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THE 
 
 NORTH AMERICAN 
 
 BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE, 
 
 PRACTICAL APIABIAN, 
 BJLTTLS ©ROUND, TIPPECANOE CO., iXD. 
 
 V. ay 
 
 LAFAYETTE 
 BEE STEAM FEINTING HOUSE, 
 
 J. L. COX & BRO., PKIXTERS. 
 
 JL875. 
 

 itcTMl Accor;Ung t.> Act of Congress in tlse year ]v7r>, 
 
 in- J. ^L HICKS, 
 Till- OiHci- (if till,' Lilirarian of CoB£;ress at Wflskin.iitoii. 
 
PREFACE . 
 
 In presenting this little treatise on the 
 Honey Bee, it is not my intention to en- 
 ter into a long story abont what our 
 fore- fathers did, or how they kept bees 
 and eut out honey by the barrel or tub 
 ful; but what I aim at Avill be to give 
 the reader something that is practical and 
 up with the times. For be assured that 
 the science of Apiculture has and is mak- 
 ing fast progress, and many valuable les- 
 S3ns have and will be learned, about the 
 proper management of the little honey 
 bee; knowing as I well do that there 
 lias been many books both great and 
 small, w^ritten on the management and 
 culture of the honey bee. I feel some- 
 what timid about trying to add one more 
 work upon the subject. Yet feeling as- 
 sured that there has been and is yet, 
 many false ideas abroad in the land, con- 
 cerning the breeding and managemeiil 
 of bees, I deem it a matter of sufficient 
 importance to unravel at least some of 
 the mysteries of their ^vork, (in the hive) 
 which is uiost usually so constructed in 
 
skajje tkat tke Hovicie would !^€sapc.eiy ev- 
 er think of looking further than at tke 
 place where the bees enter their Hive for 
 farther instruction. 
 
 I trust, therefore, that in my elPorts to 
 plac^ tkiu Book befoi'^a reading public^ 
 and especially the Bee keepers of Korth 
 America^ it will be the means of d(*in^ 
 at least some good, having had near 
 thirty years experience in Bee keeping. 
 
 I therefore Respectfully dexlicate this 
 little volume to all lovers of the honev 
 bee. 
 
 J. M. HICK8, 
 
 Battle Ground, 
 Tippecanoe County, Ind. 
 
INTKODUCTION 
 
 THIS Book, on Be^ Culture h not die- 
 signed to be so over-loaded \yith sur- 
 plus matter or technical terms as to tax 
 the young beginners mlndjand make Bee 
 ctdture an endless and a laborious stu- 
 rdy. But on the contrary I design it as a 
 book of importance to those who have 
 U€\eF had th^ oppoi'tunity of knowing by 
 practical experience what there is in the 
 management of the (so much neglected) 
 Honey Bee; as well % mstj be able to 
 pla-ee before those who have had many 
 years expe*rience in the past system of 
 handling and raising bees by what they 
 call hmi, (for which I truly feel sorr}^*) 
 as I am well convinced from my own 
 experience that luck has nothing to do 
 with ti Correct System of Bee Culture, 
 
and only rests upon a proper knowl- 
 edge of nature's laws ffovernins; the ever 
 busy little honey bee^ whicli has been 
 created for man's good; but oli! how sad- 
 ly neglected and let go to ruin; after 
 Avhich man was so blind as not to know 
 the true cause and called it his bad luck. 
 What would we now^ in this enlightened 
 age think of a man who had a horse in 
 a stable and otherwise would wholly neg- 
 lect him ? You would say at once, the 
 man Avould have l>ad luck Avith his horse. 
 Just so with his boeSj he has owned per- 
 haps for years in the old fashioned round 
 or square box liivcs, w^hieh he has to- 
 tally neglected until they finally died 
 and were lost, Nature's laws not even 
 thought of once by the man and then he 
 lays it all to his bad luel^and actually 
 tells you that he has such poor luck 
 with bees that he cannot raise them. 
 Eeader, how^ many horses do you- think 
 such treatment as this man gave his bees 
 would raise? and how fat would his hogs 
 and sheep be if they received such treat- 
 ment as the bees do, of those who pro- 
 nounce bee keeping all in luck and let 
 
 them go at loose ends, wdth Nature's 
 
 was entirely neglected. 
 
But Avhile we have spoken Qf those 
 who have thus acted very unkindly to- 
 ward the little honey bee^and finally gave 
 up in despair, let us see well to it that 
 we,under the ney>^ dispensation of things 
 pertaining to the welfare and prosperity 
 of the bee, make no mistakes and ruin 
 our stock, which if properly oared for 
 and attended to in the right time will 
 pay a larger income than any other in- 
 vestment man can make. Here let me 
 f? ly it is no uncommon thing 
 to frequently hear of Bee-keepers 
 realizing from a few stands of bees sev- 
 en to ten hundred per cent.. I also will 
 say that my humble opinion is, the only 
 sure road t6 success for the Aparian is 
 to use a Movable frame 'Hive of some 
 kind, which must be a hive up with the 
 times, so you can handle bees with ease 
 and pleasure. This of course will be a 
 matter for you to decide, to some extent 
 in your own mind, from the &ct, that 
 cost as well as the facilities for handling 
 bees depend very much upon the con- 
 struction of your hive. I have tried 
 several^ different hives of the movable 
 frames^as patented heretofore, among 
 
wkicli I am better pleased with the re 
 suits of the Hiaks B^e Hive thaa an j 
 I have as vet tried. 
 
 Reader, be yoa wh^ vou nxa/, let me 
 impress upon your mijid the im|>ortauee 
 of a strict adhereoce to the natuiul laws 
 governing the ffiuiSt iada-strious iaseicl 
 that Gbd has given for the good o£ Hian, 
 As well I d-esfte that you study the las- 
 sons herein laid down for your j^raltical 
 GperatioHB, which if followed will lea<,l 
 you to saccesfs and save many eoloaie^ 
 of boes, tvhich have been heretofore lost 
 for want of a proper* system of manage- 
 ment. Yerv Truh% 
 
 ' J. M. HICKS. 
 
THl NORTH AMERICAN 
 
 See £eef)ef^ (^tiide, 
 
 -^o- 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 The Hatural History and Bescrip- 
 tion of the Honey Be^. 
 
 THE Hoaey B«e is said to have exis- 
 ted from the earliest dawn of erea=^ 
 tion. Be this as it may, we i^ad fn 
 Holy -Nvrit, of Bees a^nd Honey both be- 
 ing round in the carcass of a Ifen (Judges 
 14th ehaptei% S vers^,) It is said that 
 the Createp gave to Adam the privilege 
 
of naming all living creatures, both of 
 the animal and insect kingdom, among 
 which he must have given the name of 
 the Honey Bee; which has been a fore- 
 runner of Civilization and was no doubt 
 brought to this continent by the puritan 
 fathers, which has existed ever since 
 among us. It is said that in parts of 
 Europe the culture of the honey bee is 
 oerried on with great j^rofit, there are as 
 many as nine hundred colonies to the 
 square mile. A Colony of Bees usually 
 contains from ten to eighty 
 thousand and in a perfect state, consisting 
 of three kinds; 1st the queen or female, 
 the mother of the whole hive. She lays 
 the eggs which liatch, both workers and 
 drones, (the lazy fathers) of the swarm 
 or hive. 
 
 The workers are female in their sex, 
 though not fully developed, tlierefore 
 they are the honey gatherers and Avax 
 workers as well as nurse and take care 
 of the young bees. In a word they do 
 all the labor in and out of the hive, as 
 well they defend themselves from all in- 
 trusions and make war upon their eu- 
 emies.' 
 
Broiies are Larger than the Work- 
 er Bees 
 
 and are the male Bees of the stock or 
 swarm; they are more clumsy ,their heads 
 and trunks are covered ^vith a fusz or 
 sort of hairy coat, their wings are larger 
 than the workers and when they fly the 
 sound is very different from the other bees. 
 They have no cavities on their legs, con- 
 sequently cannot carry pollen, they can- 
 not sting, having nothing of the sort to 
 defend themselves w^ith; they do no labor 
 about the hive, and are only useful to 
 meet the young queens in the swarming 
 season^ after which, the workers expel 
 them from the hive, killing them by 
 stinging without mercy, which is awe 
 death and thus ends their existence. 
 
 More About the Worker Bee. 
 I here wish to say something Itirther 
 
about . the vv^orker bees nursing tlieir 
 young. 
 
 I have watched with great care for 
 hours at a time/ in my Observatory 
 Hick^s Bee Hive and have invariably 
 found the young bees becoming nurses 
 as fast as they hatched out^ thereby re- 
 lieving the older bees from the duties in 
 the hive, which it seems they were pleas- 
 ed to have the privelege of doing, and 
 giving place to the young bees, and from 
 a careful as well many and repeated ob- 
 servations I have made T am fully pur- 
 suacled in my ov/n mind that the young 
 w^orker w^hen first hatched out, enters 
 from that moment upon its duties, just 
 as the apprentice who commences to 
 learn a trade a]id thus goes on up, step 
 by step, unto perfection; from the young 
 nurse bee to that of a wax worker and 
 then launches out in the open air; delv- 
 ing iijto each fiower of the field and for- 
 est, for the sweet nectar to carry home 
 where peace, harmony and wisdom 
 dwell. The worker bee is not so lars^e 
 as the drone, but is of a size between 
 the drone and the queen, and are more 
 active both in and out of the hive, rom 
 
tlie fact tiiey gather all the honey and 
 pollen^ or bee bread^ which is food for the 
 young bees, which after they once enter 
 upon the duties as honey, pollen and pro- 
 polis or glue gatherers; they only live 
 about forty or fifty days which is the av- 
 erao-e life of a worker bee. 
 
 Size and Shape of ftueens. 
 
 The queen is of a slender shape and 
 anuch longer than the drone or worker,*, 
 and as I before stated she lays- all the' 
 eggs Avhich hatch the bees, she is usually^' 
 of a brigliter color than the worker or* 
 drone, her wrings appear to be shorter 
 than the worker bee's wings, but this isr 
 owing to the fact her body is much long- 
 er and the wings do not- cover her so com- 
 ])letely as the wings do the other bees,she 
 alwtiys seems to be busy moving about 
 on the combs except when in the act of 
 
laj-iiig eggs, wliicli she is capable of per- 
 foi^ming at the rate of two to three thou- 
 eaiid per clay. 
 
 Age of ftiieens not Certain. 
 
 Althoiip:h it is equally true that a 
 queen will live in many instances to be 
 four or five years old and perform all the 
 functions of the mother of a colony; but 
 If the workers discover that she is about 
 to become barren, they will at 
 oiace make preparation to supercede 
 her, and rear another Queen, in due time. 
 Keader, I could go on and write page up- 
 on page, in connection with this subject 
 of the honey bee, but as I promised in 
 the outset, it was not my intention to 
 over-load your minds w^ith surplus mat- 
 ter, I will therefore in conclusion say to 
 you, go to your hives and there learn 
 lessons of wisdom and harmony which 
 €lwell therein, and lias from the earliest 
 cb^wn of creation. 
 
 A Test of ftueens Laying Eggs. 
 
 In my recent observations in my ob- 
 servatory hive I timed a fine italian 
 queen while in the act of laying, and she 
 laid* seven eggs per minute, which was 
 
at tlic rate of -four hundred and twenty 
 per hour, this of course she could mi 
 pcrforni very long at a time, but I am 
 well satisfied that a good prolific and' 
 healthy queen can lay at least three thou- 
 sand eg^o's in twenty-four hours, in the 
 proper season of the year, if the nurse or 
 worker bees perform their duty in wait- 
 ing on her by feeding and keeping up 
 her strength and vigor which is a duty 
 they seem to perform with great pleasure 
 and promptness while she is in the act of 
 laying^. 
 
 Do ftneens Sting. 
 
 She also has a sting which she uses 
 only in dispatching other rival queens; 
 and it is said often killing the young 
 embryo queens in their cells which I 
 doubt. 
 
 It seems to be a trait of character iii 
 'Spleen bees, to never use their sting ex- 
 •'Cept on a rival queeen, at least if so I 
 'have never known or heard of an in- 
 istance yet, as they only seem to have an 
 ^antipathy for other queens, and have 
 been known to meet each other in mor- 
 tal combat. It usually takes about fif- 
 teen to sixteen days to hatch out a fully 
 
' developed queen in a good strong 
 colony of bees and about twenty-one 
 »■ days to liatcli a worker bee from l^ie 
 ^' eggj the drones require about twenty- 
 four days to become fully developed and 
 ' katcli out^ tlie above time as specified 
 - depends very much upon the condition 
 of the colony of bees^ v/hich if strong- 
 ■ Avill often shorten the time a few days 
 ^ especially the royal queens Avhich I have 
 "' Icnown to hatch out in twelve days from 
 • the time the workers commence the 
 
 Construction of Eoyal Cells. 
 
 Queen Cells are cells which resemble a 
 peanut so much on the side of the combs 
 and is usually constructed so as to hang 
 nearly perpendicular, (they are much 
 larger than any of the other cells in the 
 comb ) which causes the queen to bo 
 
 _ developed with her head downward, arid 
 allow the organs of reproduction to 
 be fully developed, the queen cell i? 
 sometimes built around the egg, and at 
 
 ,, other times the egg is carried by the 
 workers and placed in the cell and foyal 
 jelly is also placed in the cell with 
 the Q^g, which helps with that of the 
 
9 
 
 cell to change its nature from that of a 
 worker to that of a royal queen^her royal- 
 ty passes about three days in the egg^ 
 five days a grub or larv£e^ during which 
 time the "■>vor]vC]\s deposit so much royal 
 food in the cell that the larvae fairly 
 floats in the jelly-like mass^ the cell is 
 then closed by the workers^ and the 
 larva coDimenccs to spin its cocoon 
 which occupies about twenty-four hours^ 
 the tenth eleventh and t\velfth days it 
 remains in complete repose; then it is 
 that transformation takes place, in which 
 four days are passed, and generally on 
 the sixteenth day the perfect state of the 
 queen is attained. When she first emerges 
 from the cell she seeks her own food like 
 any other bee. 'No verv particflilar atten- 
 tion is paid to her until after her impreg- 
 nation ; but as soon as that has taken 
 place she is at once recognized and con- 
 stantly atteiiGcd by the worker bees. 
 But her attendants are not ■ any special 
 or certain bees set apart for that pur- 
 pose, as is often stated by some writers, 
 but wherever the queen moves among 
 the bees they seem to detail themselves 
 in sufficient numbers for the purpose of 
 
lO' 
 
 feeding and caressing lier in all her la- 
 bors — especially so while she is in the 
 
 act of laying ego;s in the cells. 
 
 Impregnation of the Qmeen. 
 
