202 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



June 29, 



nies on May 12 ; on May 14 I destroyed 

 capped queen cells in 4 inure ; the other 

 colonies had queen cells containing 



eggs and full grown larvoe. se a 



week I destiny tin- drone larvse in my 

 Italian and black colonies, for 1 want 

 to keep only a pure race of Palestine 



I M'CS. 



On June 4 I began to rear Palestine 

 nueens. 1 have now a fine lot of drones 

 [from imported queens) flying, but I did 



in. I want in rear queens before this 

 month. 



This year promises to be better for 

 honey than last ; although we are get- 

 ting "considerable rain there is a fair 

 flow ot honey; in a lew days we shall 

 have hundreds of acres of red raspber- 

 ries in bloom. One of my colonies has 

 already stored 53 lbs. of honey, which 

 I consider excellent for the Province of 

 Quebec. 



Over 50 per cent, of the bees in Ot- 

 tawa Valley will never buzz again ; not 

 one bee-keeper in a hundred is up to 

 the times, simply because they do not 

 read the Bee Journal. Long life to 

 it and to its editor. 



Pelissier, Quebec. June 3, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Prospect for Honey and Prices. 



.1. II. MARTIN. 



Let us look the facts squarely in the 

 fare and we will find that the tendency 

 will be toward lower prices. In 1880 the 

 bee-keepers of our country had full 

 apiaries, and every hive was teeming 

 with workers, but our honey yield was 

 only a third of a crop, on account of the 

 unfavorable weather for honey produc- 

 tion. We had many predictions that 

 the price of honey would advance, but 

 when the market opened in the fall the 

 quotations remained about the same, 

 with little, if any, improvement over 

 the previous year, when we had an 

 abundant yield. 



The same predictions are made again 

 because over 50 per cent, of the bees 

 are dead. There might be some basis for 

 a hopeful view if the honey crop should 

 be short,but every indication points to an 

 abundant yield. It would, therefore, 

 have been necessary to have lost over % 

 of the bees to make any difference m 

 the price of honey. If the loss had 

 been 7.") per cent, all over the United 

 states there might be a slight prospect of 

 betterprices,forthen onrglucose/riends/ 

 would have t < • pay a little more for our 

 honey in order to getenoughto adulter- 

 ate. We never saw the prospects for 

 honey better than at presenl ; our tields 

 are white with clover, and our strong- 

 est colonies are filling their surplus 

 combs quite rapidly. Basswood, in a 

 few weeks, will fill the air with fra- 

 grance. Voung trees on our " Linden 

 avenue " that have been set out 7 years 

 are laden with buds. If the weather 

 is favorable nothing can prevent there 

 being as much, if not more honey put 

 upon the market than in lsso. Therefore 

 I can see no prospect of better prices. 

 Hartford, N. Y.. .June 14, 1881. 



[ Nevertheless we can see no reason 

 for changing our opinion expressed on 

 page 172.— Ed.] 



strong colony with ample stores of 

 choice clover honey. They died from 

 the worst case of dysentery I ever saw, 

 leaving 30 to 40 lbs. of good sealed 

 honey in the hive. It was not starva- 

 tion. ' It was not poor honey. 



The other, scantily supplied with 

 stores, mainly gathered late in the sea- 

 son, and through carelessness left with- 

 out honey-board or chaff-cushion above 

 them, but having an empty rack for 

 sections making an open air space of 

 1,600 cubic inches over the bees, and 

 protected by the ordinary Langstroth 

 8-inch cap. They came through far the 

 best of any I had, never having a 

 symptom of dysentery. I attribute the 

 whole difference in the wintering of 

 the two to upward ventilation ; the 

 lirst had none, the last most ample. 



Two other bee-keepers in this vicin- 

 ity report cases like the last named, 

 where the honey-boards were left off 

 and the bees had no protection over- 

 head but the empty cap, and the colo- 

 nies are the best they have this spring. 

