144 



swiirni. It seems to be not an uncom- 

 mon thing for a colony to desert a 

 hive after it has been filled with comb 

 and broode. It has many enemies as, 

 ants, wasps, lice, mice, birds, lizzards. 

 etc. Diseases such as foul brood have 

 not been noticed. 



The natives — negroes — flnow very lit- 

 tle else about bee-keeping than hunt- 

 ing and robbing them. On account of 

 the viciousness of the bee (rubber 

 glove-s do not answer as a protection) 

 the natives regard the be as "good" 

 only when dead, similar to the Indian 

 theory in America. Some times a log 

 is hollowed out and set up as a hive 

 trusting to luck to have it populated 

 by a migrating swarm. Near the 

 coast, where boxes are procurable, 

 they are used for the same purpose. 

 The natives fasten them in the tree 

 tops, covering them with hides to keep 

 them cool. 



In rendering the honey excessive 

 neatness is not practical shrdletaoin 

 neatness is not practiced and brood 

 honey and all go into a kettle, is heat- 

 ed up and strained through a cloth.— 

 Bienen-Vater. 



BELGIUM. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



July 



WATERING BEES, 

 Sometimes in the spring of the yeai 

 bees have to go to some distance 

 get the water necessary to dilute th 

 old honey and pollen to feed the brooc 

 Often they go out in too cold weathe 

 or have to go too far, or the wate 

 obtained may be quite cold. And tb 

 result is. a number of bees get chille 

 and never return. 



In discussing the best means 1 

 avoid such loss and provide the nece 

 sary water, Mr. Dricot advises feedlr 

 a sufficient quantity of thin syrup s 

 early as possible. Later it may I 

 advisable, if the apiary is too far fro 

 suitable water to place some wat 

 at the disposition of the bees. Tl 

 best way is to put the water in 

 sunny place, and in any convenie 

 vessel as wide as possible. Soe 

 clean moss is placed in the vessel 

 afford the bees a foothold. In fee 

 ing inside, the moss might be replac 

 hv a big coarse sponge. 



II 



lii', 



to 

 If 

 s; i 

 iln 

 litrt 



DRONES FROM VIRGIN QUEENS. 



An experiment was made by a Swiss 

 correspondent to find out if the drones 

 from virgin queens are virile. 



On February 24th, a colony having 

 quite an amount of brood was un- 

 queened. In due time several queens 

 emerged and only one was kept. A 

 queen-excluder was placed at the en- 

 trance and four drone combs intro- 

 duced in the brood nest. The colony 

 was well fed all the time. During 

 five weeks that queen made _the most 

 desperate efforts to get out but with- 

 out success; and finally gave it up, 

 and began to lay in the drone combs. 

 The 15th of May these combs, which 

 were full of sealed brood, were dis- 

 tributed in three nuclei. Enough bees 

 and one sealed queen cell were added 

 to each nucleus. The three nuclei 

 were transported in a deep uninhabit- 

 ed valley in the mountains where no 

 drones from anywhere else could get. 

 In due time the three cells hatched 

 out, the queens were mated and proved 

 to be as good as any. 



HIVING SWARMS. 



Mr. Petit, president of one of t 

 apicultural societies of France, is 

 ,so a lecturer on apicultural subjec 

 and whenever he can he illustrates ^ 

 subjects by actual experiments. C|- 

 of his favorite tricks is to hive swar 

 with his bare arm. The sleeves ; 

 turned up a-s far as possible near i ^ 

 shoulder and as tight as possible 

 that no bee may get pinched betw« 

 the sleeves and the skin. He tl 

 pushes his arm into the middle of . 

 cluster as far as possible. With 

 other hand he smokes the bees v 

 slightly from the limbs of the tree 

 his arm. In ten minutes the swa 

 is settled on his arm and he wa 

 aro\ind with it until he is ready 

 shake it into a hive. 



IE 



nitl 



STARVED OR FROZEN. 

 One spring Mr. Arnold found a 

 ony of bees dead, or apparently 

 Starved, of couse (?) since no ho: 

 was in the hive. He left the hive o; 

 and exposed to the sun, it was a wi 

 day. and went to work at sometb 

 else thinking the bees dead. A li 

 later, passing by, he noticed some ai 

 of life, here a leg slowly stretch; 

 their some wings trembling or s< 

 antennae moving. Immediately s< 

 warm syrups was prepared and 

 colony saved. 



«M 



