THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



145 



for this article. I would by all means 

 advise the novice to allow natural 

 swarming;. 



ANSWERS BY REV. D. D. MARSH. 



My bees are in the midst of pear and 

 apple trees, and when a new swarm 

 comes and it generally clusters up some 

 distance from the ground, I have a 

 twenty-foot ladder, and a hiving-box 

 on the end of a fifteen foot pole, and 

 they always fetch them. 



My hiving-box is eighteen inches 

 long, and eight inches square on the 

 end, made of thin one-eighth inch 

 stock, and the end of the pole goes 

 through the centre of the side of the 

 box, coming through the centre of the 

 opposite side. 



One end of the box is open and the 

 other end covered, and three-fourths 

 inch holes are bored in all the 

 sides to let in the air, and to permit 

 the bees shaken on to the outside of 

 the box to crawl inside. After the 

 cluster has nearly formed. I hold the 

 open end of the box under it, and 

 shake the limb on which the cluster 

 hangs, with another pole having a hook 

 on its end. In a few minutes I have 

 all the bees in the box, or on the out- 

 side of it, and can then bring them 

 down. 



The box being long, and rather small 

 in end measurement, makes it easy to 

 work it among close branches. I keep 

 my hives in a cool cellar kitchen, so 

 that when the heated cluster is shaken 

 down before the new hive just brought 

 out for their use, they find a refreshing- 

 home. I have never had a swarm for- 

 sake its hive, and I put in no brood to 

 tempt them to stay. Of course, if a 

 swarm clusters on the trunk of a tree, it 

 has to be brushed ofl" by the panful 

 with a wing or feather. But with this 

 hiving-box no limb need be cutoff; they 

 can be set aside in the shade, if the 

 hive is not I'eady ; you can usually see 

 the queen among the bees spread over 

 the large surface of the inside of the box. 

 I like this method of hiving new swarms 

 very much. 



ITEMS OF INTEREST. 



DIFFERENT STRAINS OF ITALIANS. 



Many of our customers call for 

 large yellow queens and those that 

 will produce beautiful light-colored 

 worker progeny. Now, friends, we 



can furnish such queens and they 

 will produce the beautiful bees, but 

 they are not the bees having real 

 business qualities, though, no 

 doubt, in most cases they will give 

 satisfaction. Our dark strains will 

 do much better, and are the bees 

 we would advise our friends to or- 

 der. They are as pure as the 

 lighter strains and superior in ev- 

 ery point. The light yellow bees 

 are not as hardy and do not winter 

 as well as the darker varieties. 



ALBINO BEES. 



This race, or rather strain of 

 bees, has been thoroughly tested 

 in the "Apiculturist" apiaries. The 

 bees are worthless as honey-gath- 

 erers or for any use whatever in 

 the apiary. Their good points are 

 beauty and gentleness. If any one 

 wants bees to look at or to play 

 with, purchase Albinos. 



The beauty of these bees is pro- 

 duced by in-breeding, and is a 

 process condemned by every practi- 

 cal beekeeper. 



HIVING BEES. 



When a swarm has issued, hiving 

 should not be attempted until the 

 bees have clustered and become 

 quiet. Then, unless they have set- 

 tled in a convenient place, easy of 

 access, sprinkling with cold water 

 is advisable. Have at hand a bas- 

 ket with a wide open top, hold it 

 directly under the bees and give 

 the limb a sudden jar so as to dis- 

 lodge the bees and make them fall 

 into the basket. Set the hive the 

 bees are to occupy on the ground, 

 and empty the contents of the bas- 

 ket directly in front of it. In a few- 

 moments they will all run in ; then 

 place the hive on the stand it is to 

 occupy. 



HOW TO USE THE DRONE AND 

 QUEEN TRAP. 



If you have an idea that Alley's 

 drone and queen trap is not a time- 



