440 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July 15 



Stray Straws 



]?y Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



More than one egg in a queen-cell is a 

 sign of laying workers; but this year a queen- 

 right colony had two queen-cells, side by 

 side, with two eggs in each. 



June 8, bees were at the jioint of starva- 

 tion; June 22, there were "iof) sujiers (some 

 of them empty) on 109 hives; and .Tune 29, 

 there had been taken from the hives ;>2 fin- 

 ished supers of 24 sections each. 



"Never allow bees to hang outside the 

 hive." That's the advice given in one of 

 the best books published. Isn't that "nev- 

 er " rather sweeping? On a hot night after 

 a hard day's work, or even in a hot day at 

 close of harvest, I would not feel hard toward 

 a strong colony if it should want to get out- 

 side where it's cooler. 



Referring to page 428, if I should put 

 an empty super under a brood-nest my bees 

 would surely build down. When I used a 

 false bottom with a space of 1% inches un- 

 der it, the bees filled the space with comb, 

 and they will build down more promi)tly in 

 an open space. But Mr. Lemon can safely 

 put an empty sui)er uniier if he puts two or 

 three bottom-racks in it. 



The swarming referred to by O. E. Bu- 

 chanan, page 426, is aftcr-swarming . Pip- 

 ing and quahking may always be heard the 

 evening before an after-swarm issues, some- 

 times longer before — no piping before a 

 prime swarm. H. E. Harrington, page 425, 

 says piping maybe heard "about four or 

 five days after the first swarm has issued." 

 It is generally about three days later than 

 that. 



Henry Stewart's article, p. 415, is all 

 right for Eluropean foul brood; but the head- 

 ing and the first word of (he article says 

 "American." If he really means American 

 foul brood he is butting up square against 

 Alexander, and I guess everybody else. 

 [Mr. Stewart seems to be describing Ameri- 

 can foul brood, and we have been informed 

 that there is no European foul brood in his 

 vicinity, hence the heading of his article. 

 Explain how he is square up against Alex- 

 ander. — Ed.] 



Link by link cold business sense is help- 

 ing to forge the chain to bind King Alcohol. 

 At a recent examination for public chauf- 

 feurs in the city of Chicago, "those taking 

 the tests were forced, under the new law, to 

 swear they would not touch intoxicating 

 liquors while on duty, agreeing that their 

 license be taken from them if they are de- 

 tected with the odor of liquor on their breath, 

 and they be barred from ever again driving 

 a public automobile in Chicago." [But is 

 he as good a chauffeur on duty, if he drinks 

 when ofT, as he would be if always unalco- 

 holized?— Ed.] 



More and more I like the idea of having 

 an empty super on top. It serves as a safety- 

 valve, so that, if the bees are at any time 

 crowded for room, they may begin work 

 aVjove. If they don't need the room, it does 

 no harm. Next time around it can be put 

 down next the brood, and another emj)ty 

 l)ut on toj). [This idea of putting an empty 

 sui)er on to|), whether the bees need it or 

 not, is excellent, especially in a season like 

 this. This is a subject well worth discuss- 

 ing.— Kd.] 



F. J. liooT, page 410, talks sensibly about 

 advertising, and then asks, " What are you 

 going to do about it?" Nothing, my dear 

 fellow; not a thing. At least if one may 

 judge from the past. More's the pity! [It 

 is indeed true that the bee-keeping public 

 have not put enough emphasis upon the 

 selling end of the business. The editor of 

 the Review has recently started out on this 

 campaign. We shall be very glad to wel- 

 come more articles on how to dispose of the 

 crop after we once get it. Apparently for 

 this season we are going to get a crop, and 

 some bee-keepers are going to have difficul- 

 ty in selling at good jirices. — Ed.] 



The question as to the sex of eggs laid 

 by the queen is up again in L'Apiculteur, 

 among the theories being the one that all 

 eggs are alike, and the workers have the 

 power to settle the sex. One of the things 

 cited to support that belief is that workers 

 are sometimes reared in drone-cells. The 

 thing that surprises me is that it seems to 

 have escaped these observers entirely that 

 no worker is ever reared in an unmodified 

 drone-cell. I've seen workers reared in 

 drone-cells a number of times; but before 

 the queen laid in them the workers always 

 contracted the entrances of the cells to make 

 them the size of worker-cells. Are my bees 

 the only ones that do this? 



Formerly I allowed about >^-inch venti- 

 lation under the super at the back of the 

 hive. It helped, I think, to prevent swarm- 

 ing; but the bees were slow about sealing 

 the sections next the opening. Then I al- 

 lowed a crack just large enough for only one 

 bee to crawl through. Sometimes (I think 

 in a full How) the ventilation did not seem 

 to hinder sealing; sometimes (I think in a 

 slow flow or cool weather) it hindered. But 

 this year the sections next the opening are 

 finished before those at the other end of the 

 super! Perhaps because it is very hot. I 

 think this opening at the upper back end of 

 the hive much more elTective in keeping 

 down swarming than three times the open- 

 ing at the bottom, as it allows ventilation 

 clear through the brood-chamber. But even 

 with ventilation at both places I have more 

 swarming than I like. [You say that you 

 think that ventilation at the ui)per back 

 end of the hive much more effective in keep- 

 ing down swarming than three times the 

 opening at the bottom. This is a rather in- 

 teresting question, and we hope our sub- 

 scribers will discuss it, esi)ecially those who 

 have tried ventilation at the top. — Ed.] 



