■£HE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



281 



This is by no means a matter of indifference, 

 as a greenhorn might suppose. " Bees all 

 dead in the cage, " was the usual report 

 when old bees were used. In practice 

 a colony often has none but old bees 

 to escort their queen; to get younger 

 ones from another colony subjects her 

 to some risk of being worried by her 

 attendants. Mr. D. tlnds very young 

 bees, such as can be selected by their downy 

 appearance, but little better than old ones. 

 Hather young bees, which have flown at 

 least once, and voided the load of excrement 

 all young bees carry, are found to be the 

 right ones — G to 15 days old — and these can 

 be told from those of other ages by their be- 

 ing more slim of look. Practically take 

 the ones that after a disturbance first dip 

 their heads in open honey cells and most of 

 them will be the right ones without further 

 trouble. 



Dr Miller in his search for non-swarming 

 arrangements finds two story hives to 

 swarm about as badly as one story; but hav- 

 ing every year a few in tiiree or more stories, 

 he notes that not one of them hcts yet cast 

 a swarm. A. B. J. 501. 



Mrs. Sallie E. Sherman had a vicious 

 colony allowed to go on in the bad habit of 

 attacking everybody till they were quite a 

 terror. (She treated them to repeated 

 smokings many times a day for nearly a 

 week; and rejoiced to find them at the end 

 about as civil as ordinary bees. A. B. .J. 

 502. I think this would usually work, and if 

 so it is worth remembering. 



Dadant and Son contribute a valuable ex- 

 perience with after swarms, A. B. J. 482. 

 Sometimes after swarms go back to the 

 parent hive with great readiness when med- 

 dled with a few days after hiving. They had 

 15 or 20 such in plain boxes. On obtaining 

 some frame hives they tried to transfer 

 them. Only one or two out of the whole lot 

 failed to go hom« before the day was over. 

 If this could be depended on it would be 

 better than my regular practice of detain- 

 ing them in a pit, as three days' work of 

 the swarm would be saved. 



In watering bees Dr. O lUup finds about 

 what salt one naturally takes between the 

 thumb and two fingers to be right for a two 

 quart jar of water. 



Where suitable trees are few and wild bees 

 very plenty, examining every tree may be 

 a better method of search than the orthodox 

 lining. I take it that the bees found, A. B. 



J. 441), were found otherwise than by the line 

 process. H. C. Aiders of Lee, Louisiana 

 found six in one day, and his partner Henry 

 Hooks found thirteen. Makes 'em laugh to 

 think of the trouble some people take to 

 find a bee tree. 



C. P. Dadant, A. B. J. 466, gives us the 

 reasons, so far as he knows them, why they 

 have so very few swarms. Admits that one 

 yard in 1890 gave a multitude of swarms. 

 Keepers failed to keep up with the honey 

 flow. He well remarks that swarm fever is 

 not ended by division. Both sections will 

 swarm. Also a certain percent will swarm 

 anyhow, 3 to 5 out of a hundred. Now as to 

 the remedial measures. First and fore- 

 most plenty of brood space all in one story. 

 Second, plenty of room ( and if possible 

 plenty of comb also ) to store the surplus — 

 no waiting for building. Third "there are 

 always too many roosters, " cut out most of 

 the drone comb and replace it with worker 

 comb. For the many-storied hives some of 

 us run to, he recommends /ire escapes. 



My present impression is that having the 

 brood all on a comparatively few very large 

 combs counts for a good deal. Thus the ex- 

 pansion of brood is a quiet growth — no 

 jumps and especially no long absences of 

 the queen from any spot where cells have 

 been made ready for eggs. Bees go by 

 smell: and if her majesty is long absent they 

 straightway smell a need os more royalty. 

 The second item is also good, no doubt; 

 but I don't think repression of drones 

 amounts to anything except as a saving of 

 honey. 



Dr. Howard of Fort Worth, Texas, who is 

 pretty good authority, says he has poision- 

 ous honey and can furnish samples. The 

 flower yielding it is a spurge, closely allied 

 to the one from which croton oil is made. 

 It never kills anybody, as vomiting takes 

 place too promptly. A. B. J. 477. 



Friend Aikin of Colorado rather pricks 

 alfalfa's balloon with a pin. A. B. J. 436. 

 Three years out of the last six the yield has 

 amounted to but little— no more a sure 

 thing than other honey plants — and after 

 the first six weeks of its season the bloom 

 scarcely ever has enough honey in it for 

 the storing of surplus. 



Doolittle hits the bull's eye when he re- 

 minds those who enquire of nature, as to 

 comb spacing and related matters, that cap- 

 ped brood is what one wants to measure, 

 not mere empty comb. The former is a 



