266 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ming off the lower edge of the comb 

 to where the eggs are beginning to 

 hatch, or cutting a few holes into it in 

 different places, so as to give tbe bees 

 a better opportunity for building 

 queen-cells. 



I mark the date upon a slate, which 

 I have hanging on each of my hives, 

 thus knowing when the cells are 

 ready for use. This date should also 

 be written in a memorandum book 

 kept for the purpose, and which 

 should be consulted each day. All 

 hives should be numbered, and their 

 numbers recorded, with any facts 

 about them you wish to remember. 

 By strictly following this rule, your 

 queen-cells will not i)e forgotten and 

 neglected until one of the queens is 

 hatched and has destroyed all of the 

 queen-cells and unhatched queens. 



From 9 to 10 days is the proper time 

 for removing cells thus prepared ; and 

 at the time marking it on the slate. 

 I usually leave in the hive one cell or 

 more if they cannot well be separated. 

 These cells should be handled with 

 care, so as not to injure them. After 

 removing the comb of eggs from the 

 selected queen, It shonld be replaced 

 by another comb, and in about three 

 days this will be tilled with eggs, and 

 can be given to another queenless 

 colony. We should not allow a colony 

 to build more than 1 or 2 lots of queen- 

 cells ; after which it should be given 

 a laying queen. 



A day or two before I expect the 

 first lot of cells to hatch, I divide as 

 many colonies as there are cells, by 

 taking out about 8 or 4 combs with 

 brood, examining them carefully so as 

 not to get the the queen ; then I put 

 these into an empty hive, removing 

 the part containing "the queen into a 

 new place, and putting the new hive 

 on the old stand. This should be 

 done in the middle of the day, while 

 the bees are busy at work. In a day 

 or two I take out one of these combs 

 and engraft a queen-cell, which is 

 nearly ready to hatch ; then in 6 or 8 

 days I examine the new colony, and if 

 I find eggs, I know they are all right ; 

 if not, I give them a laying queen or 

 another queen-cell. This method does 

 not apply to those who rear queens to 

 sell ; they form smaller nuclei, or give 

 a mature queen-cell. It is very con- 

 venient to have (jueen-cells ready, or, 

 nuclei with laying queens. 



About the time I make the first 

 arrangements for starting queen-cells, 

 I select 1 or 2 of the best colonies for 

 drone rearing. Select a comb filled 

 with drone cells, remove one of the 

 outside frames, spread the combs 

 apart, and insert the new comb in the 

 centre of the cluster ; feeding these 

 colonies a little every day to stimulate 

 the queens, also feeding those colonies 

 which are to rear queen-cells. 



Introducing queens is an important 

 item to those who buy them for a 

 good price. G. M. Doolittle says : " I 

 always liberate a choice queeu,"as late 

 in the evening as I can see to do it. 

 A queen can be quietly dropped into 

 a prepared colony with but little dan- 

 ger, if put in so late that the bees can- 

 not see to fly, and so quietly as not to 

 arouse them.'" He further says : " I 

 used to do it by a round wire cage. 



with a plug at each end, a string tied 

 to each plug, and the ends of the 

 string brouglit out from under the 

 quilt cover ; then pull the strings 

 gently till something separated." 

 This process, I tliink, would be the 

 safest, providing the cage is left un- 

 der the quilt from 2-1 to 4s hours, and 

 then operated as described, afterdark. 



The apiarist should watch the bees, 

 and give all necessary care at the 

 proper time. The successful apiarist 

 will always have his apiary in a neat 

 condition", with " a place for every- 

 thing, and everything in its place." 



Delaware, Oliio. 



Ftir tlie American Bee Journal. 



Shade for Bee Hives. 



M. BRAY. 



When I said by having my bees well 

 shaded (page 441 of 1SS3), I did not 

 intend to convey the idea that the bees 

 of J. D. Enas had suffered from lack 

 of being properly shaded. AVbat I 

 meant by being well shaded, was that 

 I was giving them more shade than 

 usual. I use Langstroth hives ; they 

 front to the east ; my shade-boards 

 are 2.\3 feet ; I place them a little i;o 

 the front, and a little to the north ; 

 then set 3-foot stakes about 2 feet 

 from the hive, leaning against it along 

 the south side and across the west 

 end. This kept the sun off the hive 

 and ground near it. This extra shad- 

 ing saved my bees, but when the 

 mercury gets up to fever heat, as Mr. 

 Enas says, shade does but little good, 

 for the wind blows as hot as if it came 

 from a fire. 



