386 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



think tbe plan g'ood, so the frames of syrup are given 

 in time to enable the bees to cap it before eold 

 weather sets in. Please give me your views of this 

 matter, as it goes mightily against the grain to lay 

 away so many frames of this choice h(jncy. I have 

 wintered my bees the two last winters without any 

 loss, entirely on sugar syrup, and not A sugar, 

 either. W. T. Clary. 



Claryville, Ky., July 6, 1882. 



Why, friend C, it seems to me your exper- 

 iments have answered the question already. 

 It lias been demonstrated over and over 

 again, that pure su.sar is better for bees than 

 any honey, and I do not now remember of 

 ever hearing of a single case where natural 

 stores were found better than sugar properly 

 and timely fed. D. A. Jones, wiien here, 

 made the remark, that there was one of my 

 hobbies that would bear riding just as hard 

 as I or anybody else had a mind to. It was 

 the idea, that sugar stores are better for bees 

 than their natural food. This last winter 

 has still further corroborated it. Neighbor 

 H. thought he was ahead of us, because his 

 bees had stores of their own, wnthont feed- 

 ing, or, at least, a great part of them did. 

 Those that required no feeding died badly 

 with the dysentery, and left whole combs of 

 solid honey, while all that had to be fed, al- 

 most without exception, came through strong 

 and healthy. My advice would be, to get all 

 your white honey in marketable shape, and 

 sell it ; then feed the superior, less expen- 

 sive sugar. 



AN EINTHITSIASTIC A B C SCIIOIiAR. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT GETTING BEES OUT OF A 

 TREE. 



FTER reading your ABC book, and looking 

 at yours and the little girl's portrait, I am 

 convinced that you are a friend to all of 

 God's creatures. I have started in bee-keeping in 

 this way while at work in the woods. Last winter I 

 went to chop a tree, a large oak, and found that 

 some one else had chopped into it years before, and 

 there was a hollow in it. I thought there might be a 

 log in the top of it, and struck it with my ax to see. 

 It was a warm day, and I soon had a swarm of bees 

 around my ears. They had gone in at the root, near 

 the ground. I left them there till the 15th of May, 

 and, prepared with a Simplicity hive, and friends 

 Gill and Wilson for <;ompany, took them out by tak- 

 ing one side of the tree out, which was done without 

 breaking or marring the combs. We then cut the 

 comb to fit the frames, and filled the hive of 12 

 frames with full combs of brood and bees, and it was 

 full. The 10th of June I divided them, giving the 

 new part 3 frames of brood and one frame of honey, 

 and frames full of fdn. To-day they are booming. 

 I bought a tested queen of M. A. Gill, and put with 

 one part the same day all right, and they filled every 

 comb they could find empty, and drew the fdn. out, 

 and the queen has laid one frame of fdn. full of 

 oggs. I then bought your ABC book, and went to 

 thinking. In a few days I was down to Wilson's, and 

 he had a queen that he bought of you, and she had 

 the largest swarm of bees I ever saw, and, Mr. W. 

 said, the largest in the county. I asked him what 

 he would take for them; he said $11.00, and I bought 

 them. He has offered me f 16.00 for them since, but 

 I have none to sell. I divided them, gave them full 



frames of fdn. all around, four frames of brood and 

 bees, and bought another swarm of Italians of Mr. 

 Wilson's father, and the five swarms are doing well. 



This is my start. 1 shall not keep bees for profit 

 for one or two years yet. I shall follow your in- 

 structions as nearlyas I can, even to the planing and 

 painting of my posts for my vines. I hav<: 30 three- 

 year-old grapevines started, and shall place them as 

 directed by you. L. C. Gates. 



Viola, Wis., July 3, 1883. 



I am always glad to hear from my pui)ils, 

 friend G., and especially from the wide- 

 awake, enthusiastic ones like yourself. Your 

 first work now is to make all of them worth 

 $1().0(J. 



— I ^ 



^VHY SWARiTIS TOIWE TO OUK AI»I.\- 

 RIES. 



AN INTERESTING SUBJECT. 



E THINK I have solved the problem. Apiaries 

 have certain pasturing grounds, where the bees 

 seem to congregate, and from which, to the 

 apiary and back, they seem to have a well-dettaed 

 path or route. My lees are in my orchard, from 

 whence they have three distinct courses to their 

 pasturing grounds, and on those lines they can be 

 seen going and coming in large numbers, at quite a 

 distance from the apiary. Now, the point is here: 

 A swarm of bees fiying over, and coming in contact 

 with these returning linos, foll(jw them in. Bees 

 going home are usually loaded, and fly more slowly 

 than a bee going out, and consequently make better 

 guides. Now for the evidence : 



About a year ago a swarm came from the south, 

 across my place, going about due north. I followed, 

 and at or about tbe north line of my farm they 

 changed their course to about N. N. W., and, after 

 going about one hundred rods, clustered on the top 

 of an oak-tree in which was a swarm that had been 

 in there some two or three years. 



On the first day of July, this year, Mr. Colier, who 

 is a partner with me in the tile business, and who 

 lives east of me about three-quarters of a mile, was 

 sitting in the east door of his house, about 3 o'clock 

 in the afternoon, and saw a swarm of bees over in 

 the field east of his house, low down, just at the top 

 of the grass, which, when he first saw, were going 

 north, and continued to go in that direction some 

 distance across the field, when they changed their 

 course to due west, and came direct to my apiary, 

 and clustered on an apple-tree. Now, friend R., j'ou 

 have my theory, and the reasons therefor. 



Jerome, O., July 14, 1883. R. McCrory. 



I am quite inclined to agree with the 

 above. I have noticed these lines of flight, 

 and I have for years been puzzled to know 

 why runaway swarms should so often come 

 into the vicinity of large apiaries, and clus- 

 ter. "We know how prone bees are to unite, 

 or to fall in with any moving body of bees ; 

 and that they should naturally join in with 

 the slow-moving, heavy-laden bees, as they 

 follow each other slowly in the homeward 

 route, seems extremely probable, and we 

 tender you our thanks, friend M., for having 

 given the matter the attention you have. 

 The flight of bees has always been a most 

 interesting matter to me, and I hope others 

 may follow up the suggestion here thrown 

 out. 



