40 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  9,  1903. 
Removing  Surplus. 
The  removal  of  the  honey  is  one  of  the  anticipated  pleasures  of 
bee-keeping,  and  generally  impresses  the  novice  more  than  any¬ 
thing  else  during  the  whole  of  the  season’s  manipulations.  Tlie 
operation  usually  takes  place  in  most  parts  of  this  country  in 
July,  as  the  honey  harvest  is  on  the  wane  at  the  end  of  that 
month,  after  which  the  bees  are  only  able  to  obtain  sufficient  for 
a  hand-to-mouth  existence.  The  main  points  in  removing  comb 
honey  are  to  preserve  the  inviting  whiteness  and  completeness  of 
the  cappings,  and  to  avoid  anything  approaching  stickiness  in  its 
appearance,  therefore  great  care  is  necessary  to  prevent  damage 
to  the  cappings  by  improper  handling.  A  little  smoke  should  be 
gently  driven  in  at  the  top  of  the  super  as  the  quilt  is  taken  off, 
and  if  the  honey  is  fully  sealed  over,  the  smoke  will  cause  the 
majority  of  the  bees  to  retreat  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  hive, 
when  the  removal  of  the  sections  may  be  effected  without  any 
trouble,  and  empty  sections  substituted  for  the  full  ones  when 
necessary.  If,  however,  there  are  many  combs  unsealed,  the 
smoke  will  frighten  the  bees,  causing  them  to  stuff  themselves 
with  honey,  and  there  is  more  difficulty  in  expelling  them.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  is  best  to  shake  the  section  to  dislodge  as 
many  bees  as  possible,  and  blow  the  stragglei's  off.  The  operation 
should  be  rapidly  carried  out,  because  as  soon  as  frightened,  the 
bees  will  commence  making  innumerable  pin  holes  in  the  cappings 
through  which  they  stuff  themselves. 
This  is  a  forcible  argument  against  the  use  of  super  clearers 
for  removing  sections,  as  in  lifting  the  super  the  bees  are 
frightened,  and  they  will  not  hesitate  to  break  the  cappings  of 
the  cells.  The  work  of  clearing  supers  for  extracting  purposes 
has  been  considerably  facilitated  by  the  invention  of  an  ingenious 
contrivance  called  the  super  clearer.  With  this  admirable 
appliance,  if  the  operation  is  carefully  performed,  the  bees 
scarcely  know  that  they  have  been  interfered  with.  It  is  advis¬ 
able,  however,  to  clear  by  this  plan  in  the  evening.  The  supers 
of  honey  must  be  lifted  completely  fi'om  the  hive  and  set  upon 
the  board  fitted  with  the  super  clearer,  then  both  are  placed  on 
the  hive  again  with  the  escape  in  the  proper  position,  and  by  the 
early  morning  the  bees  will  have  left  the  upper  portion  for  the 
brood  nest,  and  the  box  may  be  lifted  off  perfectly  free  from 
bees  and  carried  inside.  Should  a  few  remain,  as  is  sometimes 
the  case  in  cold  w^eather,  they  should  be  brushed  off  with  a 
feather.  The  simple  cone  in  the  hive  roof  answers  the  same  pur¬ 
pose  as  the  super  clearers,  but  the  method  of  clearing  is  some¬ 
what  different,  and  there  is  more  excitement.  Li  order  to  clear 
by  cones,  first  remove  the  quilt  from  the  top,  lift  the  supers  off, 
cover  the  brood  nest  with  the  quilt,  setting  the  whole  of  the  tier 
upon  it  with  the  top  combs  exposed,  and  replace  the  lifts  and 
roof.  The  bees  finding  theiiiselves  queenless  are  soon  in  an 
uproar,  and  as  the  only  points  of  light  are  the  cones,  they  are  not 
long  before  they  are  hurrying  through  them  pell-mell. 
So  soon  as  the  supers  are  cleared  they  must  be  removed,  as  if 
left  too  long,  the  bees  return,  and  in  attempting  to  gain  admis¬ 
sion  get  excited,  and  fighting  often  ensues.  Every  effort  should 
be  made  to  prevent  robbing,  and  in  all  these  operations  care  must 
be  taken  to  leave  no  broken  pieces  of  comb  about,  as  after  the 
removal  of  the  honeycomb  these  are  frequently  causes  of  robbing, 
and  should  be  guarded  against  by  narrowdng  the  entrances  of 
hives,  and  performing  any  lengthy  operations  in  the  evening,  so 
that  if  the  aroma  of  the  honey  should  disturb  the  apiary,  and 
robbing  commence,  the  approach  of  night  will  prevent  any  great 
loss  by  fighting. 
