76 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 1 



day's work, and he had his opportunity, as 

 it proved. 



Our splendid start did not let me forget 

 that there might be danger ahead, as there 

 had apparently been a heavy thunderstorm, 

 and frequent long trips had given me experi- 

 ence as to variations in rainfall in a section 

 of country; and I knew how slippery clay 

 roads under certain conditions might be. I 

 used to be an advocate of wide-tired wagons 

 until one night, moving bees on slippery 

 roads, we had such wheels on one wagon, 

 the rest being narrow. I followed that wag- 

 on on foot for six miles until we passed the 

 clay, and again and again the rear slewed 

 around untu at right angles to the road, with 

 every prospect of upsettmg unless the driver 

 followed the movement with his horses and 

 the front wheels. From that night to this 

 day I have felt that the advocates of legisla- 

 tion to compel the use of wide tires did not 

 know their business. 



The clay roads became more sticky; and, 

 before we knew it, two wagons were almost 

 over a steep bank. With chains to the rack 

 of the wagon, and to a fence post on the oth- 

 er side, we relieved the pressure on the 

 slowly sinking wheel on the other side of the 

 load. A portion of the bees had to be un- 

 loaded. Such situations caused delay; and 

 after a time, owing to frequent stops, our wa- 

 ter and fuel ran out. The former, owing to 

 a long spell of dry weather, was difficult to 

 get. However, we reached the gravel at 

 last, and our spirits rose; and as we made 

 good time these feelings gave vent through 

 the steam-whistle, as, in the engineer's esti- 

 mation, worthy objects of i-alutation were 

 passed on the road. 



We thought our difficulties had been sur- 

 mounted as we passed, like a triumphal pro- 

 cession, through Port Dover. The summer 

 tourists were snapshotting the procession 

 from every direction, thinlcing, as one ex- 

 pressed it to me, such a scene did not of len 

 present itself to the photographer. But 

 when we came to the sand we found it too 

 loose for the engine-wheels to secure a pur- 

 chase. Here tne engineer bad reckoned 

 without his host. It would take too much 

 time to describe the troubles we encounter- 

 ed — the broken cable (for each wagon drew 

 from one cable, thus preventing the strain 

 from the rear wagons having to be borne by 

 the preceding) , hunts for water for bees and 

 engine, etc. We had a splendid band of 

 workers who made the most of every situa- 

 tion and opportunity. At the most critical 

 time Messrs. E. Tiinder, President of the 

 Norfolk Bee-keepers' Association, and Jas. 

 Armstrong, foul-brood inspector for the dis- 

 trict, came along. 



Seeing the straits we were in, Mr. Trinder 

 gave us wood and water, refusing any pay. 

 Mrs. Trinder prepared food for the party on 

 the same terms, and then the above-named 

 gentleman went ahead and arranged to put 

 the bees at a nearer point, where they were 

 placed by an exhausted party almost twenty- 

 four hours after they were loaded. We all 

 made a solemn resolution never again to 



move bees; but within a few days I had 

 another night trip moving bees over the 

 same road by wagon, followed by the ship- 

 ment of a carload, and then f our wagonloaas 

 the following week. 



Any one moving bees should weigh well 

 the cost, lay well his plans, judge well the 

 chances as to honey, and not only be alert as 

 to every thing going on, but carry the re- 

 sponsibility of tne work and set the pace 

 for his help. This means that some will 

 have to carry a load that they are not able to 

 bear. Others may refuse to work so hard, 

 and in this they may have a wisdom superior 

 to the one who practices migratory bee- 

 keeping. 



Experience has taught me that every team- 

 ster should be continually watched until he 

 has proven himself a careful, thoughtful, and 

 capable man. 



Brantford, Ont. 



WHY BEES GNAW COMBS. 



Wax is Needed, and Bees Gnaw the Comb 

 to Get it ; they Never Gnaw It Away for 

 the Purpose of Building Drone Comb. 



BY L. B. SMITH. 



It is stated by some good authority that if 

 bees are given full sheets of foundation, all 

 worker- sized cells, their instinct and craving 

 will be so great for drones and drone-sized 

 cells that they will often gn<iw down a por- 

 tion of the foundation and rebuild it with 

 drone comb. I have watched this closely 

 for the past 25 years, and have yet to see a 

 Case where the bees gnawed down the foun- 

 dation, and rr built it at once with drone 

 comb. You will notice that I emphasize the 

 words 'at once," for I have many times 

 known bees to gnaw away at least a third 

 of all the combs in the brood-chamber, and 

 later rebuild it with drone comb; but at the 

 time the gnawing was done the bees had no 

 thought of rearing drones or building drone 

 comb. My expeiience is that this gnawing 

 away of either combs or comb foundation is 

 done at a time when no honey is being gath- 

 ered; and the more prolific races of bees, 

 such as the Cyprians, Syrians, Carniolans, 

 etc , are much worse at this naughty act of 



fnawing their combs than are the native 

 lack bees or the Italians. I will try to ex- 

 plain further why this is so. Of course, if 

 comb foundation is in any way defective or 

 distasteful to the bees they will proceed at 

 once to gnaw it down and rebuild with both 

 worker and drone comb ; but at the time 

 this gnawing away of ready-built combs takes 

 place they will as readily remove drone as 

 worker combs — that is, provided the combs 

 are alike as to age, etc. 



The question may be asked why bees gnaw 

 combs, any way. The most common cause 

 is the need of wax. At a time when but 

 little honey is being gathered, bees secrete 

 little or no wax: if a colony has a good aueen 

 and plenty of stores, brood-rearing will con- 

 tinue more or less all along, and there is a 



