THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



217 



this is no objection, but there are 

 other objections to any screen-house 

 ■which render them impracticable to 

 many bee-keepers. 



In lieu of bee-tents and screen- 

 houses, I have built a room for ex- 

 tracting purposes which I find to be 

 very convenient on other occasions 

 also. By the side of my meat-house, 

 which is very tall, I built a shed room 

 8x10 feet. I have a bench made of a 

 dressed 12-inch board extending the 

 full length of the room to the left as 

 it is entered, and just right to work 

 on without stooping. In one end is 

 a window, and in the other the door. 



I find this room to be comfortable, 

 and as there is no floor except the 

 ground, there is no trouble climbing 

 steps. When extracting I simply 

 carry a hive (after smoking the bees a 

 little) into this room, and close the 

 door and window, and place at the old 

 stand an empty hive, except that it 

 has a frame of empty comb. The bees 

 returning from work will collect on 

 this comb, and after returning the 

 bive with bees it is but little trouble 

 to shake them ofiE and let them re- 

 turn to their proper home. All the 

 the bees that take wing while work- 

 ing a hive, will collect on the window, 

 and there remain until released, un- 

 less the window is arranged to let 

 them pass out ; but as I would rather 

 they were in the window than in the 

 decoy hive, I let them remain until 

 their own hive is returned to its 

 stand. 



One great advantage in this over 

 out-door manipulation, is that one is 

 not compelled to be forever stooping, 

 as the hive can be raised to any 

 height without extra trouble. Another 



freat advantage is, there are no rob- 

 er bees to bother, and if a few bees 

 do get angry and take wing, they very 

 soon take to the window and are 

 trapped. 



I suppose many would object to 

 the above plan because of the labor 

 necessary in carrying the hives to and 

 from the place of work ; but if the 

 house- is built in a convenient place, 

 close to the bees, I do not think the 

 labor as great as if they are worked 

 at their stands in the apiary. 



I would be glad to see this subject 

 discussed (either pro or con) by some 

 of our experienced bee-keepers, such, 

 for instance, as those whose names 

 appear in the Query Department of 

 the Bee Jouknal. 



Pleasure Ridge Park, 5 Ky. 



For tne AmencaB Bee JonmaL 



Staking Qneen-Cages in Transit, 



GUST. MURHABD. 



I wish to draw the attention of bee- 

 keepers who feel interested therein, 

 to the abuse committed by inquisitive 

 clerks in the post-office and express- 

 office on the queen-cages with queen- 

 bees while in transit. There is hardly 

 a queen-bee shipped to Oregon which 

 has not to stand hard shaking of in- 

 quisitive clerks to satisfy their curi- 

 osity whether the bees are alive or 

 dead ; and as bees that have traveled 



a long distance, and have become 

 used to shaking so tjiat they will not 

 answer the shaking call by buzzing, 

 if they are alive or dead, they are 

 shaken so much more violently, and 

 if they then refuse to respond, the 

 clerks' curiosity will even go so far 

 as to use their pocket-knives to break 

 open one corner of the larger cages, 

 before they will desist. 



I have noticed that every queen's 

 fertility through this shaking curi- 

 osity is more or less injured in tran- 

 sit; but that the queens in smaller 

 cages suffer the most, is reasonable. 

 Would it not be well, if it can be 

 done with any prospect to discon- 

 tinue this injurious nuisance of in- 

 quisitive clerks, to apply to head- 

 quarters of the Post-office Depart- 

 ment, and of the express companies' 

 officers, to forbid clerks shaking any 

 queen-cages with queen-bees while in 

 transit ? 



Often are bees thus injured, and if 

 upon their arrival they do not prove 

 what was represented, the shippers 

 are unjustly charged with dishonesty. 

 Xearly every queen that I received 

 personally out of the post-office or 

 express-office, I found the clerks shak- 

 ing the cage at the time of my arrival 

 there ; and if not they would surely 

 commence shaking violently as they 

 handed the cage to me. It is not as 

 well bad intention as inquisitive 

 ignorance, which commits the harm. 

