THE AMERICAN BEE JUURNAL, 



359 



tractor " and melted into wax under 

 glass. The honey remaining in the 

 cappings will sink to the bottom of 

 the extractor,and is drawn oS through 

 the faucet. 



A common flat-bottomed wheel- 

 barrow is a good thing for taking 

 honey from the yard to the extractor. 

 I have a box fastened over the wheel 

 with a division in it. One end is just 

 large enough to fit the smoker, the 

 other carries a paper of wire nails, a 

 small hammer, a long, narrow honey- 

 knife, queen-cages, etc., etc. 



I use nine boxes with hinged covers, 

 and cleats on the end of the boxes for 

 handles, each box holding Ave combs 

 hung the same as in the hive. Three 

 boxes, filled with empty combs, are 

 taken on the wheel-barrow to the 

 hives, then the combs with honey are 

 taken from the hives and put in the 

 boxes, and the empty combs put in 

 the hives. When the boxes are filled 

 with honey, they are wheeled to the 

 house and put on the outside of the 

 turn-table. The assistant working 

 inside places a similar box with the 

 emptied combs on the turn-table in- 

 side. The table is turned carrying 

 the honey in and bringing the empty 

 combs out. As fast as the honey is 

 extracted the combs are put in the 

 boxes ready to send out. The combs 

 are not returned to the hives from 

 which they are taken, but to the 

 others, thus avoiding opening the 

 hives a second time. Any combs con- 

 taining brood are placed by them- 

 selves and given to such colonies as 

 may need strengthening. 



Santa Barbara, J Calif. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Safe Introilnction of Oneens, 



AARON BENEDICT. 



I have read Mr.Doolittle's article on 

 page 309, on the subject of introduc- 

 ing queens and dividing colonies, and 

 I consider his plan excellent as far as 

 it goes. As my plan of doing the 

 same thing is a little different, and 

 with me is very nearly an entire suc- 

 cess, I will give it. 



I always drum out the bees and 

 queen, no matter what kind of hive 

 they are in. If it is a movable-comb 

 hive, I remove the honey-board and 

 surplus arrangement, place the cover 

 back on the hive, and then give the 

 bees a little smoke at the entrance ; 

 Mr. Doolittle gives the smoke the 

 first thing. 



I now commence to jar the hive as 

 soon as the bees are up in the cover, 

 and shake them out on a cloth. As 

 soon as I find the queen, I remove 

 her. I have in readiness a cupful of 

 water in which has been steeped cat- 

 nip, pepper-mint or horse-mint,either 

 will do ; it need not be very strong. 

 I take this decoction in mouth,mouth- 

 ful after mouthful, and spatter it 

 down in the hive, bees, and on the 

 cloth, thereby wetting the bees. I 

 now take some more of the same in 

 my mouth, blow it on the queen in 

 her cage, and then let her run in with 

 the bees, when the job is done. 



I have introduced hundreds of 

 queens for myself and others inthis 

 way in the past 15 years, with almost 

 entire success. In the drumming 

 process the bees are filled with honey 

 and will not hurt anything in that 

 condition. I do not think I lose one 

 queen in fifty. Last August I went 

 36 miles and introduced 17 queens. I 



Eut them in in less than a day. I 

 ave since heard that the bees are all 

 changed to Italians. 



Mr. D's plan of making colonies by 

 dividing is correct. When bees 

 swarm naturally they fill themselves 

 with honey so they will have some- 

 thing to begin to keep house with. 

 The drumming causes the bees to fill 

 themselves with honey ; in this they 

 are like a natural swarm. I would 

 have this done late in the afternoon, 

 and let them remain in the forcing 

 box over night ; in the morning throw 

 a cloth over the old hive, then hive 

 the swarm, and in about an hour re- 

 move the cloth, when it is done. 



Bennington,© Ohio. 



calls this fragrance 

 vertisement." But 



Bees as "Pomologists. 



J. M. STAHL. 



Exchange. 



Not a few believe that bees injure 

 fruit. They are frequently accused of 

 injuring peaches, apples, berries, and 

 even grapes. I do not believe ihis ; 

 but though it be correct, the bees are 

 the best friends of the horticulturist. 

