82 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



ertion renders them somewhat 

 weaker ; when secured, they rise 

 to go home, but the nearer they 

 approach the apiary the slower 

 theTr flight becomes which, with 

 their loads and the chilling wind, 

 acts promptly upon them and they 

 bespatter everything so long as 

 the wind keeps between N.W. and 

 N.E. "With the loindfrom any oth- 

 er quarter and even a lower temper- 

 ature, I have never seen it here. 

 I have also seen this form of flux 

 produced here, when bees were fed 

 a weak solution of sugar with the 

 wind as above and a clear sky, 

 during a temperature between 50° 

 and 60° F. My heaviest deposit 

 occurred March 8, 1885, with the 

 glass ranging between 52° and 55° 

 F. and wind N.N.E. My location 

 (to me seems to make it plain 

 enough) is so situated that the 

 wind from points indicated blows 

 directly from the Atlantic Ocean, 

 distant but one mile hence ; when 

 the bees forage between the apiary 

 and the beach, they are exposed 

 to a wind, cold and laden with 

 moisture and brings about the same 

 results here as it does elsewhere, 

 according to my observations. 



DEDUCTIONS. 



All the conditions seem to cor- 

 roborate each other as regards their 

 causes; their prophylactics and 

 treatment will be at once inferred 

 from the pathology given by any 

 intelligent beekeeper and so appears 

 not to demand amplification. 



Live Oak Apiary, New Smyrna, 

 Florida. 



UNITING BEES. 



BY D. F. SAVAGE. 



For uniting nuclei or weak colo- 

 nies, smoke them well, remove all 

 queens but one and be sure of that 

 one, in an empty hive ; put first a 

 frame from one nucleus, then one 



from another and so on alternately 

 till there are enough, then shake 

 down or brush off all other bees, 

 works best just at night, contract the 

 entrance and put some obstacle be- 

 fore the door. Colonies to be uni- 

 ted are moved a little daily toward 

 each other till they are side by side 

 as Langstroth and other authorities 

 direct. If either colony has been 

 for some time queenless, other bees 

 having a queen will usually murder 

 the new comers, but not if just un- 

 queened. Sometimes queens and 

 all are united and the queens settle 

 the matter of succession, and I have 

 known two to survive where four 

 were thus united in the fall. 



Though these things have been 

 known and practised for years by 

 some of us, there are always those 

 who are new to the business and we 

 may benefit them by giving our old 

 methods when tested and found 

 good. 



Casky, Ky. 



BEES MARKING THEIR LO- 

 CATION; OTHER MAT- 

 TERS ON BEE CULTURE. 



BT J. M. HICKS. 



It is a well-known fact this is 

 done through the sense of sight. 

 A large number of the bees that 

 fly out in the early spring are 

 those that have been matured and 

 hatched during the latter part of 

 winter and early spring; conse- 

 quently, they do not leave the hive 

 in a straight or direct line, but 

 only venture a few inches and then 

 turn their heads toward the hive 

 and oscillate back and forth in 

 front of the hive, with their heads 

 towards the entrance, occasionally 

 advancing a little farther out, as if 

 to note more particularly the place 

 and surroundings ;also the entrance 

 of their hive. They then increase 

 the distance, taking a more thor- 

 ough survey of trees, buildings. 