It  is  seldom  the  case  that  colonies  capable  of  defending  them¬ 
selves  fight  with  one  another.  It  is  only  those  stocks  which  are 
weak  in  numbers,  or  nuclei  which  are  attacked,  and  another 
frequent  cause  of  robbing  and  fighting  is  carelessness  in  feeding. 
Wffien  honey  is  plentiful  there  is  little  or  no  danger  of  robbing ; 
but  in  time  of  scarcity,  if  syrup  is  spilled  about  hives,  or  strange 
bees  are  allowed  access  to  feeders,  it  wall  cause  quite  a  commotion. 
Weak  colonies  should,  therefore,  have  extra  care  and  attention 
bestowed  upon  them,  the  entrances  being  narrowed  until  only  one 
bee  at  a  time  may  enter,  and  if  any  honey  or  syrup  is  spilled  it 
should  be  covered  up  immediately  with  soil,  or  sprinkled  with  car¬ 
bolic  acid.  If  robbing  is  already  in  progress,  it  may  sometimes 
be  stopped  by  placing  a  cloth  damped  with  carbolic  acid  on  the 
hive  front,  or  smearing  the  entrance  with  a  few  drops  on  a 
feather.  This  wull  frighten  the  aggressors,  preventing  them  from 
alighting,  and  will  enable  the  attacked  to  defend  themselves 
better. — E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
Swarming. 
In  consequence  of  the  late  season  and  the  continued  heat, 
swarms  will  be  very  common.  Many  are  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
is  necessary  when  the  swarm  issues.  One  of  the  best  assistants 
is  a  good  garden  syringe,  and  of  course  the  skep  and  a  cloth,  to 
say  nothing  of  a  pail  of  water.  Generally,  not  always,  the  bee,s 
cluster  under  the  alighting  board  for  a  day  or  so  before  swarming. 
When  this  is  observed  a  good  watch  should  be  kept  between  the 
hours  of  10  a.m.  and  4  p.m.,  and  if  the  weather  be  very  warm,  as 
early  as  9  in  the  morning.  When  the  air  seems  alive  with  bees 
after  the  issue  of  the  sw'arm,  bring  the  syringe  into  play,  and  you 
will  soon  be  rewarded  by  the  bees  clustering  near.  It  is  rare 
that  first  swarms  rise  and  go  off  before  first  settling,  but  casts  or 
after  swarms  often  play  this  trick,  and  it  is  almost  useless  to  try 
to  prevent  them.  The  best  course  to  prevent  this  is  to  cut  out 
all  queen  cells  except  one  after  the  hive  first  swarmed,  taking 
care  to  leave  one  good  cell. 
How  TO  Hive. 
When  the  swarm  has  clustered  well,  and  looks  like  a  bunch  of 
grapes,  give  them  a  slight  syringing,  and  this  will  cause  the  bees 
to  tighten  their  hold  and  to  huddle  a  little  closer  together.  If 
the  branch  on  wdiich  they  have  settled  be  of  no  practical  use,  and 
can  be  ea.sily  cut  off,  then  sever  it,  placing  it  on  the  outstretched 
cloth,  and  the  skep  over  it.  Raise  one  side  of  the  hive  with  a 
large  stone,  so  that  bees  can  easily  get  in,  and  also  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  ventilation,  because  they  are  in  a  very  heated  state.  If 
the  branch  is  valuable  or  too  thick,  then  hold  the  skep  mouth 
upward,  and  give  the  branch  two  or  three  sharp  shakes,  and  the 
bees  will  generally  fall  into  the  hive ;  then  ovei’turn  the  skep  on 
the  cloth  as  above;  syringe  the  spot  where  the  bees  first  settled 
to  dislodge  the  stragglers  who  remain.  These  cases  are  very 
simple  to  deal  with.  Sometimes  they  settle  on  the  trunk  or  large 
limb  of  a  tree  ;  if  the  skep  can  be  placed  over  the  swarm,  proceed 
to  drive  the  bees  up  by  means  of  the  smoker,  or  take  a  brush  and 
place  the  skep  underneath  and  brush  them  into  it,  and  then  use 
the  syringe.  Proceed  in  the  same  manner  if  the  bees  prefer  a 
wall . 
