114 



THE AMERICAN APICULTVRIST. 



been prepared for winter by reducing 

 the number of frames from nine to 

 seven, and contracting the brood- 

 chamber by using dummies, which 

 have not been removed. The two 

 colonies have been wintered success- 

 fully on the summer stand for five 

 successive winters. Two more pros- 

 perous hives of bees cannot be found. 

 Does not this demonstrate that seven 

 combs are a sufficient number for all 

 practical purposes? Perhaps I 

 should state that the seven frames 

 occupy the space that eight frames 

 should. Notwithstanding the above 

 facts, it is the general opinion that 

 the standard L. hives should have 

 not less than eight frames. 



OPENING HIVES OFTEN. 



We believe that some beekeepers 

 meddle with their bees too much. 

 An enthusiast will often open a hive 

 for examination and to see how the 

 colony is getting along, or to admire 

 a beautiful queen he has just pur- 

 chased and introduced, thereby im- 

 perilling the life of the new queen. A 

 young queen in a strange colony is very 

 timid, and when the hive is disturbed 

 will run over the combs rapidly ; the 

 bees then notice that she is a stranger 

 in the " wrong pew " and at once 

 "ball" her. In most such cases the 

 queen is destroyed or ruined, and in 

 the course of a few days is ejected 

 from the hive. 



The beginner and novice should 

 take the hint, and avoid opening a 

 hive for at least ten days after intro- 

 ducing a queen, and then he will 

 have no cause for accusing the deal- 

 er of selling him an old or an infer- 

 ior queen. In nearly every case 

 when young queens are superseded 

 it is owing to the cause stated above. 



HOW TO OPEN A HIVE. 



When you have occasion to handle 

 bees in the early spring, separate the 

 frames with a slow, easy motion lat- 

 erally, then lift them out of the hives 

 without shifting the bees. If they 

 are handled roughly in the early 

 spring, they will become cross, and 



demoralized, and will sometimes 

 " ball " and kill their queen. Never 

 handle bees when it is so cool that 

 the bees chill when they fall from the 

 combs. 



suggestions. 

 No matter how snugly the bees 

 have been prepared for the winter 

 months, it pays to make them a lit- 

 tle more comfortable when spring 

 begins to call them to the labors of 

 the season. Sometimes a dry, warm 

 blanket in the place of a damp one ; 

 the removing of the cover to let the 

 sun shine in at the top of the hives 

 for a few hours encourages the bees 

 wonderfully. No domestic creatures 

 give better returns for the labor be- 

 stowed on them. 



"CLETHRA ALNIFOLIA." 



This plant was described in the 

 "Api" for April by Jacob Manning 

 of Reading, Mass. The bush (as it 

 is a bush growing from three to six 

 feet high) will grow upon most any 

 soil, but seems to thrive the best when 

 the land is not too dry or too wet, 

 say right at the edge of the meadow 

 or swamp. It blooms late in July 

 and continues to do so till near Oc- 

 tober. It yields honey abundantly, 

 very heavy and of fine flavor. We 

 advise all who have a suitable place 

 for planting them to procure some 

 cuttings and set them this year. We 

 can supply them to all who desire to 

 purchase. 



DRY F^CES. 



The specimens of bee fseces, 

 which Mr. S. Cornell has so kindly 

 sent out to a number of prominent 

 beekeepers for examination, have 

 been received. In my opinion, the 

 specimens show that the bees may 

 accumulate considerable fasces in the 

 intestines in winter confinement, and 

 still remain in a healthy state. 

 That they void in confinement to 

 any great extent is not well estab- 

 lished. That they do under certain 

 circumstances is certain, but they 

 arc not such as would prove a pre- 



