CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1829, 27 March 1884, Page 4

CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.

KOJSBINC. Ik a former avticle I mentioned the fact that a beekeeper in this distuet, h'ndiiur his bees robbing a particular hi\ c, exchanged the colonies, and by so doing effectually stopped the evil. A kind reader and a successful bee-keeper, fioin another part of the piovtnee, mfoi ms me that the piacticc of swapping the colonies, unless pei formed by a piuctised hand, will, in nine cases out of ten, piove disastrous rather than beneficial. He says, ' ' A bettor plan is to make the weak colony strong enough to defend itself before the season of broodrearing closes, by giving them fiamcs of hatching btood from the stronger ones, and seeing that they do not run short of stores. A small colony will take a lot of wiping out if they have a queen and stores to defend, and if robbing bees can only pet in at the entrance." For calling my attention to this and giving oic the foregoing advice, founded upon his own expei lcnce, as I am assured it is, I am personally obliged, and wish to assure my coi respondent that any similar communications will be thankfully received on behalf of my numerous readers and for the benefit of this journal, the columns of wh:ch are always open to scattei the seeds of practice and benefit the settleis of this highly favoured district. "Kvcr be learning" is one of n>y mottoes When I am told something which I did not know, or a known fact is placed before me in a new light it bets me thinking, talking, and leading especially upon that particular subject. It hnsdonc so in tins instance. I have been gleaning, and shall gi\c my leadeis the result. The subject of thought has been " robbing." When I fust went fiom home to do battle with men and things, with a view of benefiting the woild m in general and myself in particular, I thought the task would piovc much easier than I have found it to l»e. I did not think the ways of men half so crooked as I ha\ c since found them to be. I thought some people woie much better than they ha\o tinned out in my experience, and some otheis I expected to find woiso than I now know them to bo. Similarly, w hen tiying to undoistaiid the lines — " How doth the little bu'-v boo hnpiovo each sinning houi, It jj.itlu'i ■> honey all the day Fiom eveiy opening flovsei," I never suspected that it gatheied honey fiom any other quaiter, especially fiom its neighbour bee ; but in this, too, I have long since been undeceived. " The love of money (with men) and honey (with bees) is the root of all evil," but Mr Root says it is the disposition to get money or honey without lendeimg an equivalent— that is the loot of many evils, especially the c\il of lobbing. Theic seems, ho\ve\ei, to be a limit to this disposition. The bees will not 10b their own flock, for the fii&t bee of a starving colony will co-iry food aiound to hib cotmades as soon a 5a 5 - he has imbibed enough of the food furnished to ha\ c tho stiength to stagger to them. Fiom this known fact it ispiobablc that the piactice of changing the hives has ansen. This piacticc is adopted by Mi Hopkme. He has two plans, which he desoiibes as follows: — "'I take a watering pot containing watei, and (with a cloth laid acioss the cntiance of tho lobbed hive) pour watei fiom the warci ing-pot on to the cloth and over the becb that aie flying about the fi out ; in ashoit time I remove the cloth, and let anj bees that wish to do so conic out. I put the cloth hack and again wet it. TI11& pioccbS I lepeat two 01 tlnec times. This appeals to frighten the lobbeis, and in most cases I have found it effectual ; but in extreme cases I have done the following, which has had a satisfactoiy lesult : Found out wheic the lobbeis ha\e coinc * fiom and exchange places v ith the robbed and the lobber hi\e." These two methods ho found successful. A formei wiitcr in this journal say.s • "Another method, also a mho one, but attended with a little nsk, is to ninke the thieves rob thtii own line, piovidcd the lobbeis aie your own bees, and it can only be done // tin tuo ivlumts tnc ihkili/ iqiitil You u ill /nut linwji i/o><> ij/icms tv pirioil (In in bum/ liUal. Tho italics aie mine I have so niaiked this pait of the quotation, because, fiom all that I can gathei, the success oi failuie depends \ety much upon what is theic stated. Unless the settler can manage to cage the bees, and readily ascot tain the sticngth of the colonies, he had bottei not attempt this method of stopping the evil. At tho close of the honey haivest we should be sine that tlieie aie no feeble hives that may be ovcipovveicd, foi ono such may .stait tho fashion of robbing, and make it much moic difficult to contiol this piopcijs,ity A stitch in time will save a gitat many mote than nine in this ciso. Jse sine that each colony has the entiaiK'e contiacted, and, in fact, the s ace occupied by the bees also in piopoition to their numbcis. Cine them al<o only so many combs ns the> can co\ei, it \ou wisli to defend them piopeily fiom eithei inotlis or lobbcis ' Ai tlicio aie piovcntativo measures the question may be asked, " Supposing I am undei the nnpiession •that my culonies aie all light, but in this I am w long, can I tell fiom tho movements of the bee«. that robbing is about to take