1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



847 



MIXED swarms; the plan of letting the 



SEVERAL CLUSTERS SEPARATE THEM- 

 SELVES. 



I see on paj^^e 682 an article on mixed 

 swarms. I ran on to your correspondent's 

 idea j'ears ag-o, and that by chance. I 

 hived a swarm, and in a few moments after 

 setting- them on their stands, here came a 

 stray swarm pouring down over the top of 

 a cherr3'-tree, and rig^ht in with the new 

 swarm. I picked up a new hive that was 

 near, snatched off the cover and cloth of the 

 other hive, and set the empt_v one on top 

 and covered it up. In the evening- (after 

 dark) I lifted the top hive off and set it on 

 its own stand. I soon found I had two good 

 strong colonies of bees. A short time after 

 this, I had two swarms cluster together. I 

 prepared my hives, took my swarming^-box, 

 and took the whole cluster down, shook them 

 on the platform in front of the hive, and 

 soon I had them all in. The bees were all 

 kind and quiet, as though there were but 

 one swarm. When I lifted the top hive oft", 

 it was full of bees, as was the lower; and I 

 again had two good strong colonies of bees. 

 This I have done several times since I have 

 handled bees, and it has always been a suc- 

 cess with me. I have often wondered if 

 each colony knew its queen, or if they di- 

 vided by weight or measure. 



J. W. C. Gray. 



Atwood, 111., Aug. 4. 



MOVING BEES WITH ENTRANCES AND TOPS 

 COVERED WITH WIRE CLOTH. 



Please answer through Gleanings the 

 following: I desire to move forty-five colo- 

 nies of bees two hundred and sixty miles 

 by wagon, which would take about ten 

 daj's. Can I do it safely if the entrances 

 and tops of hives are covered with wire 

 cloth? I shall move them in October when 

 the brood will be about all gone. 



Rocky Ford, Colo. L. A. Dewitt. 



[Your plan will work satisfactorily pro- 

 viding the season is not too hot during the 

 middle of the day. In the case of very 

 strong colonies you would need to provide 

 some kind of shade, and possibly give ven- 

 tilation over the whole bottom of the hive; 

 but from what I know of your climate, I 

 think you will be able to succeed; but I 

 would take along a large canvas or cloth, 

 which may be spread over the top of the 

 hives during the heat of the day. But the 

 cloth should be held at least four or five 

 inches above the wire cloth, and be so 

 arranged as to allow a free circulation of 

 air. — Ed.] 



a substitute FOR BASSWOOD FOR SECTIONS. 



When basswood gives out (see page 713), 

 why not trim up the white-birch trees while 

 young, and let them grow up to timber? 

 They grow very fast until they are about 

 ten or twelve inches in diameter. If you 

 could get 1000 sections from a tree, would it 

 not pay to raise them for this purpose 

 alone? There is a foreign white birch that 



grows much larger than ours. Or the yel- 

 low-bark birch could be used if you do not 

 care for white sections. I merely suggest 

 this, as I do not know any thing about 

 making sections nor what wood would be 

 the best for the purpose. J. L. Hyde. 



Pomfret Landing, Ct., Aug. 31. 



[We should be glad to get samples of this 

 white birch to which you refer; but my im- 

 pression is that we have tried it and found 

 that the wood lacks toughness. A one- 

 piece section must have a material that will 

 bend at the V-cut without breaking, and it 

 would be hard to find any thing from one 

 end of this great country to the other that 

 would have the toughness of basswood un- 

 der all conditions. The section business 

 takes up millions of feet of timber every 

 year, and would therefore require a very 

 large supply of the birch or any other sub- 

 stitute to take its place. — Ed.] 



TRAPPING OUT SKUNKS FROM A BEE- YARD. 



I have noticed what has been said recent- 

 ly regarding skunks and their annoyance 

 in the apiary. They have troubled me this 

 summer, but I have succeeded in dispatch- 

 ing them with such ease that I think my 

 experience may be of some benefit to others. 



When I find indications of skunks in the 

 apiary I set common steel traps where they 

 work, and in a night or two I catch a visit- 

 or. Knowing that, like the occupants of 

 the hive, he will use his w^eapon of defense 

 only when in danger, I approach him very 

 cautiously, taking with me a nail-keg and 

 a long-handled steel garden-rake previous- 

 ly supplied. When near enough I hook the 

 rake into the trap, and lift skunk and trap 

 clear off the ground, swinging them around 

 to the keg. W^hen in the right position I 

 carefully drop them into the keg, slipping 

 a cover over it at once. In a few minutes 

 the keg and skunk can be safely taken to a 

 place convenient to water, and the keg filled, 

 when it will be but a matter of moments 

 with the skunk. The principal things to 

 observe are to keep the skunk, after being 

 disturbed, where he can not get a foothold, 

 and to keep cool yourself. 



Troy, Pa. C. N. Greene. 



[Your plan of putting the skunk into a 

 keg is all right if you know just how to 

 do it; but a novice at the business might 

 come to grief. If one knows the habits of 

 the beast, well and good; but if he doesn't 

 — ! ! ! Why wouldn't it be better all round 

 to use a revolver, a small rifle, or even a 

 shotgun, standing off at a " respectable " 

 distance and dispatching the animal while 

 it is a captive? But make a sure kill, first 

 crack. To wound mortally is not enough, 

 for then the animal would throw out its aw- 

 ful scent before dying. — Ed.] 



LOAFING BEES AND THE REMEDY. 



Mr, Root: — Will you tell what causes 

 loafing around the entrance, and cluster- 

 ing? Also tell where this has been dis- 



