1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



405 



At present, our sales of honey are by far 

 the hirsest in the raised cover, one- pint 

 pails. These hold just about U lbs. of hon- 

 ey, and retail for an even 2-") cents. The 

 pails cost $4.00 per hundred. We also fur- 

 nish the Dadant pails, holding H lbs., at the 

 same price. We have no pail holding ex- 

 actly 1 lb., but we have a 1-lb. tin box, such 

 as t>. A. Jones uses, at ?2.7o per hundred. 

 The dimensions of this box are 2^ inches in 

 diameter, and 4i high. This is perhaps the 

 best shape for economy in working the tin. 

 We could put bails on them, so as to make it 

 a veritable 1-lb. pail, for ;?3.50 per hundred. 



THISOWING OUT BROOD. 



Being inexperienced at extracting-, I slung- out a 

 little broort, not much. Will it do the honey any 

 hurt if it stays in it until drawn from the extractor? 



A little brood, immediately strained out, 

 would not, I think, inipair the taste of the 

 honey; but in some of our earlier experi- 

 ments with the extractor we threw out so 

 much brood that I imagined it ^ave the hon- 

 ey a raw taste ; and as the milky food pre- 

 imred by the bees goes with it, I should not 

 be surprised if it would hasten the tendency 

 to fermentation. If your honey is so thick 

 that you have to turn hard enough to start 

 the unsealed larva-, I think t would skip 

 frames containing such, and not extract 

 them. 



INTRODUCING A QUEEN IN 20 MINUTES AFTEK RE- 

 MOVING OLD ONE. 



I had a singular experience the other day. In ex- 

 tracting-, I accidentally, but carelessly, killed a 

 young- laying queen. 1 wont to a hive where I had 

 some queen-cells in reserve, cut one out, and, while 

 taking it to the queenless hive, I heard it gnawing 

 inside of the cell. I saw the cap begin to separate, 

 and had just time to pull up the end of the enameled 

 cloth, and hold the cell down on to the top of the 

 frames when her majesty crawled out and down in- 

 to the hive. I had no idea that they would accept 

 her, but I found her all right next morning. The 

 hive was not queenless for twentj' minutes. 



Gilbert & Gay. 



West Winstead, Conn., July 17, 1883. 



Your experience is not very nnusual. The 

 queens we hatch from the lamp nursery are 

 let loose this way, as an every-day matter ; 

 and had you let your just-hatched queen 

 into the hive, even before the other was 

 killed, they would likely have received her 

 just the same. They sometimes, how^ever, 

 notice their being strangers, after they have 

 been in a day or more, and then they are at- 

 tacked. While honey is coming in briskly, 

 you may often swap queens from one hive to 

 another, without either being molested. 

 When you liave some queens you do not care 

 for, try it. 



IMPORTED QUEENS — THEIR UNPREPOSSESSING AP- 

 PEARANCE. 



The imported queen was received yesterday, and 

 duly installed, by taking frames of hatching brood 

 from different hives until I made quite a colony 

 when hatched. To-day she seems to be perfectly at 

 homo among her colony of baby-bees, teaching them 

 the Italian language (bee), I suppose. 



I must say that I am disappointed in her; she is 

 the smallest queen I ever received through the 

 mails; but then, she has traveled further — all the 



way from Italy. Now, friend Koot, I am not com- 

 plaining yet ; liut if, after rest and proper attention, 

 she still presents the present dwarfed condition, I 

 shall be forced to complain, for you know I sent for 

 t<iie best six-dollar queen, right from Italy. I do 

 hope that rest and proper attention may be all the 

 queen requires to develop her into a /an- one. There 

 were three dead bees in the cage; the remainder 

 were strong enough. 



Thanks, friend 11. The unprepossessing 

 appearance of imi)orted queens has always 

 been a matter of dissatisfaction, and I fear 

 always will be. They do not begin to com- 

 pare in ai)pearance with their own daugh- 

 ters raised in this country; but why it is, I 

 am unable to say. Then why do weimport, 

 do you ask ? Because we have proved, over 

 and over, that tmless we make frequent im- 

 portations for our apiary, we soon lose the 

 intense energy of the Italians. As a rule, 

 the bees from imported queens, or their 

 daughters, gather honey when home-bred 

 Italians of several generations do not. Keep 

 watch of your imported queen, and see if 

 this is not the case. Since you have again 

 called our attention to the matter, friend K., 

 I have just gone and inserted in our price 

 list the following lines : — 



It wei-f no nioi-e tlian fair to int'onn our friends that inii)ortu(l 

 queens, as a rule, are small anil tlark. If jou want a large yel- 

 low queen, do not ortlcr an imported. 



13f/i.— Queen is a little better looking to-day. 



xitli.— Queen has decidedly improved in her gener- 

 al appearance, but has not commenced laying yet. 



14;/;, 3 P.M.— Queen commenced laying, and would 

 be considered an average one. 



15W(, "la A.M.— Queen continues laying, but quite 

 small. She now has quite a colony of young bees, 

 and I intend to feed them up and make a strong col- 

 ony by winter. I hope she will prove good, tjetter, 

 best. 



THIN HONEY, ETC. 



Our spring proved to be a very poor one for hon- 

 ey; plenty of tlowers, but no honey; yet I am not 

 discour.iged; indeed, I ought not to be, when all the 

 box-hive men tell me they made no honey, and their 

 bees are dying. I took 1200 lbs. from 30 colonies, 

 all extracted, and I wonder if the rainy spring ev- 

 erywhere made honey as thin fts mine was. If so, a 

 real splendid article is scarce. 



Clinton, La., July 15, 1883. W. F. Kcjbekts. 



I believe thin honey is the rule this sea- 

 son ; but you can get it thick by putting on 

 an upper story and leaving it on the hive un- 

 til it is partially or all capped over. 



HEPORT FROiM AN " A " SCHOLAR. 



In the first place, I will term myself an " A " schol- 

 ar, not having progressed as far as B, for this is the 

 first season that I ever lifted a frame of bees from a 

 hive. When I began I had 41 colonies, one of which 

 had a fertile worker. They began breeding early, 

 and by the time poplar bloomed they were nearly all 

 in good condition. The fore part of the season was 

 very favorable, and you can imagine they kept me 

 busy. The rainy season began just about the time 

 white clover opened, and continued until July 1st, 

 during which time they gave me but little surplus 

 honey. Since July 1st we have had some nice 

 weather, and the little pets are working early and 

 late. I have taken in all, between 1000 and 1500 lbs.; 

 increased cmly two by natural swarming; have a 

 nice lot of cells, which -will hatch in a few days, for 

 nuclei. 



Sellersburg, Ind., July 11, 1883. A. L. Crim. 