 Another had. a piece of common sheet- 

 ing, which the bees had cut full of 

 holes, laid on in place of a honey-board, 

 and still another hive which stood on a 

 hillside was so low that water would 

 run in at the rear, across the bottom- 

 board and out at the front, when a thaw 

 occurred, and yet, as I believe, owing 

 to no honey-board, but a case in its 

 place full of empty sections, that colony 

 had no dysentery, but was in good con- 

 dition, except one or two moldy combs. 

 I could name other similar cases, but 

 these are sufficient. Will not others 

 who can furnish any evidence either 

 for or against this theory of the cause, 

 or a factor in the cause of this malady, 

 de so, as in this way much good may 

 result. 



Garretsville, O., June 16, 1881. 



the flying bees. I now cut the combs side of the division boards, and by the 

 loose 'from one side of tlie hive, and 

 with the cold chisel cut the nails and 

 pry off one side of the box. I next re- 

 move a comb, and lay it on a broad 

 plank or table ; lay the frame on it and 

 cut the comb so that it will just till the 

 frame, and fasten it with the twine by 

 wrapping it over the top-bar and under 

 the bottom-bar of the frame, drawing 

 it tight and tying it. If the comb is 

 straight, one band at each end of the 

 frame will hold it till the bees fasten it 

 to the frame ; bang the frame in the 

 new hive, and proceed in this way till 

 all the worker combs that are lit for use 

 have been transferred to the frames. 

 The combs containing brood should be 

 placed in the center of the hive, all to- 

 gether. If there are not enough good 

 combs to (ill the hive, till with empty 

 frames. Now brush all the young bees 

 that may be sticking to the old hive 

 and refuse combs into the new' hive, 

 and cover the frames with a quilt or 

 honey-board. Then remove the box 

 from the old stand, and put the new 

 hive in its place, and proceed to "hive'' 

 the bees from the box into the new hive 

 just as you would do if hiving a new 

 swarm that had issued in the usual 

 way, and the work is done. I transfer 

 quite a number of colonies every spring 

 in this way, and have never made a 

 single failure. 

 Ohristiansburg, Ky. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Wintering Bees in Minnesota. 



From the Home Journal. 



Transferring Bees from Box Hives. 



Q. V,'. DEMAREE. 



Wit. FRIT/.K. 



middle of October or November they 

 are all in, when I put them in the cel- 

 lar. My bees never get the dysentery, 

 and 1 have to keep them in the cellar o 

 and sometimes ti 1 ., months, without a 

 Might. 



My bees never breed in winter, but 

 when I put them out in May they have 

 a little brood, so they are about 8 

 months without raising much brood, 

 and still they do well. Some say : 

 •' Feed your bees in September ; if they 

 rear brood they will build up strong for 

 winter. My experience is opposed to 

 this plan. If the bees are rearing brood 

 in August or September I let them 

 alone, and if they are not strong enough 

 lor wintering, I unite them with w : eak 

 ones. If they have a young queen, in 

 October, and cover 2 Langstroth frames 

 of sealed honey, they are good enough 

 for me, and will cover these two frames 

 in May and give as much honey as any 

 others, but no increase. 



Duluth, Minn. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Dysentery as a Bee-Disease. 



WARREN PEIRCE. 



After a careful perusal of the various 

 reports and theories presented in the 

 Bee Journal, and a study ol condi- 

 tions and results in my own apiary, and 

 those of ni> neighbors, 1 fail to find any 



evidence supporting the theory that 



the trouble is caused by "bacteria," and 



none to support t he starvation theory 

 advanced by an able apiarist. 



For the purpose of drawing out a 

 further discussion of the subject, and, 

 if possible, acquiring additional know- 

 ledge on this important question, I will 



offer a few facts which have Come un- 

 der my observation. 



