360 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



night in the field before putting in the barn. 

 He also urged the use of the hay tedder, and 

 thought its use added materially to the worth 

 of every tou of hay, as its drying was more 

 equal and more ih-'ed by the air than by long 

 continued rays of the sun, — no one disagree- 

 ing with him in this respect. All spoke highly 

 of the tedder who had used it. 



IMessrs. IMore and Rood thought it a good 

 time to cut grass late in the afternoon, that it 

 might be secured earlier the next day, as there 

 woukf then be no dew on the grass or under 

 on the ground, and if it rained the next day it 

 ■would not be hayed to hurt it, and many times 

 escape showers thereby. 



BEE MATTERS. 



The following article was written in reply 

 to inquiries that had been addressed personally 

 to the writer : — 



Substitute for Pollen. 



The best substitute for pollen that we have 

 yet tried is rye Hour. It should be ground 

 very fine and not bolted. To feed it advan- 

 tageously, take a board a foot and a half wide 

 by three feet long, and nail to its sides thin 

 strips about four inches in width. This will 

 make a shallow box of three inches in depth. 

 Now pour in the flour to the depth of an inch, 

 and set it iA some place near the apiary, out 

 of the wind. Rye tlour fed in this manner in- 

 duces early breeding, and consequently early 

 swarming. Tt shoidd, however, be fed early 

 in the season, before the bees can get supplies 

 from natural sources. 



Distance apart for Hives. 

 As bees are onlinarily kept, they should be 

 set at least twenty feet apart. Especially 

 where natural swarming is allo.wed, the hives 

 should be set as far apart as they can be con- 

 veniently. When hives are crowded close 

 together there is great danger that the young 

 queens will be lost when returning from their 

 "wedding flight.'" 



Number of Queens in a Swarm. 



In ordinary cases ])ut one queen issues with 

 a first swarm, and that is the old one. Second 

 and thii-d, or after swarms, often contain sev- 

 eral queens. When unfavorable weather de- 

 lays the issue of after swarms for several 

 days they are almost sure to contain several 

 queens. I have known as many as twelve 

 queens issuing with a single swarm. 



Weak Colonies. 

 There are many reasons why swarms of bees 

 are weak and feeble, and consequently un- 

 profitable to their owner. There are thou- 

 sands of hives tliat contain too much drone 

 comb for profit. This is especially true of box 

 hives. Another and connnon cause of feeble 

 swarms is small and unprolific (jueens. Where 

 bees are kept in small numbers and in isolated 

 situations, the queens are apt to meet with 



drones from the same hive, which results in 

 "in-and-in" breeding. Colonies that are weak 

 in spring, if they have a good (|ueen and 

 plenty of good worker comb, can be built up 

 by a regular and judicious system of feeding. 

 If they are in movable comb hives a frame of 

 comb may be occasionally exchanged with one 

 taken from a strong stock containing brood 

 that is nearly mature. To all apiarians who 

 do not find their bees a source of profit, I 

 would urgently recommend the Italian bee. 

 Procure a pure queen from some reliable 

 dealer, and rear all queens from this one, 

 j)aying no attention to what drones they meet. 

 In this way you will have colonies which will 

 be prolific in both bees and honey, provided 

 they receive proper care and attention. 



Bees Deserting their Hives. 



Many bee keepers conqilain of bees de- 

 serting their hives. Often when bees are 

 hived in swarming time they will stay but a 

 short time and take "French leave" for the 

 woods. A common cause for this is that the 

 hives are left exposed to the direct rays of the 

 hot sun. If the hive be new and clean and is 

 kept cool, but few swarms need be lost in this 

 way. Those who adopt artificial swarming 

 have no trouble with their bees leaving, as an 

 artificial swarm, properly made, never leaves 

 its hive. 



Transferring Bees. 



The best time for transferring swarms from 

 box to movable comb hives, is, in our opinion, 

 when the apple tree is in blossom. It is also 

 a good time three weeks after swarming, as 

 the combs contain but very little brood at that 

 time. Select the middle of a fine clear day in 

 which to perform the operations, and, remov- 

 ing the hive to be transferred, setting an empty 

 hive or box in its place, for the returning bees 

 to cluster in, blow a little smoke in at the en- 

 trance of the hive, and turn it over, bottom 

 side upwards. Now place a box without any 

 bottom on the hive and if there be any crevices 

 where bees can escape, tie a cotton sheet 

 around them where they come together. 



Now with a couple of light sticks rap on the 

 hive, and the bees will begin to ascend into 

 the box. When the bees have nearly all 

 ascended, which will be in about twenty min- 

 utes from the time the drumming was com- 

 menced, untie the sheet and remove the box, 

 setting it on a board so that the bees cannot 

 get out. Now take the old hive to some con- 

 venient place — a clean barn or shop floor 

 ; being as good as any. ^Vith a chisel and 

 hammer pry off one side, and with a long, thin- 

 bladed knife cut out the combs one by one. 

 Have a smooth board a little larger than your 

 combs, and lay a co\q)le of thicknesses of flan- 

 nel cloth upon it ; then as you cut out each 

 comb, brush off the adhering bees and lay it 

 upon the cloth. Now place your frame upon 

 the comb and mark the size of the inside of 

 the frame. Cut the combs a trifle larger, so 