 After hatched^ it usaally takes place 
 about the fifth day after she is hatched 
 out of the royal eel 1^ but in some in- 
 stances I have kno^Yn them to go longer; 
 yet it is very seldom, and if she should 
 go unimpregnated until she is twenty 
 .days old you may set it down as a fixed 
 rule that she will never have copula-' 
 tion Y/lih. a drone ; at least I have never 
 known of an instance of the kind 
 taking place, and have never heard 
 of but one case that a queen has become 
 fertilized after she was twenty clays old. 
 She usually comes out of the hive be- 
 tween the hours of 12 and 4 o'clock in 
 the after-noon when the drones are fly- 
 ing most abundently. As before remark- 
 ed, the queen usually comes out to meet 
 the drone in the air,on the wing in order 
 to copulate, which it is said, once perfor- 
 med is sufficient for life. But my expe- 
 rience this year 1870. has taught me that 
 
11 
 
 it does not always take place in tke 
 open air. 
 
 Artificial Fertilization in Confine- 
 ment. 
 
 I have made three efforts this season 
 in my Hicks Bee Hive and twice oat of 
 the three efforts I succeeded in having 
 two beautiful Italian queens fertilized 
 by a selected and pure drone as could be 
 found in the City of Indianapolis. 
 
 Here I will give my plan, practiced 
 or tried in the above cases referred to. 
 
 In the lirst place I procured a fruit 
 cover which is made of a cambered or 
 oval top shape of wire cloth; to this I 
 made a close liting botom of a thin piece 
 of board and placed a piece of honey with 
 my queen and drone^ also a single work- 
 er bee in the cage and then I set my 
 cage in the top of the Hicks Bee Hive 
 and after I had let them remain a few 
 hours all closed up by themselves (except 
 the workers were allowed to come up 
 and remain on and around the cage 
 which kept the necessary heat.) I then 
 examined them twice before I found any 
 perceptible change after which I took 
 
12 
 
 the queen vaul removed her to the hive, 
 I desired to test her qualities as to j^urity 
 which I found to be all I could K^k or 
 desire her to be. Let uie say the drone 
 Avas dead as a door nail, in both cases 
 above referred to. And to-day (No- 
 vember 1:6t, 1870,) I have as pretty 
 marked Italian bees as thicre is in tlie 
 state from those queens tlius fertilized. 
 
 Yet I would not say tliat the abiive 
 plan will in every instance succeed. 
 
 See illustrated Eee Journal, of 1870, 
 page 473, also, same book page 479. 
 
 But when the queen is permitted to go 
 at will and pleasure as iri tlie old way to 
 seek her own company, my opinion is 
 that copulation takes }>uice on the wing- 
 after which she commences laying in 
 about four or five days. 
 
 How a Fertile Queen is Known, 
 
 A Fertile queen is knoAs n by her de- 
 positing her eggs in the cells close to- 
 gether in circles, each surrounding the 
 lirst,and on both sides of the comb alike, 
 sealed worker brood, will present a reg- 
 nlar smooth surface of a brownish color ^ 
 
How a Virgin Queen or Drone lay- 
 ing Q^ueen is Known. 
 
 If you have an unfertile C|uceu, she 
 may be known by an irregular brood, a 
 number of raised oval cells in worker 
 combs, which shows the presence of 
 drone brood and indioates a drone lay- 
 ing queen only^ or a queen that is 
 approaching barrenness, Vv^hich is some- 
 times the case, when they become quite 
 old, wdiicli, if the latter, will often cause 
 the old queen to be suj)erceded by a' 
 young queen, reared by the workers to 
 take her place. 
 
 An Instance of Two Q^ueens in One 
 Hive. 
 
 I have known one instance of this 
 kind in the summer of 1870, in a strong 
 and full colony of Italian bees, owned 
 by a Mr. Cal. Elliott, of the city of In- 
 dianapolis. The fertile queen can lay 
 both kinds of eggs, that of drones and 
 workers. This, to many, will seem quite 
 strange ; it is nevertheless true. 
 
14 
 
 The Impregnating, or Seminal 
 Fluid, 
 
 received by the queen from tlie droae 
 is contiiined in a sac called the sperm 
 reservoir, or spcrmatheea, which com- 
 municates with the ovaduct, ihroagli 
 "which the ego-s pas-s to be deposited in 
 the cells. -Therefore, when the eggs 
 leave the ovaries, or egg-bag, they are 
 a;jiinij)regnated ; but, in passing througli 
 the oviduct, all eggs that produce work- 
 <er3, or queens, are brought in contact 
 vaththe mouth of the sac containing tlie 
 seminal fluid, and receives a portion of 
 it, which impregnates them, while all the 
 (eggs that hatches drones (which is 
 the . m.ale bee) passes, it is said, 
 through the oviduct without com- 
 ing in contact vv-ith the seminal 
 iiuid. My own convictions are that 
 the queen being fertilized it is fully car- 
 ried through her system and in her blood 
 :for life, which impregnates or fertilises 
 {the drone eggs sufficient without receiv- 
 ing the fluid direct from the sperm re- 
 .servoir. If this is not the case, whj 
 lias nature given her the instinct to know 
 
15 
 
 just when her eggs for workers are ex- 
 hausted and go in search of drone cells, 
 while the unfertile queen will lay ber 
 eggs in any and all cells ? 
 
 It is supposed that the qneen has a 
 different motion in laying eggs in work- 
 er cells to that in drone cells, which may 
 be true ; but, so far as my experience 
 goes, I am firmly of the opinion that 
 this difference comes from natural in- 
 stinctj ii'hich she fully understands from 
 her own feelings while in the act of lay- 
 ing, as I have sat and watched her in all 
 the motions she made for hours at a 
 time in my Observatory Hicks Bec- 
 Hive, pre^mred expressly for the pur- 
 pose, in which I have timed her while hi 
 the act of laying, which result was as 
 follows : The first two minutes she laid 
 ten eggs — five each minute — and the 
 third minute she laid seven, which made 
 seventeen in three minutes, at which 
 rate she would fill three hundred and 
 forty (340) cells in an hour, and which 
 would be eight thousand one hundred 
 and sixty (8,160) in twenty-four hours. 
 But it is certain that she must have some 
 time to rest, which we must allow. This 
 
16 
 
 being tlie fact, we can safely say that a 
 healthy and vigorous queen will lay from 
 one thousaucl to three thousand eggs 
 every twenty-four hours in the working 
 season if honey and pollen is plentiful, 
 all things being equal. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 On Swarming, and Why Bees 
 Swarm. 
 
 It is an admitted fact that bees have 
 been kept for ages past, and yet there 
 are but few of to-day who keep bees but 
 what are ignorant of the nature of 
 swarming. 
 
 I shall therefore try in this connec- 
 tion to show briefly why stocks throw 
 oif swarms, and speak of the general 
 -characteristics of s\Yarming. 
 
 First Swarm. 
 
 When a hive becomes full of comb, 
 bee-bread and brood, the cpieen has 
 no longer sufficient room to deposit her 
 eggs, and the workers require more room 
 
to store their honey ; preparation i.s 
 therefore made for swarming. This is 
 done by the workers, Avho instinctively 
 commence the rearing of young queens. 
 For here let me say if young queens are 
 not reared no swarming need be looked 
 for, neither will it take place, though 
 they may be ever so much crowded for 
 room, ilence it is not altogether true 
 that bees swarm for vrant of room. Iso 
 stock will ever cast a swarm unless the 
 queen will leave, and she will not leave 
 unless rival queens are being reared. It 
 is also equally true that the old queen 
 is the one that leads tlie first swarm. 
 She, finding the cells all filled and occu- 
 pied, and the roaring of young ones 
 commenced, becomes very much agitated 
 and eacli day inore restless, and not be- 
 ing permitted by the guards and senti- 
 nels around the queen-cells to destroy 
 them, runs rapidly over the combs, some- 
 times stopping upon the side of a comb 
 and dropping her eggs among the work- 
 ers, who greedily devour them. The 
 workers also, par take of the excitement. 
 A few at first, the number gradually in- 
 rapid ly over the 
 
18 
 
 combs, striking their attense at eacho til- 
 er. And as soon as one or. more of the 
 queen-cells are capped over, the excite- 
 ment still increasing anion g^ the bees, as 
 if by pre-concert the;' rush to the honey 
 ceils and fill themselves with their pre- 
 cious stores. After each bee has par- 
 taken to their fill, the weather permit- 
 ting, they rush from the hive in a per- 
 fect cloud, as if the very halls of pan- 
 demonium had been let loose among 
 them, 
 
 The Old ftueen Going With Them. 
 
 Most usually she leaves the hive when 
 about two-thirds of the swarm are out. 
 I have often noticed her go back two or 
 three times, as if she wished to .<co if 
 all things were in readiness before she 
 would make the eifort to fly. • There are 
 but few^ drones to go with the first 
 swarm, from the fact that the old queen 
 is impregnated for life. Hence they are 
 not required. Instinctively they remain 
 with the parent hive, where the young 
 queens are being reared. 
 
19 
 When the First Sv/arm is Cast 
 
 the parent hive is left without a qiiceii, 
 but there are several being fast devel- 
 oped. As before remaked, one or more 
 of the qaeen-cells are generally sealed 
 over before the old queen leaves. In 
 about eight or nine days after the first 
 swarm has issued a second swarm may 
 be expected — that is, if the stock intends 
 to cast a second swarm. 
 
 The Piping of the Queens 
 
 is often heard on the evening before the 
 second swarm issues. This piping noise 
 is somewhat in sound like that of a 
 young chicken when it is making the 
 effort to leave the shell in hatching, 
 Su})pose a first swarm had issued on 
 Monday ; just a v/eek from the evening 
 of the next day, which vrould be Tues- 
 day evening, if you will go to the hives 
 you v/ill hear the cry of war, as it is so 
 called by most of bee keepers, and is a 
 sure token of a swarm to come off on 
 the following day, which would be 
 Wednesday. Yet this is not always a 
 
20 
 
 ., .^. I tell yoii, reader, the 
 weather has a great deal to do in bee 
 swarming. For instance : if it has been 
 a long, dry spell you need not be sur- 
 prised at your bees if they fail to swarm 
 at all ; but let there come a good shower 
 of rain and my word for it you will see 
 the swarms more certain the next day, 
 if it is a beautiful day, than if it had re- 
 mained dry and parched, or sultry. 
 
 ?[o^v, one thing more I wish to call 
 your attention to, and that is the fact of 
 so many bee keepers claiming that as 
 soon as a young queen is hatched she 
 goes in search of other queen-cells, that 
 she may tear them open and dispatch the 
 more young and tender sister queens in 
 their embryo state before they have time 
 to hatch and become her rivals. Now, 
 I wish to be plainly understood that I 
 do not believe any such doctrine, having 
 watched v;ith a careful eye this very 
 much mistaken idea, and have in many 
 instances found that as soon as a young 
 queen had hatched out and was of a 
 strong and vigorous form, which is al- 
 ways determined and decided by the 
 w^orker bees themselves, they at onee 
 
21 
 
 proceed to gnaw open and demolish all 
 the other queen-cells that are unhatched. 
 This has been a lesson of great inter- 
 est to me, and feeling unsatisfied with the 
 explanations by other bee men as to how 
 they were disposed of, I fully prepared 
 myself with an Observatory Hicks Bee 
 Hive and watched with care, and in eve- 
 ry instance the result has been as above 
 stated. Yet, dear reader, it may be that 
 
 Queens Do Often Meet in Mortal 
 Combat, 
 
 and '^engage in a death struggle, I do 
 not deny ; but never until one or both 
 have become fertilized. Then it is that 
 a disposition seems to take hold and 
 predominate for the supremacy as mis- 
 tress and motlier of the future colony. 
 Again, how often is it that we arc asked. 
 Can you tell me why it is that a swarin 
 of my bees came off with two, three or 
 even four queens ? Yes, dear reader : 
 this goes to prove n?y theory. As above 
 referred to, you will recollect that I 
 have before stated that there were 
 guards whose duty it was to keep watch 
 
9-7 
 
 over the queen-ceils, each one iiaying a 
 .separate set ; and as fast as those queens 
 "svere hatched out their guards or attend- 
 ants still kept watch over their queen, 
 preventing any others from harming her, 
 until there might be, perhaps, two, 
 three or even four queens hatched ; and 
 finally some one of the number, getting 
 indignant at some of her sister queens' 
 presence, starts out in disgust, with the 
 sound of swarming in :'her shriek^^ jvijd 
 they all go togethqrjin one common 
 swarm, as it were, and while on the wing 
 it is possible that one of . the thuee or 
 more queens may copulate with a drone, 
 after which they settle all together, and 
 the bee-keeper, feeling himself at a loss 
 as to what course to pursue, concludes 
 to have one extra large swarm of then;i, 
 and actually puts them all in a flour or 
 salt barrel, and thinks he has done all 
 things well. So the next morning he 
 goes out and looks about and finds t^vo 
 or three queens dead. Xow, Mr. C, 
 this is just the fruits of one or more of 
 your queens having copulated with a 
 drone while in the swarming melius, after 
 which, if they would • ever fight at all. 
 
23 
 
 it will then take place, soon after they 
 have been hived together.. And the re- 
 sult is you find so many dead ones about 
 your barrel of bees that you hived the 
 day before. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 What a Queen-Oell Looks Like. 
 
 Having been often asked what a 
 queen-cell looked like, I will proceed to 
 describe, in as clear and plain manner 
 as possible. They are usually built on 
 the edge or side of the brood-combs, and 
 look very much like a pea-nut. They 
 are about three-eighths of an inch in 
 diameter at the base, and extend down- 
 wards, gradually tapering to about half 
 the size at the lower end or point, and 
 is usually about one and an eighth of an 
 inch long. It is also my humble opinion 
 that queen cells are made of an entirely 
 different material to that of any of the 
 combs. And, this being the case, it is 
 also my conviction that it is the differ- 
 ent material which produces such a radi- 
 cal change in the egg, or larvse, which 
 
24 
 
 makes a queen. I am well aware that 
 many who have been bee-keepers for 
 years differ with me on this subject. But 
 here let me say I have been a student 
 for the purpose of learning the mysteries 
 of the bee hive, which has been done 
 only by dint of study and close obser- 
 vation, and feel sure that what I have 
 stated with regard to the change above 
 spoken of, is correct. Especially so'^when 
 A¥e all -admit the theory that all eggs 
 are female in their sex except those pro- 
 ducing drones. And any egg which a 
 fertile queen deposits in a worker-cell 
 will also produce a queen if transferred 
 from said cell into a royal cell before it 
 gets seven days old. Now, the mere 
 change from the brood or worker-cells 
 to that of the royal cell does not make 
 a queen bee. But it is also necessary 
 that the wants of the whole colony de- 
 mand a queen should be raised, so that 
 all may work in unison and harmoir/ 
 together, the older bees performing the 
 labor of carrying honey, water and pol- 
 len, ail of which is essential to the rear- 
 ing of worker, or queen bees. 
 
25 
 
 What a Royal Queen Cell is 
 Made of. 
 