I use a double-walled hive, and think 

 it will prevent injury from heat. It 

 produces a draft between the brood- 

 chamber and the outer case, taken 

 from an underground pipe made ot 

 lumber. I have" conductors made of 

 lumber one inch square, inside meas- 

 use, that connect with holes bored 

 through the box under ground, and 

 holes bored through the bottom-board 

 of the hive. I have two of these con- 

 ductors to a hive, one at each corner 

 of the back part of the hive. The 

 space between the brood chamber and 

 outer case should be 2 inches at the 

 back, to give room for holes to con- 

 nect with the pipe below. The cover 

 is made something I'ke the cover of a 

 trunk, with a U^ iic'i li^'le bored 

 through the front, and wire cloth 

 nailed on for ventilating. 



I drive two pickets for the front of 

 the hive to rest on, which gives the 

 hive the appearance of resting on 4 

 short posts. The head of the pipe 

 should be laid about level with the 

 top of the brood-chamber. This gives 

 a constant draft of cool air, and the 

 warmer the day the stronger the draft. 

 The brood-chamber and outer case 

 are not fastened to the bottom-board. 

 Nail small blocks to keep them in 

 place. I would not dare to trust to a 

 dead-air space, as this would confine 

 the heat generated in the brood-cham- 

 ber. Besides preventing over-heat- 

 ing, this hive is as near a robber-proof 

 hive as it can be made. 



Xew Almaden, Cal. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1884. Time and place of Meetivu. 



April 24.— Union Ky., at Eminence. Ky. 



G. W. Demaree, Sec- 

 April 24.— Eastern Ind., at Richmond. Ind. 



M. G. Reynolds, Sec. 

 April 24.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk. O. 



S. F. Newman, Sec. 

 April 24. -Western Michigan, at Berlin. 



F. S. Covey. Se-. 

 April 24, 25.— Western, at Independence, Mo. 



V. M. Crandal), Sec. 

 April 24, 25.— Teiaa State, at McKinney. 



W. R. Howard, Sec. 

 May 3.-Pike Co., at PittsBeld, 111. 



T. C. Bunker, Sec. 

 May 3. -Progressive, at Bedford. O. 



J. R. Reed. Sec. 

 May 6.— Tippecanoe Co.. Ht Lafayette. Ind. 



Mrs. Jaa. L. Uavens, Sec. 

 May G.-Cattaraugus Co. N.T., at Randolph, N.Y. 

 W. A. Sbewman. 

 May ().— Southern Wisconsin, at Janesville. 



J. T. Pomeroy, Sec. 

 May 15.— Tuscarawas Co. O., at Port Washinfrton.O^ 



A. A. Fradenburg. 

 May 20.— N. W. Ills., and S. VV. Wis., at Rockton, III. 



Jonathan Stewart, Sec. 

 May 26.— Will County, at Monee. I'.l. 



P. P. NelsoB, Sec. 

 Oct. 11, 12. -Northern Mich., at Alma, Mich. 



F. A. Palmer, Sec, McBrlde, Mich. 

 Oct. 15, 16.— Northwestern, at Chicago, III. 



W, Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 

 Dec. 10, 11.— Michigan State, at Lansing. 



H. D. Cutting, Sec, Clinton, Mich. 



|y In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.- ED. 



m^^s^M^, 





Bees in California, 



My apiary ot 200 colonies produced 

 14,000 pounds of honey during the last 

 season, principally from blue sage. 

 The coming season I intend locating 

 an apiary of 100 colonies in the north 

 part of San Diego county. I find a 

 great many small apiaries along the 

 coast range of mountains, badly man- 

 aged. Some of the queens are from 3 

 to 5 years old. I tliink if the Bee 

 Journal could be placed in those 

 apiaries, they would soon present a 

 brighter aspect, Joseph Sayler, 



Pleito, California. 



Bees in Missouri. 



One month has passed since I moved 

 my bees from the cellar, to let them 

 have a cleansing flight, which they 

 needed very much. Some of them had 

 diarrha?a badly, and I was glad when 

 good weather came, so as to moye 

 them out of-doors. The weather has 

 continued fair up to this date. Out 

 of (iO colonies, I lost 1 ; 20 had diar- 

 rliiea. Those which were affected 

 with diarrha?a, were mostly of those 

 I had built up from nuclei, and had 

 only fall honey in their hives, and 

 plenty of pollen. From those that 

 had diarrhoea, I removed the honey 

 last summer. After taking them 

 from the cellar. I found that one col- 

 ony had nothing but pollen in the 

 combs, and not a drop of honey. I 

 removed the combs that were the 

 most besmeared, and gave them three 

 frames partly filled with honey, which 

 brought thein out all right, and they - 



