AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



495 



1. I am using a reversible hive, but 

 consider that feature of doubtful utility. 

 2. No. 3. I have not noticed it; but 

 have seen them in different positions. — 

 C. H. Dibbern. 



I have found no ill effects whatever 

 from a large experience in reversing. I 

 find the advantages are that it almost 

 wholly prevents swarming, and gives us 

 perfect combs that completely fill the 

 frames. — James Heddon. 



1. It has merit. I tried it well, and 

 know this. But I do not believe it will 

 pay for the trouble. The tendency now 

 is more bees and less manipulation, and 

 very wisely so, with our numerous bad 

 years. 2. No. 3. I do not think it 

 moves. If it does, it does no harm, as 

 the brood suffers no harm. Theory says 

 it does not move. — A. J. Cook. 



1. I have never reversed brood-combs, 

 and all I know about it is what I have 

 read in the bee-papers. 2. From ob- 

 servation, I do not know. As the young 

 bees in the cells lie on their backs, I 

 would think that reversing would injure 

 them. 3. They could not move except 

 for a very short time after spinning 

 their cocoons, and for a very short time 

 before leaving the cells. — M. Mahin. 



I have given up the practice, as I 

 doubt if it pays (except in extreme 

 cases), for trouble and time expended. I 

 am yearly falling more into the "let 

 alone" policy with my bees — partly from 

 necessity. But, of course, a knowledge 

 of their condition, and an occasional 

 going over, is advisable. I never noticed 

 the bad effect you mention, from this 

 practice. — W. M. Baknum. 



1. Reversing frames causes them to 

 be completely filled with comb, leaving 

 no crevices in which the queen can hide, 

 and which make it difficult to shake or 

 brush the bees from the combs. This 

 adds so largely to their value that I con- 

 sider reversing appliances worth their 

 cost for this purpose alone. 2. Revers- 

 ing has no effect on the brood. But ex- 

 cept for the purpose mentioned, it is of 

 little value to the honey-producer. — 

 James A. Gkeen. 



1. I became tired of jumping at new 

 ideas before the reversing question 

 came up, so it almost died before I got 

 to try it. 2. I know it is sure to ruin 

 queens, to turn the cells upside down ; 

 but as young bees are more naturally 

 reared in a horizontal position, I do not 

 think reversing would hurt them. 3. I 

 think the pupa moves, as I have watched 

 it do so, and it is pretty busy until it 



finishes its cocoon. Then it seems to 

 sleep away the rest of its 21 days, as I 

 have pretty closely watched "bare- 

 headed" bees until they hatched. — Mks. 

 Jennie Atchley. 



1. There has been no verdict rendered 

 authoritatively. It is simply a matter 

 of experience and experiment. 2. In 

 my-experience it is of no value except to 

 have the combs attached closely to the 

 bottom-bars of the frames ; otherwise, 

 " reversing " is injurious to the pros- 

 perity of the bees. 3. Not until after 

 the pupa state has merged into the imago 

 state. The young bees begin to move in 

 the cell only a short while before they 

 begin to cut the cap of the cells. — G. W. 

 Demabee. 



Report of the Iowa State Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. W. BITTENBENDEE. 



(Concluded from page 466.) 

 The first on the programme of the 

 second day of the Iowa State Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Convention, was the following essay 

 by Mr. O. B. Barrows, of Marshalltown, 

 entitled, 



Some of the Things "I Don't Know" 

 About Bee-Keeping. 



Having been selected by your honor- 

 able President to speak on this subject, 

 I will commence by saying that 18 or 

 20 years ago, when 1 first commenced 

 keeping bees, being anxious lo increase 

 rapidly, I took Mrs. Tupper's advice 

 and divided them each season for three 

 years. At the end of this period I found 

 I had spent $175, and had but 2 colo- 

 nies of bees, and nary a pound of honey; 

 and if any person would ask me if that 

 was a good way to increase bees, I would 

 have to answer in the language of Dr. 

 Miller, and say, "I don't know." 



I saw a picture of a girl with a little 

 hand force-pump spraying a swarm of 

 bees to make them cluster low. It 