In the fall of lsso I had about 40 col- 

 onies, but owing to protracted illness. 



they were not properly prepared for 

 winter, and only •"> survived. Two of 

 the 40 I wish to notice. The lirst was a 



Transferring bees from box hives and 

 bee gums is an operation well under- 

 stood by skillful bee-keepers, and should 

 be understood by those who only keep 

 a few colonies, and give the subject but 

 little study. Anything that is worth 

 doing at all should be well done. 



The old plan of " driving bees" from 

 one hive to another, when a change is 

 desirable for any cause, forcing them to 

 desert their young (the most valuable 

 part of the colony), is not only barbar- 

 ous, but is attended with much uncer- 

 tainty. If the queen chances to go with 

 the bees, and the honey season is favor- 

 able, all may work well. But if the 

 queen is contrary and refuses to leave 

 with the bees, as is very frequftitly the 

 case, the new colony will be left queen- 

 less and without eggs or larva' from 

 which to rear a successor, and the ex- 

 periment will be a failure. These dan- 

 gers are avoided by transferring the 

 combs containing all the eggs, larva; 

 and sealed brood with the mature hees. 

 If the queen should be lost in the oper- 

 ation, the colony is in precisely the 

 same condition they would be in if a 

 swarm had issued in the natural way 

 from their home. 



Transferring bees is a very simple op- 

 eration after you get the hang of it. 

 Of course there are many methods of 

 proceeding, every one of which has its 

 advocates. Without giving the sev- 

 eral methods, all of which will gener- 

 ally give success, I will describe the op- 

 eration just as I perform it with 

 universal success. The tools necessary 

 area good bee smoker, hatchet, and a 

 thin, strong cold chisel, a long, thin- 

 bladed knife, a ball of wrapping twine 



such as is used by hardware men). am I a 

 small bunch of quill feathers. Thus 

 armed I approach the colony to be 

 transferred, and give the bees some 

 smoke al the entrance, and wait a little 

 while for them to fill themselves with 



honey. I now move the hive from its 



stand, turn it upside down, set a box 

 on it. and with a small hammer knock 



sharp and quick on i 1 keeping up the 



knocking lirst to one side and then to 

 the other, for In or 20 minutes — when 

 the queen and the greater part of t lie 



bees will have ascended into the box, 

 which is set on the old stand to catch 



In the question drawer of the North 

 Eastern Convention, as given in the 

 Bee Journal of March 2, 1881, 1 no- 

 tice the following question : 



Will it pay to construct an inner box 

 just large enough to hold combs to win- 

 ter 5 Langstroth or 5 Quinby frames, 

 that will set in the main hive, the ob- 

 ject being to carry just what is needed 

 to the cellar, instead of the main hive ; 

 they can also be used for nucleus hives 

 in summer ? No. 



I should say yes ; but how are we to 

 do it in the Langstroth hive, unless it 

 is 18x20 inches inside, and that will he 

 considered too large, by many, but it 

 is none too large to hold 3 pecks of bees. 

 I think a peck of bees with 7 ors frames 

 of brood is a good colony. I use the 

 Langstroth frame as well as one 0x13 

 inches; the hive to hold the latter frame 

 is 17 inches from front to rear, 5 8 inches 

 from side to side, and 14 inches deep ; 

 for extracting I use it 2 stones high, 

 and it takes 24 frames crosswise, 12 be- 

 low and 12 above. For this hive I have 

 a nucleus hive, to winter in the cellar, 

 and must say I like it. The nucleus 

 hive is 9 5 R inches from front to rear. 7' , 

 inches from side to side, and 14 inches 

 deep. This hive can be put into the 

 main hive in early spring, and in the 

 fall, when it is time to put them into 

 tlie cellar, I take it out and can get 

 aw ay with it nicely. This nucleus hive 

 holds . r ) frames, and it is very seldom 

 that I cannot get them on these 5 frames, 

 when I put them in the cellar; they 

 will winter well, and need no flight in 6 

 months, till pollen is plenty. They gen- 

 erally cover these ."> frames in the 

 spring, and are ready for business. 