 This cell question has been for many 
 years a ])nzzler to a great niauy bee 
 men, and seems to be hard for most of 
 them to understand; but I think if v»^e 
 apply the riglit means in the right way 
 it will not be hard to determine and 
 come at facts. Having made several 
 tests and experiments, I now feel sure 
 that I make a correct statement when I 
 assert that the queen cell is made from 
 what is known as farina, or dust of 
 flowers, and better known as bee-bread, 
 a large share or quantity of which, as 
 w^ell as that of pulp, is also used in pre- 
 paring and building those royal cells, 
 which have already been described as 
 the cells in which the queen is raised 
 and hatched. This forms an entirely 
 different substance from that of any of 
 the other cells in the hive, and which, 
 when filled with the creamy-like food 
 y\^hich the worker bees always supply 
 for the queen while in a larvae state. It 
 has the property in it of extracting a 
 substance from the body of the cell, 
 
26 
 
 ■which also changes its chemical nature. 
 This, in my humble opinion, is all ne- 
 cessary in order to bring about the re- 
 sult of maturing a fully devoloped 
 female or queen, so that when she has 
 mated with a drone that \s fully and 
 properly organize<l, she is then a proper 
 bee to lay all the eggs for replenishing 
 the hive with worker bees and dron^es 
 for future prosperity. We have exam- 
 ined, time and again, those cells under^ a 
 microscope, and invariably found them 
 composed of a large portion of fcina, 
 and a sufficient amount of pulp to give 
 the cell solidity and a glossy inside coat- 
 ing. 
 
 Bo Bees Supercede Their Queens? 
 
 To this question allow me to say they 
 do, and often kill them in the spring of 
 the year, after they have wintered safely 
 through, as I have often observed. And 
 I would further say for the benefit of all 
 who may be interested in the little hon- 
 ey-bee, that this killing of queens so 
 early in the spring of the year is one of 
 the many causes why we lose so many 
 
27 
 
 stocks^ and wonder to ourselves why out 
 bees died in April, or even as late as 
 May, after they had begun to gather bee 
 bread and honey. The question often 
 arises why they kill their mother and 
 oiily hope of existence. To this there 
 might be many and various answers, 
 some of which I will give. The first is, 
 that as soon as your, as well as your 
 neighbor's, bees begin to fly out and go 
 in search of food, they find it quite 
 searce, w^hich frequently starts them to 
 robbing : and in this they always kill 
 the queen as soon as possible. When 
 accomplished, success is theirs, and they 
 then go with the robbers, and carry off 
 their ov*^n honey, if they have any, to 
 the successful hives of the robbers. An- 
 other reason is, it frequently happens 
 that in handling your bees you get your 
 hand on the queen, and get her scented 
 from your hand, and in this way she is 
 often attacked and killed as soon as you 
 close up your hive. I have often been 
 asked by persons visiting my apiary to 
 let them see a queen, asserting at the 
 same time that they have never seen a 
 queen, which is all right ; but if they 
 
28 
 
 knew.liOAv dangerous it was to the wel- 
 fare and prosperity of the stock of beesy 
 I. feel certain they would not insist on 
 me to show the queen^ and in all proba- 
 bility in doing so I Avould lose a full 
 stock in a sliort time. 
 
 CIIAPTEK IV. 
 
 Further Explanation of Sex, 
 
 I here wisli to explain further about 
 tjie.sex of the eggs being determined at 
 the time of laying; for instance^ it is ad- 
 mitted by ail Bee-keepers ^\]io ]ay any 
 claim to apiarian science, that a virgin 
 queen at twenty-one days old will lay 
 eggs which will produce drones only.- 
 (But I say they are imperfect drones, 
 not having the male organization fully 
 developed, and cannot perform the func- 
 tions of the male in fertilizing queens.) 
 Hence, it must follow that tiie general 
 rule holds good in the insect creation, as 
 in the animal; for if we liave a pure, 
 imported Italian queen, which was fer- 
 tilized in her mother country, where 
 there are no otlicr bees except the pure 
 
29 
 
 Italian, and we raise pure virgin queens 
 from her, and have no otlier drones, but 
 the Black in our. apiary, we now have 
 those young queens copulate with the 
 Black drones, and the result is a 
 cross breed, which will be the 
 same of all the bees and drones that 
 said queens may raise, no matter how 
 long she lives or how many times she is 
 permitted to swarm, or artificially divid- 
 ed. Now comes the pretty part; sup- 
 pose you raise the next season all your 
 drones from this same queen that has 
 met the black drone and queens from 
 your imported queen again, and they 
 copulate with the drones last mentioned; 
 I ask, what will be the result? Answer 
 — They will be three-quarter bloods of 
 Italian stock, notwithstanding the opin- 
 ion of Mr. S. D. Barber to the contrary,, 
 for he says the drones from such queens 
 as are fertilized by a black drone, will be 
 pure Italian. (See his Bee book, page 
 36.) I should very much hate to be 
 compelled to have stock from such a 
 man\s apiary, who would teach such 
 false doctrine and at the same time do 
 so much advertising as he does. Broth- 
 
30 
 
 €r Barber, I hop€ you will get new light, 
 and sell better stock than I saw a few 
 days since from your apiaiy^, February, 
 1874. Now, the' fact is, that the blood 
 of such queens is tainted for life, no mat- 
 ter how pure they may be in their virgin 
 «tate, or before they copulate with nis 
 black drone. It will also be right the 
 reversra if w^e have a black queen fertile 
 ized by an Italian drone; all of her 
 ^'tock will be half-breeds of the two 
 kinds, and her drones will be half-breeds 
 also. But Mr. Barber says, by his theo- 
 ry, they, the drones, are pure black, or 
 of the native bee. The same rule will 
 hold good, as w^e have often seen, in the 
 human family as well as in the animal 
 'creation: also in the swine we see the 
 same result's of iNature's law. 
 
 But we v\dll now leave you, dear read- 
 er, to study into cause and effect, and 
 solve such problems for yourself. Hav- 
 ing given you the true results of such a 
 course of breeding, let me say, try and 
 be honest in all your sales of Hives, 
 Hights and Queens. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 FEA'CTICAL LESSOH 
 
 On Transferring Bees and Brood 
 
 into Movable Frame Hives, 
 
 First, get yon a good roll of cotton 
 rags, and wrap some fine Y/ire around it, 
 then set fire to one end, but don^t let it 
 blaze; n%w step boldly up to the hive 
 of bees you d.esire to transfer, and blow 
 some smoke in at the entrance until you 
 hear the bees set up .a humming noise, 
 K'ow pick up your hive, bees and all, 
 and take them to a room, or some other- 
 place where the other bees will not both- 
 er you in trying to rob. Of course you 
 will now have your new hive in readi- 
 ness, with the frames laid near by. ^^sTow 
 give your bees a little more smoke, and 
 in ten minutes you can lay the mouth or 
 lovv'er end of your old'hive close to your 
 new movable frame hive, and with a 
 good hammer, or hatchet, and cold-chis- 
 el, cut the nails of your old hive, and 
 take off one side. 'No'\y have a table, or 
 bench, on which to lay your combs- 
 
32 
 
 of brood, and procure a long-bladed 
 knife, well sharpened on a regular scythe 
 stone, ^Yhich makes the .best edge for 
 cutting out the combs. Be careful to 
 take out all the combs, a sheet at a time, 
 and with a goose - feather, or small 
 broom, brush oif the adhering bees into 
 your new hive; also, be careful and do 
 not bruise or mar the brood in handling, 
 and lay into a neat pile as you take it 
 out, and brush oif the bees into your 
 new hive; after which you crln take a 
 frame and fit a comb of brood, being 
 careful to keep the same end to the top 
 of your frame as it stood in the old hive, 
 find Avith a Xo. 9 or ip bradawl make a 
 few holes through the frame and put in 
 wooden pins, or white thorns, which 
 you must prepare, or get quite a number 
 beforehand, of some tough, good wood; 
 hickory will be best. The pins must be 
 about two and a quarter inches long, 
 gradually tapered like a darning needle. 
 After you have thus fitted all the brood 
 in the frames, place them in proper shape 
 as they were before, with the combs near 
 the middle of the hive. Your bees be- 
 ing already clustered in the hive, you 
 
33 
 
 will have no trouble in handling them 
 further, .only to. be careful not to mash 
 or crush them as you close up your hive 
 gently. Now take and set the new hive 
 where the bees formerly stood, and you 
 will have the gratification of seeing them 
 at work in less than thirty minutes. In 
 a day or two go to the hive and open 
 slowly and gently, and make a careful 
 exammation of the combs, to see that 
 they are all in the frames properly, and 
 that all is right; but if any have warped, 
 straighten them, and draw out all the 
 wooden pins that can be spared, as the 
 combs will in two or three days be all 
 fastened by the bees in the frames. 
 
 The above is one of the best plans, 
 and by far the most speedy. 
 
 Why is it that Bees of the Present 
 Bay do not Swarm so Much, nor 
 Make as Much Honey, as They 
 Did Years Ago, During the Early 
 Settlement of the Country? 
 
 Now, reader, you have no doubt asked 
 this question more times than I know 
 anything about, and in all probability 
 
liave during tlie. fairs where I have been 
 lecturing asked me the same. Ajid while 
 I now attempt to give you a fair and an 
 honest answer^ let me say, it is of the ut- 
 most importance for the suc'cess of an 
 apiary, that it should be located in a 
 neighborhood where the bees can readily 
 find an abundant supply of good pastur- 
 age. The success of bee-keeping de- 
 pends greatly upon this. As well might 
 a stock-grov>Tr expect to make his cattle 
 profitable without supplying them prop- 
 erly with food, as to,,^suppose th?t bees 
 will live, thrive and be of benefit t<> their 
 owners without obtaining constant sup- 
 plies of pollen and honey, in some way, 
 from spring to fall, with but little, if 
 any, intermission. ,1 suppose that any 
 school girl or boy ten years old could 
 very easily answer the cpiestion, if I were 
 to ask wliy it is that cattle, horses and 
 hogs that run at large novr-a-days, do 
 not thrive as well as they once did when 
 this country vras new; yet the first ques- 
 tion has been a puzzler to many older 
 heads than mine, and vrould-be icise bec- 
 Jceepers. But they never think once that 
 it is just as essential in the one case as in 
 
the other that the efforts of man must be 
 put forth ill furnishing the necessary sup- 
 ply that nature once furnished, but now 
 shorn from the land; and if not pro- 
 duced through and by the effort of the 
 bee-keeper, they will fall far short of that 
 most bountiful and richest of all dain- 
 ties, which cannot be procured in any 
 other way than through and by the hon- 
 ey-bee; which was gathered from the 
 flowers all over this broad land of the 
 North American Continent. The coun- 
 try, in^^ its wild state, produced in the 
 greatest abundance an unvarying succes- 
 sion of flowers, from early spring until 
 frost came, yielding for the harvesters 
 (the Bees) -^unlimited supplies of bee- 
 bread and honey, as well as propolis, or 
 glue, for their use in stopping up cracks 
 and lining their old-fashioned hives, so 
 rudely made and furnished to them; all 
 of which (except the old-fashioned hive) 
 are just as essential now, as in the days 
 of the primitive fathers, to propagate 
 very rapidly, and to store up immense 
 quantities of honey, bidding defiance to 
 the moth, unless, as it sometimes hap- 
 pened, a^disorganized colony "^would fall 
 
a prey to their depreuations. As the 
 forests were felled^ End ^the country 
 cleared and brought into a state of cul- 
 tivation, this source of pasturage was in 
 many places almost entirely cut off, un- 
 til their sole dependence was on the clo- 
 ver and buckwheat, which lasts but about 
 two months of the year; during the re- 
 mainder of the season they caiintt gather 
 sufficient honey to G'lpj 'ly their immedi- 
 ate wants. In such ceses m.en have pro- 
 vided pasture and mr-de ruitable provi- 
 sion ibr all other l:\rC3 of stock, but 
 neglect-ed i/i foifo the do ost. faithful and 
 productive of all servants, the Honey- 
 Bee, which is left to provide for itself; 
 the inevitable result of which will be 
 their total extinction in old settled coun- 
 tries, unless a change '3 made in this di- 
 rection, and pasturage supplied for them, 
 which can be done at less expense than 
 for any other .stock, anch^'ith greater re- 
 turns of profit. 
 
 I hav€ tried in a former lesson given 
 upon pasturage for bees, to tell you what 
 kinds, or at least the most of the many 
 'which are valuable plants, and will now 
 say if you who desire to keep the little 
 
37 
 
 pets will but halfway perform your duty 
 toward them^ at the right time and in 
 the right way, they will pay you over 
 ten hundred per cent; besides, you will 
 reap a rich reward from the crops thus 
 cultivated as food for cattle, sheep, horses 
 ;a.nd hogs.* Besides, I feel quite sure 
 you will never regret having bought this 
 little book. 
 
 Do ftueens Have a Sting? And if 
 so, Do They Ever Use Them, and 
 What On? 
 
 In this lesson, dear reader, let me say 
 that Queens have stings, and use them 
 only on rival Queens and Drones. This 
 may seem rather strange to many who 
 have read our lesson upon her royal dig- 
 nity when we said that they never used 
 their stings on anything except a rival 
 Queen. But at the time we wrote that 
 lesson we did not know quite as much 
 fis we do now about Bees or 
 Queens. You must recollect, likewise, 
 
 '■Alstke clover makes the iDest of har, and is fic^t-clftsa 
 bog pasture, rrhieh is fnllv sobitaiitiat^d by some of tli« 
 -Aret and brat farmers in thu DfighborbffeOd. 
 
 T. Heai>, Jr., 
 £attle Groaod, Tipp€canoeCo., lad. 
 
38 
 
 that we desire that you may fully under- 
 stand that all the mysteries are not 
 learned in a short time about bees and 
 their habits. And let us further say 
 that we had never know^n in all our ex- 
 periments up to Jnly, 1874^ that a virgin 
 Queen would wilfully, and apparently 
 maliciously, attack an innocent drone 
 and send him to his long home by sting- 
 ing him to death without mercy. But 
 such is the fact, and we have two living 
 witnesses who will attest it, having seen 
 the same incident, which we shaJl now 
 relate. 
 
 We think it was about the 10th of 
 July, 1874, that we received a letter 
 from a Mr. D. T. Musselman, of Cam- 
 den, Carroll County, Indiana, who de- 
 sired us to come to his place and assist 
 him in the artificial swarming of his 
 Italian bees, all of which were in good 
 condition in the Hicks Bee-Hive. We 
 arrived at his place of residence on the 
 18th. He and ourself, in company with 
 a friend, proceeded to extract hon- 
 ey from the combs of a few frames, and 
 to make up some five or six extra stocks. 
 Then he took us to a strong and vigor- 
 
39 
 
 ous hive of bees, in wliicli he had sever- 
 al Italian Queens hatched, in small cages. 
 We took one of the cages out, and as the 
 drones were flying out on their usual ex- 
 cursion trips, we caught one very large 
 and vigorous one in less than a quarter 
 of a minute. We then thought we would 
 try another one, which we soon caught 
 and placed in with her royal highness, 
 and she treated him the same way, all of 
 which was accomplished in less than a 
 minute's time; and strange to say, yet 
 too true, when she thrust her sting 
 into them, it killed them so dead that 
 they showed no signs of life, and seemed 
 to be perfectly hard. The queen seemed 
 to be in a perfect rage and restless, v>dsh- 
 ing to escape from her confinement no 
 doubt. But we will here say again, that 
 as yet we have never known an instance 
 where a queen has ever stung a human 
 being or an animal of any kind. 
 l_See lesson on Drones.'] 
 
