336 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[NOVEMBER, 
For the American Agriculturist. 
How to Tame Bees—“ Ten Dollars worth” 
of Information Gratis. 
Many persons while watching an exhibitor of 
bees in a movable frame hive, at the Fans, tak¬ 
ing out and returning the frames of combs cov¬ 
ered with bees, and, as they hang in clusters 
from the frames, removing them by handfuls, 
with no more apparent fear than though they 
were so many flies, have regarded the process as 
a sort of witchery; they have thought that none 
but the operator, and possibly a few others, could 
have such perfect and fearless control over their 
bees. Instead of this being actually the case, it 
is the reverse; for no person that I have yet seen, 
who has followed the directions for “ Taming 
Bees ” that I purpose to give, has been unable, 
after a little practice, to have full and absolute 
control over them. I understand that a specula¬ 
tor in Canada has made the proposition “ to in¬ 
struct bee-keepers in the art of taming bees for 
the exceedingly low price of $10 each !” But 
the readers of the Agriculturist can save their 
$10 and learn the whole art by observing the 
following directions, which the writer has prac¬ 
tised for years. 
The whole art of “ taming bees ” is embodied 
in the following: 1st—A honey-bee filled with 
honey or “liquid sweets,” will not sting of its own 
accord. 2nd—Bees when frightened, will gen¬ 
erally fill themselves with honey ; and, if given 
“ liquid sweets,” will invariably accept of them. 
Bees may be frightened thus: 1st. By confining 
them to the hive, and rapping the sides of it 
lightly with a small stick, or the palms of the 
hands. At first, the bees will try to get out, 
but finding that impossible, they will then rush 
to their stores and fill themselves with honey. 
2nd. By blowing upon them the smoke of punk 
(rotten wood), tobacco, or cotton rags. 
What is termed “ liquid sweets,” is water well 
sweetened with honey or sugar. Sugar is pre¬ 
ferable, as bees from neighboring hives, or those 
in close proximity, are not so readily attracted 
by it. 
For many years I used mainly the smoke of 
tobacco and cotton rags, but this season, in all 
my operations I have used nothing but the 
smoke of “punk.” This is not so pungent as 
that of tobacco. 
In order to make the foregoing directions a 
little more clear, I will now set forth the modus 
tgterandi of taming the most irritable colony 
of bees, in the Langstroth hive; which will 
answer, somewhat modified, for all colonies in 
all kinds of hives. 
Set the punk on fire, and blow a little smoke 
into the entrance of the hive. This will cause 
the bees at and near the entrance, to retreat 
and go among the combs. Now, take off the 
top cover, and blow enough smoke into the holes 
or slats of the surplus honey receptacle cover, to 
cause all the bees to go below the tops of the 
frames, when this cover may also be removed. 
Blow sufficient smoke upon the bees to keep 
them below among the combs. Unless the col¬ 
ony be very populous, the bees will now nearly 
all be found hastily filling their sacs with 
honey, and, will generally be ready to operate 
upon in from five to fifteen minutes. Should the 
operator desire to commence taking out the 
combs as soon as possible, he may sprinkle the 
bees with the sweetened water. Those not fill¬ 
ing their sacs from the cells of honey, will com¬ 
mence at once to gorge themselves with this 
preparation. I seldom have occasion—except 
at the Faffs—to use the “ liquid sweets.” I 
would advise beginners to use a bee-hat until 
they have had some experience—which may 
then, at times, be discarded. 
Reader, just operate upon a colony in the 
way described, you will probably be surprised 
to find that you can more easily and readily 
subject the most irritable colony of bees to your 
control, than can Rarey, an ordinary animal of 
the equine race. M. M. Baldridge. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Progressive Bees—Their Operations Ex- 
- plained. 
In the September No. of the Agriculturist is a 
communication from “ B.” headed, “ Progres¬ 
sive Bees,” in which the writer states that he had 
a “first swarm” issue on the 23rd of July, and, 
on the 27th—four days after—a “ second swarm” 
also issued. He desires that some correspond¬ 
ent of “long experience” will give information 
as to what has caused “ this state of things.” 
As a general thing, second swarms do not 
issue until the 8th or 9th day after the first; but, 
it is frequently the case that second swarms is¬ 
sue much sooner, and occasionally somewhat 
later. When bees are ready to swarm, it will be 
found on examination of the Tombs, that there 
are one or more sealed royal cells—the inmates 
of which will be ready to emerge on the 7th or 
8th day thereafter; much, however, depends on 
the temperature within. The old or matured 
queen always leaves with the first swarm—the 
second being accompanied by one or more of 
the first hatched queens. Now, unless the weath¬ 
er be favorable at the time the first swarm is 
ready to issue, they will defer swarming till a 
more suitable time, and will sometimes aban¬ 
don the project for that season. First swarms 
have been known, on account of rainy or other¬ 
wise foul weather, to defer swarming after the 
royal cells were sealed, so that the second swarm 
necessarily issued earlier than nine days after 
the first. Second, and all after swarms accom¬ 
panied by young queens, are not so particular 
about issuing on account of bad weather, as first 
swarms accompanied by old queens. 
