266 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ai>K. 1. 



in Root's Dovcrailcd chaff hives, and three in 

 single-walled hives coviM'ed with chaff cushions 

 and division-boards; and all are in good con- 

 dition thus far. 



Yonr Dovetailed chaff hive combination is 

 almost perfection, as far as my limited expe- 

 rience goes, except the flat cover, which warps 

 under the inflm-nce of the sun so as to require 

 heavy weights lo keep them down. 



The Hoffman frame worked well last summer 

 with me. They had no brace-combs and but 

 very littk^ propolis on them. 



England, Pa., Mar. 14. J. N. Pattekson. 



A (iOOI) TKSTIMONIAL FOK THE FIVE- 

 BANDED BEES. 



I keep half a, dozen colonies of bi'es. I have 

 Italian, three-banded. Holy Land (genuine, 

 with the double-pointed ever available sting 

 and the celebrated hysterical nervous tempera- 

 ment), and the five-banded (like all others, 

 nominally so); and although the live-banded 

 ones are not all true to their name, they are the 

 only ones that gavi' me any suiplus honey last 

 season. I do not raise queens lo sell, and am 

 not partial lo them, but think they are the best 

 variety that 1 know of. They are gentle, very 

 pi'olific, and work in colder ( I do not mean cool- 

 er) days than anv other bees I have ever had or 

 seen, so 1 speak a kind word in justice to this 

 much-abused race. Upon the whole, I do not 

 consider success in bee-keeping is as much due 

 to the kind kept as how; but I prefer the gold- 

 en Italians, from my experience, and hope soon 

 to see th(^ day that will have them bred up to 

 the standard— i. e.. with five yellow bands. 



Saltsburg, Pa., Feb. ;.*;.'. Golden Italian. 



ijEEs fjoiNG TO mill; absokbent.s ahead of 

 sealed covebs. 



My bees are located only about six rods from 

 a grist-mill, and last year they look a notion lo 

 run the mill to suit themselves. The lirst warm 

 days they went in lor bran, middlings, or any 

 thing that made a substitute for pollen. They 

 made the miller considerable trouble. This year 

 they commenced on a sawdust pile that was left 

 over from putting up ice. To prevent them from 

 going to the mill again, I gave them some bran 

 and middlings, and they commenced immedi- 

 ately on it. They have worked three days on it 

 already, by the thousand. So far they have not 

 molested the mill this year. Does it injure the 

 bees to stimulate them so early? I would not 

 give them any meal yet if it were not for the 

 mill. 



My bees have wintered very well so far. They 

 are in first-class condition, but considerably in 

 favor of chaff cushions rather than sealed 

 covers. Amos Mii.leb. 



Trail, O. 



[Too much of the artificial pollen is rather 

 bad in th(! combs. As a usual thing, we recom- 

 mend not giving meal. It is liable to stimulate 

 brood-rearing too early. Soft maples furnish nat- 

 ural pollen .-oon enough for our locality. Glad 

 to get the •' pointer'" on absorbents and sealed 

 covers.] 



what makes the bees die in WINTER? 



Is it the long confinement, or is it because 

 they can not move from one place to another in 

 the hive, that causes bees to die so ? I think 

 about half of every colony is dead, and a part 

 of all. One colony died and left their honey 

 badly stained a kind of dark red. Is ii safe to 

 feed it to other bees? Mii/roN Shii-lev. 



Bentonville. Adams Co., Ohio. 



[Bees die from both causes. Too long con- 

 finement, say for three or lour months, is apt to 

 cause dysentery in the one case; and in the oth- 



er, their inability to move to the stores by rea- 

 son of a protracted cold spell for ten days or two 

 weeks, causes them to starve.] 



HONEY-DEW OF IS'.tl. 



The winter of 1891 was a disastrous one for 

 bees in this vicinity. I had 3.5 stands, and lost 

 all but .5. It w<is caused by honey-dew. It was 

 so plentiful here that the leaves on the trees 

 glistened, and the honey was as dark as molas- 

 ses. Mr. Dadantsaid bees would winter on it, 

 but he was mistaken. I sent some of it to Prof. 

 Cook, as I saw in a paper that he wished to see 

 some of it. I told him to send the result of his 

 investigation, and have it published in Glean- 

 ings, and send me the number containing it. 

 I have not received it yet. Heney J. Alvis. 



Montrose, Lee Co.. Iowa, March 5. 



No STOCK IN sealed COA'ERS. 



I do not take much stock in sealed covers, as 

 I have seen bees winter in the old boxes full of 

 holes on top and no protection. In fact, the 

 best hives in spring have usually been such 

 ones. 



I wish to say about Gleanings, we appre- 

 ciate your efforts, and it is eagerly looked for. 

 No wonder your old subscribers stay with you. 



1 hope for a good season, as white clover is in 

 good condition. By'kon E. Smith. 



Newman. III., March 6, 1803. 



well fixed and thankful. 



I should like to have you see ray place, as I 

 think I have the best location for gardening that 

 I ever saw. I am within three blocks of the 

 public square of Seward, county seat of Seward 

 County, a town ol over ;.'()()() inhabitants. I am 

 on the south side of town, and have !}{ acres of 

 land, with a mill-pona on one side to iiTigate 

 from. My land is naturally very rich, but I get 

 all the manure I want for hauling it away. I 

 also have 36 colonies of bees in chaff' hives, and 

 engine and saws to make bee-hives for myself 

 and to sell. S. H. Beaver. 



Seward. Neb., March 11. 



F<)WI>S NOT BEE-EATEHS BUT DKONE-EATERS. 



Dr. Miller asked for information in regard to 

 fowls eating liees. I keep a good many varie- 

 ties, and they have run in my bee- yard for the 

 last 20 years. I have never seen one eat a bee. 

 They will sometimes stand by the hive and catch 

 drones when the bees are driving them out. 

 Bees will always attack a dark-colored chick 

 rather than a white one. I have often seen a 

 chick spap and throw a bee from its feathers: 

 but, instead of eating it, it would hurry away, 

 with many shakes of the head and much fear, 

 although probably not stung. M. Hurd. 



Marshall, Mich^^ 



Bees are wintering poorly, especially those 

 out of doors. Some have lost all, and others 

 nearly all, with plenty of time left to lose the 

 rest. D. M. Torrey. 



Schiocton. Wis., March 8. ^ 



BEES IN GOOD CONDITION. 



I went into winter with 60 colonies, all living 

 at date, with burlap and five inches of chaff 

 over bees for winter protection. Bees had a 

 good flight;here Feb. 2Ciand27: all colonies are in 

 good condition. W. B. West. 



Keystone, Ind., Feb. 28. 



BEST METHODS OF 4UEEN-REARING. 



Will you be kind enough in your next issue to 

 explain your method of queen-rearing; appli- 

 ances; number of nuclei, etc., necessary for the 

 rearing of a given number of queens? We 