 More Persons than do, Should Keep 
 Bees. 
 
 We will in this lesson try to show that 
 
40 
 
 it would be well for all parties con- 
 cerned, and far better for the whole 
 country, if more people would engage in 
 this laudable and most profitable busi- 
 ness. In the first place, we all acknowl- 
 edge that the Honey-Bee ls a perfect 
 model of industry, and shows to man- 
 kind that lazy loungers are not long tol- 
 erated in their household, but are soon 
 expelled with a death-warrant. Again, 
 if we would profit by wisdom^s ways, we 
 should at least have a few stands of bees 
 in our gardens or door-yards, in order to 
 see them occasionally, and learn indus-^ 
 trious habits, as they are at work from 
 early morn till dewy eve, and yield a 
 rich return to their keeper, which cannot 
 be procured in any other way than by 
 the industry of the little Honey-Bee. 
 
 Again, how many there are who now 
 are dragging out a miserable existence, 
 who have been brought up in idleness in 
 the homes of perhaps rich parents, and 
 afterward become poor by not knowing 
 how to work or economize? We would 
 add, that if our young and rising gener- 
 ation would copy more after the habits 
 of the little Honey-Bee, our prisons and 
 
poor-house-j vs ^ ve fewer inmates, 
 
 our courts >,v."u'^ be bothered less 
 with cases of persons charged with crim- 
 inal offences, and our State and county 
 debts be niaterially reduced. In this way 
 they would co^'^^'"''? greatly to their 
 own happiness, " eonie good citizens 
 and ornaments to society. Then let us 
 in our efforts entreat one and all who 
 can control, either by purchase or lease, 
 a few rods of Mother Earth, to get and 
 keep a few stands of bees. Person^ who 
 live in cities, as well as those in villages 
 and on the farm, may keep bees, and 
 scarcely miss the time it takes to keep 
 them in good trim, vx'liich can always be 
 done early of a in iniing, the best time 
 to perform any ^i ceded operation Vvdth 
 your bees, such as artilicial swarming, or 
 taking a few fr --es of honey, which 
 makes a dish 1- V: L oautiful when prop- 
 erly arranged oii the table at meal- time. 
 It is by far mi»ch easier and clieaper 
 when thus procured, than to have it to 
 buy in the market places, especially so 
 when honey is steadily year by year ad- 
 vancing in price. 
 
 We have written more on this subject 
 
42 
 
 than we had at first intended, but when 
 we see and feel the importance of it, 
 which ought to interest every lady and 
 gentleman, both young and old, we hard- 
 ly know how and where to close our re- 
 marks, without giving you some advice 
 as to what is best for the poor and brok- 
 en-down merchant and mechanic, as well 
 as many farmers, who have failed in bu- 
 siness, and women who have lost their 
 husbands and left in many cases with a 
 house full of little helpless children to 
 support. We say to all such, let us en- 
 treat you to try your hand at keeping a 
 few stands of bees, as you know not 
 what you can do until you have made the 
 effort. We will cheerfully give you all 
 the instructions v/e can, if you write to 
 us, inclosing a postage stampto send you 
 an answer to your questions. 
 
 ArtiSeially S¥/aririiiig Eees. 
 
 This is one of the simplest things in 
 b ee-keeping. But before I go further 
 into the explanation of making your new 
 swarms, dear reader, let me say, get you 
 a good movable frame hive, one in which 
 
43 
 
 you feel assured you can lianclle bees with 
 €ase and profit; and after you haVe thus 
 made your selection, have all your hives 
 made of the same size and pattern, hav- 
 ing them all painted at least two or three 
 weeks before you need them for use. 
 This being done, you are ready for mak- 
 ing your increase of stock, provided they 
 are strong in numbers and plenty of 
 brood. Now you can open one of your 
 new hives and take out six of the frames; 
 then open a hive of bees and take out 
 two full frames, bees, brood and honey, 
 all together, and replace in their stead 
 tv>^o empty frames. Let a full frame 
 stand between the empty ones, and put 
 the full frames you have just taken out 
 of the full hive into the empty hive, set- 
 ting riiem side by side. Then operate 
 on two more hives the same way, being 
 careful that you do not take a queen 
 from any one of your full stocks. This 
 relieves them from swarming, and gives 
 you six full frames in your new hive, 
 which you can now place jn or at the old 
 standpoint of some strong and populous 
 colony, by setting the old stock at the 
 same ncAv location and place your new 
 
44 
 
 hive in its stead; my word for it, thev 
 Yfill rarse .a queen in a feY\' days for them- 
 selves, as they have plenty of eggs and 
 young brood from which to fully mature 
 and protect themselves for at least from 
 two weeks to fifteen days^ at which time 
 you can exchange a frame or two of 
 brood from some populous stock, so as 
 to prevent your new hive from swarming 
 Vv'hen the young queen cornos out to meet 
 the drone. Be careful to brush off all 
 auhering bees of the last mentioned 
 frames into their own respective hives, 
 vrhich Y\'ill prevent your young queen 
 from getting killed by the young bees, if 
 you should make a mistake and put bees 
 and all in together. 
 
 A Fertile Y/orker — How Kiiown» 
 
 My dear reader, this is one of the 
 many difficulties that the apiarian has to 
 contend with in bee-keepiug. and should 
 be better understood, even by the older 
 beekeepers. TJ^e Fertile (y/orker) is 
 known only by the uneveness of the 
 brood she produces (like that of a vir- 
 gin queen), all drones and no v.'orker 
 
45 
 
 becS;, vrhich will soon annihilate the 
 whole colony^ — as I have before told you 
 that drones were not self-sustaining, 
 from the inct that they do not carry h on -^ 
 ey, bee-bread or water, as workers do. 
 It is also true that such drones are not 
 i .dly developed males; hence they are of 
 Lo value in fertilizing queens. The 
 cause of the Fertile worker being brought 
 i-ito existence is the fact ihat it was an 
 cog, or quite a young grub, that was 
 raised in a worker cell, in close proximi- 
 ty to a royal or queen cell, that has had 
 plenty of royal cream, or food prepared 
 and placed so near the young worker 
 lliat it has been affected by the royal 
 food intended for the young queen; but 
 it not having a proper cell in which to 
 become fully developed, it does not ar- 
 rive at that degree of perfection in its 
 cr<ans of reproduction, or ovaries, as to 
 become fertilized and lay eggs to raise 
 bees as a fertile queen does, but being 
 what I call a neuter. It has none of the 
 natural fitness of nature, that is actually 
 necessary to reproduce its species, and 
 keep up a full family or colony of bees. 
 
46 
 
 How to Get Eld of the Fertile 
 
 Worker- 
 
 The Avay for the apiarian to get rid of 
 tliem, is to exchange a fevv frames of 
 brood with a good stock of bees that has 
 plenty of eggs and young bees from a 
 prolific queen; and my word for it, they 
 will soon clear her out of the hive, and 
 raise another queen for themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER yi. 
 
 On the Drone Q^uestion, and What 
 the Drone is for. 
 
 Permit me to state first, that a full 
 and perfect svfarm of bees consists of 
 three kinds, first, the queen, or mother 
 of the whole colony; second, the worker, 
 or honey-gatherer; third, the drone, the 
 subject of which w^e now propose to 
 treat. This is the male bee, and is al- 
 ways present in the swarming season; 
 without which the honey-bee would soon 
 become extinct, as it is essential from the 
 creation up to the present time, that all 
 created beings in all nature have tY\^o pa- 
 
47 
 
 rents, a mother and a father; hence, the 
 drone is the father of all the bees that 
 may be raised in a regular swarm. He 
 is only useful in fertilizing the queen, 
 which, when once performed, puts an end 
 to his life, and leaves the queen fertile 
 for life. She lays all the eggs from that 
 time on to produce both bees and drones 
 for future swarms, without ever meeting 
 or copulating again with another drone. 
 This may seem like strange doctrine, but 
 nevertheless it is true; and further let 
 me state right here, that the queen can 
 and does lay frequently as high as 3,000 
 eggs in a day and night, in the height of 
 the honey harvest; and will in any rea- 
 sonable honey season lay on an average 
 1,500 in twenty-four hours. This no 
 doubt will be surprising^ to many, and 
 also be doubted by those who have not 
 had an opportunity of knowing. I wish 
 further to say that it quite frequently 
 happens that the queen, when she fails 
 to meet and copulate with a drone for 
 twenty-one days, scarcely ever becomes 
 fertilized, and will also commence laying 
 eggs which produce drones only, and the 
 whole colony will soon become extinct 
 
48 
 
 and have passed away. The drones i:;:!: 
 being self-sustaining^ likevfise they have 
 not the proper organs for fertilizing eth- 
 er queens, and soon j)erish, leaving 1:0 
 issue for sl future generation. 
 
 Opinion of General Adair Bonb ^c a> 
 
 I am well aware that General Ada!';, 
 of HaAvesville_, Kentucky, has a differs i^b 
 opinion; for he asserted, in 1871, at tlij 
 North American Bee Convention^ held 
 at Cleveland, Ohio, that he had a virgin 
 which he had raised drones from, and 
 that she became fertilized by her o^yii 
 offspring, which I cannot credit; or ct 
 least I feel certain that the General is ; . - 
 boring under a mistake, and belie . _ 
 could account for the fertility of hio sir- 
 gin queen. 
 
 The drone is larger than the worker 
 bee; has no sting, and therefore is h?.rni- 
 less; is a consumer, and not a producer, 
 of honey, pollen and water, and lives upon 
 the labors of the industrious workers, 
 and is unmercifully expelled from the 
 hive after the swarming season is over. 
 
49 
 
 (I have often thought I should very 
 much dislike to be a drone.) 
 
 Now, dear reader, let me say to you, 
 go to your bee-hive, if you have one 
 you can open with ease, and learn les- 
 sons of wisdom; there is v\^here we have 
 n finer display of true Mother Nature 
 than any raan^s pen can describe on pa- 
 per. I have only opened up the way 
 for a beginning for you, and am only 
 sorry I have not the room in this little 
 book to talk more to you, and lead you 
 further into the fountain that is full of 
 mystery, and will be as long as we live; 
 but when you have there taken one les- 
 son, it will fit you better for the second, 
 and so on, until you in all probability 
 will be made to exclaim, "Oh, what won- 
 ders to man there are in the little Honey- 
 Bee and Nature's God V 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 Driving Bees into New Hives. 
 
 I would here remark that this is a par- 
 tieular thing to do, especially so if you 
 are not acquainted with the operation. 
 
>0 
 
 yet it is also very simple^ if properly un- 
 derstood. I have driven a fail swarm 
 from one hive into another in fifteen 
 minutes, and not have a single person 
 stung, or get stang myself. My plan 
 is, first to take some v/arm Avater and 
 sweeten it vvell with honey, or sugar will 
 do, and sprinkle the bees with the syr- 
 up, and then take a roll of cotton rags 
 and smoke them well (as mentioned in 
 lesson on transferring), then carry them 
 off to some cool and shady place, and 
 turn your hive upside down, and set 
 your new hive over the open end of the 
 old stock to be driven. Now get you 
 two good sized sticks, about eighteen in- 
 ches long, and beat w^th the sticks oij 
 the sides of the hive with the bees in, 
 and in a few minutes they will all go up 
 and cluster as a regular swarm in the 
 top of your new hive. 
 
 How to Locate Bees After Driving. 
 
 Place them in a new location, and the 
 old hive you can set back at its old 
 stand-point,|where it Avill receive a suf- 
 ficient number of workers to protect the 
 
51 
 
 brood, and will raise another queen. 
 This driving process should always be 
 done at the right time, or you may ruin 
 your stocks. I have made four good, 
 strong stocks from one in a season, and 
 had them winter well, but it happened 
 to be a good season. 
 
 How to Hive Bees and Settle Them 
 When Allowed to Swarm. 
 
 If you prefer letting your bees swarm 
 naturally, I would recommend a free use 
 of water to be thrown among them while 
 on the wing; first, if you have no bushes 
 OF fruit trees handy for them to settle on, 
 I would say to get a few brushy- topped 
 bushes and set them nearly where your 
 bee-stands are, several days before you 
 expect themto swarm; then, with a free 
 use of water, as above, while they are on 
 the wing, will generally settle them in 
 due time. Now lose no time in making 
 preparation to get them hived, which 
 you can do very soon without much 
 trouble. First, open the side door of 
 your hive, if you have one of the Hick's 
 flives, and place a small piece of board 
 
S2 
 
 slanting edgewise, at the bottom of the 
 hive, so your bees can have no trouble 
 in going in; then before you undertake 
 to do anything fuii:her, h.ave you a pint 
 or more of sweetened water, made quite 
 sweet; with this gently^ sprinkle the 
 swarm, and after you see they have com- 
 menced filling themselves, you can take 
 the bushes and place them down close to 
 the hive, and give the bush a quick jar 
 with your hand, w^hich will leave the 
 bees about all at the base of your hive. 
 (Don^t be afraid of them, for I tell you, 
 dear reader, they will not hurt you; this 
 is w^hy I have told you to sprinkle them 
 with sweetened water.) Take a little 
 brush broom, or a goose-quill is best, 
 and brush them in gently; after- which 
 close up your door, and set them Aviiei-e 
 you intend them to stand. 
 
 1^^ CIIAPTEE YIII. 
 
 On Patent or Movable Frame 
 Hives. 
 
 This is a subject that j>erhaps may not 
 interest you, my reader, very much; and 
 
53 
 
 I can also say, that I can well recollect 
 when I first heard of Jthe reaper and 
 mower; it was pronounced by many of 
 onr forefathers to be a humbug of Yan- 
 kee origin, and yet, how is the farming 
 business carried on? I leave you to 
 judge. But improvement is now the 
 order of the day, and he who will not 
 keep up, must stay behind, for I claim 
 that there are many advantages obtained, 
 as well as a radical changes being made, 
 in the management and culture of the 
 honey-bee, as in any other branch of 
 agriculture. Never did our fathers or ' 
 mothers take from a single stand of bees 
 in one season 328 pounds of nice honey, 
 until they obtained and used a movable 
 frame hive. And let me further say, 
 that the above amount is no uncommon 
 thing now; and even from 500 to 900 
 pounds have been taken in good, nioe, 
 extracted honey from a single stand of 
 bees in one season. I have taken 152 
 pounds of nice extracted honey from a 
 single stock of Italian bees, and made 
 right good, strong stocks besides, which 
 I sold at twenty-live dollars each in my 
 hive, and my honey at forty-five cents 
 
54 
 
 per pound. This may seem rather fishy, 
 as used to be said by those ^^4io doubted 
 
 a re|)orfc of any kind^ when they thought 
 it uncommon; but I haye living wit- 
 
55 
 
 nesses who lived on an adjoining lot^ and 
 saw for themselves. I lived in the city 
 of Indianapolis at the time^ where there 
 are many whq know me. ; _ ^ . 
 
 Completion Hicks Bifee-Hive. 
 
