518 



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The Houey-Bee and the Orapes. 



Paraphrased from Ihc Youth's Companion 

 BY GEO. Vi. YOKK. 



"Tou are a little thief," I said. 

 To lioneybee so biitlie and gaj, 



" You stole my yrapes so ripe and red— 

 To that, now wliat liave jou to say ?" 



In buzzing speech she sweetly said— 

 Her golden bands glowed in the morn— 



" I take my pay in grape-juice ' red,' 

 For working in your vines and corn. 



" But grapes I touch not till the same 

 By bird or insect have been broke ; 



Then I the oozing juice reclaim— 

 Which should not auger any folk. 



" My sweetest song I hum for you," 

 She said in music soft and slow. 



And then her wings shook "pollen-dew" 

 In showers on the blooms below. 



Like tears the " dew " fell, and I said— 

 When came the pauses of her strain- 



"Sweet bee, just eat my grapes so red, 

 I will not call you thief again." 



Now every year, when summer's come, 



Bees visit all the flowers gay. 

 And decked in golden bands they hum. 



With cheering songs at dawn of day. 



The honey-bees— my choicest pet, 

 I wish them joy and length of days ; 



They pay me well for all they get, 

 In skillful toil and songs of praise. 



Chicago, Ills., July 30, 1888. 



Cenientiiig a BccCellar Fluor 

 to Lower the Temperature. 



WHtte7i for the American Bee J'jumal 



«luei-y 566.-My bi e-oellar ie all under 

 ground except the front end which is walled 

 with sand-stnne. A hfiney-house is overhead. 

 I want to cement the Ltottom ; by 60 doing 

 will it prevent the wartnth of the earth reacti- 

 ing the cellar, and make the temperature 

 lower in the winter?— K., Indiana. 



No.— R. L. Taylor. 

 No.— Mus. L. Harrison. 

 No.— M. Mahin. 

 No.— Eugene Secor. 



No.— C. H DiBBERN. 



No, sir.— James Heddon. 

 I think not.— H. D. Cutting. 

 No, we think not.— Dadant & Son. 

 I have no experience with bee-cellars. 



—P. L. VlALLON. 



1 should think not.— A. B. Mason. 



I think not.— J. M. Hambaugh. 



I think not, but I should rather liave 

 the earth floor.— C. C. Miller. 



Not at all. What is cement but 

 earth ?— A. J. Cook. 



There is not a particle of difference. 

 Cement it, by all means, if you are able 

 to do so.— J. M. Shuck. 



The difference in reduction of tem- 

 perature would hardly be perceptible. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



I think the cementing would make 

 no difference as to the warmth. — G. M. 

 Doolittle. 



I do not think it will affect the tem- 

 perature to any appreciable extent. — J. 

 E. Pond. 



Perhaps it would have some effect in 

 that direction, but I would cement the 

 floors of all cellars, notwithstanding. 

 The temperature can be regulated by 

 artiflcial means.— G. W. Demakee. 



There would probably be no percep- 

 tible difference in the temperature — 

 but it would be advisable to cement it 

 nevertheless.- The Editor. 



Proper Management when Hiv- 

 ins Swarms. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 567.— 1. When hiving- swarms in a 

 lO-trame Langstroth hive, is it advisable to 

 contract the brood-chamber? 2. If so, to 

 how many f ramee ? 3. Had I better use start- 

 ers, or full sheets of foundation In the brood- 

 frames ? — Northern Iowa. 



1. No. 3. We use full sheets.— Da- 

 dant & Son. 



1. Yes. 2. I should use only five. 3. 

 Starters.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. No, not unless the swarm is very 

 small. 3. Use full sheets alternated 

 with frames of comb, if you have them. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



1. Yes, sir, contract to five frames, 

 which are enough to hive any swarm 

 on in this latitude. 3. I am still using 

 full sheets.— James IIeddon. 



1. No ; a good sized swarm will need 

 all the room, especially in warm 

 weather. 3. Use full sheets, every 

 time.— C. II. Dibbern. 



