AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



173 



CONDUCTED BY 



Greenville. Texas. 



Things We Oug-ht to Know. 



We ought to know that queenless bees 

 uearly always build drone-comb. 



We ought to know that it stimulates 

 a colony to get to build some comb. 



We ought to know who it is that can 

 get the drones all out of a strong colony 

 the first round. 



We ought to know the color of that 

 person's hair that can always find all 

 the queen-cells in a strong colony the 

 first round. 



We ought to know that colonies with 

 young queens are less inclined to build 

 drone-comb than those with old queens. 



We ought to know that broken pieces 

 of sections are the best things out to 

 keep records on the nuclei. 



We ought to know that bees, in one 

 sense, consider themselves queenless 

 when they build cells, and in natural 

 swarming they seem to know that the 

 colony will be left queenless, and they 

 build cells to that end. 



We ought to krftDW that rearing queens 

 at any season is only forcing nature, 

 and that all the cells are built naturally. 



We ought to know that nature has 

 taught the bees that the best thing to 

 do is to rear a queen as soon as possible 

 after they find they are queenless. 



We ought to know that bees in their 

 great hurry to get a queen often make 

 a mistake and start to rear a queen 

 from a larva too old, and, if allowed to 

 hatch, will make a faulty queen. 



Queen-breeders ought to know that 

 they should " proof-read " their queen- 

 cells before they are sealed, and not al- 

 low a cell to be used that is started from 

 such a larva. 



We ought to know that queens reared 

 in good, strong queenless colonies are 

 just as good as any as that are reared 

 naturally. 



We; ought to know that there is a 



great difference in bee-keeping in the 

 North and in the South. For instance, 

 dead brood will cause foul brood in Can- 

 ada, when it will not, nor cannot, in 

 Texas. 



We ought to know that the only way 

 to keep drones successfully for anV 

 length of time we must keep them in 

 queenless colonies. 



We ought to know that when the bees 

 begin to lead the drones out, or pen 

 them off to starve, they are of no more 

 good. Jennie Atchley. 



Scarcely Any Rain Since May. 



Mrs. Atchley :— We have had scarce- 

 ly any rain since May, and bees are get- 

 ting no honey, of any account, and I 

 shall be glad if mine get stores for win- 

 ter, p. o. Blair. 



Trinidad, Colo., Julv 24, 1893. 



When to Transfer Bees. 



Mrs. Atchley :— How late can bees 

 be transferred ? I have some bees in 

 rotten box-hives, that I wish to get out. 

 How late can bees be transferred profit- 

 ably ? H. L. Hakgrave. 



Netta, Tex., July 18, 1893. 



Friend H., my best time to transfer 

 bees from box-hives is whenever I find 

 them in such. I fear that you have in 

 mind the old way, called " driving bees," 

 that is, run them out into a clean, eraptv 

 hive without combs or honey, which is 

 not a good way all seasons of the year. 

 You may transfer at any time when 

 warm enough for bees to fly ; but if bees 

 are not gathering honey, you would bet- 

 ter work in a tight room, "and carefully 

 secure all their nice straight combs into 

 your frames, and if they have enough 

 where they are, put it with them. 



It Takes a Lazy Man to Keep Bees." 



Mrs. Atchley:— I suppose the ma- 

 jority of the readers of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, who are practical bee-keepers, on 

 seeing the above heading, will think, 

 "That fellow doesn't know anything 

 about bee-keeping." And so did I think 

 the same way, when I received the com- 

 pliment. Some four or five years ago I 

 went to see a friend who is" a verv en- 

 thusiastic and' industrious fruit-grower. 

 When he showed me the different varie- 

 ties of fruit and his methods of cultiva- 



