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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Apk. 1. 



NO SE1>F-S1'ACING DEVICE WANTED. 



The 1(X) thick-top frames I ordered of you, 

 and received Aug. 30. 1894, I think are the best 

 made; in fact. I would not give them for any 

 other. I like a plain frame. I do not like the 

 Hoffman, or a frame vv'ith a tack driven in the 

 edge to space them. I always fix the space on 

 the hive, and not make the frames self-spacing: 

 by doing this there is no need of having any 

 other than a plain thick-top frame. 



S. F. Sampson. 



Ronceverte, W. Va., Feb. 11. 



eny, but many running as high as four bands — 

 none less than three. I bred from these queens, 

 and found one to reproduce the markings of the 

 mother; but the other two did not reproduce 

 their markings in their daughti-rs. Some of 

 their daughters wore not more lit to breed from 

 than a hybrid mother; and I will state right 

 here that no queen that will not reproduce her- 

 self in her daughters is fit to breed from. So I 

 came to the conclusion that the first cross on 

 these queens, even if by a black drone, the 

 progeny would be a respectable three-banded 



[All the manufacturers, I believe, allow their bee; but to breed further would be a cross hy- 



customers the option of self-spacing or non- 

 spacing frames, for it is impossible to please 

 every one with one style of frame.— Ed.] 



brid of the most vindictive nature. My experi- 

 ence proves to me, at least, that all bright 

 queens will not do as breeders: for, while black 

 ROBBERS, and CRACKS AND CREVICES. blood may uot show on the first cross, it will 



I want to say something to you. where you crop out in the continuation of breeding, if 

 are giving advice about robbing. You say. on there ever was the least particle in the mother, 

 p. 2.51, in the A B C. "Close all cracks and crev- Coronaca, S. C, Feb. 13. J. U. Fooshe. 



ices." Now, I want to ask right here, what will 



start robbing quicker than to have such cracks how to protect an apiary from thieves; 



A SILENT night-watch THAT BOARDS 

 ITSELF AND WORKS FOR NOTHING. 



1 have been troubled with thieves in my 

 apiary this season robbing one colony of fine 

 Italians of all the honey, with frames, right 

 after the fall flow, thus destroying the colony 

 entirely. Now, what I should like to know is 

 this: Can I procure some powder cartridges, 

 similar to the .5 or 10c. caution firecracker, sold 



and crevices in a hive? I want to say again, 

 that, if bee-keepers can't make or furnish hives 

 for their bees, that have not such cracks in, 

 they ought not to keep bees at all. 



Big Rapids, Mich. A. A. Joles. 



[The item to which you refer was written be- 

 fore the advent of the present modern factory- 

 made hives, with their nice-fitting joints, and 

 referred more particularly to the bee-keeper 

 who made them himself. I agree with you, 

 that there should be no cracks or crevices in a for 4th of July celebration for the small boy. 



well-regulated apiary: for surelv in this case 

 prevention is better than cure.— Ed] 



FIVE-BANDED STOCK; DIFFICULTY OF BREED- 

 ING THEM TRUE TO MARKINGS. 



I ordered, about three years ago, a five-band- 

 ed queen and two untested queens from a pure explode the cartridge, causing a loud report, 



that will explode by pulling it apart, or, in 

 other words, by friction, instead of a spark of 

 fire? My idea is, to have one of these fitted to 

 a hive using an outer case, and so adjusted 

 that, when the cover or top is removed, it will 



five-banded mother. The queens reared from 

 the five-banded queen, in every instance so far 

 as I know, produced queens that, in every re- 

 spect, resembled the mother— finely marked, 

 and, in the majority of instances, the daughters 



thus not only frightening the thief, but also 

 giving the alarm to the apiarist. I intend to 

 fix up something that will do the business, even 

 with shells used in a shot-gun, 3;'.j drams of 

 powder, and heavy wads; but I think cartridges 



produced a full three-banded stock, while the designed for this special purpose, making a 



other two untested queens, from the five-band- 

 ed mother, or claimed to be, produced as fine, 

 distinct, three-banded bees as I ever saw; but 

 neither of them was fit to rear queens from. 

 The daughters from them were a motley set, 

 and, in the majority of instances, would pro- 

 duce hybrids, from black all the way to four 

 bands. Some of the daughters from these 

 queens would be black, while others would be 

 yellow to the tip. I keep no black bees in my 

 apiary, and there are but very few in the vicin- 

 ity—none less than two and three miles. That 

 was my first experience with these bees. 



I made a further experiment, however, and 

 found about the same. I ordered, in August, 

 1892, three untested queens from a pure five- 

 banded mother. This, as in the other instance, 

 I believe to have been from a perfectly reliable 

 breeder. They were all safely introduced, and 

 proved to produce strictly three-banded prog- 



loud report, would be much better if they could 

 be procured, which could be exploded by fric- 

 tion of the parts. John K. Goodkich. 

 Waterbury, Conn.. Nov. 2.5. 



[It would be rather expensive. T think, to get 

 up a special cartridge that could be attached 

 to hives; and even then, if it worked as i)lanned, 

 it would scare away the thief instead of aiding 

 in his capture. Afar better and cheaper ar- 

 rangement, and one that we once used around 

 a poultry-yard to keep away thieves, is a sim- 

 ple electric bell, small battery, and a spool of 

 linen thread. We simply stretched the thread 

 around where the chickens were housed in small 

 coops. It was black, and was passed through 

 small screw eyes attached to trees. Of course, 

 in the nighttime this would be invisible, es- 

 pecially if only about two feet from the ground. 

 This thread should run clear around the apiary 

 or poultry-yard. One end should be made fast, 

 and the other tied to a wooden plug slipped be- 

 tween two brass clips, representing the poles of 

 the battery. The battery wire and bell may 

 reach to the house and into the bedroom. The 



