement at the hive-entrances is at 

 its highest pitch, no confusion can be no- 

 ticed. Occasionally a heavily pollen-laden 



Fieldi ofAstor and Sweet C/over about Jmi/e distance. 



Two Feet in the dear between ^//^/it/ng Boards ofZ-t/ves 



bee enters a liive somewhat hesitatingly, re- 

 appears after a second or two, takes wing, 

 and enters the next hive and remains. 



The action of the bees in this ease may 

 differ somewhat from their compelled flight 

 after a long confinement; but even then 

 perfect knowledge of location has a tendenej' 

 lo prevent confusion and drifting. Anoth- 

 er reason why outdoor-wintered bees are 



not so liable to drift is because they gener- 

 ally have an occasional flight during the 

 winter; and when sjDring comes they are 

 not so hard pressed for exercise. They leave 

 their hives in a more nearly normal condi- 

 tion, and consequently return in the same 

 way. 



One more point I wish to mention. The 

 drawing proves my claim which I have al- 

 ways defended, that 

 bees are guided more 

 by location than by 

 looks or appearances. 

 No matter how con- 

 spicuous a hive may 

 be made by color, 

 shajoe, or size to the 

 human eye, it has little 

 to do with bees enter- 

 ing their own hive. 

 The drawing repre- 

 sents only five hives in 

 a row, while in reality 

 there are from twenty 

 to twenty-five, all as 

 uniform in appearance 

 as a basketful of eggs 

 laid by one hen. But 

 • along the whole 

 line the home-coming crowds are evenly 

 spread from side to side, and every bee 

 seems to know exactly what direction to 

 take when aiming for its hive at the line of 

 descent. A row of equally uniform-appear- 

 ing hives a mile long would not cause any 

 more confusion than the five represented in 

 the drawing. 

 La Salle, N. Y. 



BEE CULTURE IN LOUISIANA; MAKING INCREASE 



BY J. F. ARCHDEKIN 



There are only two crops of honey 

 gathered here that are worth working for; 

 namely, the spring and fall crops. The 

 summer flow, as I have shown in a previous 

 j'aper, is dark and bad-flavored, and, con- 

 sequently, of little market value. But for 

 laising bees it is, of course, as good as any 

 lioney, and the iDurpose of this article is to 

 show how it can be utilized. 



The bees are more valuable in many ways 

 than the honey, and can be more readily 

 disposed of. The i^ound-package trade is 

 growing rapidly, and I look for it to sur- 

 pass even the fondest expectations of the 

 southern beemen before many years. Theie 

 is absnl'itely no foul hi'' diI liei'e, and this 

 gives u-^ ail advantage tliat is not to be 

 smiled at. 



During the spring flow it is, of course, 

 desirable to hold all the colonies together 

 as much as possible; but at its close the 

 hives are full of bees and brood. Unless 

 some practical use is made of this material 

 it will go to waste to a great extent. Un- 

 like the central states where I was raised, 

 there is a long slow flow ahead, lasting for 

 months. Under these circumstances the 

 most profitable thing to do is to divide. 

 Three frames of brood with the adhering 

 bees can be lifted out of each brood-cham- 

 ber and put in a hive on a new stand. A 

 cell is given, and they will draw the re- 

 mainder of the combs needed to fill the hive 

 a id stoi'e a super of honey in the fall flow. 

 Occasionally it may be necessary to give a 

 few of tliera th^t have had bad luck a frame 



