346 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



July 



EXTRA ENERGY OF HYBRIDS, AND THE REASON. 



If you remember, I got an Italian queen of you 

 some time last August. As late as it was, 1 raised 

 drones and three queens from her, and 1 hen lost her 

 in introducing to another colony. Two of the 

 queens are purely mated, and the othei- produces 

 hybrid bees; but, what seems strange to me is, the 

 hybrid colony has more get-up and go-ahead about 

 them than the pure bloods, though they are as cross 

 as hornets. Could it te possible that, by raising the 

 queen and drone by which she was fertilized, from 

 the same mother queen, that the workers would 

 have less energy than those raised from a cross? 

 Or are hybrids generally better hone} -gatherers 

 than the pure Italians? 



The bees are now gathering honey from huckle- 

 berry and turnip bloom. 1 have 7 colniies, but 

 they are not as strong as they ought to be. In fact, 

 the latter part of last season nearly ruined bees; it 

 was so dry here that they could get nothing, and, 

 of course, raised little or no brood, and, as a natural 

 result, they came out of the winter very weak in 

 numbers. Perry Hansford. 



Troy, W. Vd., May 10, 1883. 



I think you are very likely right, friend 

 H., and I believe I would rather have a 

 queen mated with a black drone, than from 

 a drone from her own mother. Aside from 

 that, there seems to be an extra amount of 

 energy developed, many times, in crossing 

 those of widely distant relationship. 



patent BEE-niVES, ETC. 



I was handed a copy of your Gleanings, No. 8, 

 1880. Last spring, I got 4 hives of bees, in odd-look- 

 ing hives; took an interest in a patent hive, and 

 transferred from old to new; they appeared to do 

 well at first, but I do not like the hive. Last fall a 

 Mitchell agent came along, and I let him swindle me 

 still more, by selling me a hive and Italian queen. I 

 have two left. One neighbor had 17 stands, and let 

 the same fellow in, and now he has three left. 



Jesse Motter. 



LaGro, Wabash Co., Ind., May 8, 1883. 



THE CHAFF TENEMENT HIVES, ETC. 



I use the chaff tenement hives mainly. With the 

 right management, they are the b:st hive in use for 

 this locality. Bees seem to require no more honey 

 in them during winter than hives that wintered in 

 the cellar, and they come out much stronger and 

 brighter in spring. Give me tenement hives, with 

 good swarms, and nice capped honey, and I will win- 

 ter without loss every time. I am sure the bees 

 that I have run in chaff hives have far outstripped 

 others in honey-gathering or increase. 



Athens, Me., March 33, 1883. W. H. Green. 



LOTS OF TROUBLE, BUT "HOPES NOT BLASTED." 



I received the Simplicity hive and smoker all 

 right Saturday, and was well pleased with thtm. I 

 thought I had better transfer ray bees at once, as I 

 saw worms in the old hive. I smoked them, and 

 took out one side of the old hive, and took out the 

 frames, and it is hard to ascertain which had the 

 majority (bees or worms). There was no brood, as 

 the worms had destroyed them, so I had nothing to 

 transfer; and, to add to the disaster, a lot of Italian 

 bees came to the old hive and stole a lot of honcj', 

 and killed a great many of the old bees; and, to top 

 the climax, I couldn't find a queen, but I found a 

 fertile worker, and I destroyed her, as she was al- 



most without wings and legs. I do not e.x'pect to 

 glut the markets of this country this year, from the 

 present outlook. Geo. Mitten. 



Fowler, Ind., May 30, 1883. 



It is well you destroyed that fertile worker 

 without wings, friend'M.,or she might have 

 made a deal of mischief in that hive that 

 had almost as many worms as bees. In such 

 a case, I would make the whole into bees- 

 wax, and put the live bees on a comb of 

 brood from some other hive — not because 

 of the profit there might be in a few old 

 bees, but because I always feel sorry for 

 them. How heartless those greedy Italians 

 are, when a hive is given over to worms and 

 old bees ! Joking aside, I presume the worms 

 and Italians have been blamed a great many 

 times for robbing good colonies, when a 

 transfer would reveal the seat of miscliief to 

 be the lack of a queen a long time before, 

 just as you found it, friend M. 



WHO WANTS A CYPRIAN QUEEN? 



The Cyprian queen that I wish to sell is the most 

 prolific of all my bees, and I have I) ) swarms. I put 

 69 swarm? into winter quarters, and May 1st h?.d the 

 same number; May 8th I had a large swarm come 

 oui — the first I ever had come oui so early in the 

 season. The reason of my wanting to sell the Cyp- 

 rian queen is because smoke has not much cff ."ct on 

 them. I wish to introduce an Italian in her place- 

 She is the only Cyprian I have. I. E. Squire. 



Elyria,0.,May 15, 1883. 



AN A B C SCHOLAR ■■< fXPERIENCE. 



The queen you sent mo wus put into a qucenlcss 

 colony which had become very much reduced in 

 numbers; so much so, that I concluded to make 

 with her an artificial swarm, which I did according 

 to your method. Itobbers soon put in an appear- 

 ance, and every thing was in an uproar. The next 

 day I took a look for my queen, and found that she 

 had been forced out of her cage, and was nowhere to 

 be found, and robbers were yet in attendance in 

 spite of my etforts. This caused me to look upon 

 Mr. Root's theory of making artificial swarms as a 

 humbug. But I noticed, in a few days thereafter, 

 that my artificial swarm had gone to work, and 

 again I concluded to investigate a little further' 

 when I found my new queen and plenty of sealed 

 brood. I therefore owe you an apology for my de- 

 nunciations of your theory. G. A. Leavitt. 



Houston, Mo., May 31, 1883. 



Friend L., I would hereby warn you, that, 

 when robbers do abound, ready to poke their 

 noses into every open cell, you need not ex- 

 pect my " theories," or those of anybody 

 else, to work. After the weather changed 

 so there was some honey for the bees to gath- 

 er, they let your poor queen alone, and every 

 thing Avorked lovely, as it always does. 

 Now, if we book-writers are to be held re- 

 sponsible for the weatlier and the honey- 

 tlow, why — we shall have to be careful, 

 won't we V Never mind ; I forgive you. 



winter rape. 

 A few years ago we wrote you all we could learn 

 about winter rap?; but it is so long ago that Ave 

 have forgotten just what the facts were, and our in- 

 formant, who had grown the crop in Germany, is 

 dead. We mention this in order that due allowance 

 may be made for us if we should not get it just the 



