222 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEi/V. 



My friend also tried the plan of disinfect- 

 ing hives by painting the insides of them with 

 kerosene oil and burning it off. Such hives 

 have been in use in his yard the entire sea- 

 son without a single case of foul brood de- 

 veloping as the result. 



If any one else has tried this plan the past 

 season, I shall be glad to get a report of the 

 results. 



exxRKOxeo. 



One Way to Unite Bees. 



Uniting bees will soon be the order of the 

 day, and here is a real cute way to get them 

 to unite themselves. It is from the pen of 

 Dr. Miller and published in Gleaniwjs. 



" For years I have had colonies unite, gen- 

 erally when I didn't want them to, by being 

 in the same hive with a hole or crack under 

 the division-board. Working on the same 

 principle, here's the way I have united lately: 

 Having the colonies to be united in two sep- 

 arate hives, I set one hive on top of the other, 

 with a piece of heavy wrapping-paper be- 

 tween, the paper having about its center a 

 hole large enough for a bee to go through. 

 That's all. Just put one hive on the other, 

 paper between. In a few days the paper is 

 gnawed away, and the bees all one family. 

 It may fail sometimes, but not thus far with 

 me." 



Early Work in Supers. 



" Whenever we have read an article headed, 

 ' how to get bees to work in supers,' or ' how 

 to encourage bees to commence early in su- 

 pers,' or ' how to get the bees to work in the 

 sections,' we have always been compelled to 

 smile. It seems like a waste of space to give 

 room to an article headed thus, in one of our 

 bee journals. There is no way to get bees to 

 gather honey and place it in surplus boxes, 

 when there is no honey in the flowers or tlie 

 temperature is so low they cannot leave the 

 hive. When, however, the converse, is true, 

 any well bred colony, in a hive of proper 

 construction will be as sure to begin work in 

 the supers, as soon as such a beginning is 

 possible, as the sun is sure to rise in the 

 morning. It is well for every bee-keeper to 

 take some pains in breeding his bees, weed- 

 ing out the sluggards or 'mules,' as some 

 call them, and breeding in such strains as 

 have an instinct to hustle. If in addition 

 the hives and supers are properly construct- 

 ed and adjusted, there is nothing more to he 

 done and the apiarist will receive all the 

 surplus nature has in store for him."— 

 //edcZon'.s Quarterly. 



[It is seldom that I have the pleasure of 

 disagreeing with Bro. Heddon, but in this 

 instance I must take an exception to one or 

 two points. I agree that when no honey is 



coming in or the temperature is so low that 

 the bees cannot leave the hives, that no 

 amount of encouragement will lead to work 

 in the supers, but I do know that the flow of 

 honey may be of such a character that col - 

 onies furnished with sections containing 

 drawn combs will fill and seal those combs, 

 and perhaps make a slight start in a set of 

 sections tilled with foundation, while col- 

 onies not given this encouragement to begin 

 work in the supers, simply given a set of sec- 

 tions tilled with foundation, have not stored 

 a pound of surplus. Even in ordinary years, 

 the giving of a super supplied with drawn 

 combs will start work in the sections much 

 poon'-T than when foundation alone is given. 

 As a rule, the sections of drawn comb will 

 be tilled and sealed over and work com- 

 menced in a second case of sections filled 

 with foundation placed under the first case, 

 just about the time that a colony given sec- 

 tions filled with foundation is just beginning 

 work in its first case. The ''inducement" 

 of empty combs leads to earlier work in the 

 sections. This has been my experience, and 

 I have read of similar experiences. — Ed.] 



Sabdaing Bees. 



I fear that many bee-keepers open the 

 hive first before they even give the bees a 

 smell of smoke. If smoke is to be used, its 

 reception should be the first intimation the 

 bees receive that manipulation is about to 

 commence. Especially is this true at those 

 times of the year when no honey is coming 

 in and the bees are inclined to be irritable. 

 Here are Bro. Heddon's views on this sub- 

 ject, as they appear in his Quarterly. 



" We believe that most of our readers un- 

 derstand the principle of subduing bees, (a 

 few may not) thoroughly, but it certainly 

 can do no harm to 'stir up your pure minds 

 by way of remembrance.' Smoke followed 

 by a jar, works nicely, but this same admix- 

 ture, when it is a jar and then smoke, pro- 

 duces very bad results. We believe it is safe 

 to declare that carefully avoiding any jar 

 of the hive before applying the smoke, is 

 the text to the subject of subduing our col- 

 onies for handling. The removing of the 

 shade-board and prying up the cover, may 

 be done quickly, but it must be done cat- 

 like without the least jar, when the smoke 

 may be applied under the cover, and then 

 quick and rough handling is perfectly ad- 

 missible. It is usually well to smoke the 

 guards upon the first approach to the hive, 

 especially in times when the bees are a little 

 more irritable. After a colony is once irri- 

 tated by a jar before smoking, no amount of 

 smoke so completely subdues them." 



