670 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Oct. 15 



thing that is of no value to it, and possibly might 

 prove an annoyance. — Ed.] 



When to Prepare Bees for Winter. 



In July a swarm came off, the bees o( which have 

 been doing well so far as honey in the brood-frames 

 Is concerned: Isut they have done nothing in the su- 

 per, which I put on the first week in September, 

 although we have had a good honey-flow from 

 buckwheat and goldenrod. 



Why do the bees cluster out in large bunches on 

 the front of the hive late in the evening? At this 

 time of the year it Is wet and damp, though not 

 very cold. 



What time in Northern Pennsylvania is it advis- 

 able to place the colonies in winter quarters? 



What hive do you consider best for outdoor win- 

 tering in this part of the country? 



Wheelersville, Pa. Mrs. Susan E. Allen. 



[It is hard to state why your bees did not work 

 in the super; but it may be that the swarm was not 

 a very large one. and that it took most of the flow 

 for tlie bees to build up in good shape. However, 

 your bees got started to storing in the brood- 

 combs; and when there is still room in the lower 

 part of the hive it is difflcult to get them to store 

 the honey in the super, as they prefer to keep it 

 near the brood. 



Clustering out as late as this is rather unusual, 

 and indicates a lack of ventilation when all the 

 bees are in the hive, as in the evening. A larger 

 entrance would probably be better for such a large 

 colony. 



It is best to begin early to get the bees in shape 

 for winter; and any time after you can be sure that 

 there are enough stores in the hives, the packing 

 can be done. It is often unsafe to pay no more at- 

 tenJon to a colony after an examination early in 

 the fall, for the reason that brood-rearing may start 

 up again later in the warm weather that generally 

 comes, so that the stores are partly used up. For 

 this reason it is not best to pack single-walled hives 

 so that no further examination can be made, until 

 after this period. 



We believe that the ten-frame chaff hive gives the 

 most uniform results lor outdoor wintering in most 

 localities. — Ed.] ___________ 



$700 Profit from a Back City Lot. 



Last year the bees in this locality did little or 

 nothing, many people getting scarcely enough to 

 winter their bees; but this season has been very 

 good, with the exception of winter losses. A great 

 many apiarists lost a very large part of their bees. 

 One very scientific man, to my knowledge, went to 

 winter with 80 colonies, and came out in the spring 

 with but 7, having wintered on summer stands. I 

 had ver.v good success with mine, wintering in the 

 cellar and not losing a single colony, but paid for 

 my experience two years ago, having put 32 colo- 

 nies in the cellar and coming out with 8. I started 

 this season with 32 colonies, some of them rather 

 weak early in the spring. March was an exception- 

 ally fine month here, however, and I built them up 

 very rapidly. I succeeded in harvesting 30 cases of 

 fine comb honey and :^20 gallons of extracted. I 

 sold all my comb honey at 84.00 a case, and have 

 sold halt of my extracted honey at S2.00 a gallon. I 

 am confident ot a net profit of STOO from 50 ft. square 

 in the back of my lot. 



Omaha, Neb. H. C. CoOK. 



A Sour Smell Coming from the Hives. 



I am puzzled by a peculiar odor from my hives, 

 which is so sour that one can detect it several feet 

 away. All of the colonies seem to be affected alike. 

 This odor has developed only in the last two weeks. 

 I have examiui d very closely, but can find no dead 

 brood. The queens are laying some, and the hives 

 are full of honey. I got a surplus of from 40 to 88 

 lbs. of fine white comb honey from the hives. This 

 would seem to indicate that the bees were free 

 from disease during the honey-flow, which ceased 

 about August 20. 



Wilkinsburg, Pa., Sept. 26. F, D. Millek. 



[If you make investigation you will undoubtedly 

 find that the sour smell comes from some ferment- 

 ed honey in the combs. Your bees have probably 

 been bringing in something, perhaps not nectar 

 from the flowers, which sours quickly, owing, pos- 

 sibly, to its nature, or to peculiar weather condi- 

 tions at the time. It would probably be best to ex- 

 tract all the honey in the combs, and substitute su- 



gar syijup.; It may be that only a small part of the 

 honey is soured, and that the rest is all right; but 

 only an examination would reveal whether this iH 

 true. Since there is no dead brood at all in your' 

 hives, it is unlikely that the sour odor Is due to any 

 disease. — Ed.] 



