356 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1917 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



little cave; and they were thoroly liappy 

 and content, 21/2 stories up from the ground, 

 fronting east and south. It was a most 

 fascinating sight to lean over the trough, 

 and watch that hurrying little army of 

 workers rushing in and out. I don't re- 

 member ever seeing them bundled and 

 loafing around the entrance, altho I did in 

 the original hive, less advantageously plac- 

 ed. In a room near by was a window. I 

 made a wire cage to fit it, projecting a 

 couple of feet, and it brought me within 4 

 feet of the nearest hive-entrance, where I 

 could lean out and watch the young bees 

 taking their baby steps in aviation. That 

 was fun too ! One day a kingbird appear- 

 ed, roosted on a finial of the roof, then came 

 down like a hawk from behind the chimney 

 and whirred around among those little bees, 

 and back to his roost with a mouthful. Had 

 it been just for once I'd passed it; but it 

 wasn't. He meant to be a regular boarder. 

 So I ran down, grabbed the children's toy 

 air-rifle, and some shot, and went out for 

 some target practice of my own. I didn't 

 hit him; but the rattle of shot close around 

 liim gave him an idea it was unhealthy, and 

 he left — for good. 



I spent a good many joyous hours up 

 tliere with my bees, with the usual ups and 

 downs of beginners and ultimately got up 

 to 70 pounds yield — comb honey — for my 

 best hive, with intent to increase the num- 

 ber to six — all the room would hold. Some 

 day I'll tell you why I didn't. But it hadn't 

 any earthly thing to do with the attic-use, 

 let me repeat. That is a positive success. 



Boston, Mass. John Pbeston True. 



Some Clipped Queens that Lived to a 

 Good old Age 



On page 909, for Nov. 15, I notice thai 

 Herbert Marten has trouble clipping queens. 

 We clip the wings of all queens (both sides 

 short) and then introduce them after sun- 

 down at the back of the frames, with a 

 puff of smoke. I lost one last season in 

 a colony which refused to accept any queen, 

 and that was the first and only one I have 

 lost in many years. 



I handle the brood-frames, but do not 

 touch the queen because of propolis on my 

 fingers. I have an assistant who has been 

 with me since 1910 and she can clip a queen 

 to tlie queen's notion and has never harmed 

 one. 



We caleli Llie (juecn by the wing witli the 



thumb and first finger of the right hand; 

 then take her by the shoulder between the 

 thumb and first finger of the left hand, 

 head in and feet down, and extend the 

 second finger of that hand under her, so 

 she will j)ut her feet on that finger and not 

 over her wing; then she can be safely clip- 

 ped. One of my queens lived more than 

 eight years. She was clipped six years of 

 that time and safely changed to a queenless 

 colony the spring she was eight years old. 



I now have a 1911 queen with a strong 

 colony. She was clipped in 1912, and in 

 early sjDring of 1913 I divided her colony 

 for queen-rearing and let a friend take the 

 queen to a queenless colony. In late sum- 

 mer of that year he returned her to me, 

 and I put her in a queenless colony where 

 .she is now. 



Another queen from which I have raised 

 some queens for two years past was hatch- 

 ed in 1912 ; has had no wings since early in 

 the spring of 1913, and is the best one I 

 have. I think a queen properly clipped is 

 as good without wings as with them, and I 

 will continue to clip all wings short so that 

 the queen will not attempt to fly and get 

 lost in the grass, but will remain on the 

 entrance-board in case a swarm should go 

 out. J. W. Nichols. 



Dayton, 0. 



Natural comb built under a hive. The bees got 

 underneatli thru a small opening and filled the 

 whole space solid. Besides this the colony had 

 filled two e.xtracting supers and 112 sections. — 

 Photographed by J. B. Colson, Uffington, Ont., Can. 



