AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



207 



much injury my bees did his fruit in a 

 season, and he said that he thought 50 

 cents would cover damages for the juice 

 they sucked up. Ilis ranch was about 

 800 yards from my apiary, and ^e dried 

 quite a number of tons of fruit every 

 season ; besides he had quite a vineyard. 



The only real damage I ever knew my 

 bees to do was to suck up the juice of 

 extra ripe Bartlett pears which a friend 

 was trying to dry. In a case like this, I 

 would always pay the damage done 

 by the bees. Bees are a great aid to 

 fruit-growers in helping to fertilize the 

 blossoms, and the good they do far over- 

 balances the damage ever done by them. 



Fruit-growers and bee-keepers should 

 be friends. When they become involved 

 in a difficulty about bees, let each come 

 half-way and talk the matter over in all 

 its bearings, and in all cases try to arrive 

 at a friendly conclusion. — Pacific Rural 

 Press. 



Grizzly Flats, Calif. 



Carefnl HaiidliM of Bees. 



BUZZ. 



If there is one point I would impress 

 upon the mind of a novice in bee-culture 

 more than another, it is to acquire the 

 habit from the first, of very careful 

 handling. 



While attending a National Bee Con- 

 vention at Cincinnati, I was surprised 

 and delighted with the good behavior of 

 Mr. Muth's bees. There were about 40 

 colonies on the roof of his store, and 

 there were about as many visitors as 

 <;ould be accommodated in the passage- 

 way between the rows of hives. I do not 

 remember that Mr. Muth used any 

 smoke ; I rather think he did not. He 

 opened the hives, lifting out combs, and 

 pointing out the queen to the visitors, 

 who stood closely around. No one 

 present had any protection, and though 

 it was late in Fall, when no honey was 

 being gathered, there was no stinging. 



AMIABLE BEES. 



Bees came in and out of the store and 

 customers did not appear to notice them 

 more than flies. If a bee touched the 

 hair of one of Mr. Muth's sons, he very 

 gently brushed it aside. I said to one 

 of them : "Do you ever kill any bees ?" 

 He said: " O, no ! if we did, father would 

 go for us." 



After inspecting the apiary of 'Mr. 

 Muth, a party of us took carriages, and 

 were driven to Mt. Healthy, to visit the 



apiary of Mr. Hill. Here I noticed the 

 same thing. While a party stood around 

 an open hive, I kept at a respectful dis- 

 tance, and remarked to a daughter of 

 our host, I never before saw any bees 

 like your's here in Ohio. 



She replied : " It is all in the handling ; 

 my brother used to help father, and the 

 bees were very cross ; but since I help 

 him, they are not so any more. I work 

 gently, and never jar them, or strike at 

 them with quick motions, and they never 

 get excited." Hives manipulated without 

 snap or jar, are most desirable. Our 

 first hives had the frames covered with a 

 board that pried up with a snap, which 

 caused the bees to immediately elevate 

 their tails, and a tiny drop of poison was 

 occasionally seen. When, in lieu of this 

 board, duck or heavy muslin was used, 

 it was a move in the right direction, for 

 this could be peeled baqk without causing 

 any disturbance at all. 



MASIIIXG BEES. 



This is another justifiable cause for 

 war, as it releases the poison, and the 

 scent of it angers them. When the 

 clothing of a person has this scent, bees 

 will attack it when near their hive. 



In most apiaries of any size, there will 

 often be a score or so of bees which 

 appear to follow war as a business — 

 never apparantly going to the field for 

 nectar, but watching the doors for some- 

 one to attack. The best way to manage 

 such fighters, is to dispatch them at 

 once ; a palm-leaf fan is a good weapon ; 

 knock them down and step on them. 

 This is much better than to be annoyed 

 by them for weeks. 



BEES DUEIXG A SCARCITY OF HOXEY. 



Hives should not be opened during a 

 scarcity of honey, unless, it is absolutely 

 necessary. Robl3crs will come around, 

 and then stinging will be in order. 

 During such a time, I have occasionally 

 fed a colony a little for a day or two, and 

 then opened them at a time of day when 

 there was honey in the fields, or when 

 few bees were flying. 



To-day I discovered a hive which was 

 queenless, and the moths had moved in ; 

 as I took out the moths, I discovered a 

 little honey and the robbers did so at the 

 same time. I let them eat it, as 1 usually 

 do ; if I had taken it away, they would 

 have tried to enter adjoining hives, but 

 let them carry it off and they are satisfied 

 when it is gone. The hive is now deso- 

 late, and I shall use the combs in build- 

 ing up small collonies, by removing a 

 comb of brood from strong colonies, 

 giving it to the weak, and putting the 



