450 



GLEAI^iNGS IN BifeE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



would do nothing else if they did not carry 

 honey upstairs. Who can tell us more 

 about this matter V I like the tiering-up 

 plan because you do not need to extract 

 your honey until you have time to do it. An- 

 other thing : The honey that has been stor- 

 ed in June, and stands in the hive covered 

 with bees until August, has an extra liavor 

 and consistency, as you may have found out. 

 Simplicity hives seem to be remarkably 

 handy for this kind of tiering-up, when one 

 is so crowded that he could not secure his 

 crop of honey in any other way. I do not 

 believe that I quite agree with you, friend 

 T., that where an extra young queen is rais- 

 ed, the old queen is necessarily failing. I 

 once thought so; but since then we have 

 had several queens that did good service for 

 a whole season, after being found with a 

 good-looking daughter, helping in the bus- 

 iness of egg-laying. If I am correct, several 

 similar cases have been reported. You 

 know we have had some talk of getting our 

 extra queens by this method ; and some one 

 said that a good queen that would constant- 

 ly get her workers to raise others while she 

 was present was worth 125.00. 



FROM DOOIilTTIiE, AGAIN. 



BAIIiWAY TRAINS RUNNING SIXTY MILES AN HOUR. 



<jjP|^N page 376 friend Root asks, " Have we an ex- 

 vLM perienced railroad friend among our number 

 ^""^ who has seen this thing tested by actual, care- 

 ful test?" Although not a railroad man, I can tell 

 what I know regarding the matter. Friend Root 

 Will remember that I visited him in the fall of 1876. 

 On my return home I arrived in Rochester, N. Y., 

 in time to take the special New York express train, 

 Which is made up at that place. As we commenced 

 to move out of Rochester, 1 looked at my watch to 

 see the time, for 1 had often heard of that being the 

 fastest train on the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. There is 

 at this time a train called the "limited express" 

 which runs still faster, so I am told. It is 81 miles 

 from Rochester to Syracuse, and the special New 

 York express makes but one stop between the two 

 cities. My observation showed we were an hour 

 and 38 minutes going from Rochester to Syracuse, 

 Including the stop, which gives about 55 miles an 

 hour as the average time; and if we take out the 

 time lost by the stop, it would not be far from 60 

 miles an hour for the whole distance. The distance 

 between the mile-posts was made several times in 

 from 52 to 55 seconds, and many more at from 55 to 

 57 seconds. The knowledge of the above was what 

 led me to compare the flight of the bee with this 

 train. 



SWARMS CLUSTERING TOGETHER; CLIPPED QUEENS. 



On page 375, H. J. Schrock wishes me to explain 

 how I manage swarms, having queens whose wings 

 are clipped, which cluster together. In a large api- 

 ary, one of the most annoying things which happen 

 when natural swarming is allowed, is the clustering 

 of two or more swarms together, if the queens have 

 their wings, and the apiarist desires to have only 

 one swarm in a hive; but Avhen the queens all have 

 their wings clipped, the clustering of several swarms 

 together need give little if any more trouble than if 

 they came separate. I usually manage in this way: 

 Have several cages made of wire cloth which are an 



inch in diameter, and four inches long, having a per- 

 manent stopper in one end, while the other is mov- 

 able. As a swarm issues, the queen is caught in one 

 of these cages; and when they begin to cluster, the 

 cage is secured to a pole by means of a bent wire, 

 when it is raised so as to rest just where the bees 

 are clustering. Thij is done so the bees will not re- 

 turn before you are ready for them to do so. Now 

 prepare your hive, and get all in readiness for their 

 return (if you wish to have them do so), when you 

 take your pole, and what bees adhere to it, and the 

 cage, and carry them to the hive, when the rest will 

 soon return. By winding the pole with old black 

 rags for a foot or more in length, till as large as your 

 arm, the most of them will cluster on it. If you 

 wish to hive them on a new stand, you can get the 

 whole swarm to cluster on the pole by moving it up 

 a foot or so, where a half or more are clustered. 

 These in the air will cluster with the queen, and the 

 rest will soon resort thither, when you can carry 

 them where you please. 



Now having explained how I manage with one, I 

 will suppose 1 have one after another keep coming, 

 till I have 8 all in one pile, as I did once. The one 

 queen will hold the whole, so there is no particular 

 hurry. The queens are caged as they come, and 

 hives got in readiness, till the last one is out. No 

 fear of the whole lot going to the woods; for if they 

 should start they will soon come back for the queen, 

 and cluster again. You see, I had three swarms try 

 it once, so I know. They went off out of sight, and 

 were gone ten minutes or so, when they came back 

 to the queen. I supposed when they came back 

 they would, part of them at least, retun to the old 

 stand; but not one did so. But, to return: Having 

 the hives all in readiness, and the caged queens (ex- 

 cept the one with the swarms) in front of their res- 

 pective hives, go to your cluster and get what you 

 con&ider a fair swarm, by dropping a portion of the 

 cluster into a tin pail, using a piece of a shingle to 

 cut off what you want. Throw a cloth over the pail 

 to keep the bees from flying, when you can carry 

 them where you wish. Let them settle a moment in 

 the pail, when you are to hive them like any swarm, 

 letting the queen out of the cage so as to go with 

 them, of course. Keep on in this way till but one 

 swarm remains with the queen, when this is hived 

 as first given for a single swarm. If you have too 

 many bees left for one swarm after you have given 

 bees to all the queens, carry your swarm on the pole 

 along by each hive, and cut off a pint or so till you 

 get them to suit you. This one item of hiving 

 swarms which cluster together with such ease, more 

 than balances all that has been said against the prac- 

 tice of clipping queens' wings. 



WHAT MADE THEM GO OFF? 



On page .^97 1 am asked where "Maggie" erred in 

 her management, and if I have large early swarms 

 go off in the same Avay. No, sir; I have lost but one 

 swarm of bees in my life, after which I resolved two 

 things; the first of which was, that all fertile queens 

 should have their wings clipped; and the second 

 was, that no brood should be given a swarm having 

 an old fertile queen. Begging your pardon, friend 

 Root, I opine it was that brood which caused Mag- 

 gie's bees to go to the woods, as neither swarm de- 

 serted till given brood. I had never lost a swarm 

 up to 1871, when I had been reading that, if a frame 

 of unsealed brood were given a swarm it was sure to 

 keep them from going off. I tried it, and the veiy 

 first trial caused me to lose a splendid large first 



