AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



T2T 



t^~ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper witn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



After-Swarms — Preventing Them. 



On page 648. in an item on " Preventing 

 After-Swarms," by Mr. Doolittle, is this 

 statement : 



" In this way we can make sure that no 

 swarm will issue after the first from this 

 hive, and it is the only certain plan I know 

 of." 



Now, my experience of 26 years as a 

 specialist in the bee-business will not admit 

 of my endorsing tliat statement. I will ad- 

 mit tliat it is the rule, but there are so 

 many exceptions to the rule, especially in a 

 good swarming season, that it cannot be 

 depended upon. 



In seasons when the swarming fever runs 

 high, I would go a little farther than Mr. 

 D. does, and destroy every queen-cell, tlius 

 making them hopelessly queenless for two 

 days ; then give them a ripe cell or virgin 

 queen. The rule given by Mr. D. has no ex- 

 ceptions, I think, with the black bees ; but 

 the Italians are not so easily controlled. 



Independence, Mo. A. A. Baldwin. 



A Trip to New Mexico, Etc. 



Tlie weather has been very bad for bees 

 here, rainy, cold, and windy ; but there is 

 a prospect for white clover, which is be- 

 ginning to bloom, if we don't have too 

 many hard rains that will wash all the 

 honey out. I have three new swarms. I 

 expect to take a trip to New Mexico this 

 fall, and would like to hear from some of 

 the readers of the Bee Jouknal who live on 

 the Texas Pacific, as I might give them a 

 call. Euw. Smith. 



Carpenter, nis.. May 26, 1893. 



Late Season — Strengthening- Bees. 



I fully believe that bees are one month 

 behind of wliat might be called an early 

 season. Mr. Doolittle need not think lie is 

 located in the coldest locality on earth. 



I am only tending six colonies, and they 

 are far behind an average season, so far as 

 strength is concerned. One of them would 

 have died from spi'iug dwindling if it had 

 not been strengthened by giving it young 

 bees from other colonies. 



I have mentioned this subject in the Bee 

 Journal in the past, but deem it of such 



great importance that I wish to do so again : 

 Smoke each colony, and remove a frame of 

 hatching brood from the strong one, taking 

 care not to get the queen (if you have no 

 queen-excluder to place at the entrance of 

 the weak colony), and shake the bees at the 

 entrance of the weak colony. The old bees 

 will return to the colony taken from, but 

 the young ones will remain with the weak 

 colony. 



Colonies that have but a handful of bees, 

 and are too weak to care for brood if given 

 them, may be saved by tliis treatment. 



I am pleased to see so much interest taken 

 in i/i-non' Italians. They are the kind for 

 me, and not only yellow, but ci'rnJy roloreil 

 to t/ic flit. I prefer a very dark one, if evenly 

 colored, than a yellow one with a black tip. 

 J. H. Andke. 



Lockwood, N. Y., May 15, 1893. 



The Sugar was All Right. 



I sent some of the sugar mentioned on 

 page 633, to Prof. Cook for analysis, and 

 received the answer, which I enclose. 



Linwood, Midi. Andrew Girard. 



Here is Prof. Cook's report on the analy- 

 sis of the sample of granulated sugar sent 

 him by Mr. Girard : 



The color is due to marine blue, which is 

 added to make the sugar white. All our 

 granulated sugar contains it. It is entirely 

 harmless. A. J. Cook. 



Fine Weather— Season Promising. 



We are now having fine May weather, 

 and the Iioney-flow from poplar and white 

 clover is just beginning. From some cause 

 poplar and white clover came together this 

 year — something a little unusual in this 

 locality. Poplar usually precedes white 

 clover, but Dr. Miller's explanation as to 

 the early blooming of dandelion will per- 

 haps apply to white clover ; that is, that 

 the snows in the winter protected, or rather 

 encouraged clover, which makes blooming 

 earlier. 



The season promises fine, but as predicted 

 by me some time since, bees have failed to 

 get as strong as they should be at the open- 

 ing of the honey-flow. H. F. Coleman. 



SneedviUe, Tenn., May 18, 1893. 



Q,ueen-Cells Over Drone-Eggs. 



I am going to contradict some of the 

 " big guns " just to see how it goes to get 

 under the fire of a whole battery of them 

 at once.' 



In reply to Query 868, Dr. Miller says 

 bees will not use drone-eggs to start 

 '•queen-cells " if they have others. Now, 

 Doctor, just you get a queenless colony 

 riglit anxious to build cells, then give them 

 some frames of eggs, among which are 

 some drone-eggs in new comb, and if they 

 do not build cells over some of them, I will 

 admit that I "don't know " anything about 

 queen-rearing. 



