168 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 14, 



sections, but instead are loafing in clusters at the entrance, 

 ventilate them a little by placing a ten-penny nail under the 

 edge of the cover, and see how quickly they will go to work. 

 It may help to warp the cover a little, but you'll get more 

 honey. When it gets too hot in the hive the bees have to 

 come out to get a breath of fresh air, just like people. When 

 the field-bees come in loaded and find the rest of the family 

 out on the veranda on account of the suffocating heat on the 

 inside, they don't go in and unload, but remain with their 

 sisters, and the cluster gets larger and longer until it grows 

 cooler inside. 



Preventing Dampness in Cellar-Wintering. — If your 

 bees are in the cellar, and you see water running out at the 

 entrance, it is evident they are not in the best condition 

 for wintering. There should be no water dripping at the 

 entrance. The inside of the hive is damp, and bees cannot 

 stand the cold as well as when hive and cellar are dry. The 

 cold air coming in contact with the warm air in the hive con- 

 denses and forms drops of water on the under side of the 

 cover, and, when they become heavy enough, drop on the bees 

 and run out at the entrance. Of course, you might tip the 

 hives a little and the water would run along the cover and 

 down at the end, but it would be damp all the same. To pre- 

 vent this, fill a muslin flour-sack about half full of sawdust, 

 chaff, or other material, and spread it evenly over the frames, 

 first putting on an empty super or hive-body; then put on 

 your cover over the super, but leave a crack along one side 

 about as wide as a bee-space — just so a mouse can't get in. 

 The sawdust being a non-conductor, the heat of the cluster 

 will remain with the bees, but all dampness will escape up 

 through and out at the crack. If the opening were not loft, 

 the moisture would collect in drops ou the under side of the 

 cover above the sawdust. Put sticks across the frames to hold 

 the cushion up a little, or, better yet, leave the wood-zinc 

 honey-board on, sealed. I have tried both ways. I also once 

 tried sealed covers — and only once — and I never will again. 



My 23 colonies are now ( Jan 26) in the cellar along with 

 the vegetables, packed as above and are quiet as kittens — 

 comparatively few bees crawling out to die on the cellar- 

 bottom. I see them every day. The temperature of the cellar 

 is 20^ to 45^ — owing to the weather outside. But the bees 

 are not very particular about the temperature, so they are dry. 



Denison, Iowa. 



Too Much "Monkey Work" With Bees. 



BY .J. W. BITTENBENDER. 



Bee-keepers, as a rule, monkey too much with their bees, 

 and often ruin the bees and the bread-and-butter side of the 

 question. I am writing on this subject from experience and 

 not theory. 



In the spring of 1873, I purchased my first eight colonies 

 of bees in movable-frame hives (Langstroth). Two of the 

 hives contained crooked combs, so I could not remove them, 

 and being inexperienced, and as I never saw a bee-hive opened 

 by any one, I left them to remain so for the season. But in 

 order to become master of the art, and being like the watch- 

 maker — must fake a bee-hive all apart and put it together in 

 order to be a practical bee-keeper — I purchased a Quinby 

 bee-smoker, and with part of a lady's face-veil I undertook 

 the much-dreaded task. 



My first lesson was a success, and much encouraged my 

 enthusiasm. On this I gained much self-confidence, and felt 

 able to make experiments. Six of the eight colonies was all I 

 could work with, and as the other two hives contained crooked 

 combs, and they were not very strong in bees, I did not think 

 that they would do more than build up and be able to be 

 ready for winter at best. I also obtained Quinby's book and 

 Mrs. Tupper's, and subscribed for the American Bee Journal, 

 then a monthly. By reading this morning and evening, and 

 monkeying with my bees in the warmest part of the day, I 

 passed the summer days very pleasantly, if not very profitably. 



I had my six movable-comb hives all in good trim, and my 

 regular work on every fine day was to open each hive two and 

 three times a day to see whether all things were running right, 

 and in good order. When the warm June days came, I noticed 

 that the two colonies I could not monkey with were getting 

 very populous, but did not stop to think or reason that perhaps 

 I was monkeying too much with the other colonies. 



