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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



are in any way interested in honey 

 production will bear in mind that our 

 Illinois Central Bee-Keepers' Conven- 

 tion will take place at Mt. Sterling, 

 Ills.,on Oct.l9 and 20,1886,and that no 

 pains will be spared in making it one 

 of the most enjoyable and instructive 

 events of the season ; and we trust 

 that every one so interested will make 

 it a point to be present and take part 

 in the discussions of this important 

 but sadly neglected industry. We are 

 negotiating for hotel accommodations, 

 which cannot be excelled in the State, 

 for a city of Its size. Farther reports 

 will be given, as the time approaches. 



Bee-Sting Remedy — Introducing 



Queens.— Chas. Smith, Plum Tree,(^ 

 Ind., on Aug. 13, 1886, writes : 



My bees are doing splendidly, and 

 there is a good prospect for an ex- 

 cellent honey crop this fall, as there 

 is an abundance of white clover and 

 other pasture. I would like to give a 

 remedy for bee-stings. Take the 

 barrel of a key and place it over the 

 spot where the bee has stung and 

 press it, and it will extract the sting 

 and it will not swell. We are talking 

 of forming a bee-keepers' association 

 in this county. Will the bees kill the 

 old queen when a new queen is put 

 into the hive in a cage ? Is it too 

 late to introduce a queen 'i If so, 

 when is the best time 'i 



[We have published the key-remedy 

 for bee-stings many times. It is not 

 .too late to introduce queens; it may 

 be done on any fine day. When a new 

 queen is caged, the old queen is in 

 no danger, unless the bees intend to 

 supersede her anyway.— Ed.] 



I took a piece of pine 1-16 of an inch 

 narrower than a folded section, and 

 half as wide ; nailed it to a board 5x7 

 inches ; procured a tin vessel with a 

 spout, into which I put sufficient 

 wax. (It holds half a pint.) I put it 

 on the stove, and when heated 

 enough to run I placed the section on 

 the board, then the piece of founda- 

 tion (which should be cut with a 

 square edge) on the block, poured on 

 the wax, and by holding it at the 

 proper angle I could run it all around 

 and back into the vessel again if 

 there was too much. If the wax is 

 too hot it will melt the foundation. 

 By using two blocks, and thoroughly 

 wetting one occasionally, the wax 

 does not adhere, and time is^aved. I 

 want to transfer 3 colonies "o better 

 hives. Should it be done this fall '< 

 or had I better wait until springtime 

 comes again ? 



[If the amount of honey in the 

 brood-chamber prevents the queen 

 from depositing the eggs necessary to 

 keep the colony supplied with young 

 bees, with which to go into winter 

 quarters, then extract all over about 

 25 pounds, which they will require 

 during the winter. You can transfer 

 the bees during any warm afternoon, 

 when the bees are actively at work. 

 About the time of fruit bloom is gen- 

 erally preferred, because then they 

 will have but little honey in the hives 

 —still it can be safely done now.— Ed.] 



Honey Improving by Age.— Dr. R. 

 M. Burwell, West Winsted, p Conn., 

 writes : 



I would like to inquire whether 

 honey improves by age. I have some 

 honey which has a strong or rank 

 taste. If I thought it would lose that 

 strong taste, I would keep it for a 

 year, or a time at least, I have been 

 told that it would improve by age. 

 We got no honey from basswood this 

 year. 



[Age will modify the strong taste 

 in some measure, but much depends 

 on the flora from which it was gath- 

 ered.— Ed.] 



My Experience with Bees.— Wm. 

 M. Rowe, Lawrence, oKans., on Aug. 

 7, 1886, writes : 



I commenced last spring with 4 

 colonies, and have increased them to 

 10. I secured 2 swarms, 2 got away, 

 and I made 4 colonies by division ; 

 consequently I have not obtained 

 much honey in sections. I have con- 

 siderable in the brood-chambers, but 

 I do not know just when I ought to 

 take it out. Should it be "now or 

 never ("' The method I used to fasten 

 foundation in sections is as follows : 



Sow Thistle.— B. Losee, Cobourg, 

 Ont., says: 



I send a honey-plant that is new in 

 this section. Like the blue thistle of 

 the dandelion tribe, it has white, 

 milky sap. It reaches 2 feet in 

 height, and comes into flower just 

 after basswood ; and, like the dande- 

 lion, it is very attractive to bees. It 

 produces a very yellow pollen. It 

 has come to stay, and, like the dande- 

 lion, it takes in any rich soil, and 

 propagates itself by division, it being 

 a hybrid ; it has no seed to signify. 