place, oi has just begun .' Yes. The attacking hies on enteiing the hive have a shy, guilty look, and fly with their legs dou n. as if, <-ays Mr Root, they wanted to be nady to use their heels as veil as wings if icquned. They move cautiously up to the eutianee, and quickly dodge back as soon as they see bees coming towaid.s them. On coming out of the hive, the bee that has stolen a load is generally vciy plump and full, find as "he comes out he has a huuicd guilty look ; besides, he is almost always wiping his mouth, like a man who has just coinc out of a beer shop. ' It seems that only a little piactice isie quired to tell a robber when coming out of a hive by the manner in which he comes out of the hive. A bee in going to the fields comes out leisuiely, and takes wing with litt'e tiouble, because he has no load. The lobbci, on the other hand, finds it difhciilt to use because of the load. He feels that lie is quite likely to tumble unless he can take wing fiom borne elevated position, and thcicfoic he ciavvls up the bide of the line before he can make a stait. When he launches out at fiist he falls a little by the weight of his load befoie he has his wings fully undci contiol, and theieloie instead of staitingout as a bee oidm.uily does, he take a dovvnwaid cuive, coming quite near the giound before ho uses safely and suiely. J>j tins means \ou may know that lobbing has commenced. Mi Root's method is to close up tho hive effectually, and so for a time shut m all the bees. Theie is danger ot suffocation unless the bees aie few and the space comparatively large. To picvent the smothering, the better plan seems to be the cloth system adopted by Mr Hopkins, or the one iccommended by my correspondent may be tiied with eveiy probability of success without the lisks in the other methods. I cannot do better in closing this aiticlc than to quote Mr Root on this one point of pro venting the lobbing. He .says : '■ After I had tiied every plan I had heard lecomniended. . . . The idea occuned to me that it takes a rogue to catch a logne. I simply took the gi eater pait of the combs from the robbers, bees and all, and carried them into the house apiary, and put them into the place of the colony which they had been robbing. The effect was instantaneous. Every laden robber bee that came home with his load, on finding the queen and brood gone, at once showed the utmost consternation, and the passion for robbing was instantly changed to grief and moaning for the lost home. The weak colony which they had been robbing, and which had only a queen cell, was placed with them, and they soon took up with it, and went to work." Instead of exchanging hives and all, I think" by far the better way is to leave the hives on their oW stand, and.

simply exchange the greatei part of the combs with all the aclheiing bees. With the fingers between each two combs, with both hands we can raise four combs, .uid cairy thorn all together. If done in this wav, enough of the oiigin.il inmates will be left in the stiong Live to piotcct it, and enough will also be carried te the weaker line to make it peifeclly safe. The ijuecu of the stronger hi\c will be in no danger, but the queen of the weakei one may have to be cat>ed, although I have seldom found this neecssuy.'' — Willt vm Jkwkk in Otago Witness.

A i-or. to God was ne'er tme fiicnd t man. - Vomit/. Vv\.h Moon. —The honeymoon. Ki;i<, SmrLF. —Money given to a quack doctor. What is Dkkkat ? Nothing but education ; nothing but the first step to something better. Wii vtk\ kk is becoming is honest, and whatever is honest must always be becoming. —Cicero. How poor arc they who have no patience ; What wound did over heal but by devices 5 Shahe^pcurc. Bu.siNhv-., —" Sir," wrote a tailor to a debtoi, " If you will favour me with the amount of my bill, you will oblige me ; if not, I must oblige you. ' Accustom yourself to submit on p.ll and eveiy occasion, and on the most impoitant ciicumstances in life, to a small present c\ il, to obtain a gi eater distant good. This \\ ill give decision, tone, and eneigy to the mind, winch, thus disciplined, will often reap victoiy fiom defeat and honour from repulse —Colton. Junoi; McAdvm heaid that a deserving man had met with an accident by tailing tioin a chinch spire, and together we diopped in to lcain the paiticulars. The pool fellow lay on amattiess near the window swathed in bandages, with a nose as flat as an o>ster shell and swellings on his head as laige as tomato cans. "Ah poor fellow," said the Judge, commisciatingly, "why will people nc\ei learn the danger of ascending church spiies '" '" It wasn't that," said the sufleioi's wife, m a whisper, so as not to awaken her sleeping loid. "He wanted to go to a meeting of the (.{lowleii>' Club, and I had made up my mind that he should stay at home." Pi,\m'\tto\ Philosophy. —A 'oman is better aftci she shed teais. De honeysuckle is sweeter artor a lain.—A cow'll outendeway quicker fur a hoss den she will fur a laihoad tiain.