1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



809 



would ausce the same effects in those not ac- 

 customed to it. This is of some interest to us, 

 on account of the alleged poisonous qualities of 

 yellow-jessamine and mountain-laurel honey in 

 the !South. If honey from one plant is proved 

 to be poisonous, it is not impossible that honey 

 from another plant could be. I have been look- 

 ing the matter up, and don't see how he reaches 

 his conclusions. Not to speak of the testimony 

 of several modern travelers, given with some 

 detail in Vollbrechfs Anabasis, Xenophon's 

 own words are rather unmistakable. Besides 

 the sickening effects, which any honey might 

 produce, those who had eaten a little seemed to 

 be heavily intoxicated; and those who had eat- 

 en much lost their senses and did not regain 

 them until twenty four hours after, " recover- 

 ing on the third or fourth day as if from the ef- 

 fects of a drug." One does not become delirious 

 from indigestion merely. The honey now pro- 

 duced in that region is known by a term signi- 

 fying *' mad honey." 

 Arvada, Col., Oct. 9. 



[I wrote the paragraph in the catalog, recom- 

 mending the eight-frame hive, to which you 

 refer, and at that time that size of hive seemed 

 to be accepted as the nearest right for the aver- 

 age bee-keeper, and for the average locality; 

 but now it looks as if it would not be safe to 

 make any recommendation; and we have 

 therefore decided that, for another year, we 

 will request bee-keepers to state what size of 

 hive they desire. Of course, we shall send out 

 the smallest, or eight-frame, size, when no size 

 is specitied. I am quite well satisfied, however, 

 that, in regions where there are long honey- 

 flows, and the flows are copious, too, that the 

 large hives are best. I am satisfied that the 

 eight-frame size has given remarkable results 

 in the East; but lam not so satisfied that the 

 results would not have been better had the ten- 

 frame size been used instead. 



It would indeed be a good idea to get out a 

 map showing where the regions where ten- 

 frames, or hives with that capacity, were the 

 most used; where the eight frame has the pref- 

 erence; where the two sizes seem to be mixed 

 up indiscriminately according to the fancy and 

 taste of the bee-keeper: and I propose, if it is 

 possible, to have one made. But to do so I shall 

 need reports from bee-keepers all over the 

 country, who will voluntarily let me know, on 

 a postal, what kinds of hives are used. But 

 they must be sure to specify what part of the 

 State they live in. 



After the map is prepared we will have it 

 phoio-engraved, and submitted to our readers, 

 alter whicii, revised and re-revised, if neces- 

 sary, to make it correspond with existing con- 

 dition>. This will settle the hive question in 

 a more practical way than any other I know of, 

 and will, perhaps, be a fit ending to the discus- 

 sion that has been long drawn out. — Ed. J 



WHAT IS A LARGE COLONY 1 



By J. E. Hand. 



what that means after you get your queens to 

 fill those two eight-frame brood-chambers with 

 eggs, but yours will be too large just after the 

 close of the honey-harvest. 



The next question, why too large a colony in 

 early spring does not do as well at harvest time 

 as one that arrives at the proper strength for 

 work in the sections at the beginning of har- 

 vest, is a little harder to answer; but such has 

 been my experience. Many times I have watch- 

 ed with great expectations an extra-large colo- 

 ny in early spring, which just fairly roared with 

 bees long before the others had made much of a 

 show, and perhaps swarmed two or three weeks 

 before the white-clover harvest; and in every 

 instance J have been disappointed by seeing 

 such colonies far outstripped in honey-storing 

 by average colonies that arrived at the proper 

 strength for work at the right time. I can see 

 that location might make a great difference in 

 this matter, as it does in almost every thing 

 connected with the business. In my location 

 bees were very often destitute of honey at the 

 beginning of the white-clover harvest. 



I distinctly remember the best season I ever 

 experienced, when I had to feed my bees the 

 10th of June to keep them from uncapping their 

 brood, and in two or three days they commenc- 

 ed work on white clover, and averaged 110 lbs. 

 per colony. 



I have had some experience with queens lay- 

 ing in upper stories when working for extracted 

 honey, and they became such a nuisance that I 

 was obliged to use queen-excluders on all such 

 hives, or have the combs that should be filled 

 with honey crammed with brood that cost a 

 great many pounds of honey to produce, and 

 which would not hatch in time to gather an 

 ounce of honey ; and at the close of the season 

 the bees would nearly always be in the upper 

 story, with the lower one entirely empty. 



If I were going to use two eight-frame brood- 

 chambers I should want a queen in each with a 

 double queen-excluder between, and, at the be- 

 ginning of the harvest, remove one to a new 

 stand, and place the surplus-receptacles on the 

 hive which remains on the old stand. This 

 would suit my location much better. 



Wakeman, 0.,Oct. 14. 



SIZE OF HIVES. 



THE STANDARD LANG8TROTH NEAREST RIGHT 



SIZE ; WEIGHT OF HIVE NOT TO BE 



CONSIDERED. 



By J. S. HaitzeU. 



Mr. Ro<jt:—l notice on page 733 that Dr. Mil- 

 ler calls me up to explain what constitutes too 

 large a colony. Why, too many bees, of course, 

 doctor. Perhaps you will understand better 



It has not been made clear as to what is the 

 better hive for the general bee-keeper. Very 

 many want a hive similar to the cluster of a 

 swarm. Is it not a fact that a swarm adapts 

 itself to the cavity or receptacle, in which plac- 

 ed, be it of what shape it may? Now, bee- 

 keeping friends, with all due respect for all who 