 It was in Indianapolis I lived when I 
 completed ray Bee-Hive and took out 
 letters patent, in 1870, after working 
 nearly twenty years on a plan to have a 
 movable frame hive work to my own, as 
 well as to the satisfaction of many oth- 
 ers. This I truly believe I have accom- 
 plished, and feel certain that a man or 
 Avoman can take care of at least one-third 
 more stocks in the Hicks Bee^Ilive tlian 
 in any other ever invented and placed 
 before the hee-keeijiHfj irorld for sale. I 
 have used, and tried to use, some twenty 
 different movable frame hives, but have 
 neyer in any other hive procured as 
 many advantages as in the Hicks Bee- 
 Hive, havino; thorouo^hlv tested it side 
 by side with the Buckeve and Rouo-h- 
 and-Ready hives, both invented bv ^. 
 C. Mitchell, the hrst of which I bought 
 niore square miles of territory iu, than 
 
5€ 
 
 any other man tliat ever feougkt of the 
 patentee; the last hive is not, nor ever 
 was, patented, and yet I see agents mak* 
 ing efforts to sell Eough-and-Beady Bee- 
 Hives, and rights? for the same. 
 
 Frauds Should be Put Down. 
 
 I apprehend that many who have 
 made purchases in said hive last men- 
 tioned, would like to see the inventor or 
 his agent. I have also come in contact 
 at fairs of various counties with the Kid- 
 der and American Bee-Hives, in compe- 
 tition, and have as yet been successful 
 over both of the last named, as well as 
 over the Tiungstroth and AY' ilkinson Bee- 
 Hives, at every fair where I have met 
 them. 
 
 "Bhe Hicks Bee-Hive is one of the 
 Easiest Hives to Handle Bees in 
 
 That has ever been placed before, or of- 
 fered to bee-keepers of this country. 
 Time will in the future, as well as it has 
 in the past, speak out and tell the truth 
 as to what hive is best for all general 
 
57 
 
 parpo*«s in be«-k««piftg. The Hicks 
 Hive has ©nlj to be seen in order to un- 
 <lerstan,d it, and tvied to be appfeciat«d. 
 In it you ean see at a glance any or all 
 trouble, in which your bees need assist- 
 ance. No frames to be removed by lift- 
 ing out, but they can be all swung at 
 one motion, which gives the keeper full 
 control over the whole brood at once, 
 and can examine each fmme free and in- 
 <lependent of any other, thereby render- 
 ing bee-keeping pleasant, as well as very 
 profitable; it being so arranged that arti- 
 ficial swarms arc made up in five min- 
 utes' time, and prevents the great loss 
 by matural swarming, as they often go to 
 tlie woods when allowed to swarm the 
 old-fashioned way. In a word, it is the 
 hive in v>^hich if you find weak stocks 
 you can strengthen by changing a few 
 frames with any other hive of the same 
 pattern, or feed at any time, either win- 
 ter or summer, without any danger of 
 robbing by other bees ; also, if a queen 
 is to be found, it can be done in one min- 
 ute, without lifting out a frame, or hurt- 
 ing a single bee in opening and closing 
 the hive. Last, though not least, a lady 
 
58 
 
 or child can at any time take the surphis 
 honey for table use or market^ without 
 coming in contact with the bees, or in 
 any way interfering with the brood- 
 chamber. (Sec cut of Hive, open and 
 closed, shown both ways, on page 54.) 
 
 Vexed Question About Drones Ex- 
 plained. 
 
 In this article I propose to advanoe 
 my own ideas concerning drones pro- 
 duced by a virgin queen, or a fertile 
 worker, which I have never heard or 
 read in any work on apiculttire, or ex- 
 plained by any one; and why it is that 
 a man as old in the bee business as Mr. 
 Quinby, and who has written, perhaps, 
 as much on bees as any one author in 
 America, has never even tried to explain 
 this subject about such drones, is a mys- 
 tery to me; and yet, I hold it as a fact 
 that all drones that are thus produced by 
 such mothers are wholly worthless, and 
 have not the proper functioHS, or in 
 other words, they do not have the male 
 organ properly developed, with which to 
 fertilize a virgin queen, and are a perfect 
 
59 
 
 set of neutei'i^, luntlier male or female. 
 
 Now let us examine a little, and see 
 Avliat the result will be. Suppose wc 
 have a stand of such drones in our api- 
 ary, and no other drones within four 
 miles, and we have a good stock of bees 
 with a good prolific mother; we nov,' ex- 
 change a frame of worker brood with 
 the fertile worker, or virgin queen stock, 
 which are producing nothing but drones; 
 the result is, the youiig bees thus placed 
 in the said stock, will at once start cpieen- 
 cclls and raise a good virgin queen; and 
 yet they are not any better off tlian be- 
 fore, from the fact that the drones are 
 deficient, and cannot fertilize the young 
 queen; but they v/ill have- exterminated 
 the fertile worker, or the virgin queen, 
 if such there is in the hive. 
 
 How Bees are Often Lost, and Cause 
 Explained. 
 
 Now, dear reader, let me ask, if you 
 do not recollect at any time in your life 
 of a stand of bees being lost, and you 
 did not know the cause, and often won- 
 dered why it was that the brood combs 
 
m 
 
 Ijecome so uneven^ and loeketl as if 
 something had been gnawing them, and 
 ^Jmost made them look as if they had 
 been cut into very roughly after the bees 
 were all gone and but a few drones left 
 to tell the tale of disaster? Let me here 
 say to yoWj that nine times in ten you 
 Riay set it down as a loss by baring a 
 virgin queen whieh has never become fer- 
 rilized, or a fertile worker, which is 
 worse, from the fact that you cannot 
 hunt them out and destroy them, as you 
 can the queen. I would therefore rec- 
 ommend you to hunt out and destroy 
 all such virgin queens, when you dis- 
 cover such brood as above, which is very 
 uneven, with raised cells, and perfectly 
 liaphazai'd — no regularity about it. But 
 if you have no other queen to supply her 
 place, then do us above, exchange a 
 brood sheet from some good, prolific 
 stock. I would also say, if it be that 
 you are troubled witli a fertile worker, 
 which I dabn cannot he found and sin- 
 f/Ied out, you must also exchange a brood, 
 comb, young bees and all, jufet as you 
 find it, and my word for it, they will 
 soon make a clearing out of said fertile 
 
61 
 
 worker, and mim a qTieen for themfclve^, 
 which will save ftirther trouble, if you 
 have good and perfect drones in your 
 apiarj. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How to Raise Italian Drones Early, 
 
 First let me say, this requires some 
 eare, and must have some attention paid 
 to it by the apiaria«. You will first 
 procure of some one (whom you can 
 trust), a jj>iire Italian queen, say in xlu- 
 gust or September, and see that you get 
 her properly introduced into a good, 
 strong and healthy stock of bees. Now 
 when the winter sets in fairly, I would 
 recommend you to put them in some 
 quiet, warm and dark place, just cool 
 enough to not freeze. See that they have 
 plenty of honey to keep them at least 
 three months before you put them away 
 in their winter quarters. Now let me 
 further say, you must take three or four 
 pounds of honey to a quart of warm wa- 
 ter, and let it stand in a tin vessel twelve 
 hours, after which set it on a stove and 
 
m 
 
 bring to a boil andskini. Now feed about 
 a half to a table-spoonful once a day 
 from the 20th of February^ until the 
 weather oets warm enouo^i to set them 
 out on their proper stand for the season; 
 feed in old combs placed in the top of 
 Hicks Hive, which can be done at any 
 time; my word for it, you will have 
 drones one liionth earlier than your 
 neighbor, wlio trusts to luck and allows 
 his bees to swarm the old-fashioned way, 
 (See artifical swarming.) 
 
 Bo sure to feed as above directed, ev- 
 ery day, until tlie bees gather plenty of 
 pollen and honey for natural resources. 
 You can also give a little rye meal as a 
 substitute for pollen v/hile feeding. 
 
 Introduction of Italian Q,iieens — 
 ThB Proper Manner of Introducing 
 a ftueen to a Full Colony of 
 Bees. 
 
 First, find and capture tliC queen you 
 desire to super^'ede, then cage her and 
 leave the cage in the hive, say six or 
 eight hours; then open your hive as 
 quietly as possible, and take the queen 
 
63 
 
 out of the cage, and put your Italian 
 queen in the same cage; cut a piece of 
 honey to plug the hole with, and then 
 set the cage carefully back in the hive, 
 and the bees will soon liberate her, while 
 they are left alone, which will be in five 
 or six hours. 
 
 I have practiced this niethcdsome five 
 or six years, and found it the best of 
 many plans which I have tried, never 
 having lost a single queen yet, with the 
 above mode of operation, and think 
 that all who tries it will have no cause 
 to regret having purchased this book, as 
 the above is worth ten times the cost. 
 
 How to Eaise or Breed ftueeEs. 
 
 First, select the stock you desire to 
 breed from, and then divide tho, brood 
 by placing two frames into hives you 
 have made qiieenlcs's eight or nine days 
 previous, and thus exchange with, say 
 three hives, first cutting out all queen- 
 cells in the three queenless colonies, when 
 the bees will go to work and build from 
 six to twelve cells in each hive, which 
 you can cut out of and insert into other 
 
u 
 
 fctooks, on tlie eighth daj, aud thus Ital- 
 ianize some fifteen or twenty in a short 
 time, letting each one raise its own 
 queens. 
 
 How to Prevent Bees from Distroy- 
 ing their young, and the Cause. 
 
 This is a lesson of importance to everr 
 Lee-keeper. Fii-st let me say, as a gen- 
 eral rule, the destruction of young bees 
 is caused from a scarcity of honey, whidi 
 is also brought about by a cold spell of 
 the weather, which closes up the flowers 
 or bloom of the fields, and makes it hard 
 work for bees to get a sufficient amount 
 of lioney to go on with the raising of 
 their young, and sets them at once to 
 destroying and carrying the young unma- 
 tured bees out, which we so often see 
 lyingjin front of the hives, of a morning, 
 when we first visit our apiary. This is 
 the effect of such cool weather as we have 
 in the^month in May, and often in June. 
 I have quite frequently seen heavy frosts 
 in these two months which killed the 
 flowers so that there was very little hon- 
 ey to be gathered by the bees; and rath- 
 
 ♦ 
 
65 
 
 cr than starve they would at once fail 
 to work and destroy their young. Now, 
 when you see this state of things going 
 on, you nmst prevent it at once, by feed- 
 ing as directed; except you will feed a 
 double quantity of syrup in their case. 
 Sometimes they will kill off their young 
 rather than swarm, but this you can pre- 
 vent by ariificial swarming, and make 
 them yourself, and make many good, 
 strong stocks by so doing, with an addi^ 
 tion of a little feed. But if you desire- 
 to obtain honey, do not practice artificial 
 swarming ver}^ extensively; but keep 
 your stocks strong with plenty of empty 
 surplus frames, as above, and cut out all 
 queen-cells. 
 
 Foul Broods— Cause of. 
 
 I have no doubt but that this disease 
 is caused from impure honey and soured 
 bee-bread, which has been stored quite 
 early in the season by the bees. I think 
 it is quite like every other kind of na- 
 ture's production, which is frequently 
 gathered by the bees before it gets ripe 
 or fully matured; and being stored away 
 
m 
 
 in close packages, as is the ease, which 
 we all know. They store bee-bread in 
 the brood-combs near where the young 
 bees are being raised, and there being go 
 much animal heat necessary to keep up 
 the proper temperature, it causes the fa- 
 rina, or bee-bread, which is gathered 
 first, to become soured, with the koney 
 also that they must use in preparing the 
 food for the young larvae, and this im- 
 pure food must necessarily bring on dis- 
 ease, and is therefore called foul-brood. 
 
 Foul Brood— How Known. 
 
 It may very readily be known by its 
 offensive smell, and on a close examina- 
 tion you will discover that the brood is 
 inverted, dead, and seems tt) be all tail- 
 foremost in the cells, rather dark and 
 ropy-like mass. The best remedy I have 
 ever found in treating this disease is a 
 preparation prepared thus: take pure rain 
 water and boil it ten minutes and to ev- 
 ery gallon dissolve fonr pounds of A 
 coffee sugar and again bring it to a boil 
 and skim. Now to one quart of this 
 syrup put in a lump of borax (biporate 
 
67 
 
 of soda) about as large as a me- 
 diam sized hickory nut, and thoroughly 
 dissolved while hot by stirring, and then 
 let cool until about blood heat then add 
 one o?. of laudinum, [tincture of opium] 
 also one table spoonful of good table salt 
 all to be well stirred before using, now 
 take a fine brush broom and sprinkle ov- 
 er the combs gently once a day, cut^ out 
 all the dead brood. 
 
 Dysentery, or Bee Cholera. 
 
 This is also one of the most to be 
 dreaded diseases that the bee-keeper has 
 to contend with. ^ It is met with more 
 frequently than any other among bees. 
 It is very easy to distinguish it from any 
 other malady, yet Ido not think it con- 
 tagious as many suppose it to be. The 
 bees have a tendency to be rather daun- 
 cy and also have a very unpleasant odor. 
 When you approach a stand affected 
 with dysentery they mope or crawl slow- 
 ly over their combs and often coming 
 out and discharge their excrement over 
 the hive as well as over their brood 
 combs and honey and ii let alone often 
 
68 
 
 •linger out a miserable life. In fact there 
 are more bees lost in Xortli America 
 with this disease annually^ than all the 
 rest of the diseases known to bees. It is 
 quite unpleasant to have a case of this 
 kind, and in fact it is not pleasant to 
 meet with a diseased subject of any kind^ 
 either in the animal or Jiuman flimilv. 
 
 Treatment of Bee Cholera. 
 
 But like either of the last mentioned 
 races I claim it can be successfully treat- 
 ed when we find a colony troubled with 
 this complaint. The first thing to do is 
 to take the stand to some quiet warm 
 place and open them out gently so as 
 not to get them to flying and have you 
 some good syrup, made of honey if pos- 
 sible, boiling with a pint of good nice 
 rain water to two pounds of honey, and 
 skim it well, so as to take off all im- 
 purities, and let cool, so that you can 
 now 23ut one tabtc -spoonful in some old 
 bits of comb laid in your hive, and the 
 bees will come up and feed on this syrup. 
 Feed the above amount once a day reg- 
 
()9 
 
 ularlv; wliGii in a few da} s you can sot 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Italian Bees, and Tlieir Supe- 
 riority over tb.e Comnion Native 
 Bee. . 
 