 What is its name V 



[This is Sonchus asper, or sow this- 

 tle. Most all of the compositie furnish 

 more or less food for bees. — A. J. 

 Cook.] 



when the young bees have no queen 

 they always build drone-cOmb ; but 

 the new colony has their queen with 

 them and will not build drone-comb, 

 and by putting empty frames between 

 the frames of brood you will have a 

 strong worker colony, and the old 

 colony will build up and be ready for 

 the fall crop. This has been a very 

 ordinary season. The bees came 

 through the winter in good condition, 

 but it was dry, and yet honey has 

 been coming in slowly ever since the 

 middle of April, There has not been 

 a large yield, but I got a ton of the 

 finest white clover honey I ever saw. 

 Spanish-needle looks promising. 



Removing Young Bees. — T. T. 

 Phlegar, Pearisburg, p Va., on Aug. 

 9, 1886, says : 



Will you please tell why my bees 

 carry out their young? The young 

 bees are perfect and nearly strong 

 enough to fly. They are carried out 

 in great numbers and allowed to 

 starve. Will they act thus when the 

 honey-flow is cut short ? How can I 

 remedy it ? Our season has been very 

 poor ever since poplar ceased to 

 bloom. It has been very wet and cool 

 all summer. To-day it is cool and 

 cloudy. What honey the bees have 

 is very thin and watery. 



[A cessation of the honey-flow is 

 not a sufficient reason for the actions 

 of the bees you mention. Evidently 

 there is something wrong, but not 

 being there to critically examine, we 

 cannot determine wh^t it is. Prob- 

 ably the bees are imperfect in some 

 way. Have any of our readers noticed 

 similar actions among their bees ? If 

 so, will they please give a description 

 of it in the Bee Journal.- Ed.] 



Prevention of Second-Swarms, etc. 



— D. R, Rosebrough, Casey, o+ Ills., on 

 Aug. 18, 1886, says : 



The way I managed my bees to pre 

 vent their swarming the second time, 

 was to take out of the hive 2 to 4 

 frames of brood and give it to the 

 swarm. It worked very nicely. Out 

 of 25 colonies I did not have a second 

 swarm . The advantages are these : 

 It will hold the swarm whether the 

 queen is with it or not. More honey 

 can be secured, for the new colony is 

 not out of the sections three days. It 

 always insures straight combs. It 

 saves foundation. It is necessary to 

 give full sheets to the old colony, for 



Fumigator for Introducing Clueens. 



— Thos. G. Glover, Palmetto,? Fla., 

 on Aug. 7, 1886, writes : 



Bees have done very well this sum- 

 mer, considering the damage done by 

 the cold of last winter. The follow- 

 ing is the way I make a cheap fumiga- 

 tor for introducing queens, etc. I 

 have a Quinby smoker. I cut a piece 

 of wire-cloth about 2 inches square, 

 and push it well down in the nozzle 

 of the smoker ; drop in a few cotton 

 rags on the wire-cloth and pour in 

 about a table-spoonful of smoking 

 tobacco ; put in a few more rags and 

 light it with a coal of fire or match. 

 I have ready another piece of wire- 

 cloth about 4 inches square to press 

 down on the rags and tobacco to hold 

 all in place ; put the nozzle on the 

 smoker and blow. This makes a good 

 fumigator with but little cost or labor. 

 I have introduced a number of virgin 

 queens to full colonies without loss so 

 far. For the benefit of some begin- 

 ner I will tell how I did it. Unqueen 

 the colony in the evening, and let it 

 remain until the second evening (48 

 hours), then open and destroy all 

 queen-cells, and at the same time 

 have the queen caged ready to slip in 



