_Dowagiac, Mich._
[For the American Bee Journal.]
The Looking-glass Again.
MR. EDITOR:--I have used the looking-glass often for arresting swarms,
rarely failing; but _I have always used it in conjunction with the
shotgun_. Used thus, it seems to induce in the bees the idea of an
approaching storm, and that they ought to be securing a place of safety
as quick as possible.
Out of a number of examples, I give the following:
A second swarm proved to be bent on emigrating, for on six consecutive
days it left as many different hives. Each time it was brought to anchor
by the looking-glass, &c. The last time the bees fell as if shot dead,
at the flash and report. And for aught I know and saw, they might have
kept trying to this day.
In some rare cases, however, I have failed to bring the swarm to settle.
My bees have swarmed heavily this year, and for a rarity seemed to
select the tops of the highest trees to settle on, and then would often
leave for the woods after hiving. Query, was there any connection
between the two facts?
The early season, here, was superior for honey, up to the blooming of
the white clover, which was very scarce, and almost devoid of honey. The
weather has been hot and dry, and no honey since.
There has been no honey-dew since the war near me; whilst a large piece
of woods, three miles off, seemed, two years ago, to be literally
flowing with honey-dew, and alive with bees. The tract was three miles
wide and five miles long, and alive with bees, throughout its whole
extent, every day for several weeks. Did the bees of the country gather
there?
Your paper is read with intense interest. Long may it live to contribute
to the pleasure and profit of bee-keepers.