 Let me here say that the description 
 of this class or race of bees has so often 
 been explained heretofore that I hardly 
 deem it necessary to enter into a full dc- 
 tailj but suffice it to say that all who 
 have tested their qualities as Avorkers 
 universally acknowledge them as being 
 far ahead of the native or common bees 
 of this country. In the first place, they 
 are more friendly disposed toward their 
 keeper, and can be handled with more 
 pleasure, and less danger of being stung, 
 Avhile it is acknowledged by all that 
 they are by far better haney gatherers; 
 also, they are larger than the Black 
 Bees, and defend their hives from rob- 
 bers better, and, in a v/ord, let me say I 
 have yet to hear of a colony of pure 
 Italians ever being taken with the_23^.9f» 
 
70 
 
 called the moth worms; v/hile we, as 
 bee-keepers, can not say the same for 
 the native class we have had and tested 
 over a century in this country. The 
 Italian queens being of a very beautiful 
 golden color, are more easily found in a 
 hive or swarm, and are more prolific 
 than black queens are, which give their 
 keeper larger and stronger swarms ear- 
 lier in the season, so that we can be 
 more certain of getting a generous sup- 
 ply of honey, if native fields, with their 
 millions of bloom, secrete the nectar 
 for them to work on. This class, called 
 the Italian Bees, were discovered dur- 
 ing the wars of Napoleon by Captain 
 Boldenstein, who brought them over the 
 Alps in 1843. They were also intro- 
 duced by a celebrated German bee- 
 keeper, in 1853, into Germany, and in 
 1860 into the United States. 1 shoulil 
 say more in their favor, but I fear some 
 one will at once say that Hicks is grind- 
 ing his ax for the sale of queens; but be 
 this as it may, let me say to you, brother 
 bee-keeper, that if you once try the pure 
 Italian Bees^ you would not give one 
 stock for two of our old-fashioned na- 
 
71 
 
 tives^ which we first procured as seed 
 from the woods. • I have them as pure 
 as they are in Italy, and am better 
 pleased every day with them; and if you 
 w^ould come to my apiary you would be 
 convinced the same as I am. I could 
 here give many names as references who 
 have procured queens of me who have 
 universally spoke in praise of the Italian 
 Bees as being by far superior to the old- 
 fashioned kind; they also vrork on red 
 clover in August. While the honey har- 
 vest is scarce they seem to be busy on 
 many dark and misty days, while the 
 black bees are idle, and using up their 
 already scanty supply. 
 
 How to Italianize a Hundi'ed 
 Stands with One Sneen, and 
 Leave Her in the Same Hive. 
 
 After you have a good queen intro- 
 duced, as before stated [see lesson on 
 introducing Italian queen to bees], yoii 
 will, as soon as she is laying eggs freely, 
 go and kill, say about four bees in your 
 black stock, and in eight da.ys go to 
 them again, open and examine care- 
 
72 
 
 fully and cut out all queen cells. Then 
 you can take out one frame of each hive 
 and brush the bees back into their own 
 hives. Now go to your Italian stock, 
 and take four frames; brushing the bees 
 off into their own hWo, and put in the 
 four from the other stocks, and give each 
 black stock a frame from the Italian 
 brood from which they will raise queens 
 from the fresh eggs, pure Italian, and if 
 you have other black stock you can also 
 go and kill their queens, and in eight 
 days you can cut out part of the queen^s 
 cells^ and divide them by inserting the 
 combs, wliich will save much precious 
 time. 
 
 What is Pollen, and Why Bees Use 
 it for Food. 
 
 In this lesson \se shall perhaps differ 
 greatly from most bee-keepers. Pollen 
 is the fecundating dust of i^lants, and is 
 of a mealy like substance, which bees of 
 all classes seem to have a special desire 
 for, and especially so with the honey bee 
 as it is well known by all persons who 
 keep thcra, that they gather and carry 
 
73 
 
 into their liives in large quantities, of 
 which it is said they use during winter 
 as food; but my experience has targht 
 inc to respect this idea of theirs so far 
 only as the young bees are concerned, 
 which are under fourteen days old, after 
 being liatched, and before they become 
 outside workers, for it is during their mi- 
 iiorit}' tliat they are the nurse-bees in the 
 hive, as well as they are the wax-work- 
 ers the first thirty days of their active 
 life in gathering honey, pollen and 
 water for supplies, after which they per- 
 form such other duties as are necessary 
 about the hive, in guarding and de- 
 fending that which they have spent the 
 best part of their lives for. Dear read- 
 er, let me once more say to you that the 
 worker bee does not live over fifty days 
 from the time it commences its labors 
 as a honey gatherer. It is also my opin- 
 on'that the older bees are the ones that 
 bring in what is known as ptopolis or 
 bee-glue, of which they use large quan- 
 tities to close up cracks and openings in 
 their hives. This pollen is bread for 
 i^iiQ young and tender bees that are per- 
 forming duty in the hive, in preparing 
 
74 
 
 food for the young vet iinhatclied, and 
 also, it is my opinion, ^vhich I feel cer- 
 tain, is quite correct, that it is those bees 
 that are always most busy in cleaning 
 cells from which bees are constantly 
 hatching. 
 
 How to Teed Weak Stocks in Order 
 to Save Them, 
 
 This will be a job deserving of some 
 care; but while it has been my misfor- 
 tune to meet with many such in my 
 travels among bee-keepers, I will here 
 give my method, which I have found 
 nine times in ten to prove effectual. If 
 you have honey, I would recommend it 
 to be used, but if not, then sugar will 
 do by preparing it thus: Take rain water 
 and heat it to a boil, af.er which put 
 into a quart of water four pounds of A 
 coffee sugar, or, if honey is to be used, 
 put in six j)ounds of honey, stir well un- 
 tjl it again boils, and then skim off* all 
 impurities, and let cool. Xow you can 
 tike some bits of old combs, and pour a 
 spoonful or two on the same, and place 
 in the top of or on the hive, so the bees 
 
75 
 
 can come up and take it all down. If it 
 is in tlie winter^ set your hive in a warm 
 room, where there v/ill be no noise or 
 confusion, feed regular every day for ten 
 or fifteen days. This mode will save 
 many stocks that would otherwise be 
 lost. It will pay to feed all such stocks. 
 
 Old Fogies Mnst Succumb. 
 
 But, says one old fogy, if I have to do 
 all this, I would rather let them go. 
 Yes, my old friend, your ideas are just 
 vv^hat has got most bee-keepers in past 
 ages to believe it is all in luck, when, in 
 fact, it is science. Will you attend to 
 it? Let me here suggest that when you 
 have a pig, or a calf, cow or horse that 
 has met with soine accident, and got 
 down, as the >ayiiig is, at the heel, 
 would you let them go? I rather guess " 
 not, but would at once proceed to doctor 
 them up, and reap your revs^ard in the 
 . future by the increase of its value. 
 Therefore let me impress it upon you to 
 attend to your bees at once, when you 
 can so easily do so by following the 
 directions laid down in this little book. 
 
70 
 
 Alvice to Beginners in Apicul- 
 ture. 
 
 I will here say a few words to tliose 
 Y\"lio contemplate going into the busincs-^ 
 of keephig bees as a means of making a 
 living at, it, which, I apprehend will be 
 many, when I shall have gone, and not 
 return this way any more. First, let 
 me say that February or March are the 
 best months in which to make your pur- 
 chases of stocks; and don't always 
 dioose the heaviest as best, but rather 
 select those with good bright combs and 
 a sufficiency of honey to last two months. 
 Also let me say, if you desire to succeed 
 in the business, you must adopt a good 
 movable frame hive, and get you a neat 
 and well made sample, by which you 
 will also make or have made all the 
 hives you may need for a year, just like 
 the sample hive, and have them all 
 painted two good coats of paint and oil. 
 Then, vvhen the bees are about to 
 svrarm, I would have all the stocks 
 transferred into your new hives, and in 
 all probability you can have an increase 
 of one-third by your operation of trans- 
 
ferring^ if you are careful and under- 
 stand wliat you are doing. [See lesson 
 on transferring.] It will be necessary 
 tliat you look at your bees by opening 
 the hives at least once or twice a week, 
 and if you should discover any rnoth- 
 worms, take them out of the brood 
 combs with a sharp-pointed knife, also, 
 don't fail to put your foot, on every 
 worm, and send it to its long home. 
 Don't try to do too much the first year, 
 as here is where many make failures in 
 starting out with big ideas, and finally 
 pronounce the business a humbug. But 
 let me say there is no surer w^ay in all 
 the agricultural pursuits than the busi- 
 ness, and yet it may be badly managed, 
 and prove almost ruinous to those wdio 
 neglect its demands, and finally the next 
 we hear of them is that they pronounce 
 it all in luck, and wind up with perhaps 
 many dollars out of pocket. And yet I 
 know of hundreds who have made it a 
 success, and some of them have made 
 fortunes. It is a business in which both 
 old and young can engage, and make it 
 a success if they will put their energies 
 to work with a will and determination 
 
to go through. I know of two young 
 ladies^ sisters, who made nearly seyen 
 thousand dollars in one vear; and yet 
 they liye in the cold and bleak State of 
 Yv^isconsin. I will further add that 
 there is scarcely any place in the United 
 States so poor but there can be a few 
 stands of bees kept to advantage, while 
 almost any person could and can keep 
 bees, which v>'ill yield a larger income 
 than any other stock can possibly do 
 with the SAnie cost and expense. It is 
 also a fact that no one dare gainsay that 
 bees ^\ill pay better diyidends on the 
 capital invested than U*nited States 
 bonds of any class or series, and better 
 than any railroad, canal, turnpike or 
 gravel road coporation have or will ever 
 pay in this country. T'>'ot even the 
 banking business can begin to pay such 
 dividends as bees well managed pay 
 their owners. I know that many will 
 say I have gone Avild on this subject; but 
 here allow me to say I know of a gen- 
 tleman in Northwestern Indiana who 
 made five hundred dollars in one season 
 from one stand of bees in his door-yard. 
 
79 
 
 Each Month's Labors Laid Out for 
 the Apiary. 
 
 March — This is the month you 
 should see that all your bees have a 
 generous supply, and if the weather is 
 warm you should set them on their 
 regular 'stands for the seas«n. 
 
 April — Examine and see that they 
 feed plentiful; also be careful and set 
 all your hives where you intend ihem to 
 remain, keep a coyer over all your 
 stocks; also, if they are not gathering 
 pollen, give rye bread. 
 
 May — Examine carefully, and see 
 that all stocks have a prolific qBe8n, 
 and that no robbing is going on. 
 
 June — In this month you should 
 supply the surplus chamber with 
 frames or boxes, and give them all the 
 combs you can to fill with surplus 
 honey, aiid if y<>u don^t wish swarming, 
 cut out all the queen cells. 
 
 July — If you desire so to do, now is 
 your time for transferring and making 
 up a few extra colonies; if not, keep 
 plenty of frames or boxes supplied for 
 others te strre surplus honey in. ^ 
 
so 
 
 AuGUSTT — Xow is the greatest time 
 for trouble with the robbers. Keep the 
 entrances closed, so that a single bee 
 can pass out and in at a time. Also be 
 cai^ful about the moth-Y\"orm^ and be 
 sure to kill all you see. 
 
 September — Now is the time that 
 you should keep all ^^uir stocks strong 
 in numbers, and see well to it that they 
 all have good prolific queens. It is 
 also a good month to procure Italian 
 queens. 
 
 October — Is gcod^ also^ to introduce 
 queens, and guard well against moth- 
 worms; also see that you keep your bees 
 in good condition. 
 
 NoVEMBEE — In this month equalize 
 your bees, and take away all honey 
 from the caj^s, but leave plenty in the 
 brood chamber, so they will be supplied 
 through the winter. 
 
 Decembee — This is tlie first winter 
 month, and is the proper time to hive 
 your bees; if the weather gets cold so as 
 to freeze the ground quite hard, close up 
 all lower ventilation when you put them 
 in your bee hive, cellar or cave, which 
 should have plcrity of upper ventilation; 
 
81 
 
 the hives must have upper ventilation; 
 keep the temperature at about 35 cleg, 
 above zero^ and keep the place you have 
 your bees stored in very dark and (juiet. 
 If the winter should be very open find 
 warm^ I vould recommend to 'eave 
 them on their summer stonds^ aid fill 
 the top of your hives v/ith dry cobs or 
 fine cut straw^ made quite dry, 
 
 Januaey — This is the month _'n 
 which have all the hives you need f r 
 the coming year made and v-ell painted, 
 which will be in readiness for SAvarming 
 season or artificial division, which is by 
 far the best where you use a good frame 
 hive,. 
 
 FEBECAiiV— See well to it that your 
 bees are vvell supplied with hone}^, and 
 if you have any stocks from which you 
 expect to breed queens and drones, you 
 should feed a little syrup about the 20th 
 of this month. [See lesson on feeding 
 bees — weak stocks.] 
 
 'Last, though not least, I will here 
 once more impress it upon you to le 
 ])rompt in all your undertakings with 
 bees, and do everything in due season, 
 as per advice, and success is yours, Avitli 
 
n rich reward for all your troubles; also, 
 it is a true saying whatever is worth do- 
 ing at all is worth doing well. 
 
 On Choosing a Location for an 
 Apiary. 
 
 In making your selection, let me say, 
 choose an east view, so your hives may 
 have the benefit of the early morning 
 rays of the sun to enliven them to early 
 action in gatliering honey and pollen, 
 all of which is necessary to the welfare 
 of your bees, as well, also, as to the 
 keeper. If the above position or situa- 
 tion cannot be obtained, or something 
 as near as possible, I would, as a next 
 btst choice, take a south front, but by 
 no means allow your stands to receive 
 the noonday sun, as this would be detri- 
 mental, quite often causing the combs 
 to melt down and destroy your bees, as 
 well as your honey, and set bees to rob- 
 bing. 
 
 How to Build a Bee House. 
 
 Now, dear reader, let me tell you how 
 I build a bee house, one thataBy fanner, 
 
83 
 
 as well as the more polislied mechaiik, 
 can build quite cheap. Set two rows of 
 posts, say about • six feet apart in one 
 row, and m the other twelve feet apart, 
 and eight feet apart in the last men- 
 tioned row, and in the first let your 
 posts be about six feet above ground, 
 and cut them off on a line quite level, 
 and spike poles or scantling on top to 
 rest your rafters on; then spike a scant- 
 ling about six inches above the ground 
 on your lowest row„ of posts, which now 
 prepares it for siding, like a barn, on 
 one side, then put on a good roof of 
 clapboard or plank; this constitutes your 
 bee house. You can arrange your bees 
 under this shed so the hives will front 
 eastward and to the open side of your 
 shed, which is all sufficient for summer 
 use, remembering always to set the hives 
 about three inches clear of the ground 
 by driving four small stakes down, and 
 leveling them so the hive will stand 
 quite plumb. Let the hives stand about 
 eighteen inches clear of each other, re- 
 memberings also, to have them painted 
 df different colorg. and set alternate, ^Vi9 
 iwo of the same shade • side by aide, 
 
84 
 
 wliicli will; if practiced as |1 have sug- 
 gested, save many valuable queens for 
 you in the course of a season. 
 
 Pasturage for Beets, 
 
 I would next recommend you and all 
 the rest of mankind to sow seeds of va- 
 rious kindS; such as Alsyke clover, white 
 clover, plant trees unci shrubs of various 
 kinds, as they will be u,ieful for bees, as 
 well as for man and teast, producing the 
 best of pasturage for stock, and hay lor 
 leeding your cattle, shfep and horses 
 during winter; especially the Alsyke 
 clover can not be excelled for hay, as 
 well as for honey. It stands ahead of 
 all other. There are many trees I might 
 here mention as shade and fruit trees, of 
 which the linden or basswood is first, 
 poplar maple, elm, buckeye or horse- 
 chestnut, also, |the yellow willow is fine 
 for bees, together with apple, peach, 
 pear, plumb, apricot, nectarine, cherry, 
 quince, and I would not forget the black 
 locust; also, there are many small shrubs 
 which are of value, such as currant, 
 gooseberry, raspberry and blackberry. 
 
