436 



XHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Seasonable Hints. 



Mr. F. L. Dougherty gives the fol- 

 lowing in the Indiana Farmer con- 

 cerning the present honey crop, and 

 seasonable work in the apiary : 



Delude yourselves as you may with 

 the idea that it is sioiply a matter of 

 dollars and cents, or so many pounds 

 of honey. There is something in the 

 humming of the bees, returning well 

 laden, that will stir the heart of the 

 most matter-of-fact apiarist. 



As we suggested a short time since, 

 a few weeks more would decide the 

 success or failure of the honey crop 

 for 1884. Metaphorically we toss up 

 our hat. The dark cloud has disap- 

 peared, the little silver lining has 

 turned into one grand luminous 

 cloud. AVith us the honey flow is 

 bounteous. 



Colonies that have cast a swarm 

 should be examined at intervals that 

 you may know that they have not be- 

 come queenless. The young queen 

 may have got lost on her bridal trip, 

 and the bees with no brood in the 

 hive from which to rear another will 

 soon become depopulated, dwindle 

 down and fall an easy prey to the 

 moth, which infests all colonies at 

 this season of the year. A safe pre- 

 caution is to give a frame of eggs and 

 brood to colonies that have cast a 

 swarm, 12 or 14 days after the swarm 

 came out of the parent colony. 



Natural Swarming. 



The following was translated from 

 the French AmidiiClerye for the 

 Haldimand Advocate: 



Admire how obedient our little 

 creai ures are to the commond of the 

 Creator, " Increase and multiply, and 

 fill tlie earth." Some of the signs in- 

 dicating the near approach of a 

 swarm. We are in the full month of 

 June, the sun, according to the beau- 

 tiful expression of the Holy Scrip- 

 tures, "hath rejoiced, as a giant, to 

 run the way." vegetation is display- 

 ing its choicest colors, flowers are dis- 

 tilling an abundant and ever-renewed 

 honey. Thus broods have matured, 

 families have multiplied, population 

 has increased in most exuberant pro- 

 portions. Already some drones have 

 made their appearance. Behold some 

 of them flying out in the afternoon to 

 enjoy the »rial outing ; that odor of 

 wax you breathe witli so much pleas- 

 ure towards the evening; that vapor 

 which in the early morn bathes the 

 front of your hives; that humming 

 which you hear, dull at first, but day 

 after day more distinct and more pro- 

 nounced, indicate that the colony is 

 coniemplating some extreme measure. 



Let everything needed be then un- 

 der your hand, the hives, the section 

 frames, the water to sprinkle the 

 swarm with, when it ascends in the 

 air, and alter it is brought down to- 

 gether, the cloth to preserve it from 

 the ardor of tlie sun, the smoker and 

 the veil, if needed to protect yourself 

 against the anger of the bees ; in a 



word, have ready at hand all things 

 that may be reqilired for the swarm. 



Here are some signs indicating the 

 very near exit of swarms. Do the 

 crowd of bees which were outside the 

 hive enter it again, while those of the 

 other hives remain out V Is the flight 

 of the workers less frequent than 

 usual V Then the swarm is preparing 

 to leave. Or yet, do you notice in 

 front of the hive, towards noon, in 

 considerable group of bees whicli sea- 

 si bly increase V Do the bees which 

 return from pasturage, their legs 

 loaded with pellets of pollen, join the 

 crowd, or do they stop astonislied on 

 the alighting-board of the hive V Do 

 the bees from the inside rusli out to 

 the platform as if to give signal, and 

 do they return immediately ? All 

 these signs foretell an imminent de- 

 parture, (Be ready !) if no obstacle 

 is presented by rain, wind, a great 

 drought ; if, on the contrary, the 

 weather is warm and brewing a gen- 

 tle storm, if the sun shines at inter- 

 vals, the swarm is also about to leave. 



