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731 



UNITING. 



Soiiici Practical Hints abuiit 

 Vnilinsr Bees. 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MKS. L. HARRISON. 



Bees, that are to be united, should 

 be brought together after they have 

 ceased Hying at night, and phieed side 

 by side, and on top of each other, and 

 boards placed in front of the entrance, 

 to attract their attention, so that thej- 

 will take their bearings. When their 

 location is established, they are readj' 

 to be united. All but one queen should 

 he removed ; if left, they will cause 

 fighting, and all might be destroyed 

 in the fr.ay. Puff a little smoke into 

 the entrance, so that they will load up 

 with honey, and be on their good be- 

 havior, and then proceed to liusiness. 

 .Take all the combs containing l)rood 

 and place them together in a hive, and 

 all others in a comb-basket or some 

 other receptacle, where bees cannot 

 get at them to rob. 



Place the hive containing the lirood- 

 combs as near the center of the loca- 

 tion of the united colonies as possible, 

 and pour all the bees together in front 

 of it. This hive has not been the 

 home of any of them, and as they 

 have now none of their own, they will 

 gladly accept it, and unite ])eaceably. 

 After they have been domiciled a few 

 days, the combs containing honey 

 might be put in the upper story, and a 

 little opening made so that bees could 

 come up and carry it below. VVhen 

 empty, they should be stored away for 

 use another season. 



Sometime since, a boy called saying: 

 " I saw a swarm of bees come out of 

 your lot, and I will show you where 

 they are now." I found them clus- 

 tered in a neighbor's yard, and 

 brought them home, but what to do 

 with them was the question. I had 

 neither frames or comb nor founda- 

 tion to give them, and I put them into 

 an empty hive ; as the seasons ran, 

 they might fail to build comb and store 

 enough honey to last until flowers 

 bloom. I threw flour on tliem, hop- 

 ing to catch the queen, as they ran into 

 an empty hive, and take her away, so 

 that the bees would return to their old 

 home, and I could see where the white 

 bees went to, but I failed in the at- 

 tempt. Then I remembered seeing a 

 hive which contained ver}- few bees, 

 and on opening it, found it queenless. 

 I took out the frames of comb, and 

 gave them (just as they were, contain- 

 ing honey and bee-bread, but no 

 brood) to the swarm. So they com- 

 menced housekeeping in a well-fur- 

 nished house, with plenty of provi- 

 sions. These combs woidd soon have 



been taken possession of by moths, ami 

 before cold weather, have been en- 

 tirely consumed. 



Some persons have a mistaken idea 

 about moths, thinking they destroy 

 colonies of bees ; they merely move in 

 when the bees move out, or are too 

 weak to cover or defend their comb. 

 I was \evy much amused this summer, 

 while watching a swarm enter a hive 

 which contained empty comb, at see- 

 ing these gentry fly out in hot haste ; 

 they saw that the enemy was too strong 

 for them, and emigrated, leaving their 

 young to be summarily dealt with. In 

 a few moments they followed suit, 

 being taken by the bees from tlieir 

 cradles and rolled off the hive. 



Peoria, Ills. 



PATENTS. 



The Relation to Invention and 

 Practical Honesty. 



Written for the Ameriiccm Apiculturist 



BY R. L. TAYLOR. 



It seenis there is a question arising 

 among bee-keepers concerning the 

 propriety of obtaining a patent on any 

 article pertaining to bee-culture. It 

 is broadly asserted that the bee-keep- 

 ers of this country are now generally 

 of the opinion that it is not best to ob- 

 tain such patents. I know not on what 

 authority such assertion is made, but I 

 trust it is not true. I am glad to no- 

 tice that the Apiculturist has boldly 

 challenged the statement, and it seems 

 to me the matter is of such great im- 

 portance practically, as well as morally, 

 that I have thought it worth while to 

 say a word upon the topic. 



It appears plain to me that the pat- 

 ent laws are beneficient in their eftects 

 to all; to the inventor in protecting 

 him in his right to his own invention, 

 and not less so to others who reap the 

 fruit of his skill and study by reason 

 of the laws furnishing him an incen- 

 tive to apply his skill and study. 



Many are opposed to the granting of 

 patents, but that is not a difficult thing 

 to account for. Some are opposed be- 

 cause they are themselves destitute of 

 mechanical skill, and so imagine that 

 a freedom to use the inventions of 

 others would be the most advantageous 

 thing for them. Others because, 

 through a spirit of general charity, 

 the}' think, though stumbled, perhaps, 

 at the idea of taking the thought, 

 time and money of the inventor with- 

 out recompense, that the greatest 

 good to the greatest number would 

 come of a like freedom. Still others 

 are manufacturers of bee-keepers' sup- 

 plies, and aim to make and keep for 

 sale everything that is largely called 

 for. Naturally enough, such desire 



about all I he profit that can bo ob- 

 tained, and so would prefer that the 

 inventor have no legal right to any 

 part of it, and either shut him out 

 from all financial benefit, or else only 

 give him credit for a nominal sum to 

 be fixed at the direction of the man- 

 facturer, and accepted as a gift. 



But all these overlook the great fact 

 that every party to a transaction taken 

 as a whole must receive a share of the 

 profit, or transactions become infre- 

 quent and business suffers. The drive 

 wheels of a locomotive cannot say to 

 the other wheels, give us all the oil. 

 for that would create friction, and 

 locomotion would cease. 



It requires time, thought, labor and 

 money to make and perfect an inven- 

 tion, and certainly the laboring inven- 

 tor is worth}' of his hire. And if that 

 is so, should he not have legal protec- 

 tion in his right ? 



And then comes the dissemination 

 of the invention, and the making plain 

 its functions and advantages. How 

 often when an invention has been pat- 

 entedi and its dissemination begun, 

 does some one rise up and claim that 

 he invented the same thing long be- 

 fore. He did not believe in patents, 

 perhaps, and so seeing no hope of 

 adequate reward, let his invention 

 sleep in secret. The other, having 

 hope of reward, publishes his dis- 

 covery, and this, so far as the public 

 is concerned, is the chief virtue of an 

 inventor. . Without question, the 

 knowledge of articles patented is more 

 likely to be disseminated. 



All effort is made through some in- 

 centive ; and in the struggle for sus- 

 tenance and competence, there is only 

 one incentive that -moves all, and that 

 is the hope of gain. Who will say it is 

 best to take that incentive way ? 



It is said that patents give an oppor- 

 tunity for the commission of frauds. If 

 that were true, shall we abolish gen- 

 uine money because it gives an oppor- 

 tunity' for counterfeiting ? 



But it is not the patent of an article 

 that gives the power to perpetuate 

 fraud. That is rather a safeguard, as 

 the fee prerecpiisite to the use of the 

 invention begets caution and careful 

 examination. Fraud is accomplished 

 through the eftbrt made to disseminate 

 a worthless article. To the simple, the 

 fact that an article is pVoclaimed as 

 unpatented, smacks of honesty, and 

 they are easily caught by bait, having 

 api)arcntly such an aroma. Thus, 

 through advertising and other active 

 efl'orts, a certain liive which is very in- 

 convenient in use, and its making 

 very laborious, and which is discarded 

 by " almost every bee-keeper having 

 bees in any considerable number, as 

 soon as he gains a little experience, is 



