T'H© JIMIEMIC'MN; BE® jo^Kr^si.. 



503 



dampness acoumulatea in the cellar. 

 1. No. Put in a stove and heat up 

 the cellar to a hijjh temperature about 

 once a week. Keep up the heat for a 

 whole day, and then leave the bees 

 quiet till next time. Some experi- 

 ments of mine have proven this plan 

 the best of all to counteract tlie deadly 

 effects of continued dampness, etc. — 

 G. W. Demaeee. 



1. Sub-earth ventilation would im- 

 prove it, and without knowing the 

 conditions and surroundings of j-our 

 cellar, I think that I should prefer it 

 to a stove. 2. It should enter the cel- 

 lar under the outside wall, and cross 

 to the opposite side of the cellar. — 

 Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Raise the temperature. I like to 

 ventilate with a stove, without a fire. 

 Of course, if tlie temperature is too 

 low, have a small fire. A little loose- 

 ness around the pipe where it goes into 

 the chimney does for upper ventila- 

 tion, and the draft at the stove's bot- 

 tom does for lower ventilation. — A. B. 

 Mason. 



1. It may be that sub-earth ventila- 

 tion would be an advantage. 2. That 

 depends upon circumstances. If it is 

 easj" to keep the temperature up to 

 what it ought to be, the pipes may be 

 very short. — M. Mahin. 



1. You say nothing about hive-ven- 

 tilation. I have never found that 

 moisture injured where hives were 

 properly ventilated. 1. Do not put in 

 a stove. 2. Extend the pipe far 

 enough so that the temperature will 

 not be affected. — J. E. Pond. 



1. Sub-earth ventilation will im- 

 prove it very much. The temperature 

 is all right. 2. The pipes ought to 

 extend 50 to 100 feet. Do not put in 

 a stove, as it is difficult to keep an 

 even temperature without great trouble. 



— C. H. DiBBERN. 



1. Ventilation is needed wherever 

 there is mold. Such a cellar should 

 be disinfected by the fumes of burning 

 sulphur before putting in the bees for 

 winter ; and if the rooms over it are 

 inhabited by human beings, it should 

 be fumigated often during warm 

 weather, unless corrected by ventila- 

 tion. 2. A sub-earth pipe should ex- 

 tend 150 to 200 feet under-ground. — 

 J. M. Shuck. 



Either the addition of a stove, ven- 

 tilation, or good drainage will remedy 

 the difficulty. Outside protection will 

 raise the temperature in the cellar, 

 apd make it more suitable for the bees. 

 — The Editor. 



FINDING QUEENS. 



How to Proceed when Looking 

 for the Queen. 



E^ The fall meeting o( the Northwestern 

 Illinois and SouthweBtern Wisconsin Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held on Aug. 21, 

 1888, at Leaf River, Ills. D. A. Fuller, See. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY G. M. UOOLITTLE. 



Many seem to be troubled in finding 

 the fjueen, not a few writing me to 

 that effect, and asking how I proceed 

 in that work. 



One of the most important things to 

 be remembered in looking for a black 

 or hybrid queen is, not to use too much 

 smoke so as to get the bees " crazy," 

 so that they will run pell-mell all over 

 the hive, and even outside of it ; for 

 with such a state of affairs no one is 

 very likely to find the queen, and the 

 hive might as well be shut up without 

 trying. 



Go to the hive and remove the cover 

 as quietly as possible, so as not to dis- 

 turb the bees the least bit, if you can 

 do so. Now as the quilt is raised, blow 

 the least bit of smoke under it, and 

 after it is removed, keep for a mo- 

 ment or so, blowing just a little smoke 

 on the guards as they poke their heads 

 up over the tops of the frames — just 

 enough to turn them about again, and 

 no more. In this way you will soon 

 have all quiet and nice, no running or 

 anything of the kind. 



Having thus brought them into sub- 

 jection, you are ready to proceed ; but 

 before doing so, I wish to say that 

 thei'e is a proper time of day to do this 

 hunting for the (pieen, and that time 

 is governed by tlie way the hive is 

 placed, or faces. As my hives all face 

 south, we will suppose that we are in 

 my bee-yard, and in such case the 

 time will be at from 11 to 12 o'clock. 

 Now, why this ? Simply because at 

 this hour the sun shines so as to ob- 

 liquely strike the east side of the 

 combs, as these run with the entrance 

 to the hive. 



One other thing : As the sides of 

 any queen is much more j-ellow than 

 her back, a queen is much more easily 

 seen when looking obliquely on her, 

 than when looking squarely on the 

 comb or on her back, and as she walks 

 about, while looking at her in this 

 manner, her abdomen is sure to attract 

 our attention, tliereby causing us to 

 see her when we would not otherwise 

 do so. Having explained this matter 

 so, I think, all will understand it, we 

 will take out the first frame next to the 

 east side of the hive, standing or sit- 

 ting on that side. 



For various leasons I prefer to sit 

 down when hunting for the queen. 



»hiefly because it brings the eyes in a 

 more natural position for seeing over 

 the combs. 



To get the first comb out, if the hive 

 has not a movable side, commence 

 four or five frames away from the side 

 next to you, and with a heavy knife or 

 screw-driver loosen the frames, push- 

 ing them a little from you so as to 

 gain room to lift out the first one with- 

 out injuring the bees so as to irritate- 

 them. Whenever the bees come up oii 

 the frame tops in a threatening manner 

 smokc them a little, gently as at first, 

 thus keeping them in subjection, yet 

 at no time give enough smoke so as to 

 thoroughly frighten them. A little 

 experience along this line will enable 

 one to handle even the most vicious 

 hybrids without stings or getting them 

 excited. 



Having the first frame liberated, 

 gently raise it from the hive, looking 

 over the side next to you as it comes 

 out, for the queen, and as soon as it is 

 out look over the other side, by look- 

 ing down obliquely from the top. Hav- 

 ing made sure the queen is not on this 

 frame, put it down outside the hive, or 

 have another hive to place it in. In 

 time of robber bees, the hive is best, 

 throwing a sheet over it to keep the 

 robbers ofi' this exposed comb, but at 

 all other times I put the combs on the 

 wround outside of the hive. 



Now remove the next comb, and as 

 quickly as it is out of the hive, glance 

 down the face side of the comb next 

 to you in the hive, and if the queen is 

 on'that side of the comb, you will 

 surely see her, for her first impulse is, 

 upon the light striking her, to get on 

 the other side of the comb, and in 

 doing this she shows herself to a much 

 better advantage than she would if 

 she kept still, the sunlight making her 

 appear " as natural as life, and twice 

 as big." 



As soon as satisfiejd that slie is not 

 there, look on the other side of the 

 comb you hold in your hands the same 

 as before, and if the queen is not 

 found, put tliis also in the hive with 

 the first, or on the ground. 



Now pi'oceed with each frame as 

 you did with the last one, bearing in 

 mind that there is no need of looking 

 at the side of the frame next to you 

 after it is taken from the hive ; for 

 should you miss seeing tlie ((ueen when 

 looking down on the comb as it stands 

 in the hive, she would, if there, get 

 around on the inner side before you 

 got to taking it out. 



After two of the combs are out 

 of the hive, I usually set the next 

 on the side of the hive the colony oc- 

 cupies, which is next to me, for with 

 two frames out, the sun can shine 

 down between the combs as well as if 

 more were out. In this way it is a 



