THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



457 



ami thus being subjected to a possible 

 chill. 



Out of several dozens of imported 

 queens introduced into my own apiary 

 (iuriuL; ttie past few years, 1 liave 

 found few to equal, and not one to 

 excel tliose that being raised at liome 

 are enabled to eomraenee their duties 

 (after being mated) without the least 

 check whatever. 



The time will come wlien every bee- 

 keeper, having in view the improve- 

 ment of liis stock, will not buy his 

 imported or other queens forwarded 

 as they now are with o'nly a small 

 number of bees, especially as is the 

 case where they are sent through the 

 post. Though I adDiit that at times, 

 and during the warmest months, a 

 queen may come through without 

 being materially injured, the practice 

 of sending oidy a few attendants, is 

 one tliat must be strongly condemned 

 by all intelligent bee-keepers. 



'Once exposed to a low temperature, 

 the fertilizing fluid received at the 

 time of copulation becomes abortive, 

 and the queen, henceforth, is a drone- 

 breeder. In cases of slight exposure 

 only, a large admixture of drones is 

 often produced, and tlie queen, ap- 

 pears tt) lose her own vitality as well, 

 and soon dies if not superseded by the 

 bees or their master. 



The novice may be assured tliat 

 where an imported queen has been in- 

 troduced to a good colony, and does 

 not excel those of the old kind, it 

 does not prove the inferiority of the 

 Liguriaus in general, but rather that 

 the constitution of the said queen has 

 been impaired by some accident, such 

 as previously stated, or he may, him- 

 self, have allowed her to become 

 chilled, though only slightly, while 

 inserting her." 



Where a good queen is given to a 

 weak lot of bees, in the expectation 

 that she will build them up to a rous- 

 ing colony, grievous disappointment 

 will be the result. But on the other 

 hand, had the small colony received 

 the addition of a comb of brood and 

 bees occasionally, the owner would 

 have had his hopes realized. 



UNITING BEES. 



As I have never used scented syrup 

 when uniting bees, I will only say 

 that my success has proved that the 

 various articles advised for the pur- 

 pose are simply useless. In every 

 case where a union has been effected, 

 when adding peppermint, etc., to the 

 syrup, without hesitation I assert that 

 tiie same result would have been at- 

 tained without the scent, and, in the 

 hands of an expert, without syrup in 

 any form. If the bees are pre-disposed 

 to fight, through the operator not un- 

 derstanding their peculiarities, or the 

 exact condition of those in hand, it 

 matters not, even should he smother 

 them in syrup, scented or otherwise, 

 fighting will result. 



The following directions will show 

 how bees can be induced to amalga- 

 mate under all conditions, and with- 

 out being sprinkled with syrup of any 

 kind : 



If the colonies to be united are not 

 already adjoining, bring them a few 

 feet daily nearer to each other, keep- 



ing the entrances towards the original 

 directions. In the mean time take 

 away all combs that the bees cannot 

 cover, and wlieii the hives are brought 

 togetlier, remove thequeen that is not 

 wanted, and then insert the combs 

 with the adlieriug bees of one hive 

 alternately with those of the other. 

 AVluit few" are left about the sides of 

 the denuded hive, can be brushed out, 

 or stiakeu on top of the frames, when 

 the hive niav be closed up, and tlie 

 u'nion is effectual ; the remaining 

 queen also being undisturbed and al- 

 lowed to reign supreme. 



AVhere both colonies are in odd- 

 sized frames, bring them together as 

 before, remove one queen, and tlien 

 shake off from tlieir combs the whole 

 of the bees of both lots on to a wide 

 board slanting up to the entrance of 

 th'e hive they are to remain in. Give 

 plenty of room at the entrance, and 

 all will unite in one happy family. 

 Should there be any brood left in the 

 rejected frames, it should be given to 

 other hives containing the same size, 

 or it may be cutout and fitted to those 

 of the size given to the united bees, 

 and placed about the centre, where it 

 will soon be fixed up. 



It will be of no use to toss the 

 strangers on top of the frames, think- 

 ing they will draw down among the 

 occupants of the hive. In that case 

 instant fighting would be the result, 

 and this will continue until the in- 

 truders are exterminated. 