People  often  marvel  when  an  expert  bee-keeper  is  seen  hand¬ 
ling  bees  fearlessly  and  without  stings  at  swarming  time.  The 
truth  is  that  the  bees  have  gorged  themselves  with  honey,  in 
order  that  they  ma,v  build  a  new  home,  for  wax  is  prepared  from 
honey  in  the  body  of  the  workers,  and  they  cannot,  if  they  would, 
turn  the  abdomen  to  the  correct  angle  for  stinging.  Leave  the 
bees  in  a  .shady  place  until  evening,  i.e.,  after  6.30  at  tips  time 
of  the  year,  and  then  remove  to  permanent  quarters.  Many  may 
think  that  this  will  make  no  difference,  but  I  remember,  when  a 
novice,  the  trouble  it  caused  me,  for  I  placed  them  in  their  per¬ 
manent  quarters  six  times  and  then  failed.  The,y  settled  quietl.y 
enough  in  the  straw  sken  and  remained  in  the  frame  hive  when 
tossed  in  the  evening.- — Hybl.\. 
- <«#♦> - 
A  Fungus  Disease  of  Young  Fruit  Trees. 
(EuTYPELLA  PRUNASTEI  (S.ACC.) 
Every  now  and  again  this  minute  but  very  destructive  para¬ 
site  appears  under  the  form  of  a  disease  wave,  causing  a  very 
considerable  amount  of  damage,  hundreds,  or  in  some  instances 
thousands,  of  young  trees  being  injured  or  completely  killed 
during  one  of  these  sporadic  attacks.  Young  standard  fruit 
trees,  up  to  the  age  of  eight  years,  are  most  liable  to  the  disease, 
and  as  the  .stem  or  stock  is  the  part  attacked,  the  girdling  of  this 
portion  of  the  plant  by  the  fungus  growing  in  the  bark  and 
cambium  means  the  death  of  the  entire  tree,  which  in  a  dull  and 
damp  season  favourable  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  parasite,  usu¬ 
ally  occurs  during  the  spring  following  the  first  year  of  attack. 
In  the  case  of  nursery  stock.  Plum  (especially  the  variety 
called  Victoria)  and  Apple  trees  have  suffered  most  severely  in 
this  country ;  Peach,  Apricot,  and  Cherry  to  a  less  extent.  The 
fungus  is  also  often  very  abundant  on  wild  Plum,  Bullace,  Black¬ 
thorn,  Ac.,  and  it  is  the  spores  produced  on  such  wild  trees  that 
infect  cultivated  stock.  The  first  indication  of  the  presence  of 
the  disease  is  the  premature  yellowing  and  fall  of  the  leaves, 
followed  by  a  drying  up,  browning,  and  shrivelling  of  the  bark 
of  the  stem.  During  the  spring  following  the  first  year’s  inocula¬ 
tion,  numerous  minute,  elongated  cracks,  arranged  in  dense 
clusters,  appear  in  the  dried-up  bark.  These  represent  the  first 
form  of  fruit  iiroduced  by  the  fungus  (Fig.  1),  and  are  followed 
during  the  second  season  after  infection  by  larger,  fewer,  and 
more  irregularly  scattered  cracks,  always  trarnsversely  arranged 
in  the  now  dead  bark,  containing  a  second  and  more  highly 
developed  kind  (ascigerous)  of  fungus  fruit  (Fig  3).  The  spores 
of  the  fungus  are  mature  during  late  spring  and  early  summer, 
and  it  is  at  this  season  that  infection,  of  young  fruit  trees  takes 
place,  the  spores  gaining  access  to  the  stem  either  through  the 
unprotected  ends  of  pruned  twigs  or  through  the  living  bark 
itself.  All  wounds  on  the  stem  exposed  by  cutting  off  shoots, 
hmcerer  small,  should  be  protected  at  once  by  a  coating  of  gas 
tar,  until  the  tree  is  at  least  ten  years  old.  If  this  precaution  is 
neglected,  spores  frequently  alight  on  the  newly-formed  w-ounds, 
where  they  quickly  germinate  and  spread  upward  and  downward 
in  the  living  bark,  which  becomes  discoloured  ;  finally  the  fungus 
bursts  through  the  bark  it  has  killed,  and  produces  spores  on  the 
surface  (Fig.  6). 
In  order  to  prevent  spores  from  germinating  on  the  surface  of 