1. I think that 10 frames are too 

 much. 2. I do not know; somewhere 

 from 5 to 8. 3. Full sheets,— C. C. 

 Miller. 



1. Contract according to the size of 

 the swarm. 2. I put in just enough 

 frames which will be well covered by 

 the bees. 3. Full sheets, using wired 

 frames.— P. L. Viallon. 



1. If you wish to get all the comb 

 honey possible, contract. 2. Four to 

 six. according to the size of the swarm. 

 3. Full sheets, except experimentally. 

 — R. L. Taylor. 



1. It will depend upon the size of the 

 swarm. Give as many frames as the 

 bees will cover, 3. I think it better to 

 use full sheets of foundation.— J. E. 

 Pond. 



1. Yes, unless the swarm is very 

 large. 2. Eight. 3. That will depend 

 upon the season, and the condition of 

 the honey-flow.— Mrs. L. Harrison. 



1. If the swarm be large, I would 

 give them the whole ten frames. 2. 

 That will depend upon the size of the 

 swarm. 3. I would use full sheets.- 

 M. Mahin. 



1. " That depends." If working for 

 extracted honey, no. 3. That depends 

 also. If working for extracted honey, 

 use full sheets of foundation in wired 

 frames.— A. B. Mason. 



1. You do not say whether you want 

 comb honey or extracted ; if the former, 

 I would contract to U or 7 frames. 3. I 

 am not sure on this point. I am using 

 starters, myself.— Eugene Secor. 



1. If working for comb honey, yes. 2. 

 Five to seven, with surplus receptacles 

 from the parent colony above. 3. 

 Should you wish to propagate bees for 

 a fall crop, use full sheets of founda- 

 tion.— J. M. Hambaugh. 



1. It depends upon what plan you are 

 working your bees. If for comb honey, 

 contract to 6 or 8 frames. 3. If you 

 work for extracted honey, use full 

 frames of foundation ; if for comb 

 honey, use }4 foundation, with sections 

 well under way on top.— H. D. Cut- 

 ting. 



1. I think that S Langstroth frames 

 are sufficient when hiving swarms. I 

 would transfer the supers from the 

 hive of the colony that cast a swarm, 

 to the hive holding the new swarm, and 

 then use full sheets of foundation in 

 the brood-chamber. If I had to put 

 new supers on the swarm, I would use 

 only " starts " of foundation in the 

 brood-frames.— J. M. Shuck. 



It all depends. If you are desirous of 

 obtaining comb honey, I should say 

 contract to 5 frames, and use only 

 the starters. If extracted honey is 

 your aim, then I should advise full 

 brood-chambers and full sheets of 

 foundation. Read Mr. Ilutchinson's 

 excellent book.— A. J. Cook. 



I. There are differing opinions on 

 this subject. Many ideas and things 

 have had a great run for a period of 

 time, and then '■ steal silently away." 

 Such, I think, will be the case with the 

 "contraction system." The contrac- 

 tion system is very much like a man ■ 

 trying to make money by trading with 

 himself, all the time driving a sharp 

 bargain with no one. It is a case of 

 one trying to lift his corporal system 

 by the straps of the boots. 3. If you 

 are making bee-culture a permanent 

 business, it will pay you best to use 

 full sheets of foundation in a full-sized 

 brood-chamber.- G. W. Demaree. 



Much depends upon the size of the 

 swarm. If you are working for comb 

 honey, it would be better to contract 

 to from .5 to 7 frames. If extracted 

 honey is your object, the full brood- 

 chamber may not be too much. Full 

 sheets of comb foundation in the 

 brood-frames will give you more satis- 

 faction than starters.- The Editor. 



AlM-ays Mention your Post-Office, 

 County and State when writing to this 

 office. No matter where you may happen 

 to be for the hour when actually writing— 

 never mention anything but your perma- 

 nent address. To do otherwise leads to 

 confusion, unless you desire your address 

 changed. In that case state the old as well 

 as the new address. 



