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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



shaking it as above described, although some 

 claim that they can not shake bees off their 

 combs without breaking the combs more or less. 

 In this way I have no trouble in shaking off 

 black bees and hybrids; and if we disturb the 

 Italians, causing them to fill themselves with 

 honey, they can be shaken from their combs 

 about as easily as black bees. But even if we 

 can not afford to wait until they are filled with 

 honey, four-fifths of them can be shaken off. 

 To get off the remainder, one of the different 

 bee-brushes, now to be had of supply-dealers, 

 will finish the job very quickly; or, instead of 

 the bee-brush, you can use a turkey or goose 

 quill to fully as good advantage by trimming 

 off about one-half of the wide side, so that the 

 feather part will not irritate the bees. Of 

 course, this will appear a little awkward at 

 first, but will soon be found easy enough. In 

 working for extracted honey I used to adopt the 

 same plan to rid the combs of bees, and suc- 

 ceeded very well, although it is much harder 

 work on account of the combs being so heavy. 

 With our perfect escape-boards of the present 

 time, it is not necessary to thus shake the bees 

 from the combs when extracting, for the bee- 

 escace cleans the combs of bees perfectly, and 

 is the thing to use where all the combs in any 

 upper story to any hive are to be removed. 



HOW MANY ENTRANCES TO A BEE-HIVE? 



Question.— In making hives, how many en- 

 trances should be allowed ? I am told that, be- 

 side the front or main entrance at the bottom 

 of the hive, an entrance should be made at the 

 rear also for ventilation, to be opened during 

 hot weather, and one near the top of the hive 

 to be open at all times when the bees are stor- 

 ing surplus honey, so they need not have to 

 travel so far to carry honey from the entrance 

 to the top of a second or third story hive. 

 What is your opinion in this matter ? 



^nsit'er.— Regarding the ventilation matter, 

 I much prefer to make the entrance large 

 enough to give all the needed ventilation in 

 times of extreme heat, and have it so arranged 

 that it can be easily contracted to meet the re- 

 quirements of the smallest colony when desir- 

 ed. My reasons for preferring are that, unless 

 the rear entrance is closed during cool nights, 

 it makes the hive so cold by the draft of air 

 thus caused, that the bees can not work to ad- 

 vantage at comb-building or evaporating nec- 

 tar; and, worst of all, the bees get a habit of 

 using this ventilator for an entrance, so that, 

 when it is finally closed, the bees which have 

 been accustomed to use this as an entrance to 

 the hive go out at the regular entrance, but re- 

 turn to the old place only to find it closed, thus 

 causing a great commotion and loss, as they 

 know of no other place of getting into their 

 home, having so marked on their first flight. 

 As to the entrance into or near the surplus 

 apartment, any one arguing that such is a ne- 

 cessity shows a lack of thorough knowledge of 



the inside workings of the hive. The bees 

 which gather the honey are not the ones which 

 deposit it in the cells, as I have several times 

 proven by taking away a queen of one variety 

 of bees and introducing a queen of another 

 variety. For instance, I once took away the 

 queen of a black colony in June, and noted the 

 time the last black bee hatched, and when the 

 first Italian bee emerged from its cell. As 

 young bees do not gather honey till they are 

 sixteen days old, when the colony is in a normal 

 condition, on the fifteenth day after the first 

 Italians hatched none were seen going in and 

 out at the entrance but black bees, while an 

 examination of the surplus-apartment, in which 

 bees were briskly at work building comb and 

 depositing honey, showed scarcely a black bee 

 there, but all were Italian. And this is only 

 one instance among many which have proved 

 the same thing. Consequently I am opposed to 

 more than one entrance to any hive. 



r [I sometimes practice your method; but more 

 often I pick the frame up, grasping the project- 

 ing end of one end of the top-bar; and, doubling 

 my fist, I strike the top-bar one sharp quick 

 blow at a point where there are no bees. 1 find 

 I am more successful when I take the bees by 

 surprise; because, the moment they are jarred 

 once, they will hold to the cells tighter than 

 ever. I am also careful not to smoke them 

 much if any before this shaking-off process; 

 otherwise the bees stick their heads into the 

 cells and take a firm grip.— Ed.] 



FEEDING BEES SUGAR SYRUP IN THE SPRING. 



Allow me to say one word with regard to the man- 

 agement of bees in spring. Some few prominent 

 bee-keepers, with more zeal than wisdom, recom- 

 mend feeding bees, at this season of the year, large 

 quantities of sugar syrup, so that, when they begin 

 to work on clover, the hives are already full of syr- 

 up, and consequently the first, and, in fact, all the 

 clover honey, must go to the surplus-boxes. Now, 

 all this sounds very nice, and possibly some begin- 

 ners may follow such a course until a little more 

 knowledge on the subject convinces them ol the 

 folly of that kind of practice. I will give my rea- 

 son why not to do so. 



When the surplus-boxes are put on to make room 

 for the queen, the bees will usually move a large 

 part of the stores from the brood-chamber to the 

 surplus-apartments, and thus you see you have an 

 adulterated instead of a pure article for the mar- 

 ket. But it has been said that a little sugar won't 

 poison anybody. Very true, it will not. But to do 

 so, will poison your conscience; lower yourself in 

 your own estimation, blast your reputation, and in- 

 jure the honej'-producing interests of the country. 

 The people want a pure article, and will buy it and 

 use it liberally, when convinced of its purity. Ev- 

 ery business man, or nearly so, to whom you ofifer 

 hone-y, will ask you if it is pure. Now, if there is 

 the least taint of sugar about it you must say so or 