 Thev alst) winter well in the Langstroth 

 hive"(I use both side by side), providing 

 a good colony is put on 4 Langstroth 



frames, they will, once in a while, clus- 

 ter outside on the entrance, and that is 

 just what I like. 1 do not mean to say 

 thai none of mv bees died in winter. 

 but I never have lost a colony in the 

 winter or spring. Last winter, when 1 

 saw no bees on the floor of my cellar, I 

 thought t la-re were none dying, and 

 still I heard some come out, but I could 



see none on the floor, so I set some mice 

 traps and caught over 2 dozen, and af- 

 ter that 1 saw hees on the floor; the 

 mice ate the hees as thev came out, and 

 perhaps that is the reason why bee- 

 keepers think no bees die in winter. 



Mv hees never breed much after Sep- 

 tember; about October I crowd them 

 on about 5 of mv frames (or 4 Lang- 

 stroth frames). 1 leave a space of 2 1 . 

 niches between the nucleus and main 

 hive for the bees to cluster; ill the 

 Langstroth hive they get on the other 



Dysentery Once More— Its Cause. 



E. B. SOUTHWICK, M. D. 



Some time ago, when traveling in a 

 strange country, I put up for the night 

 at a small town, and learning that there 

 was a physician there that doctored as I 

 did, I called on him and found him sick 

 "even unto death," as he supposed. 

 The doctors had said he could not live 

 until morning, the family had become 

 resigned, the minister had made his 

 last prayer with him, and everything 

 was arranged for his final departure be- 

 fore the dawn of another day. I asked 

 to examine him, to which they con- 

 sented, and after doing so and asking a 

 few questions, I told him that without 

 a murder or tin accident he could not 

 die before morning ; and what was more, 

 he was not really sick ; that there was 

 no disease about him. He inquired 

 where I w;is from ; I named the college 

 that I graduated at. He had conlidence 

 in their teachings, and asked my advice. 

 I told him when bed-time came to go to 

 bed. have his family do the same, and 

 extinguish the lights as though there 

 had never been any sickness in the 

 house, and rest until morning and tie 

 would feel like a new man. lie asked 

 me to call in the morning before I left ; 

 I did so. He was sitting up eating his 

 breakfast and said he followed my ad- 

 vice to the letter, and lie really felt like 

 anew man. The doctors, as "I learned 

 afterward, laughed at my presumption, 

 but the man recovered. Now we have 

 bee-doctors from the North, South. 

 East and West who know all about this 

 dysentery ; though they disagree with 

 each other, they will all agree in laugh- 

 ing at my presumption. 



I think my statement of April 7th was 

 not properly understood. 'Ihe bees did 

 come out, or how could they spot the 

 hive on the outside ? The rain destroyed 

 the honey in the flowers, but did not 

 prevent their coming out. The other 

 swarms made at the same time, that had 

 honey, did not have the dysentery. 

 When I gave honey to those that did 

 have it, they did not fly out any more 

 than before, "but they recovered from the 

 dysentery. Hooked for the cause, found 

 it (no honey), gave them the remedy, 

 and they recovered. But if it was a 

 flight they wanted. 1 did wrong; I 

 should have taken out the bees, frames 

 and all, carried them a little way off, 

 ami shook and brushed tin 1 bees until I 

 made them fly, and I lien return the bees 

 to the hive ; but I did not do that way. 



I notice with me (and my conclusions 

 are all drawn from my own observa- 

 tions), that swarms made up from differ- 

 ent hives are very quiet, hardly coming 

 out of the hive at all, unless forced out 

 by the want of honey for several days. 

 The old bees return to the old hive, 

 and the young ones slay in the hive to 

 care for the brood. The excitement of 

 making up swarms of Italian bees in 

 this way is hardly noticeable ; after the 

 old bees' leave, the remainder are as con- 

 tented as though they had not been re- 

 moved. 



Last fall I took some Italian bees to 

 tlie fair ; I placed a comb with some 

 bees and a queen in a glass case. They 