—Dai's no animal dat is got de giccd ob man. A hog knows when he's got enouirh coin, but man nebcr knows when he's got money enough —1 dorm caic how young dc chile is, dar is on its face signs of honesty or dishonesty. Ole natnr' ban's out hei punciplcs mighty 'ally in dis life. — A 'oman is nioie hones wid money den a man, but she ain't night so hones' wid heise'f. A 'oman '11 pay a debt wliar a man would lohi^e. but a man'll tell the tin f whai a 'oman 11 stiect it mightily. — Dctioit Picss. Tin, bale of a volcano is not an everyday event ; but, accoidlng to a Mexican paper, Popocitapetl has been bought by a laige Aineucan house, who intend to build a lailw ay up its sides and to drive a tunnel to the ciater in older to mine out the sulphur, winch will be chiefly used on the spot for making oil of vitiiol, after 50,000 tons have been annually expoited. The fiim has, it appeals, contiactcd to supply that quantity, hence the puiohat-e. As the gicat Mexican \olcano is by no means an inactive soit of giant, the cntcrpiising Yankees may one day find themselves m\ oh ed in something woise than hot water. It would be lively times for the woikmon if they had to skip dow n the side of the v olcano w ith a &t cam of molten lava on t' eh tract. Amom. the new odd things which amuse and msti net us in the late invention foi watching the ciiculation of the blood in the body ; the method is simple, and it is a wondei it was not thought of bcfoie. The lowoi lip is diawn out and fixed upon a stage ot a imciociope by means of clips, the inner suiface be n^ uppeimost, and Having a stiong light tluowii upon it by a condenser. The mieio^copc is biought to bear on the suiface ot the lip. using a lower power objective and focussing a small superficial vessel. At once one sees the endloss pioccssion of the bloid corpuscles through the minute capillaries, the colouiJess ones appealing like white specs, dotting the ted stream. This is the lii st instance of the flow of the vital fluid in one peison watched by another. From a document sent by Osman Digna, a leader of the lebels, in December, to the commander of the beleaguered Egyptian ganison at Tokar m the Soudan, which document was published in tne Standaid, of Jannary 3, it would appear that dislike of the Tuik has much to do with the rebellion. The letter states;—"He who denies the Mahdi denies God and the Piopbet. He who does not believe in him is a Kaffir, and w hocv it opposes him be cursed in both woilds. Bo it known that he does nothing except by the order of God and the Piophet, and the Jehad which he is waging auaiust the Tuiksisbv order of the piophet. A vision of the day of judgment has shown the Mahdi that the spnits of the Tinks who have been slain will complain to (!od, saying: ''Oh (Jod, the Mahdi has Killed us without eauso.' But Mohammed himself then appoais, and says : ' Your sins be on your own heads. My Mahdi warned you with full infoimntion and pioof, but yon picfencd to follow your own false Moolahs.' The Mahdi says : " Why should we have this trouble and .slaughtering amongst out .selves? Theic ate the Chiistians and Jews to be biought over to Moslem : these are the laces to begin with, nevertheless, the Tuiks will not accept baptism by advice, and they must, thcrefoie, be baptised by the swot d— all vive those w ho aic under the mercy of God. We will kill the Turks, and burn their skins, in spite of all their dignity and powci. The Mahdi intends soon to pioceed to Egypt, for have not the soldiers in Falsk and Kowein, in Dassabah and Miulnyah, all suriendeicd ?'" Ckamming Him. —'Of course,' said the old gentleman, the life of the boardinghouse all summer. ' you remember that Washington hnd command of the famous Cuiiassicis ah Waterloo ?" ' Ceitdinly,' lophcd young Dobbs. ' And that if'McOlellan had biought up his reset yes in time the Giceks would have been dnven fiom the field before Hannibal could have made his impetuous chaige.' ' Yes,' replied Dobbs, with the ail of a man w ho know sail about it; ' yes, I have heard it so stated.' ' Why.' continued the old gentleman, ' you know what Dai win, says about it?' 'Yes,' leplied Dobbs, feebly, wishing in his heait of heaits that he did know. But the old gentleman rcliev ed Dohbs' mind by adding, ' Darwin, you know, says the tide of battle might have been turned at any hour of the day had Grant not failed to double-shot his Gatling guns.' 'Of course,' echoed Dobbs, with a triumphant look at tbe listening ladies. 1 But,'said the old gentleman, once more, ' I think Darwin hardly correct. If Aiabihadnot defeated Nebuchadnezzar at Milvern Hill it is my opinion that C.osar would havp routed Grouch's gueiillas, and then beaten Cicero's sharpshooteisin detail.' ' That's the way I look at it,' leplied Dobbs. 'Oh, it is, is i it?' asked the old gentleman, winking at the ladies. ' Well, I am glad I have found a gentleman who can agree with me on that point. 1 The old gentleman walked away, leaving Dobbs as happy as a lord ; he hart made such a good impression, you know. But Dobbs would have given something nice to know \\ hat the women folks were giggling about, confound them. Rats and Mice.—lf you wish to de stroy them get a packet of Hill's Magic Vkrmin Xii n R in packets, Gd, Od, and Is, to be obtained of all storekeepers, or from T. H. Hiil by enclosing an exti a stamp. One Shilling. —Francis J. Shortts' Popular Art Union. —Ten first-class Oil Paintings by celebrated artists. 5000 tickets at Is. The prizes are magnificent and costly. Country subscribers sending stamps or otherwise will have tickets by return post. Enclose stamped envelope for reply.—Fkancis J. Shoutt, 140, Queen-street, Auckland,—[Adyt.] <