1264 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



our friend Harry E. Hill, of Fort Pierce, who 

 generously invited us to stroll with him 

 through his pineapple plantation; and after 

 I had been more than satisfied with some of 

 the finest of that fruit, Harry loaded us down 

 with the fruit, which was laid in the stern of 

 the boat. Those pineapples afforded the fin- 

 est refreshment on our trip; and 1 will say 

 here that the pineapples we buy in this sec- 

 tion of the country, that have been shipped 

 from the South, can not begin to compare 

 with that delicious fruit as it is taken from 

 the plant when ripe. 



We prize that picture of our friend Pop- 

 pleton very highly, for it is so natural to see 

 him among his bees, just as one might find 

 at any time when calling upon him. 



Cincinnati, O. 



HIVE-MAKING. 



A Beginner's Experience in Getting Bees 

 Out of Trees; a New Bee- veil. 



BY E. C. BRITTON. 



The photograph shows some hives which I 

 made last week. The one in the foreground 

 is made of straw. It has a bottom-board 20 

 inches square, a wood frame inside of the 

 hive, with a hole in top and a stand to place 

 over the hive, so as to put a bee-space board 



HOME-MADE DOVETAILED HIVES AND STRAW SKEP. 



ou top for the super. I made it all, just for 

 the pleasure of having an old-fashioned straw 

 hive. I will put it in a small, house with 

 open front and the back on hinges, so as to 

 let down in summer. I bought ten Dovetail- 

 ed hives in the flat. I made one myself, but 



would not advise any one to do it unless he 

 has plenty of time and would be contented 

 with a poorer hive. The parts can not be 

 made as accurately as those in the machine- 

 made ones, and the frames will not hang 

 alike— some neai'er than others, and so on. 



The tall hive in the background is an old 

 box hive, which I found at " the old home." 

 It was there when I was a boy. I found two 

 of them there, and both would have had bees 

 in them if it had not been for the wax-moths. 

 I captured my first swarm on a neighbor's 

 apple-tree last June, and have taken two 

 from houses and two from the inside of oth- 

 er trees, making five in all. I have divided 

 some, so you see I have been making quite 

 an increase in the last six months — for a be- 

 ginner. 



The last colony, in an old apple-tree, had 

 30,000 bees and 70 pounds of honey. It was 

 a lovely day, and we began work on them 

 about 11 A.M., after paying $1.25 for them to 

 the man who owned the land. They were 

 Italian bees, and great workers. The en- 

 trance was about a foot from the ground, 

 and I took an ax and cut a hole about three 

 feet high and six or eight inches wide. It 

 was a great sight. The tree was hollow, and 

 the comb was about 2| feet high, and over a 

 foot wide. 



After taking out two combs and wiring 

 them in the frames I put an old bag over the 

 top of the comb 

 inside of the tree, 

 so the queen 

 would not escape, 

 for I lost the 

 queen in the oth- 

 er tree because 

 she went away up 

 through a hollow 

 where I could not 

 find her. After 

 putting all the 

 comb in the 

 frames (and we 

 had a pailful of 

 pieces besides) I 

 pulled out the 

 bag, and the 

 queen dropped 

 down on the 

 ground. I took 

 her and put her 

 on the hive, and 

 she crawled down 

 between the 

 frames out of 

 sight among the 

 bees. We used a 

 smoker all the 

 time, and what 

 bees didn't get 

 on the comb we 

 put into the hive 

 by the handful. The last bee — the queen — in 

 the hive, I put on the cover and placed all in 

 my automobile, and was at home by G p.m. 



I want to tell about my bee-veil. I took 

 an old straw hat, sewed a strip about four 

 inches wide, of mosquito wire netting, ai"ound 



