DECEMBER 1, 1916 



1133 



Stencil Dial for Nucleus Record. 



TTie illustration shows the system that 

 I use for keeping track of twin mating nu- 

 clei. I use two on each twin hive — one for 

 each nucleus. These give me the condition 



C-V 1' 

 C -tt • 30 . 



.a» 



*T>^ 



fi 



(M 



*/ 



*/ . ,,. . tv 



<?• 



Q, queenless ; C, cell ; C-V, caged virgin ; V, virgin 

 at liberty; S, saw; L, laying; T, tested; M, mismate. 



of the inside in case I place a cell or a 

 caged virgin in before removing the laying 

 queen. I have been trying several plans 

 and I like this the best of any that I have 

 tried. I place two metal hands upon each 

 dial. They are bent so that one passes over 

 the other without interfering. I have a 

 metal stencil for painting the letters and 

 figures on the lids of the hives. 



Baldwin Park, Cal. H. M. Hess. 



The Honey Method of Introducing. 



Last summer I had several swarms cluster 

 together, and so I had to find the different 

 queens, as the amount of bees — four or five 

 swarms — was too great for any common- 

 sized hives. One queen that I found posi- 

 tively refused to stay in a aive. I then 

 clipped her wings, put a little honey on her — 

 enough to cover her about half — and put her 

 on the alighting-board of a hive from which 

 a swarm had absconded but still contained 

 a few bees. I thought that, if she were ac- 

 cepted, 1 could then give more bees. On be- 

 ing placed in front of the hive, as she start- 

 ed for the entrance a bee attacked her from 

 the side not daubed with honey. It was get- 

 ing its abdomen in shape for a sting when 

 about that time its "nose" came in contact 

 with the honey. Of course it immediately 

 forgot all about the queen and went after 

 the honey (then I saw the point). When the 

 queen disappeared in the entrance several 

 bees were hanging on to her; but they were 

 only after the honey. After a while, on go- 

 ing to the hive to see how things were going 

 I found her sitting on the edge of the 



alighting-board with several bees licking her 

 off, after all efforts to induce her to remain 

 inside failed. 



Having a queenless nucleus I followed the 

 method Mr. Clute gave F. M. Baldwin (Jan. 

 15, 1915, p. 66), immersing her completely in 

 half a cup of honey and pouring her, honey 

 and all, on top of frames of the nucleus. I 

 watched her disappear between the combs, 

 replaced the cover, and awaited results. 

 The only strange thing about her was that it 

 was at least a week or ten days before she 

 began laying. Of course I do not think that 

 the method of introduction had anything to 

 do with this. I began to think that I had 

 probably clipped an unmated virgin. How- 

 ever, there was soon enough proof that my 

 fears in that respect were groundless. The 

 short time it took for her to build up that 

 small nucleus into a strong colony would 

 seem to show that she was not hampered by 

 the effect of any of her past experiences. 



Berne, Ind. Moody Brenneman. 



Moving Bees on a Truck Without Screening. 



I have sold my home and bought another, 

 and shall have to move my bees a distance of 

 21 miles by auto truck. I can make the trip 

 in 2Y2 hours, barring accidents and bad luck. 

 Will it be necessary to -screen the bees at all, 

 or can I fasten them up tight for that dis- 

 tance? I will move them about the middle 

 of next month, and the weather more than 

 likely will be cold. M. A. Aulick. 



Bradford, Ky., Oct. 26. 



[You can move your bees on the truck 

 with or without entrance-screens. If the 

 weather is a little cool, all that will be neces- 

 sary will be to smoke the bees at the en- 

 trance to each hive, put them on the truck, 

 and start on the journey. But before the 

 load is started each entrance should be smok- 

 ed a little, after which the trip can be made. 

 You probably could nail wire screen over the 

 entrances to jii'cvent any bees from coming 

 out, but if the weather should be a little 

 warm an<l the colonies strong there would be 

 danger that some of them would be smoth- 

 ered. — Ed.] 



Some Record. 



I had 10 colonies, spring count, increased 

 to 12, which I have at present. I extracted 

 and filled 50 dozen pints (Mason iars) ; sold 

 242 sections, also 80 lbs. chunk honey, and 

 have all the honey we shall need until next 

 season. The hives are very heavy. I should 

 think there is not less than .SO lbs. in each 

 hive for the bees to winter on. 



I ha^ en 't lost a colony of bees for ten 

 vears-— that is, in wintering, and I lay it to 

 heavy stores. I give them from '.\0 to 40 lbs. 

 I put a super cover over the brood-nest, then 

 an empty section super, and fill an empty 

 super with ground cork which I get from 

 the stores when they sell grapes, paying 5 

 cts. for barrel and cork, and I ha\'e success. 



Dover, Del., Oct. 26. Wm. Maag. 