 Did you ever think why V Sex is not 

 confined to the animal kingdom by 

 any means ; plants are sexual. The 

 sexual organs are in the blossoms. 

 For the blossoms to produce fruit the 

 ovules must be fertilized by the pol- 

 len from the anthers at the summit of 

 the stamens, which falls upon the 

 stigma, and traversing the style of the 

 pistil, reaches the ovary. 



In this process of fertilizing, in- 

 sects are important aids, and in quite 

 a large number of cases are essential 

 aids ; and of all insects bees are the 

 most import xnt workers. They seek 

 the honey to be found in the blossoms; 

 and while on this quest they disturb 

 the anthers, knocking the pollen upon 

 their wings and bodies, and in this 

 way conveying it to waiting stigmas. 

 In a large class of flowers the work of 

 insects is essential to fertilization, 

 either because the stamens and pistils 

 of the blossom do not reach maturity 

 at the same time, or the pistils are 

 turned away from the stamens, pre- 

 venting the pollen from falling on the 

 stigmas, or else the anthers are be- 

 low the stigmas, having the same 

 effect ; while other blossoms have no 

 pistils or else no stamens ; in all these 

 cases self-fertilization is impossible. 



To fertilize such blossoms it would 

 seem that the creation of the bees had 

 been especially designed, so well do 

 they perform their work. First, the 

 bees are formed just right to accom- 

 plish it. Then the flower has the 

 honey to attract the bee ; and when 

 the conditions are most favorable, the 

 flower sends out a fragrance to yet 

 further attract the bee. Prof. Gray 



the " flower's ad- 

 it may occur to 

 the mind of the reader that the bee 

 would visit flowers of different species 

 and thus occasion the greatest con- 

 fusion. But it is not so. The bee has 

 a keen sense of taste, and never mixes 

 its nectars, but as the nectar of all 

 blossoms of each species tastes alike, 

 it confines each visit to one species. 

 Aside from this, having found nectar 

 in one blossom, it would naturally 

 seek in others having the same ap- 

 pearance and fragrance. To get at 

 the honey the bee must twist itself 

 into all possible shapes and positions 

 — a position of Nature to secure the 

 dislodgement of the pollen ; and she 

 also doles out the nectar in small 

 quantities that the bee may be com- 

 pelled to make frequent visits. It is 

 also a fact worthy of note that the 

 blossom does not yield nectar until it 

 is ready for its part in fertilization. 



This phase of the phenomena is 

 curious enough to be interesting, but 

 there is an intensely practical aspect 

 of the case. Nature would not go to 

 so much trouble for nothing, and if 

 there was not an important work for 

 the bees to perform, there would not 

 be these provisions made for it. We 

 are forced to the conclusion that 

 where there are no bees many blos- 

 soms will fail of being properly ferti- 

 lized, and hence fail to mature fruit. 



When we consider the work done 



by bees, we are justified in calling 

 them " pomologists." 



I am certain that bees do not injure 

 fruit at all. Most of the destruction 

 blamed upon them is the work of 

 other agents. The jaws of the bee 

 are too weak to puncture the skin of 

 the most delicate grape. Only after 

 it is pierced does the bee harm the 

 fruit. 

 Quincy,*o Ills. 



For tbe American Bee Joomak 



Can Farmers teep Bees ProfitaWy? 



9 



CYRUS T. FOX. 



I send you the following report of 

 the proceedings of our recent meeting 

 as reported for the Reading, (Pa.) 

 Times, when the bee-question was 

 discussed. It is as follows : 



This question elicited quite an in- 

 teresting discussion at the meeting of 

 the Berks County Agricultural So- 

 ciety. 



An essay on the subject by a Rob- 

 eson township farmer, was promised 

 by ex-President Jacob G. Zerr, of 

 Union township, which will be pre- 

 sented at the next meeting ; and a 

 letter was read from William G. Mc- 

 Gowan, of this city, regretting his 

 inability to be present on account of 

 illness. Mr. McGowan furnished a 

 number of pamphlets on bee-culture 

 for free distribution. 



John Gottshall, of this city, opened 

 the discussion by stating that he had 

 kept bees for fifty years, in Alsace 

 township and in this city. After hia 

 long experience he regarded the Egyp- 

 tian bee as the most profitable, and 

 thought every farmer would find it of 