So 
 
 of whicii I need not mention further, as 
 they are common to almost all who hare 
 any knowledge of farming or gardening, 
 and are all good for honey. 
 
 CHAPTER XI, 
 
 Bee Stings, and Remedies for the 
 Same. 
 
 I will here give a cure for bee sting.. 
 As soon as you are stung procure a good 
 sized padlock key, fill the barrel about 
 half full of soda and salt mixed, then fill- 
 up with water, or cider vinegar is better,: 
 then apply the key over the wound with 
 the solution on the part so as to cover 
 where the sting vras extracted, which 
 should always be done first with your 
 finger nail or knife blade. 
 
 Another Simple and Sure Remedy 
 
 That all persons have at their fingers- 
 end is to first extract the sting as soon as 
 possible, as before stated, with your nail 
 or knife-blade, then wet the end of your 
 finger in your mouth, and then insert it 
 
BQ 
 
 lu your ear^ so as to get wax from what 
 we might call a dirty ear^ and rub on 
 the wound, which will give relief quite 
 soon. This is a sure and positive cure, 
 which we all have at any time and place 
 we happen to be. It sometimes hap- 
 pens that persons get badly stung, and 
 that it makes thcDi very sick, causing 
 terrible swelling, blindness, and excru- 
 ciating pain. In all such cases I would 
 recommend a free use of salt water as a 
 ^Y^^^h, abundautlv aDplied t^ the parta 
 stung, and a cup of warm water, with a 
 table-spoonful of mustard, w^ell stirred 
 in as an emetic, vvhich must be drank at 
 once, so as to produce vomiting as soon 
 as possible. This will relieve in severe 
 cases. 
 
 The Profits of Bee-keeping Com- 
 pared with that of Other 
 Stocks. 
 
 In this article I propose to show you, 
 dear reader, that there is no other in- 
 vestment that will begin to pay ^e 
 profits to the owner that bees will if 
 properly and fairly managed, yet ho^ 
 
87 
 
 often is it that persons will try to snub 
 yon, and turn up. tlieir noses and say 
 '^It is too small a business for me," when, 
 if you were to take the trouble to in- 
 vestigate the profits they reap year after 
 year, you would find that vou, with 
 ten stands of bees properly managed, 
 would reap a larger income in one year 
 than that man or woman who is afraid 
 of getting into the small business of 
 bee-keeping. For instance, let us look, 
 and contrast one stand of bees and the 
 profits of the sam^e with tliat of a sheep 
 for one or two years. We will allow, 
 say five dollars for the sheep^ and the 
 same for the bees, which I think is a 
 fair price. Now for the result. The 
 bees will have,. say one extra stand, as 
 they, no doubt, will swarm (which I 
 would much prefer — artificial swarm- 
 ing), and you will, of an ordinary sea- 
 son, get, say forty pounds of honey to 
 the stand, worth thirty cents per pound. 
 This would bring you twenty-four dol- 
 lars, and your extra swarm is w orth five 
 clollars more; in all it would be twenty- 
 nine dollars. Deducting the cost of hive, 
 say two dollars, would leave you twenty- 
 
88 
 
 seven dollars clear profit. Now what 
 has the sheep made all this time? for I 
 wish to be fair, and give due credits 
 where they belong. Well, in the first 
 place, it is worth three dollars a year to 
 feed the sheep, and say we now have a 
 lamb six months old, worth two dollars 
 and fifty cents for vrool and lamb, which 
 leaves only fifty cents as profit, to say 
 nothing about time and trouble of feed- 
 ing both winter and summer, while 
 your bees have boarded themselves and 
 made you a clear gain of twenty-seven 
 dollars. But, says some doubting 
 Thomas, this will do to talk about and 
 show on paper. Well, Mr. T., I pr©- 
 pose to more than double this with my 
 bees, and will here challenge any man 
 to try me on ten or twenty stands of 
 bees, and he to take the same number 
 of sheep, and if I will not double his 
 profits in one or t^n years, he shall have 
 all I make from the bees, if he will do 
 the same by me and give me all hi* 
 sheep, with their increase, at the end ©f 
 said term if I beat him. 
 
89 
 
 A Mystery Much Doubted by Other 
 Authors. 
 
 I have often forced a colony of bees 
 to tti^ke queens by taking their queen 
 from them^ which they at once proceed- 
 ed to supply as soon as they discover 
 their mother.~.queen missings and it often 
 happens that when their young queen 
 has hatched out and become fully of age 
 to meet the drone, she will make her 
 bridal tour, and is lost by some acci- 
 dent — high winds, or a bird may catch 
 her before she reaches her home again. 
 This, I say, is often the case, which 
 should always keep the bee-keeper on 
 the lookout, and to know the exact 
 condition of every hive of bees in his 
 apiary; and if he should find a stock of 
 bees thus made queenless, it demands 
 his immediate attention, and he should 
 have one or two frames of brood with 
 eggs exchanged from some other strong 
 stock, in order that they may again 
 make a queen for themselves. Now 
 comes the mysterious part. You will 
 often find queen cells built on one or 
 more of tkeir old combs in which there 
 
90 
 
 could not have been a single egg, except it 
 was transferred from one of the combs 
 which you gave them with eggs and 
 brood .How came they to build a queen 
 cell on a shiset of comb of their own 
 when there could not have been an egg 
 in it^ except by transfer from one comb 
 to another? Oh, says on^, tkey had 
 eggs of their own. Now, my dear read- 
 er, here let me say this can not be so. 
 from the fact that bees do make their 
 qneens from eggs that are laid or de- 
 posited by a fertile queen in the worker 
 cells, and they can not be thu.^ convert- 
 ed or transferred into a royal queen 
 after they are seven days old. Hence 
 you will discover that during the time 
 required to hatch the queen that was 
 lost on the bridal trip would have been 
 some twenty-four or five days up to the 
 time you discovered your stock was 
 queenless, and gave them the frames of 
 brood, as above referred to. I appre- 
 hend that the theory, as taught by many 
 writers, about the queen depositing the 
 egg in the royal cell is false, and can not 
 be relied on as being correct; and that 
 the worker bees, which are not more 
 
91 
 
 than fourteen days old, are the managers' 
 of all that pertains to the welfare of tl\e 
 inside arrangements of the hiye^ I have 
 no doubt^ for Ave see them^ as^ I have 
 before remarked^ enter on their duties 
 from the moment they are hatched out 
 of their cells. I think I have said 
 enongh upon thife-point^ and shall leave 
 the student to his observatory hive for 
 further instructions^ which will be of 
 more value to you than all I could 
 write in an age; yet this will serve to 
 give you a start. 
 
 Inverted Brood, and What is the 
 Result. 
 
 ■ I here wish^ for the purpose of draw- 
 ing from others^ if possible^ tlieir views 
 as to the true cause of the youug. bees 
 being raised or nearly matured in their 
 cells, with their posteriors, in front of 
 cells, which I have often seen, and can 
 not account for such a state of affairs. 
 Would it not be reasonable to suppose 
 that this would cause foul brood, whicli 
 is so much dreaded by bee-keepers? It 
 is my humble opinion this state of 
 
99 
 
 things would »citurally be inclined to 
 produce said disease^ from the fact that 
 it would be impossible for them to hatch 
 with their heads toward the center of 
 the comb and the tail outwards, w^hich 
 must produce death before they are 
 fully matured, and a perfect ropy mass 
 will be the result, which, with the ani- 
 mal heat of the older bees^ causes a pu- 
 trid and offensive smell, which is not 
 pleasant to the apiarian or visitor^ and 
 to be loathed by all who may come in 
 contact with it. I have often seen such 
 brood, and I think, without exception, 
 foul brood ensued if they were not taken 
 out in due time. I desire the opinions 
 of others as to the true cause, if any 
 other there be. Let me hear from any 
 one who is well posted on the subject of 
 foul brood.. 
 
 Who may Keep Bees and Make 
 Them Pay, 
 
 In connection with the above sub- 
 ject, I might say a great deal, and many 
 things that would tickle the mind, as 
 well as make you feel quite certain that 
 
93 
 
 Ood never made a man^ woman or child 
 who had arrived at a proper age of dis- 
 <}retion but could keep bees. But while 
 I claim this to be true, I also know that 
 there are many who are too indolent and 
 careless to even keep themselves, mutch 
 lese take care of a few stands of bees. 
 And yet, notwithstanding, I might add 
 that the poor, as well as the rich, can 
 make bee-keeping quite profitable. 
 Then let me further say, the farmer, the 
 mechanic or the lawyer^ as well as 
 the doctor who may have a few moments 
 to spare morning and evening, may keep 
 a few stands of bees, as well as the poor 
 washerwoman, or a lady with her thou- 
 sands of dollars can make bee-keeping a 
 success, and have upon her table one of 
 nature's richest and choisest of luxuries 
 at a very small expense. I may also 
 add to the list very many ministers of 
 the gospel, who have worn themselves 
 out in the service of the ministry, and 
 have been superannuated on account of 
 poor health. To all such let me say, 
 try bee-keeping. If you but try you 
 will become interested in the business, 
 and make it pay. I would not forget, 
 
94 
 
 also, the poor consumptive, who needs^ 
 ont-door exercise in order to get pure 
 air for his or her kings, with that of 
 moderate exercise for the body. To all 
 such as mentioned let me say, if you are 
 piDor from, and have been in the service 
 of the Gospel, standing as a superan- 
 nuated minister, I will let you have one 
 of my hives, y\'ith bees in the same, at 
 half price, and give you the right to 
 make and use all you may want there- 
 after. 
 
 I will now talk to the ladies a little. 
 And first allow me to say that when 
 they become interested in the bee busi- 
 ness they make the best of apiarians, 
 frpm the fact that they take more pains 
 in the handling of their bees than 'men 
 do, and it is, in the very nature of 
 things, adapted to their nature and dis- 
 po3ition,-for tliere is nothing that loves 
 kind treatment better than a swarm of 
 bees, whicli ladies are- always ready to 
 bestow. Furthermore, they attend more 
 closely and strictly to their work, which 
 is the only sure road to success, as it 
 begets industrious and steady habits. 
 If we could induce the young and rising 
 
95 
 
 generation to pay more attention to bee- 
 keeping, and not so mucli to the flippant 
 styles of fashion, we wonlcl have a bet- 
 ter class of men and women, and fewer 
 paupers and convicts in our asylums, 
 penitentiaries and county jails. 
 
 How to Winter Bees Successfully. 
 
 In this lesson I will give the most 
 tipproved plan, at least the one I like 
 best. In the first place, let me say, 
 never put your bees away in their win- 
 ter quarters until the weather has be- 
 come settled cold and the ground has 
 frozen quite hard. Then you can put 
 them in a cellar, if it is a dry one, but 
 if not let me entreat you to prepare^ a 
 house with double walls, so that you 
 can fill the^space w^ith spent tanbark, or 
 sawdust will do; at any rate, prepare a 
 house that will prevent freezing, as it 
 requires, a great deal more honey 
 to winter out in the open air than 
 it does in a place that is dry and will 
 not freeze. After you have thus pre- 
 pared suitable winter quarters, you cia 
 now set your bees in carefully^ not jarr- 
 
96 
 
 ing tlieni in handlings and place the 
 standS; ►say about six inches apart^ leav- 
 ing plenty of upper yentilation; also^ be 
 careful that mice do not enter any of 
 the stocks and cut the combs^ as well as 
 kill many of the bees. It is a well 
 known fact that the wood mice are 
 death to bees, and often destroy a whole 
 swarm in a few days. You must keep 
 your cellar, or bee house (as the case 
 may be), cool enough, so that the bees 
 will not become restless; also, warm 
 enough so that it ^^•ill not freeze; the 
 proper temperature is about 35 degrees 
 above zero, and if diy, you will have 
 no trouble in wintering safely through. 
 
 How toJKeep Honey from Souring, 
 
 , This may be done either of two vrays 
 or modes. The first is to boil and skim ' 
 thoroughly, and put away in good 
 earthen or glass jars, and cover up 
 closely. In this way I have kept^ and 
 have known otliers to keep, honey sev- 
 eral years. But if you desire to keep 
 your honey so as to retain all its origi- 
 nal flavor, y*>!i \vill let it stand a few 
 
97 
 
 lioiirs in an open vessel;, and then warm 
 it up to about blood heat; which will 
 cause all impurities to come to the top^ 
 which you will take off o-entlv with a 
 large spoon or fine skimmer, then jar 
 and can as j^ou would fruit, which will 
 also keep for five years and be good. 
 
 To Keep Honey from Granulating. 
 
 You must boil gently thirty minutes^ 
 and skim off all impurities, and place 
 away in ordinary jars, and keep covered 
 with paper, or a cloth will do, when 
 kej)t close, to keep out all dust or in- 
 sects. 
 
 To Make Taffy from Honey for the 
 Children. 
 
 Let me say this is one of the most 
 healthy and best of candies for our little 
 folk, which can be prepared thus: Take, 
 say a €j[uart of good strained honey and 
 cook it in a skillet, or an oven such as 
 our mothers used to bake the good old- 
 fashioned corn dodger in, and put into 
 it a small lump of alum half the size of 
 
98 
 
 a small hickory i\at, and boil until it 
 begins fo make wax^ which you can test 
 by having a cup of cold v/ater^ and witk 
 a spoon drop a few drops into it, and 
 you can soon judge of its qualities^ 
 which, wdien sufficiently hard to suit, 
 you may now take pie-pans and butter 
 them before pouring the taffy in, after 
 which pull, and use as best suits your 
 taste. 
 
 What is Honey Dew, and How is It 
 Produced? 
 
 I do not wish to go into a long de- 
 tailed etory, but shall proceed at once 
 to give my own views, which I believe 
 are as near correct as anything I have 
 ever read upon the subject; hence, if I 
 should reiterate in part the views of any 
 former opinion expressed, it w^ill only 
 be so far as I shall coincide with som@ 
 of the expressions that have come und^r 
 my especial notice. But feeling that all 
 is not true that has been or yet remaia,s 
 to be written, I shall therefore give you, 
 dear readers, what I feel assured afa 
 facts, so far as I have been aWe if 
 
911 
 
 gather ihera- TTenco, when wo take 
 into account tlie mysteviGs that iNatnrc's 
 God has bronolvt about to produce and 
 perfect her vrork in all the vegetable, as 
 well as the animal and insect kingdoms, 
 I feel like saying that honey dew is also 
 one of the many mysteries that man is 
 not yet fally acquainted with. But 
 when we look back to days that liave 
 passed and gone, we can fully recollect 
 that honey dews alvrays come when the 
 weather is warm and pleasant, and tlie 
 trees and shrubs all dressed in living 
 green; likewise, the flowers arc out in 
 f LiU bloom, and tliat we behold all na- 
 ture smiling in her beauty. Then it is 
 tliat we see, of a beautiful, bright morn- 
 ing, the leaves of many and various 
 kinds of bushes fairly glistening with 
 that s^Yeet nectar called honey dew. 
 Hence, I believe it to be secreted in tlu^ 
 many and various flowers through the 
 night, and, by the chemical action of the 
 sun of those warm days, it is taken up 
 into the atmosphere in a condensed 
 form, and then returns to the earth in a 
 liquid, lodging upon the shrubs and 
 trees in the night time, and is one of the 
 
rieliest hai've&ts for on? bees. In oilier 
 worcb, it is the rich odor of flowers and 
 plants thrown oif in the day time that is 
 thus returned in the sweet-like sub- 
 I'Stanoe sometimes so bountifuttv be-stow^ed 
 for the good of man. It also feeds many 
 thousands of insects, and supports many 
 oolonies of bees. }>ut^ as is often said, 
 many who -j^rofess that there is an in- 
 ject, called aphisj jiroducing honey 
 dews, as we commonly understand the 
 term, I do not believe; yet I am well 
 aware that there are such insects, and 
 Tree and bud lice, that suck the juice 
 of the tender leaves and buds of various 
 shrubs, and will exude a substance simi- 
 lar to honey dews; l)ut surely we could 
 not be so foolish as to ])elieve it to be 
 honey dew of the regular 0]-de.r, 
 
 A Visit to the North American 
 Bee-keepers Convention in 1871. 
 