Sealed Covers versus Oil-cloth Quilts. 



When I prepare my colonies for winter I intend 

 to put a super-cover on the single-walled hive, with 

 a superful of chaff over it, and then tie burlap 

 around the hive and finally push a box or winter 

 case down over the whole thing. Do you think oil- 

 cloth over the frames would be better than the su- 

 per-cover? 



How much sweet-clover seed should be sown to 

 the acre? 



Mineral Ridge, O. John Waggoner. 



[If you use oil-cloth over the frames you should 

 use a few sticks laid crosswise of the top-bars under 

 it so that there will be a bee-sp.ace above the frames. 

 The oil-cloth is not porous, so that the results 

 would probably be about the saihe as with the use 

 of the super-cover. 



Different amounts of sweet-clover seed are sown 

 to the acre. Notice that Mr. E. S. Hacker, page 658, 

 this issue, sowed only 10 lbs. of the seed on a plot of 

 ground comprising about an acre and a half. How- 

 ever, R. L. Snodgrass, Augusta, Kan., advises not 

 less than 20 lbs. of the unhulled. or 12 to 15 lbs. of the 

 hulled to the acre. For further particulars see 

 "The Truth about Sweet Clover." — Ed.] 



A Hive-cover that will Not Crack nor Check. 



I use a single board as wide as the hive, and VA 

 inches longer. On both the upper and under side 

 of each end I place two cleats as wide as the board, 

 and % inch square, driving one nail in the center 

 through the upper cleat, down into the cover, and 

 also the lower cleat. To the ends of these cleats I 

 nail a piece of galvanized iron, Js inch wide and 2Vb 

 inches long, usnig three five-penny nails — one In 

 each cleat and one in the cover, the latter nail 

 keeping the cleats in the proper position. This 

 cover will never crack with the sun if it is well 

 painted; for, as the board shrinks, the nails on the 

 sides allow it to give. 



Los Angeles, Cal. T. Archibald. 



[In your State you would not have much difficul- 

 ty in getting lumber wide enough for the hives; but 

 in most localities one-piece covers are too expen- 

 sive, owing to the high price of such wide lumber. 

 —Ed.] 



Questions about Auto Buggies. 



I have noticed pictures of autos and auto buggies 

 in Gleanings. I want to ask you if you know how 

 high are an auto buggy's wheels. Does the Auto 

 Buggy Co., of Norwalk, O., have any catalog? 



Java, N. Y., Aug. 15. D. M. Buck. 



[The high-wheel buggy type of automobile has 

 wheels about 42 inches high. Some machines have 

 them as high as or higher than those on common 

 buggies; but the usual tendency is to have them a 

 little lower. The Auto Bug Co., of Norwalk, O., is- 

 sues a regular catalog, as does the International 

 Harvester Co., of Aki-on, O. Both of these concerns 

 make a specialty of buggy type ot machines that 

 are especially fitted for going over rough roads and 

 in deep mud. — Ed.] 



Requeening would Cure the Disease among Cath- 

 erine Beattie's Bees. 



On page 516. August 15. I notice E. F. Robinson's 

 comment on Catherine Beattie's bee disease. Five 

 years aeo Anson S. White, of Cowyche. Wash., had 

 bees with the same disease. I, as inspector, ad- 

 vised requeening, which he did with success, as he 

 has had no trouble from the disease since then. 

 Jesse W. Thornton. 



North Yakima, Wash.. Sept. 5. 



Chickens Eating Bees, etc. 



We are having no more trouble with the sore- 

 head. The chicks are doing well. We are having 

 fine weather. When it gets too cold up there, come 

 down home once more. 



A man who will let chickens eat bees, as Mr. 

 Brown admits doing, p. 598, Sept. 15. deserves criti- 

 cising. If no one does it better, give him my opin- 

 ion of it. 



Bradentown, Fla., Sept. 24. D. W. Abbott. 