Egress of the Swakm.— This is 

 one of nature's most exciting specta- 

 cles. The order of departure has 

 been communicated to the wiiole col- 

 ony. Hear that humming, which in- 

 creases more and more, and which a 

 bee-keeper knows well how to dis- 

 tinguish from any other sound ! It is 

 a swarm which "rushes out into the 

 air. The opening of the hive is not 

 large enough, the bees rush forth like 

 an impetuous torrent ; it is a general 

 rout ; it is surprising how so many 

 bees can come out of a hive in such a 

 haste. The air becomes obscured by 

 them ; it is a cloud which moves on, 

 gyrating, interlacing itself in con- 

 stantly recurring circles. No sooner 

 has the swarm entirely left the hive 

 than it remains for a short time as if 

 suspended in the air, and soon it seeks 

 in tlie vicinity of the hive a convenient 

 spot to alight on, sheltered from the 

 wind or the burning rays of the sun. 

 Look at it without anxiety, and throw 

 not on it either water or dust, unless 

 it tarries too long to alight, seeming 

 as if it would soar higher in the air 

 and escape. The bees fear water, and 

 come down as soon as it touches them. 



Perplexing Beginners. 



The following from an exchange 

 shows how some beginners in bee-cul- 

 ture are humbugged by clap-trap hive 

 vendors : 



A few days ago I called at a place 

 not over lOo miTes from Indianapolis, 

 where I was shown a colony of bees 

 in an old box. The owner" had ob- 

 tained a good hive, as he supposed, 

 to give the swarm, when It left the 

 old home. This was a box about 

 twice the depth of a one-story Langs- 

 troth hive, larger every way, and tilled 

 with close-fltting frames about 3 

 i inches wide. The maker of this hive 

 j left directions that when the owner 

 wanted to make new swarms, he 

 I should simply take out the frame 

 I having the " king bee " on, and put it 

 in a new hive and set it off by itself. 

 ! As I am not in the " bee fixin ' " busi- 



ness, I advised the bee-keeper to go 

 and examine some standard hive, and 

 remarked that if I were to step in 

 his shoes as a beginner in bee-culture, 

 I would consider SIO for some stan- 

 dard hive a good bargain, and after 

 all he would very likely have to pay 

 no more for it than the cost of his 

 worthless box. 



Fastening Starters in Sections, etc. 



Rachel Brown, in the Home Fcmn, 

 remarks as follows : 



I have been putting starters into 

 sections to-day. and tried the method 

 given by S. M. Locke in his American 

 Apiculturist, which is: "Take two 

 parts rosin and one part beeswax, and 

 melt them togetlier. To use, take 

 the section in one hand and the foun- 

 dation in the otlier. Touch one edge 

 of the strip of foundation into the 

 heated mixture, after which touch it 

 upon the under side of the top of the 

 section to which it will adhere." This 

 is a great improvement over rubbing 

 foundation upon the section, bending 

 it up and waxing witli a brush, as we 

 have been in the habit of doing. By 

 this method one minute is sufficient 

 to put in twelve. 



1 will give you M II. Berry's remedy 

 for ants about bee-hives : Put gum 

 camphor on the enameled cloth 

 around the edge of the bottom-board, 

 or any place where they are trouble- 

 some ; they will keep away as long as 

 the scent of the camphor remains. 



Create a Local Honey Market. 



Now is the time to create Honey 

 Markets in every village, town and 

 city. Wide - awake honey producers 

 should get the Leaflets "Why eat 

 Honey," (only -"iO cents per 100) or else 

 the pamphlets on " Honey as Food 

 and Medicine." and scatter them 

 plentifully all over the territory they 

 can supply with honey, and the result 

 will be a demand that will readily take 

 all of their crops at remunerative 

 prices. The prices for "Honey as Food 

 and Medicine " are as follows : 



Single copy 5 ets,; per doz., 40 cts ; 

 per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent 

 postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for 

 $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, 

 we will print, if desired, on the 

 cover-page, " JPresented by," etc., 

 (giving the name and address of the 

 bee-keeper who scatters them). This 

 alone will pay him for all his trouble 

 and expense— enabling him to dispose 

 of his honey at home, at a good profit. 



1^ To give away a copy of " Honey 

 as Food and Medicine " to every one who 

 buys a package of hcmey, will sell almost 

 any quantity of it. 



^" Letters for publication must be 

 written on a separate piece of paper 

 from items of business. 