 It has been my ])rr»vince to examine 
 several works on this drone question as 
 to purity^ and. 1 claim that it is a fixed 
 fact in nature that the drone is eflPeeted 
 in its purity^ as vv^ell as the w^orkers of 
 
101 
 
 all queens tliat may become fertilized hy 
 "black drones, • is certainly reasonable, 
 and wliy Mr. Kretchmer^ Avho lias pub- 
 lished two ditterent books on bee-keep- 
 ings siiuuld .say that all drones from an 
 Italian queen "which lias been fertilized 
 by a black drone are pure is certainly a 
 stretch in a direction tiiat takes nature's 
 Jaws down^ as well as natural science. 
 [See last edition^ i)age 125.] And 
 i^gain^ wJien he, in the same book^ page 
 126, states that the drones vary in color 
 more than queens or w^jrkers^ I sup- 
 pose he has dii'ect reference to tlie Ital- 
 ian drones; if so, 1 do not wonder at 
 such discrepancies,, and must say to y©ir, 
 friend Ivretchmer, I do not wish ti> 
 .make any ])urchases of your so-called 
 Italian pure stock. I feel that all such 
 theories sliould and will be put down 
 as the people become more enlightened 
 on the subject; and while I think of it, 
 let me say that in 1871, wliiie I at- 
 tended the North American Bee-keep- 
 ers^ Convention at Cleveland, Ohio, it 
 ^afforded me much. ]deasure to hear the 
 different views of many who professed to 
 be well posted on the drone question^ 
 
102 
 
 one of whom was a doctor Bowyer^ of 
 Alexandria^ Indiana^ and who had the 
 starch all taken out of him by that old 
 and venerable sage, doctor and profes- 
 Hor^ (Airtland; a man for whom I enter- 
 tain tlie highest respect, and give great 
 credit to his views, who boldly asserted 
 before the entire convention that it Avas 
 certain tliat a pure blood was tainted by 
 cohabiting Avith another or mixed race, 
 and that it AVonld hold good in the in- 
 sect as well as the animal or human 
 creation^ and I beiie\'e especially so 
 Avhere the female is of ])ure blood of a 
 different class, ]^o^v, it is admitted by 
 ail that the Italian hea is of a different 
 class and of a superior race to that of 
 the black bee of this country, and Avhen 
 the two races are brought together and 
 bred as above spoken of, it Avillefiect 
 the entire family, and continue to do so 
 as long as that mother queen raises bees 
 or drones that fertilize your young 
 queens. I would, therefore, advise you, 
 dear reader, to be careful in making 
 your purchases. If you desire to get pure 
 stock and keep them so, you Avill first 
 have to get that which is pure^ and theii 
 
10' 
 
 breed as directed -mid laid down in this 
 book^ and succetrs will crown your ef- 
 forts. [See lesson Page 61. How to 
 Eaise Italian drones.] 
 
 I can not refrain from giving friend 
 Quinby a passing notice^ who claims to 
 have raised virgin queens late in the fall 
 for the purpose of having early drones 
 the next spring. [See his second edi- 
 tion, page 37.] I do not miss my guess 
 very much Avhen I say to him, that so 
 lar as such drones are concerned, they 
 are wholly worthless, and never were 
 known to fertilize a queen at any time 
 of the year, and I doubt his or any one 
 else ever wintering such a stock over. 
 
 [See pages 28, 29 and 30, this Book,] 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 TlieKalural History and Description of the Honey Bee, i 
 Drones are Larger than the Worker Bees— More About 
 
 the Worker Bee ~ ^ 
 
 Size and Shape of yueens ..^. -5 
 
 Age oi Queens Is ot Certain— A Te»t of Qvxeeus Laying 
 
 Eggs „ ^ 
 
 Do Queens Stini,' * 
 
 Construction of .Royal Cells ^ 
 
 Impregnation of theQueen 10 
 
 Artificial Fertilization in Coiitinement '...... H 
 
 How a Fertile Queen is Known = , 1- 
 
 How a Virgin Queen or Drone-Laying Queen is 
 
 Known — An Instance of Two Queens in One Hive 13 
 
 The Impregnating or Seminal Fluid 34 
 
 On Swarming, and Whv Bees Swavra — First Swarm 16 
 
 TheOId Queen Going with- Them ; 18 
 
 When the First 8warm is Cast— The P'ping of the 
 
 Queens l^ 
 
 Queens Do Of ton Meet in Mortal Combat.,. ..»• 21 
 
 What a Queen Cell LooksLike 2^' 
 
 What A Eoyal Queen Cell is Made of 2,'i 
 
 Bo Bees Superctde Their Queens 2fi 
 
 Further Explanation of Sex 28 
 
 On Transferring Bees and Brood into Movable Frame 
 
 Hires • ; ?l 
 
 Why is it that Bees of the Present Day do not bwarm so • 
 
 Much nor Make as Much Honey as They Did Years 
 
 Ago, During the Early Settlement of the Country ?-?. 
 
 Do Queens Have a Sting? A]id if so, Do They Ever Use 
 
 Them, and What On? , 37 
 
 More Persons than do Should Keep Bees 39 
 
 Artificially Swarming Bees,.....,,,...,.,,,.,.. ,,.,.... 42 
 
 A Fertile' Worke^'— jSow 3S3iown,...„„„.,,„.„,„,uti,,..,., 44 
 
lio-w trtGeL r.ia of the Forlile Wovlcpr— On i he Drone 
 
 Qnestiou, and What the Drone i:^ For 4C, 
 
 OpinioH of Ocneral .Atlair Dnnbted,,.^^, .."....".*.'". -l.S 
 
 Driring- Ec'cs imo Nrw Jlivcw ...............'.,.,, -il' 
 
 How to Locave l!>oc^ AUvv I h'[\ in ■^. ',,[['. ......,......','. 50 
 
 How to Hive Btx-.s ami Se\\Ui Thom AVlicu AUoM'cdito 
 
 ^ Swann 51 
 
 Oil Patent or >[oval)Io J-'ramc ijivi's .'*...' 52 
 
 Competition 01" the IHek.s lioe-llive fi.j 
 
 1 rauds Should he Put Down— The Hicks Eee-Hive is 
 
 One of the Kasiei5t Hives to Handle Bees in 50 
 
 A'exed Question About Drones Explained 58 
 
 How Bees are Oi'ton Lost, and Oause Explained 59 
 
 How to Baiso Italian Drones Early - til 
 
 Introduction of Italian Queens — The Proper Manner of 
 
 Introducing a Queen loa Full Colony of Bees C2 
 
 How to Raise or Breed Queens .' 61^ 
 
 How to Prevent Bees from Destroying Their Young, 
 
 and the Cause ." Gt 
 
 Foul Brood— Cause of 65 
 
 Foul Brood— How Known Gt; 
 
 Dysentery, or Bee Cholera 67 
 
 Treatmeiit of Bee Cholera , GS 
 
 The Italian Bees, and I'heir Superiority Over tl>3 Com- 
 mon Native Bee " C9 
 
 IIow to Italianize a Hundred Stands -with One Queen, 
 
 and Leave Her in the Same Hive 71 
 
 What is Pollen, and Wliy Bees Use it for Food. 72 
 
 HoAV to Feed Weak Slocks in Order to Save Them 71 
 
 Old Fogies 2Mu^t Succumb 75 
 
 Advice to Beginners in Aideulture 7G 
 
 Each 31 onlh's Labors Laid Out fur the Apiary 7l> 
 
 <Ju Choosing a Location f-jr an Apiary — Husv to Build a 
 
 Bee-house : 82 
 
 Pasturage for Bees „ _ 84 
 
 Bee Stings, and Pvemedies for the Same— Another Sim- 
 ple and Sure Eemedy „.. 85 
 
 The Profits of Eee-Kceping Coroparcd with that of 
 
 Other Stock P6 
 
 A Mystery Much Doubted by Other Anthors 80 
 
 Inverted Brood, and AVhat is the Eesult.... 01 
 
 Who ^fay Keep Bees and Make Them Pay 02 
 
 How to Winter Bees Successfully 95 
 
 ITow to Keep Honey from Souring 96 
 
 To Keep Honey from Granulaiing— To Make Tafley 
 
 for the Children 97 
 
 What is Honey Dew, and How is It Produced 98 
 
 A Visit to the' North Araeric-an Bee-Keepers' Conven- 
 tion in 1871 ,....,.».„ l*^"^ 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 The first v/ord in the last line of introductory remarks 
 should read "laws," in place of "was." 
 
 The first word in last line on page 43 should read 
 "some," and not "same" Also, on page 5], in le^ison 
 "How to Hive Bees," the word "nearly," in the seventh 
 line, should read "nearby," On page '53, third line from 
 bottom, the first word should read "eight," in place of 
 "right." Also, the letter "o" in last word in twenty- first 
 line from top of page should be "c," and read as "nice," 
 On pages 54 and 55, the word "Completion" should read 
 "Competition of the Hicks Bee-hive," and nof'Comple- 
 liyn Hicks Hive." On page 62, fifteenth line, the word 
 "for" should read 'ffrom; and on page 64 the word "in" 
 should be "of," in fifth line from bottom, after "month." 
 Also, the last word on page 66 should be "bicarbonate," 
 in place of "biporate." On page 69, the second line 
 shouln have the words "back on their stand" supplied, in 
 order to make the lesson clear and comprehensive in the 
 treatment of bee cholera. On page 70, th6 word "native," 
 in twelfth line from top, should read' "nature," and on 
 page 71 we find in third line from bottom the word 
 "bees," which should be "qneens;". "stocks," in second 
 line irom bottom, should be "stacks. Also, on page 72, 
 line 14, the word "ia" should be used after "inserting," to 
 make sense. On page 77, line sixteen, just before "busi- 
 ness" should be "this business." On page 79, in lesson for 
 April, the word "have" should be used before "feed," to 
 make proper sense; and "meal" should be used in place of 
 "bread." On pege 80, the word "hive," in December les- 
 son, should be "house," which is used in second and sixth 
 
HIV^ES, BEES 
 
 At Retail and by the ftuantity. 
 
 SINGLE COPY OF THE 
 
 North American Bee-keeper's Guide. $ 50 
 
 Hioks' Bee Hive and Farm Eight 10 00 
 
 Hicks' Bee Hive, with Italian Bees 20 00 
 
 For Hicks' Hives per dozen , 36 00 
 
 Italian Queen, single one tested 5 00 
 
 Italian Queens per dozen 33 OQ 
 
 Italian Queens per half dozen , 18 00 
 
 One imported Italian Queen , 10 00 
 
 4l8ike Clover Seed per pound 60 
 
 Mustard Seed per pound , 35 
 
 Siiver-hulled Buckwheat per pound 05 
 
 Honey Extractors furnished at manufacturers' prices, the 
 Ijest in the market. • 
 
 Address: 
 
 J. M. HICKS & CO., 
 
 Battle Ground, 
 nppecanoe County, Ind. 
 
 N. B.— -Aliraja b« particular to write jour name and 
 •ddroM ptittalf , to Moid mistakes. 
 
S^^l desire to procure good ener- 
 getic Agents tiiroiighout the United 
 States and Territories^ to whom liberal 
 commissions will be allowed, as ^ngj^l as 
 good premiums in Bees, Italian Queens, 
 and Hicks Hived, including the i\or^/) 
 American Bee- Keepers' Guide, a book up 
 with the times in Bee-keeping, which 
 retails at fifty cents per single copy, and 
 i^ worth ten times the price to any 
 farmer or person contemplating going 
 into the Bee business. 
 
 Address, wath inclosed stamp for 
 terms, and you will always hear from 
 me. • /. M. HICKS. 
 
 I abo wish to negotiate and make ar- 
 rangements for all first-class honey, for 
 which I will pay cash or exchange Ital- 
 ian Queens, or Hicks Bee Hives, with 
 or without bees in the same. In a 
 word, I will exchange any article I keep 
 for sale to supply Bee-keepers with for 
 good, first-class honey, at fair prices. 
 J. M, HICK8, 
 Battle Ground, 
 Tippecanoe County, Ind. 
 
WILL FURNISH 
 
 TRIMIIIlf&S AID HAMAEl 
 
 — FOR— 
 
 Hicks' Bee Hives, 
 
 — ALSO— 
 
 A Full Set of Transferring Tools. 
 
 FDR A(4EXTS, FUKNI<HED OX SHORT NOTICE, 
 W'c are ;tlsi) prei)arcd to furnish the best 
 
 ^ o 21 ^; y-^'M s^- 1 r ^ o % © {i* m^ 
 
 AT ^LVNUFaCTURERS' PRICES. 
 
 Kiiiyes for Uncapping Honey, 
 
 Wili also 1)e furnislied on Sliort Notice and at [>iw Pi'lc 
 A'l'.lvesf? all orders to 
 
 J. M. HICKS & CO., 
 
 Battle Ground, 
 Tippecanoe County, Ind. 
 
 iltig'Tbc Best asd rarest Slock of Brama Chickens 'fu; - 
 iiished on reasonable terms for cash. It is a ^vell-knowi! 
 fact, that the two faniili?? of Brainas — that of dark and 
 light — if bred together, make the most hardj' and best 
 chicken.s for the market, and by lav the richest, .sweetest 
 and best meat for use. 
 
 Addros- all orders to J. M. HICKS «t CO.. 
 
 Baltle Oronncf, Ind. 
 
/#W/C^^j/^^=^. ^^^# 
 
 Price 50c., Postpaid. M 
 
 THE 
 
 NORTH AMERICAN 
 
 .1 
 
 yMMiMWaKMal 
 
 ■^^W^ 
 
 GUIDE, 
 
 B Y J. M. HICKS, 
 
 I»ractloal J^piarlan, 
 
 Battle Ground, Tippecanoe Co., Incl. 
 
 LAFAYETTE 
 BEE STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, 
 
 '^- J. L. COX & BEO., PEINTERS -^ 
 1875. 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 0002 841 708 1