AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



119 



Congratulations to a Bee-Keeper. 



The British Bee Journal, commenting 

 on the recent marriage of Mr. James 

 Andrews Abbot, of Dublin, to Miss 

 Price, of Robertstowii, County Kildare, 

 Ireland, which took place on May 26, 

 says : 



"Few bee-keepers were more actively 

 engaged in the work of publicly further- 

 ing and teaching the 'art of modern 

 bee-keeping,' a few years ago than Mr. 

 James Abbot (or Jim Abbot, as he would 

 insist on beng designated by his friends), 

 and we know of no one man more 

 deservedly popular. By his modest and 

 genial bearing, he was — and we hope 

 still is — a favorite everywhere, and it 

 has been a mystery to us how such a 

 good fellow managed to remain a bach- 

 elor for so long ; and now that a 

 'daughter of Erin' has removed that 

 'fault' from his character, we are sure 

 that his troop of friends, who are readers 

 of the Bee Journal, in congratulating 

 him, will cordially wish long life and 

 happiness to James Abbot and his good 

 wife." 



We also extend the congratulations of 

 ourselves and friends to friend Abbot, 

 and bespeak for him a successful, pro- 

 longed and happy future. — Canadian 

 Bee Journal. 



Italianizing- an Apiary. 



" An apiary can be Italianized at this 

 season without great expense. We pre- 

 fer to rear queens. If a colony of 

 Italians is of pure blood, after it has 

 cast a swarm, several queen-cells can be 

 obtained by opening the hive and 

 cutting out all but one. In so doing, 

 care must be taken not to injure the 

 cell. Better cut out a small portion of 

 the comb with the cell, so that it will 

 remain intact. 



Such cells can be put into other colo- 

 nies that we wish to Italianize, having 

 first removed their queens. This is done 

 by cutting out of a comb a piece similar 

 in size and form to that attached to the 

 queen-cell, and inserting the latter in its 

 place. The hole thus cut should be a 

 trifle smaller than the piece to be 

 inserted, so that it will fit neatly and not 

 fall out. 



Sometimes the bees will refuse to 

 receive such a cell. Hence, has origi- 

 nated the device of queen-cell protectors, 

 made of wire-cloth, funnel shaped, and 

 put over the cell. 



We have generally succeeded without 

 their use, in the following way : We 

 first deprive the colony to be Italianized 



of the queen some days before. The 

 bees will then begin to rear queen-cells. 

 These we cut out and insert the queen- 

 cell in the place of the one removed. 



If you should have the queen-cell 

 before the colony is deprived of its 

 queen, put the cell in a common queen 

 cage or wire cylinder, and hang it 

 between the combs until the bees start 

 the cells. 



As soon as these are cut out, the cell, 

 if it has not already hatched, can be 

 inserted as above described. If it has 

 hatched, introduce the queen in the 

 usual way. At this season queens can 

 be readily reared if the apiarist has 

 good stock, or an imported queen, and 

 can spare the bees. 



By taking two or three combs contain- 

 ing brood, in all stages of development, 

 and freshly laid eggs, with all adhering 

 bees with the exception of the queen, 

 and putting them in a nucleus, or hive, 

 reducing the space by division-boards to 

 the capacity of the nucleus, a small 

 colony will be started that will rear for 

 itself a queen. Some ten or twelve days 

 after taking such a nucleus, queen-cells 

 can be taken from it, as the bees usually 

 build several, which can be used as 

 other queen-cells, taken after a colony 

 has cast a swarm. In this way, queens 

 can be reared, and colonies multiplied 

 at pleasure. — Wm. Ballantine, in the 

 Farm Journal. 



Pine -Pollen Storm. 



A few mornings ago, on arising, resi- 

 dents of Nashville, Tenn., were surprised 

 and somewhat alarmed to find the 

 ground covered with a yellow deposit 

 resembling powdered sulphur, " which, 

 for a time, it was supposed to be. The 

 substance was soon found, however, to 

 be the pollen of pines, carried by the 

 winds from a strip of pine forest extend- 

 ing from Louisiana through North 

 Carolina to Virginia. The force of the 

 winds is so great, and pine pollen so 

 light, that the latter is sometimes car- 

 ried from the pine regions to Chicago in 

 such vast quantities that the waters of 

 Lake Michigan for miles outside the 

 city limits are covered with a thick, 

 yellow scum. 



This pollen, although minute in the 

 present age, in prehistoric times was of 

 great size, spores of some species of 

 lycopodiums and selagenellas, which are 

 allied to the coniferas, having a diameter 

 of one-sixteenth of an inch, and com- 

 posed almost entirely some of the 

 European coal beds. — Exchange, 



