AMERICAN BKii JOURNAL. 



281 



This summer I found a colouy of black bees 

 preparing to swarm. One evening I took 

 a frame of brood from them to use in form- 

 ing a nucleus ; I put a comb in its place 

 with a number of queen-cells started, that 

 had been started the previous year. I 

 looked in the next day, and found the most 

 of the cells with eggs in them, and the 

 queen on the comb. These queen-cells were 

 filled first, before the comb was filled with 

 eggs. I put the comb back, and in five days 

 I looked at it again, and found the cells 

 coming on all right. I dipped the larvae 

 out of the cells, and put back the comb. 



The next day I looked, and the cells had 

 eggs in them again, and in three days 

 larvae. There being two older cells on 

 another comb, they swai'med in a day or 

 so. Now after they swarmed I tore down 

 the two capped cells, and dipped the larvae 

 out of the rest, being plenty of eggs in the 

 hive, and on some combs there were no 

 more eggs found in the cells, but built over 

 larvae. I have watched very closely, but I 

 have never known eggs moved to queen- 

 cells. 



I agree with Mr. Johnson, that a virgin 

 queen is death to queen-cells, but not so 

 with a fertile queen when preparing to 

 swarm. I hope Mr. Johnson will say that 

 I have no experince about bees. I see he 

 gave no evidence that a queen does not lay 

 in queen -cells. R. A. Shultz. 



Cosby, Tenn. 



Piling in Honey — Rare Nucleus. 



Our bees are piling in honey now at a 

 rapid rate. The season with us, up to Aug. 

 1st, was moderately good. About that 

 time the whole apiary turned loose, and 

 have been gathering honey at a rapid rate 

 ever since, and have swarmed some. Thou- 

 sands of drones are being reared the same 

 as in April and May. Our apiary consists 

 of 100 colonies or more of pure Italians. 

 Every colony except two contains daugh- 

 ters of imported queens. It is a sight to 

 behold, to see an apiary of 100 colonies of 

 pure Italians. 



Here is what a 3-f rame nucleus did : Early 

 in April a colony was moved and a new 

 hive put in its place, and in it three frames 

 of bees, brood and honey were put. The 

 product of this nucleus was three supers of 

 white comb honey, of 24 pounds each, and 

 a good swarm besides. Sally out the bees 

 that can beat this. We haven't seen them. 

 Cleveland Bros. 



Decatur, Miss., Aug. 14, 1893. 



The Piping and Q,uahking of Queens. 



Dr. Miller, on page 147. tells about young 

 queens piping and quahking, and says that 

 the one that is out of the cell pipes, and the 

 quahking is by young queens that have not 

 left their cells, but would do so at once if 

 the coa,st was clear. Now, if I had read 

 his article before I ever reared any queens, 

 I would never have reared any on the plan 

 that I use now. My method of rearing 

 queens may not be the best, but it suits me. 



and until I read of a better plan I will keep 

 right on. Dr. Miller can't make me believe 

 that they will not come out. or that the 

 bees will not let them out, when there is 

 one already out piping at them. 



My plan of rearing queens is by taking 

 the breeder out of her colony and putting 

 her in some other ; after the cells are sealed 

 I cut them out and put them in a hatching- 

 cage, which is made the same size and 

 thickness of brood-comb frames; this is 

 divided into compartments about three 

 inches square ; on one side is a zinc slide, 

 on the other screen-wire and perforated 

 zinc. After I get all the cells cut out and 

 placed in this frame, I take out a frame and 

 put it in a nucleus (to get I'id of it so I can 

 hang the queen-cells in its place). When 

 hatching-day comes, I take out a frame for 

 every queen that is hatched, and place it in 

 the nucleus, and turn loose a queen to 

 them. I have had ten young queens in a 

 hive at one time, not loose and piping, but 

 all quahking to get at each other to reduce 

 the surjilus (queens) in that hive. 



After my queens are mated and laying I 

 dispose of them, and put the frames^ all 

 back into that hive with one of the queens, 

 and as there are eggs in nearly all frames, 

 the colony does not lose much time, but 

 gets down to business without any trouble. 



Gait, Mo. James H. Rose. 



Anent the Experiment Apiary. 



In response to the editor's saying, on 

 page 168, " We would now like to learn 

 how our readers view the matter of experi- 

 ments in apiculture," I would say. "Blessed 

 is the man who expected but little, for he 

 shall not be disappointed." Not much good 

 or ill will come of it to us bee-keepers. Will 

 Muth come down from the house-top api- 

 ary ? Doolittle from muddling and med- 

 dling with brood in spring ? Will France 

 give up his quadruple hive, and his peccant 

 for the black bee ? Verily, no. Will Dadants 

 adopt a small brood-chamber ? or A. I. 

 Root abandon his chafl: hive ? A person 

 may run an apiary successfully from a dol- 

 lar point of view, even if he doesn't know 

 verse from prose. It requires a scholar and 

 philosopher to conduct an experiment api- 

 ary successfully. We have no scientific 

 bee-keepers in America. Think of Mr. 

 Taylor enthroned on the center of his 

 merry-go-round apiary, telling me what to 

 do, and how to do it ! Ha ! ha ! 



Beason, Ills. James Hamilton. 



[Certainly, Bro. Hamilton is joking in 

 the above. No one expects that any suc- 

 cessful bee-keeper will give up any methods 

 or fixtures that are satisfactory in every 

 way to him. Experiment apiaries are de- 

 sired for the settlement, if possible, of 

 questions that are now undecided, and for 

 discovering better and more helpful ways 

 in which to produce the most honey. 

 Certainly, none could be sincere in their 

 opposition to them. — Ed.] 



