1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1S5 



off occasionally, so it will have to be fas- 

 tened on some better wa^^ Perhaps some 

 kind of fastener on the broom could be de- 

 vised in which the blades could fit. The 

 blade should, of course, be strong-, have one 

 sharp edg-e for cutting and scraping, and 

 should project out six or eight inches from 

 the broom-handle. Try this and you will 

 find you can pry a lid off a hive, pry a 

 comb out, and brush the bees otT in a hurry. 

 San Antonio, Tex. A. H. Knolle. 



[It is no doubt advisable, where possible, 

 to have two tools combined in one. It is a 

 nuisance to have to carry along a box or 

 basket with a variety of implements; and if 

 one can make one, in addition to the smoker, 

 do all the work, he is that much ahead. — 

 Ed.] 



A NOVEL WAY OF GETTING BEES OUT OF A 

 BEE-TREE WITHOUT CUTTING IT. 



Mr. Root: — Referring to the inquir}' on 

 p. 945, in your November 15th issue, of C. 

 MacDonough, Jr., relative to a method of 

 getting- bees from a tree, I desire to give 

 you a plan by which I secured a fine large 

 colonj' from a cottonwood-tree last summer. 

 The idea may not be new to more experi- 

 enced apiarists; but to me it was entirely 

 original and successful. 



In this particular instance, however, the 

 bee-exit was quite close to the g-round. I 

 commenced by inserting- into the cavity a 

 three-foot section of one-inch hose pipe. I 

 then covered it and the exit about a foot 

 deep with mud and sand, and packed it 

 down. Finally the bees found their way 

 out of the hose pipe, and, after more or less 

 confusion, into the cavity again. I allowed 

 the pipe to remain as it was for three or 

 four daj's, to accustom the bees to running- 

 throug-h it, at the end of which time I took 

 an empty hive, bored an inch auger-hole in 

 the back of it, and inserted therein the end 

 of the pipe. After two or three days more 

 of confusion on the part of the bees, and 

 when they had again learned the new en- 

 trance (that is, through the hive), I removed 

 the hive long enough to attach a bee-trap to 

 the hole formerly bored in the hive, and put 

 it back in position, with the hose this time 

 entering- the hole in the bee-trap. I then 

 hung a comb of brood, together with full 

 sheets of foundation, in the hive, and in- 

 serted therein a caged queen. In a short 

 time I again visited it and found the queen 

 released, the bees very \i\x%y in comb-build- 

 ing, and the g-reater portion, as I imagin- 

 ed, of the bees that had been in the tree 

 taking up housekeeping in the hive. 



I was afraid to remove the hive and open 

 up the old entrance for fear the bees would 

 desert their new home, so it has remained 

 on this stand ever since, and will remain 

 until later, when I will take it away. In 

 the mean time they have built up a strong 

 colony, and a hive full of winter stores, but 

 have made no surplus. 



I assume, of course, that a few bees re- 

 mained in the tree, and by this time have 



either died of starvation or old age; but I 

 succeeded in acquiring a good strong colo- 

 ny from what, at first, seemed to be a hope- 

 less job, as in this instance also I was not 

 allowed to molest the tree in any way. 



I presume that, in Mr. MacDonough's 

 case, the same plan could be adopted by 

 having several short joints of hose pipe with 

 screw ends, stopping the bee-exit securely 

 around the pipe with cement or something 

 else, and by degrees screwing the short 

 sections on to the pipe until he got the bees 

 entering it near the ground, when the rest 

 would be easy. J. A. Macdonald. 



Denver, Col., Nov. 27. 



[Your plan is all right — only you secured 

 no honey from the tree, but that would not 

 be a large item probably. — Ed.] 



GETTING BEES OUT OF BEE-TREES WITH- 

 OUT CUTTING. 



Mr. MacDonough might secure honey from 

 that tree as I do from bees in the wall of my 

 house. Take 3'our usual hive and fill with 

 frames having full sheets of foundation. 

 Put a bee-escape on the hole in the tree so 

 they will have to come out in the hole. You 

 will saw out just under lid in the back cor- 

 ner of the hive. Then to get out they will 

 have to crawl down over those sheets of 

 wax, and enough will spot the entrance to 

 guide all. After a day or two they will go 

 to work, and later a super can be used. 

 About August draw your hive away from the 

 tree a few inches, and put block back in the 

 hole, leaving itindependent of thetree. Then 

 if you will supply them with young egg^s 

 and brood the chances are they will requeen, 

 so you can move them, leaving the tree to 

 operate on another year. F. R. FouCH. 



Parma, Idaho. 



A REMEDY FOR FERTILE WORKERS. 



I find that when, either by carelessness 

 or oversight, a colony becomes queenless 

 long enough to permit a fertile or lajnng 

 worker to usurp the place of a queen, the 

 colony refuses to accept either a cell or a 

 queen, laying or virgin. But my experi- 

 ence here has invariably been that, as 

 soon as the fertile worker commences to 

 la}^, the bees do their best to rear a queen 

 from the eggs deposited by her. My reme- 

 dy is to change the larva, and I am always 

 rewarded by the 3'oung queen reared by 

 themselves being accepted. I do not know 

 what becomes of the usurper, but probably 

 she receives short notice to quit. Perhaps 

 my locality may have something to do with 

 it. If, however, this should prove to be 

 useful to some other bee-keeper I shall feel 

 amply rewarded. C. M. Aarons. 



leremie, Hayti, West Indies. 



BEES BITING OFF THE CELLS OF COMBS. 



1. During the last year I have found two 

 hives in our apiarj', in which the bees be- 

 gan to bite off the cells of combs about four 

 years old. I have thought that the bees did 



