AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



733 



"B" or No "B." 



I really think my sister May 



Is stupider tfian me, 

 Because she said the other day 



There wasn't any "b" 

 In honeycomb, and spelt it just 



"C-double o-m-e!" 

 Of course she's wrong. I told her so; 



There's got to be a "bee" 

 Somewlxere in honeycomb, because 



He makes it, don't you seel 



—Wide Awake. 



Topics o! Interest. 



Metliotl of Hiving Swarms. 



J. r. SMITH. 



I have three distinct objects in view in 

 hiving swarms: First, to prevent after- 

 swarms ; second, to prevent absconding; 

 third, to obtain the largest amount of 

 honey. 



This method is not original with me. 

 I am indebted to the good bee-books and 

 bee-periodicals for my Ideas. These 

 ideas, obtained by careful reading, I 

 have reduced to practice. In this article 

 I will give my practice and just what my 

 experience has been. I think my suc- 

 cess shows the wisdom of my course. 



As soon as the swarm clusters, I pre- 

 pare the hive for them, locating it on 

 the old stand, removing the parent col- 

 ony to some other location. 



I prepare the new hive by putting in 

 two frames (with adhering bees) from 

 the old hive, containing some uncapped 

 brood and some honey, cutting out all 

 queen-cells. I place these in the center 

 of the hive, and fill the remainder of the 

 hive with frames of empty comb, if I 

 have them ; if not, with frames filled 

 with foundation. 



If I think I have not robbed the pa- 

 rent colony enough, I shake bees from 

 the frames of the old hive in front of 

 the new one. I place the surplus cham- 

 ber from the old hive — which, generally, 

 at this time contains sections partly 

 filled — on the new one; I find that by 

 doing this the bees go right along with 

 the work in the surplus chamber. 



I next bring the swarm to the new 

 hive, and let them run in at the en- 

 trance, which they will always readily do 

 when the hive is prepared in this way. I 

 bring the swarm on the bush or limb on 

 which they alight, if they alight in a 

 place where it is convenient to do so. 



In case I find they are about to cluster 

 in a place that will not be convenient to 



bring them from, I produce my swarm- 

 ing box, and catch them in that, and 

 thus bring them to the prepared hive. 

 The parent colony, served in this way, 

 seldom casts a second swarm, and thus 

 my first object is accomplished. 



By hiving the swarm at a distance 

 from where it alights, the returning 

 "scouts" that have been in search of a 

 "bee-tree," are prevented from finding 

 the swarm, to escort it to the woods. 



I have not had a swarm to abscond for 

 several years, owing, as I think, to hiv- 

 ing them at a distance from where they 

 alight, or to the presence of uncapped 

 brood. Thus, my second object is ac- 

 complished. 



In hiving in this way, it keeps the 

 working force all together, and I think 

 this accomplishes my third object, for I 

 believe they will gather more honey than 

 if in two forces. All I expect of the 

 parent colony is to build up for Winter. 



Just before swarming time, I put up 

 about half a dozen spruce bushes in my 

 apiary, placing them so loosely in the 

 ground that they can easily be taken 

 up. These bushes catch most of my 

 swarms, thus rendering hiving very con- 

 venient. 



I have no clipped wings, and no arti- 

 ficial swarms. My frames are all of the 

 same size, so that they are interchangie- 

 able. If the weather is very warm, I 

 shade the new hive. I never use any 

 tin pans or force pumps. 



Sunapee, N. H. 



Early Pollen-Bearim Trees, 



A. C. BUGBEE. 



It is quite important that bee-keepers 

 should have an abundance of early 

 pollen-bearing trees in their immediate 

 vicinity. 



It is likely to be too cold or windy at 

 the time early pollen-bearing trees bloom 

 for the bees to fly to a distance, and if 

 there is plenty of early pollen near, it 

 will save many bees, besides encourag- 

 ing them in brood-rearing. 



The first pollen gathered in my locality 

 comes from white maple, but I do not 

 think them of much value, as they do 

 not blossom until quite large, and some 

 seasons so extremely early as to be of 

 little use to the bees. In 1889 the white 

 maples bloomed here in February, and 

 not a pellet of pollen did the bees get 

 from them, and if they had it would 

 have been an injury to them. 



The next tree to bloom is the box- 

 elder, then the yellow and gray willow. 