Tlie only effectual plan is to shake 

 or brush off from their combs, the 

 whole of the bees on to a board as 

 before, and then, after removing all 

 but the selected ([ueen, mix the new- 

 comers up indiscriminately witli the 

 rushing "fanning"' crowd, and all 

 will draw in peaceably togetlier. 



The same method applies in the 

 same case to straw hives, except that 

 the bees will first liave to be driven 

 out of the fixed combs, and then re- 

 turned together with the strangers. 



Where both lots to be united have 

 no combs, being either swarms, or 

 driven bees, nothing is easier than to 

 mix up both lots on a sheet, or board 

 slanting to the front of the hive, 

 when they will all draw under cover 

 together. 



In every instance there is one thing 

 that must not be neglected, and that 

 is, only one queen must be retained, 

 whether selected or otherwise. 



FERTILE W^ORKERS. 



The presence of fertile workers is 

 readily perceived. The eggs are drop- 

 ped about in the most indiscriminate 

 manner ; often three or four in one 

 cell, while others have none. Only 

 one, however, of these are allowed to 

 hatch in each cell— producing nothing 

 but a drone, and wlien capped over, 

 if on worker comb, it is considerably 

 higher than the surrounding cells, 

 whereas had the brood been worker 

 larviE, the capping would have been 

 but slightly raised. 



What is very remarkable, when 

 these eggs are laid in drone comb, the 

 insect produced is as large, and per- 

 fectly formed as tliose from a queen 

 properly mated. 



These laying workers are a pest to 

 bee-keepers, and have often been 



quite a trouble to get rid of, as they 

 cannot be distingiiislied from the 

 otiier workers, and seldom could a 

 queen be introduced to a hive con- 

 taining them. 



Tlie means generally adopted for 

 their extermination, though not al- 

 ways effect u;il, besides entailing 

 much labor, is to remove the hive to 

 some distance from tlie old site, when 

 by shaking from the combs the whole 

 of tlie bees, the main body fiy back to 

 the original location, while the laying 

 workers, supposed not to have flown, 

 are thought to be unable to return. 



My method of direct introduction 

 always answers most effectually in 

 disposing of the nuisance. No matter 

 how bad the case may be, even if they 

 have queen-cells (so called, but con- 

 taining only drone larvaj), the fertile 

 workers subside immediately on the 

 insertion of a queen on her own comb 

 of brood witti adhering bees. 



Brighton, England. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Use of Carbolic Acid. 



MAHALA B. CHADDOCK. 



I have tried carbolic acid and it 

 does not quiet my bees. I have a col- 

 ony of bees which is very hard to 

 manage, and I read what the English- 

 man said about carbolic acid, so I 

 thought here is a good chance to try 

 it. I put about a table-spoonful of it 

 on a rag, and raisin" one corner of the 

 muslin, laid it under, shut the cloth 

 down and left them about two min- 

 utes. I used the acid full strength ; 

 but I diluted some of it, washed my 

 hands and arms up to the elbows, and 

 then carefully raised the muslin a 

 little at a time, pushed the rag along, 

 and the bees kept coming out all the 

 time and stung me terribly. I had on 

 a bee-veil, so that I did not care for 

 stings, but they stung my arms so 

 that they swelled up badly before I 

 was done working with them— just 10 

 minutes. As soon as I saw that the 

 acid was " no good," I used the 

 smoker; but they had their "backs 

 up " and kept on "stinging. My fingers 

 were swollen so that I could hardly 

 hold the frames, and they were so 

 numb that the last dozen or so of 

 stings did not hurt much. I had al- 

 ways managed my bee^s with smoke, 

 but I had to keep one hand working 

 the smoker all the time, audi thought 

 if I used the acid, I could have both 

 hands to work with. The English- 

 man said that the acid would keep out 

 ants, but I have tried it and it did not 

 do it. I put it on the bottom-boards 

 of the nives, where the ants are 

 troublesome, and they walk around 

 the spot and go right into the hives. 



Vermont, III., July 6, 1884. 



^° The Northwestern Illinois and 

 Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will hold its next 

 meeting on the third Tuesday in Au- 

 gust, at Lerov Ilighbarger's, near 

 Adaline, Ogle County, 111. 



J. Stewart, Sec. 



Rock City, Illinois. 



