958 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



I recall that our hired man was hoeing in 

 a cornfield on the summit of a hill. A swarm 

 of bees flying over came very low to the 

 ground. He threw dirt, and yelled like a 

 madman, partly because he knew of the 

 custom, and perhaps even more because he 

 was frightened. The bees alighted on an 

 apple-tree not two rods away. He ran to 

 the farmhouse, a quarter 'of a mile away. 

 Several members of the family went with 

 hive, sheet, and other paraphernalia, and 

 the swarm was brought home. 



I have my suspicions that "Dutch Willie, " 

 the hired man, was "irritated." Perhaps 

 the bees were also. Just how much was 

 "unnecessary" I don't know. I have re- 

 corded the events. The reader may specu- 

 late as to how much was cause and how 

 much effect. 



I never, in all the days of my youth, knew 

 these pan-beating and pot-pounding neigh- 

 bors to lose a swarm; and the boy never lost 

 an opportunity to help, at a safe distance, 

 and to make a racket, while these were the 

 only occasions when he was not reproved for 

 his noise. 



Whatever may be the philosophy of it, 

 the result is eminently satisfactory; and al- 

 though the learned writer in the Cyclopgedia 

 says the noise is irritating and unnecessary, 

 if not useless, yet I am constrained to re- 

 mind the reader of that proof of the pud- 

 ding, of which he has so often- heard. 



It is important to note that the custom 

 has been discredited and ridiculed only by 

 those who have never practiced it. 



Stamford, Ct. 



[It is possible that bee-keepers heretofore 

 have not given enough attention to the sub- 

 ject of noises of some kind to drown swarm- 

 ing-notes, either of the queen or of the 

 scouts; but from experiments which I have 

 made myself I am satisfied that water from 

 a spray-pump, thrown on bees while in the 

 air, is vastly more effective than any noise 

 that may be made. The effect of the water 

 is largely mechanical. It weights down the 

 wings, thus impeding flight. It may also 

 have the effect of making*the bees believe 

 that a rain is in progress, and that, there- 

 fore, it were better to defer the swarming 

 until a more favorable time. 



Whether a noise of some kind has a ten- 

 dency to induce the swarm to alight may be 

 hard to prove, for the simple reason that 

 ninety-nine out of every hundred swarms 

 will cluster any way before taking a final 

 flight to its future home wherever that 

 may be.* 



But I am sure of this much: That with a 

 spray of water I have been able to head off 

 a swarm and drive it in almost any direc- 

 tion I desired. Some years ago, when I 

 was making some experiments along these 

 lines, I found I could drive a swarm of bees 

 while in the air all over the field; I found I 



* Replying to this point, Mr. Bigelow adds: 

 " This point is weak. The noise is made after the 

 clustering, in my experience, when the swarm has re- 

 fused to go into the hive or to remain." 



could even direct their flight toward some 

 particular tree; then when they were flying 

 around it I doused them freely with water. 

 If I remember correctly, some have report- 

 ed that throwing dirt up among the bees 

 will produce practically the same effect. 

 While it might impede their flight some- 

 what it would not make it laborious so the 

 bees would be compelled to seek a place of 

 rest, and where, too, they might discuss 

 the question of a rainstorm in a bright sun- 

 shine. 



That the tanging of tin pans and pound- 

 ing on old kettles originated in a certain 

 edict of Alfred the Great or any other king, 

 is possibly a m'yth. The only reference that 

 I can find in our works is a statement by 

 Huber, who, referring to the custom of 

 I'inging bells, etc., says, "Butler thinks 

 that these noises were originally intended to 

 proclaim to the neighborhood that a swarm 

 had risen, and that they might know whence 

 it came and to whom it belonged. " We con- 

 sulted our volume of Butler's Feminine Mon- 

 archy, bearing date of 1609; but after a 

 careful search we do not find any reference 

 to the custom or its origin. I conclude, 

 therefore, that Huber referred, evidently, 

 to some statement made by that author in 

 his Latin works, for he was a prolific writer, 

 even at that time, on agricultural subjects, 

 both in Latin and English. Butler, if any 

 one, would be liable to make reference to 

 the ancient custom, if it existed, because he 

 probably would be familiar with any edict 

 that might then have been in existence or 

 previously in force in England.— Ed.] 



Later. —After the above was written we 

 mailed a copy to Mr. Bigelow, who says: 



I have my suspicions that the origin of this story is 

 in real merit and efficiency, probably exaggerated in 

 some respects by actors and then leading to ridicule on 

 the part of others. 



As a countryman I resent the imputation by the so- 

 called funny papers that " we farmers " have been do- 

 ing such "fool things" for many generations. I guess 

 we know what we are about, some of the time, city 

 chaps to the contrary notwithstanding. 



Edward F. Bigelow. 



PAPER SECTION BOXES. 



Why Not Follow in the Footsteps of the Man- 

 ufacturers of Berry-boxes? 



BY J. E. JOHNSON. 



Seeing that Dr. Miller and the editor of 

 Gleanings are having considerable of a con- 

 troversy about basswood getting too high 

 in price for sections, I should like to 6ff er a 

 few words. 



For several years I have been using two- 

 piece wood quart berry-boxes for strawber- 

 ries and raspberries; but this year I tried 

 2000 paper berry-boxes, and I like them so 

 well that I shall never buy any more wood- 

 en berry-boxes. These boxes are made by 

 Mullen Bros., of St. Joseph, Mich., and cost 

 only $2.25 per thousand, while good wooden 

 boxes in the flat cost $3.00 to $3.50 per 1000. 

 The paper boxes come all made up, nested, 