Again, queens occasionally die from sickness 
or old age just before the swarming season com¬ 
mences, and the bees instinctively start one or 
more royal cells, so as to supply her loss. If the 
colony be populous, a swarm will generally issue 
with the first hatched queen, and the second 
swarm may be expected on the third or fourth 
day thereafter. It will be obvious that either of 
these cases will answer the inquiries of “B.” 
Niagara Co., N. Y. M. M. BALDRIDGE. 
-oh— i » - 
A Concert by the Cows. 
When, as it oftentimes happens, we hear the 
tinkle of a sheep-bell, or cow-bell on the hills, 
or in the woods, we are reminded of the many 
pleasing allusions of the British poets to this 
cheerful rural sound. The bells, it is true, arc 
not generally as musical as they might be, yet 
they strike a pleasant chord in the heart of every 
one who loves the country. It has often occur¬ 
red to us that if the manufacturers of these bells 
would mako some of a superior quality of tone, 
not a few farmers would bo glad to buy them 
for their herds. It would be a pleasant sound 
for the traveler, to hear from a distance, as the 
animals wended their homeward way at night, 
and it would gladden the car of the proprietor 
and his family. We have heard a few such 
bells. 
Within a short time, we have seen it stated 
that a certain English nobleman has suspended 
a musical bell on the neck of all his cows, each 
bell tuned to a different note of the scale, and 
the whole running through several octaves. A 
visitor to this farm is charmed by the music, as 
well as by the sleek sides of the cattle. Some¬ 
times he hears several notes in unison, then a 
slight discord, and then a sweet harmony, and 
all varied by distance and by the rising and fall¬ 
ing of the breeze. 
Such harmonic bells will add nothing to the 
weight of one’s butter and cheese, but they null 
do something just as good. They will add a 
charm to farm-life, and weave around it one 
more of those pleasing associations which serve 
to attach men to the country and to the culture 
of the soil. So, tune up a first-rate chime of bells 
for our herds! 
-«•— -► - 
Fastening Tires with Oil. 
[For some time past a paragraph has been 
going the rounds of the papers, recommending 
the soaking of wagon wheels in oil. We hard¬ 
ly thought this more worthy of attention than 
ten thousand other similar plausible but fan¬ 
ciful items that are extensively copied,' and go 
to make up so large a portion of the paste and 
scissors columns of the newspapers. But a sub¬ 
scriber seriously asks us how to construct the oil 
heater required; for himself and neighbors have 
concluded to prepare their wagon wheels in the 
manner recommended. As an answer, w r e copy 
below what the N. Y. Coachmakcrs’ Magazine 
says of it: 
“ The following silly paragraph is credit¬ 
ed to the Southern Planter. A correspond¬ 
ent tells the editor:—“I ironed a wagon some 
years ago, for my own use, and before putting 
on the tires I filled the felloes with linseed oil; 
and the tires have worn out, and were never 
loose. I ironed a buggy seven years ago, and 
the tires are now as tight as when first put on. 
My method of filling the felloes with oil, is as 
follows: I use a long cast-iron oil heater, made 
for the purpose; the oil is brought to a boiling 
heat, the wheel is placed on a stick, so as to 
hang in the oil, each felloe one hour, for a com¬ 
mon sized felloe. The timber should be dry, as 
green timber will not take the oil[and we will 
add, none but a green 'un will try the experi¬ 
ment,] Care should be taken that the oil be 
not made hotter than a boiling heat, in order 
that the timber be not burnt. Timber filled 
with oil is not susceptible of water, and the tim¬ 
ber is much more durable. [But here comes the 
funny part of the story.] I was amused, some 
tune ago, when I told a blacksmith how to 
keep tires tight on wheels, by his telling me it 
was a profitable business to tighten t ires; and 
the wagon-maker will say, it is profitable to him 
to make and repair wheels; but what will the 
farmer, who supports the wheelwright and 
smith, say ?” Whatever they may say, wc say, 
fearlessly, that it would require at lest ten “ cul- 
lored pussons ” to hold the felloes on the spokes, 
that’s all! 
- ^ fclQ tw i -► - 
Public Sale of Lands in Iowa. —A pro¬ 
clamation has been made by the President for 
the sale in Nov. next of 1,125,000 acres of public 
lands in the Northwestern part of Iowa. These 
lands embrace some of the best soils in the 
State on the head waters of Dcs Moines river. 
