AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



151 



can rapidly depopulate a hive by the 

 method mentioned. Traps are about the 

 only thing that will stop this thieving, 

 and as the skunks are not at all pleas- 

 ant things to handle, unless dead, this 

 method of catching them is not always 

 satisfactory. Steel traps only wound 

 them, and do not kill unless it catches 

 them in a vital part. — Amor. Cultivator. 



Apiarian Items. 



The bees garner what would otherwise 

 go to waste. 



Every fruit grower ought to keep a 

 few bees, and so should every grain 

 grower. 



The ideal place for an apiary is where 

 the bees can get plenty of bloom — Spring, 

 Summer and Autumn. 



Our boards of education would do 

 well to follow the example of the 

 thrifty Germans, and have the art of 

 bee-keeping taught in the public schools. 

 — Farm, Field and Stockman. 



Modern Manag-ement Economical. 



Formerly June was the time in bee- 

 keeping that taxed both our physical 

 and mental powers to the utmost ; but 

 now, with our new swarm catchers, each 

 swarm is caught at the entrance of its 

 hive, without reaching the open air at 

 all, and the burden of swarming is 

 changed into an Arabian Nights dream. 

 No more running with heavy ladders, 

 and climbing into tree tops. No more 

 dividing from two to eight swarms all 

 settled together in one huge black mass ; 

 now each swarm is kept entirely separ- 

 ate, and hived in the cool evening when 

 all swarming is over for th« day. — B. 

 Taylor, in Farm, Stock and Home. 



Dwarf Bees. 



For several years there has been 

 considerable inquiry in regard to the 

 cause of dwarf workers among bees. As 

 yet I have failed to see even a guess as 

 to their origin. 



Last season I noticed them among 

 some of my colonies. Some were scarcely 

 two-thirds the size of the workers. 

 They possessed a sting, but were not 

 inclined to use it, even when caught by 

 the wing, unless ill-treated. They seem 

 to be incapacitated for gathering honey, 

 or work in the hive, and were dragged 

 forth by the workers in the same way 

 they get rid of drones. 



This season, when straightening some 



crooked brood-combs, my thoughts 

 turned to these small bees, and I also 

 recollected of straightening some combs 

 last season containing larvae. This gave 

 me satisfactory cause of the dwarf bees. 

 Straightening the crooked combs nar- 

 rowed the cells on the convex side of the 

 combs, which, as a matter of necessity, 

 made the workers smaller in those cells. 

 Doubtless the workers in the cells on the 

 opposite side of the combs were larger,but 

 as they were able to assist in the labors 

 of the colony, they were unnoticed. — 

 Deuid, in National Stockman. 



Beeswax, its Production and Uses. 



A large amount of honey is annually 

 consumed in the various industries and 

 manufactures, while the commercial 

 value of beeswax is very great. Nearly 

 500 tons of beeswax are annually im- 

 ported into Great Britain, while Russia 

 uses nearly 5,000 tons in the ceremonies 

 of churches. — Farm, Field cmd Stockman. 



Water for Bees. 



It makes considerable difference with 

 a colony of bees whether they get water 

 close to the apiary, or go half a mile for 

 it. An earthen dish holding a gallon or 

 more with a cloth sunk to the bottom, 

 and the edges hanging outside the dish, 

 is very convenient for them to get 

 water. • Strange to say mine keeps a 

 constant drip from the edges of the cloth 

 until the dish runs dry. — J. H. Andee. 



Swarming Fever. 



There has been no remedy discovered 

 that will cure this disease — no quinine 

 for bees. Divide a colony "into three 

 parts, and each wilt- swarm if the fever 

 is at a high pitch. The Dadants, who 

 are large producers of extracted-honey, 

 control swarming in a measure, but 

 when a colony has the fever, do not 

 attempt it, but let them swarm. Then 

 hive the swarm, let it remain 48 hours, 

 and return it ; if queen-cells have 

 been built, the returning queen will 

 destroy them, and if a young queen has 

 emerged in her absence, they will have 

 to decide between themselves which 

 shall live. It would be well for those 

 desiring no increase in the number of 

 colonies to try this plan, and at the same 

 time the swarm is returned give more 

 room, ventilation and shade. When bees 

 have the swarming fever, there is no 

 intermission until they succeed. — Mrs. 

 L. Harrison, in the Prairie Farmer. 



