1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



SI 



this very thing : " Never mind about the color of the 

 drone;" we must mind about the color of the drones, 

 or our pure and beautiful Italian bees will soon run 

 out. 



I took the precaution last fall to test several 

 queens for drones to use the coming season; have 

 always made it a point not to lot the drones from 

 any hive in my yard fertilize my young queens. I 

 keep only those stocks at home, however, that I 

 want to use for this purpose. All my queens are 

 raised In one yard, but not fertilized in one yard by 

 any means. Last season I ran 4 queen-yards, and 

 fou'.d it a job of no small dimensions, to make all 

 run right and keep them supplied with drones of the 

 right stamp. 



There is one poi.t suorgostcd in the abovr, that I 

 will not touch upon. Probably some of your sharp 

 readers will pick it up, and that will open up this 

 subject still further. 



During all my experience, I think I never had a 

 queen that would produce handsome queens and 

 drones too. How have other dealers found this? I 

 have raised thousands of queens from one mother, 

 and not 100 drones. Those that I did raise were 

 poorly marked. I do not breed " in and in," and 

 would not use the drones from the queen I am rais- 

 ing queens from, even should they bo very handsome. 



Henry Alley. 



Wenham, Eisex Co., Mass., Jan. 4, 1882. 



If 5'ou will excuse me, frieud Alley, it was 

 only in regard to testing the purity of queens 

 that I said, " Pay no attention to the color of 

 the drones." And, by the way, suppose we 

 can get nicer-marked bees by having hand- 

 some drones ; all we shall accomplish is col- 

 or, which is of small moment compared with 

 honey-gathering qualities ; and I really don't 

 tnow just now how we are going to tell good 

 drones from lazy ones. They are mostly all 

 lazy in " our parts.'' We can have them 

 raised from queens whose bees are extra 

 Avorkers, it is true ; and will not this be 

 more desirable th an color V 



TAKING BEES OUT OF A TREE, ETC. 



A NOVEL PLAN FOK DOING IT. 



fAM going to tell you a little about my bee-keep- 

 ing. In 1880 I found 2 swarms in the woods. I 

 ~" was afraid to cut the tree, for fear of getting in 

 trouble; so I climbed it and sounded it in order to 

 find out how far it was hollow. I stopped vip the 

 hole in the morning early, so as to get them all, then 

 took a two-inch auger, and bored a hole at the upper 

 end of the hollow of the tree. Then I took a pin, 

 about 8 inches long, made it to fit the hole, and then 

 drove it in the hole, and made an inch hole through 

 this pin, so as to make a passage for the bees to 

 come out. I took a light bo.T, about a foot square, 

 bored a hole in it with a two-inch auger, made an 

 air-hole in the box to allow them air; bored another 

 hole about the bottom of the hollow, then blew in 

 smoke. The smoke crowded them to the top, and 

 they went into it. One of them was up 30 feet. I 

 took a line and drew the tools up with it. After the 

 bees were in the box I lowered them down, then 



slabbed out a piece, and took out the honey and 

 comb; took them home, hived them, and increased 

 them to 4 that summer. When I put them into win- 

 ter quarters there were 2 good ones and 2 poor ones; 

 the latter had their hive half filled with comb and 

 honey, but they wintered safely, without any divi- 

 sion-board or protection. 



I winter my bees in the cellar; prefer it to out- 

 door wintering. In 1881 I increased those 4 to 13 

 natural swarms; sold about $10.00 worth of honey, 

 and used it for the table all through the summer. 

 The i;i are in fair condition. If they come through 

 safe I will allow them to swarm once only. The dol- 

 lar queen I purchased of you is a good layer. She 

 has her hive full of bees from top to bottom. She is 

 the best layer in the lot, but not as large as some of 

 my black queens. They are pure Italians, accord- 

 ing to the descriptions of the ABC. 



We are very thankful for the good you have done 

 us, and wish you great success. If you ever come 

 around hero, come and see us. 



Paul Schlaqel. 



Victor, Wright Co., Minn., Jan. 16, 1882. 



Yery good, friend S, 8o far as I know, 

 your plan for drumming the bees out of a 

 tree, through a hollow pin, into a box, is 

 new. 



DOOIilTTliE'S NEIGHBOR. 



INTRODUCTION, BY THE GENTLEMAN HIMSELF. 



M\ S I am an entire stranger to you and yours, 1 

 J^^ think I may, with profit, use the above cap- 



' tion. I was 28 years old yesterday; have been 



a farmer for the last eight years, and for the last 

 four kept bees in a small way. I have at present 12 

 full stocks and 2 nuclei which I am trying as an ex- 

 periment to winter on four frames. My bees are 

 all in the cellar. The first year, I bought 3 colonies. 

 I let them do about as they chose, my people telling 

 me if I did not stop handling them I would spoil 

 them. Well, they increased to 9, and made me about 

 50 lbs. in sections, of the nicest basswood honey. But 

 the winter carried me back below where I started. 

 The dysentery killed all but one queen and about a 

 quart of bees. Then how I did go for G. M. Doolittle 

 and N. N. Betsinger with quest ions I By the way, 

 my place is but 3 or 3i 2 miles from Mr. D., and he 

 has always helped me all he could, as I believe he 

 does every one. 



Well, Mr. Doolittle gave me queen-cells from his 

 very best queen, the one that gave him the largest 

 yield. By using my old comb, I built up to four fair 

 stocks, all having queens as above mentioned, and 

 three out of the four mated all right. This time I 

 put my bees in the cellar, and let them alone until 

 soft maple was in blossom, and lost none. I believe 

 they were stronger in spring than in fall. The next 

 summer I increased to 6, and made considerable box 

 honey, all the while keeping up my study with Mr. 

 Doolittle. Last winter I lost one and doubled back 

 to four, and made $17.50 per colony, counting my 

 increase (8 stocks) at $4.00 per colony; my two nu- 

 cleus stocks I won't call any thing, I guess, though 

 they man winter. I did not double them, partly be- 

 cause each had a pure queen. But I guess this is 

 sufficient for an introduction. 



C. M. GOODSPEED. 



Thorn Hill, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Jan., 1883. 



