AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



247 



Another hive averaged 5. 'Si pounds, 

 daily, for the same period. The Arkan- 

 sas Valley, particularly that portion in 

 Otero County, is becoming a great bee 

 section, and has no superior as a honey 

 field. — Colorado Farmc r. 



How to Tell When Bees will Swarm. 



In passing through the yard the other 

 day, one of the students asked how we 

 could tell when a colony was going to 

 swarm, and we remarked that it was a 

 very difficult matter in some instances, 

 while very easy in others. 



On looking round we pointed over to a 

 colony, perhaps 80 feet away, and said, 

 "There is one that will swarm very 

 soon." " How do you know?" was the 

 reply; and we remarked: "Do you not 

 see those two or three rows above the 

 entrance, running up the hive,apparently 

 biting with their mandibles, and backing 

 down again ? They move backward 

 and forward, continually working their 

 feet and their mandibles, or holding 

 their heads down closely to the hive, and 

 we have noticed them doing this same 

 thing on the entrance board. One of 

 our students once named it the bee- 

 dance, or balancing to their partners." 



While we were describing this to him, 

 he said it was very plain if they would 

 always do that, and there was no trouble 

 in telling when to swarm. "Ah," we 

 said, "you would have to watch them 

 every day, because after they commence 

 to do that, they are almost sure to swarm 

 the same day, and will very seldom, if 

 weather is favorable, wait till the next, 

 and if they commence doing it in the 

 morning before ten o'clock, you may 

 usually look for a swarm before three. 



"Well," he said, "that movenient is 

 distinct, and we shall never forget it," 

 for while standing there the swarm 

 issued. These bees that were doing the 

 moving, back-and-forth, apparently did 

 not know what was being done inside till 

 the swarm had about one-third issued, 

 then they turned round, as it were, and 

 crawled back among the rest, and flew 

 with them. 



They appeared not to notice the com- 

 motion in the inside of the hive, and 

 though they were going through with 

 that peculiar performance, seemed to 

 stop for half a minute, and then rushed 

 pell-mell from the entrance. 



In passing through the yard, this 

 peculiarity should be watched, and you 

 can often pick out the colonies just about 

 to swarm, and by having everything in 

 readiness, catch the queen. — Canadian 

 Bee Journal. 



Bees and Fruit. 



Many farmers who grow a considera- 

 ble quantity of fruit on their place, 

 object to keeping bees because they feel 

 convinced that the bees injure their 

 fruit. I, personally, doubt very much if 

 a bee ever injured fruit. They certainly 

 suck the nectar from grapes, cherries, 

 and other fruits, but not until they have 

 already been punctured by birds or other 

 insects. Punctured fruits will decay 

 anyhow, and can never be gathered in a 

 sound, wholesome condition. 



The bees have been experimented with, 

 time and again, and in all cases it was 

 found that they never disturbed the fruit 

 until the outside skin was first broken 

 by other creatures. Fruit kept in the 

 greenhouse, where the bees were allowed 

 to fly around is never touched by them, 

 but as soon as a few of them were broken 

 open the bees swarmed around the spot. 

 Orioles, robins, catbirds and other birds 

 are generally the marauders, and the 

 bees simply follow in -their footsteps to 

 prevent the nectar from going to waste. 

 — Annie C. Wesster, in American Cul- 

 tivator. 



A Swarm Inside a Hobby-Horse. 



It was at a pleasure resort where there 

 were all sorts of amusements — swings, 

 roundabouts, etc. 



After the season is over the rounda- 

 bouts are taken down and packed in an 

 open shed. The wooden horses are hol- 

 low inside. The iron rods which are 

 suspended from the roof, pass through 

 the middle of the horses and are secured 

 by a nut underneath. For convenience 

 these rods arc taken out when the horses 

 are packed away, thus leaving an 

 entrance to the space inside the horse. 

 It was through this hole that the bees 

 found their way in. 



When the horses were wanted for use 

 they were taken out of the shed and put 

 together on the roundabouts. The horse 

 with the bees in it was one of the center 

 ones, and when the iron rod was put in 

 it closed the entrance and the bees were 

 imprisoned inside the horse. After a 

 day or two they found a way out. The 

 wooden plug which fastens the horse's 

 tail ill did not fit the hole tight, and by 

 the side of this the bees made a new 

 entrance. Meanwhile the horses were 

 being used ; but it was soon too warm a 

 quarter for the visitors. 



The men in charge of the horses 

 stopped up the holes, but the bees man- 

 aged to get through again and soon 

 cleared the course, driving the visitors to 



