60 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



lous hive, found frame with their 

 queen, and set it aside in an empty 

 hive. Then taking three frames of 

 brood well covered with bees and 

 well filled with honey, I shook them 

 down into a box prepared with wire 

 bottom and top, movable, and a 

 three-fourth inch hole in the side 

 stopped with a cork, bees shaken 

 down and covered, before they had 

 time to run up to the top and very 

 few flew off. Box then set in a cool 

 dark place, the three frames with 

 some bees adhering either return to 

 hive or go to some nucleus, queen 

 on her frame replaced, and all soon 

 quiet there. 



Great tumult among the impris- 

 oned bees. 



About four o'clock. I take the 

 queen alojie in round wire cage with 

 cork in one end, let her in with the 

 imprisoned bees first dumping the 

 box hard on the ground and while 

 they are streaming wildly round and 

 round, the wire cage is applied to 

 the hole ; the queen row lonesome 

 hears the roar, skips in at once. 

 Through the wire top I have the sat- 

 isfaction of seeing how she sails into 

 the rapid current, not one of the 

 throng turning her head to say "Who 

 are you, where did you come from?" 

 Box, then covered with cloth over 

 the wire and left all night. Next 

 morning, 26th, I prepared a hive 

 with combs of brood, no bees, — and 

 put in new place. Bees in the box 

 are found clustered neatly in one 

 corner. I shake them down to the 

 prepared hive into which they run 

 far more promptly than any natural 

 swarm would do. Three days after 

 put in an empty comb, and the fol- 

 lowing day removed it with fine lot 

 of eggs for raising queens a la Alley. 

 From time to time added frames of 

 brood, the queen doing her duty 

 bountifully from the first to build up 

 the colony. 



This method is not original with 

 me and doubtless many of your pat- 

 rons may have practised the same. 



For myself, having seen it recom- 

 mended by a prominent beekeeper 

 I tried it without misgiving, and 

 found it successful first, and every 

 time. Those who have tried this 

 method, in the spirit of it, will agree 

 with me, I think, that it is a very 

 neat, sure and speedy plan of estab- 

 lishing a valuable queen, that may 

 have journeyed far, as mistress of a 

 happy and busy family, capable at 

 once of in-door and out-door indus- 

 try. 



The essential points seem to be, 

 to secure bees well fed from one or 

 more frames, of a hive where there 

 is a laying queen, in the middle of 

 the day, and when they have been 

 secluded about three hours sny fer- 

 tile queen will be received, and soon 

 becoming quiet and remaining all 

 night, will in the morning promptly 

 occupy any hive with brood combs 

 and stay where they are put. Size 

 of box is not essential. Alley's 

 swarming box is just the thing. The 

 brood combs from which the bees 

 were shaken may be put away for 

 them to occupy on the morrow, in 

 which case every bee should be 

 brushed off, then if any bees hatched 

 during the night they will not make 

 any trouble with the entering swarm, 

 but form useful members of the com- 

 monwealth. 



Few will have occasion to intro- 

 duce any queens now but doubtless 

 some will "make a note of it" and 

 try this plan next season. 



Casky, Ky., Oct. 2/, 1885. 



BEE CULTURE IN THE 

 SOUTH. 



By G. W. Demaree. 



The winter here was very favorable 

 up to Jan. 8 and previous to that 

 date our bees were flying in the open 

 air almost daily. Sometimes a dark, 

 cloudy spell would confine them to 



