230 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



fdn. can be fastened in the shop, the operator can 

 keep cool, and the cook, in a g-ood humor. 



O. Brumfield. 

 Brumfleld Station, Ky., June Vth, 1878. 



DO BEES CHOOSE THEIR HIVES BE- 

 FORE SWAUiniNG t 



BOME claim that bees which go to the woods 

 have their trees picked out. My father was a 

 , _ great bee man, and I have followed swarms 

 and hunted bee trees for 18 years. My experience 

 teaches me that swarms hunt their trees as they go. 

 I have seen them spread 15 rods and search as they 

 went. I noticed two swarms in particular, one had 

 gone to one side and past the tree, but I saw a few 

 bees flying round the hole, and the rest drew up and 

 went in. The other searched through one body of 

 timber and went to another. When they had got 

 part way through they gathered to a tree, then 

 started again, and went slow enough so that I could 

 watch every move thev made. When they got to 

 the edge of the woods, they gathered to a large oak. 

 I noticed a few bees Hvinir round a limb of an other 

 oak, and thev kept gatlieritig till the whole swarm 

 came. I cut the limb and took it home. In trans- 

 ferring, I found old comb of a swarm that had died. 

 1 have found a great many trees that had old comb. 

 I have seen bees flying round holes in trees, when 

 some would think they were hunting homes; I 

 think they were hunting water. I have cut trees 

 where they were flying from morning till night, 

 and found nothing but water in them. 

 Ashland, Ohio, June 10th, 1878. T. I. Elliott. 



I am inclined, friend E., to think you are 

 right, and tliat bees do very often Inmt up a 

 location, after the whole swarm has got into 

 the woods ; but, even in that case, we 

 might fix our decoy hives in such a way as 

 to attract their attention, can we not? the 

 idea that they go into these hollows for wa- 

 ter is also a sln-ewd one ; from the Avay 

 they visit stagnant pools, holes in the 

 ground, etc.. I should think it quite proba- 

 ble that they would go into hollow trees 

 tliat might contain Avater. It would furnish 

 them a nice place secure from wind, and 

 the rotten wood would give them a secTure 

 foot iiold, where they might drink "their 

 till." I know bees are very partial to trees 

 that have old comb, where swarms have 

 habited before. 



aUEEN CAGES. 



lipHERE is one trouble with our candy 

 jll queen cages, and that is, when we wish 

 — ' to release a queen, we have got to wait 

 the pleasure of her ladyship in coming out. 

 This is a small item, but where one has 

 hundreds of queens to introduce in a few 

 days, as we do now, it is quite a loss of time. 

 .V "cage that allows the whole top to slide off 

 is better, because we can pick the queen 

 right tip, and go on. Another thing ; it is 

 (pute a difficult matter to make these queen 

 cages for 5c, or $4.00 per hundred. Well, 

 you see I got an idea in my head, that a 

 cage might be made entirely by machinery, 

 without any hand work about it, and I 

 "walked aroimd the stairway" many times 

 over it. but could not get it quite to satisfy 

 me. Finally, some little pine cages came 

 one day, in the mail, contaming some black 

 <iueens. It was the idea I Avanted exactly ; 

 and, just as soon as I saw them, I told a 

 clerk to write that man that I A\'Ould give 

 liini §25.00 for the privilege of making his 

 cage. I Avas so busy looking at the cage 

 that I did not notice the name at the end of 

 the letter, imtil I came to pay the .$25. ; and 



behold, it \A^as our friend Scoville, Avho gave 

 us the Avire loop a feAV months ago. lie 

 failed in getting the $25. chaff hive, out got 

 it on the queen cage. BeloAV I give you a 

 picture of it. 



scovillk'.s (^ueen cage 

 Instead of making them of pine, Ave will 

 use bassAAaiod; and to have plenty of room 

 for long distances, we will get them out of 

 stuff 2 inches square. The bassw^ood is 

 much less liable to split, and is very light. 

 The strips are planed accurately, then bored : 

 the saw cuts for ventilation are made Avith 

 a gang of saAvs; and lastly, the cover.is made 

 and pushed in the stick, 4 or 6 feet long. 

 The cover, as Avell as the recess for it, is 

 made by a cutter head, and a saAV shaii)ened 

 on a bevel. After the AA'ork is all done, the 

 cages are saAved off. The candy is best 

 poured into the cages, while they are in the 

 long stick. With these, it is poured so as to 

 cover the whole bottom. In mailing them, 

 be sure that abundance of ventilation is 

 given from each side of the cage. 



OlIK COMB HOLDER. 



N page 214, I spoke of something to 

 hold the hrst frame ; Avell, since then. 

 I have "Avalked around the stairAvay,*" 

 and this is Avhat came of it. 



It is to be hooked over the edge of a Sim- 

 plicity hive, and then Avhen the hrst frame 

 is lifted out, you are to hang it on the tAA^o 

 projecting arms. These are slightly turned 

 up, as you Avill notice, that the frame may 

 not be easily pulled or slipped oft", and theii 

 if you are disposed, you can slide the re- 

 maining frames along, so as to get at any 

 particular one, Avith ease ; or if you Avish to 

 cage a queen, or to introduce a (jueen, you 

 can have both hands to Avork Avith, while 

 your frame is securely held just before you 

 as you AAant it, Avith no tumbling doAvn, or 

 getting the ncAV combs out of true. It can 

 be used in the Chaff hive, when the upper 

 story is empty, by hanging it on the insid'e 

 edge ; but I have not as yet studied up any 

 plan of having it catch on the outside, as 

 conveniently as on the Simplicity hive, 

 Avithout any additions or changes. After 

 using it about the apiary, I am so Avell pleas- 

 ed with it that I think Ave shall offer them 

 for sale; they are made of folded tins, and 

 can be sold for about 25c ; if sent by mail, 

 85c. 