 Ir those clerks could be shown the 

 harm that their inquisitive ignorance 

 does, perhaps this nuisance might be 

 abated without trouble or ill-feeling. 



Portland,^ Oreg. 



Farm, Stock and Home. 



April fort in tlie Apiary. 



E. W. POWELL & SON. 



As it is nearing the time to take 

 bees out of the cellar, a short article 

 perhaps will not come amiss on that 

 subject. We do not take our bees out 

 until April 10 or 15, if we can help it 

 (I mean if we can keep them quiet). 

 If we lose control of the temperature 

 of the cellar, or if from any other 

 cause the bees become diseased, we 

 are compelled to take them out as 

 soon as the snow is gone ; but even 

 then, I am not sure but the best way 

 would be to let them have a good 

 flight and then return them to the 

 cellar until settled warm weather has 

 come. 



Before commencing to take the bees 

 from the cellar, we provide ourselves 

 with a litter, by fastening two small 

 poles together with two cross-pieces, 

 having the poles long enough to re- 

 ceive four hives at a time. We com- 

 mence taking the bees out about four 

 o'clock in the afternoon, two men 

 taking four hires at a time. In this 

 way the bees are carried steady and 

 without a jar. We carry out as many 

 in one evening as our backs will 

 allow, and often get up early and take 

 out some more before it is light the 

 next morning. We take them out in 

 this way to prevent the bees from 

 swarming and mixing up, which they 



will do sometimes if taken out in the 

 morning of a bright day. 



As soon as the bees are out of their 

 winter quarters, they must be ex- 

 amined, their hives cleaned out, etc. 

 AVe have along box which we put on 

 a spring wheelbarrow, in which to 

 carry empty combs, scraps of comb, 

 and our tools, which consist of a 

 smoker, a knife to prune the combs 

 with, H chisel to loosen the frames, 

 and sometimes the bee-veil, though 

 usually we have this last article over 

 the face when we start. 



We now commence at one end of 

 the first row of hives, examining each 

 one in succession, cleaning out the 

 dead bees, if there are any, and sup- 

 ply honey to any that are in need, 

 from those that can spare it. We give 

 each colony just what combs they 

 need for immediate use, using a 

 'division-board to close up the space 

 to just the room they can use during 

 the cold nights of spring. The empty 

 combs we place outside of the divis- 

 ion-board ; those containing a little 

 honey are carried to the honey-room 

 until they are needed. We make a 

 careful record of the condition of each 

 colony, the number of frames they 

 occupy, the amount of brood and 

 honey contained, etc. ; then, after 

 packing snug and warm, the bees are 

 not disturbed again for two or three 

 weeks, or until they have filled all 

 their combs with brood, when more 

 room is given. 



Mankato, 9 Minn. 



B*or tne American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Guelpli, Ontario, Conyention. 



W3I. F. CLARKE. 



On March 23, 1887, the Guelph Bee- 

 Keepers' Association met in the 

 Council Chamber at Guelph, Ont., at 

 1 p.m., the President, Rev. W. P. 

 Clarke, in the chair. The Secretary 

 read the minutes of the last meeting, 

 which, on motion, were confirmed. 

 Then followed the 



president's address. 



Fellow Bee-Keepers .-—We meet near 

 the close of a winter, which, though a 

 long one, has not been altogether un- 

 favorable for bees, and it is to be 

 hoped that a few days will bring the 

 welcome disclosure that our losses 

 have been slight. Last season was 

 an unpropitious one in this locality 

 for honey-production, and, as we are 

 not apt to have two bad years in suc- 

 cession, we may look forward to the 

 coming summer as one in which nec- 

 tar will abound, and our industrious 

 little workers gather plentifully both 

 for themselves and us. 



At the present time, there are sev- 

 eral matters of interest and impor- 

 tance pressing on the attention of bee- 

 keepers. One is the low price of 

 honey. Honey is cheap and likely to 

 remain so. It has been proposed to 

 form honey producers' associations to 

 regulate tlie market price of honey. 

 I do not think this course would have 

 the desired effect. Xo wheat growers' 

 association could fix the price of 