But I reasoned thus: That with my assistance and man- 

 agement, when white clover was in full bloom we (the bees 

 and I) would show them what we could do, as their hives only 

 contained old rickerty rackerty crooked combs, anyhow, and 

 we (the bees and I) had everything in tip-top condition. And 

 as the dividing fever was running high in those days we could 



divide and make as many colonies as we pleased, and better 

 ones, too, as colonies were the object those days. 



The old rickerty rackerty colonies were still getting 

 stronger ; but still came the thought that they had crooked 

 combs and the frames were all tangled up — that was the reason 

 they looked so strong. There could not so many bees get into 

 the hives, and they only looked strong. 



But hurrah ! hurrah ! here comes a rattling large prime 

 swarm out from one of the rickerty rackerty old hives, 

 and in a few days out came one from the other hive. "Ali 

 right " says bees and I, "we will divide, if that is the way 

 you want to do it." So bees and I divided, although not a, 

 queen-cell in any of the six finely arranged hives. I divided 

 them by taking half of the combs and placing them in a new 

 hive, as in those days there was not much known about comb- 

 foundation, so the hives were filled up with empty frames, 

 and the division that had no queen was left to rear their own 

 queen. This was a great disadvantage to them. 



But about this time out came the second swarm from 

 the rickerty rackerty hives ! as swarms was the object, I also 

 hived them, as they were good-sized second swarms. But lo, 

 and behold, how could I make second swarms from the finely- 

 arranged colonies, already weak and puny? 



Knoxville, Iowa. 

 [To be continued.] 



Dequeetiing to Prevent Increase, Etc. 



BY WILMER W. M'NBAI,. 



On page 78, under the heading, '-Experience with De- 

 queening," C. H. Chapman tells us that, " increase can be con- 

 trolled to our liking " by that method, but then puts the key 

 back into his pocket, because — well, simply because he says he 

 is no author. 



To relate clearly, yet briefly, in writing, an experience in 

 the bee-yard may or may not be an easy thing to do. That, 

 however, is not the point at issue. What we want is not par- 

 ticularly a knowledge of a man's ability as a writer, but what 

 he knows pertaining to the practical side of bee-culture. 



The majority of us are yet a long way from having any 

 thing like a corner on the prevention of swarms, and will hail 

 with abundant welcome anything relative thereto. I wish 

 Mr. C. would even tell us how many colonies figured in the 

 experiment. Dequeening is something I never tried for the 

 prevention of swarms. My observations along the line in 

 question have led me to believe that swarming is taken on 

 principally by the field bees. A persistent crowding upon the 

 brood-combs by the young bees will result in swarming. When 

 this younger element can be induced to move out and away 

 foom the brood-chamber, or an equivalent — the placing of a 

 case of shallow combs under said apartment — swarming need 

 not be looked for until the field bees are again crowded for 

 elbow-room. I think a field bee, when loaded with honey and 

 pollen, rarely, if ever, goes above and beyond the confines of 

 the queen ; for proof of this I cite the absence of pollen in 

 the sections. A young bee is very timid, and will begin work 

 much sooner if the " starter " is in the bottom of the section- 

 box colse to the bees' familiar surroundings; afterwards revers- 

 ing the case, teaching them downward growth in comb- 

 building. 



Fastening Foundation. — For putting in foundation, a 

 piece of common window-glass and a cup of hot water suits 

 me very well; occasionally dipping the glass into the water, 

 then pressing it against the wax before cooling. 



Reijueening and Non Swarming. — Requeening early in 

 the season scores a point in favor of non-swarming, but super- 

 induces the bees to build drone-comb in the section. 



Wing-Clipping. — Clipping the queen's wings down to mere 

 stubs, as far as tried by myself, is not entirely without 

 merit. Wheelersburg, O. 



^ 



"The Giant Bee of India." 



BY C. D. HOLT. 



This bee was brought from Ceylon to the United States in 

 1891, and is distinguished from our bees by its giant size, and 

 the manner of obtaining honey from flowers that the common 

 bee cannot gather from. The Indian bee {Apis dorsatii), with 

 its front feet, and large, strong mandibles, tears open any 

 flower that it can't reach the honey with the tongue, and 

 gathers nectar where no other bee could enter. It is one-half 

 size larger than the Cyprians, but gentler and easier to handle 

 than the Italians. While they will not gather any more honey 



