1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



675 



and should be submitted to competent legal 

 authority. We would advise A. B. S. to cor- 

 respond with the General Manager of the Bee- 

 keepers' Union, Mr. Thos. G. Newman, Chicago, 

 111. If not a member, he should become one at 

 once. 



C E., of Cfjlorndo, wants to know why bees 

 will cluster on the outside of the hive. Atis. — 

 The clustering on the outside is usually caused 

 by too hot weather or an entrance that is too 

 small, or both. Of course, it is assumed that 

 they would not thus cluster out were it not for 

 hot weather: and, the eniranci' being small, 

 they are unable to keep the hive suiliciently 

 cool by fanning. You can smoke the bees into 

 the hives again, but they will come out. If the 

 hive is too small, give them more room by 

 means of an extra super, and see that the whole 

 hive IS properly shaded. 



L. U. T., of Xew Jersey, says that, the honey- 

 flow having now ceased, he has divided his 

 bees, and would like to have them build up 

 strong for the fall flow. He asks whetln-r 

 sweetened water would cause them 10 do this: 

 and if so, is there any liability of its renuiining 

 in combs unevaporated or souring. A)is. — 

 Sweetened water given in small amounts daily 

 ought to cause the bees to rear enough brood so 

 as to put them in fair shape for winter. 

 Sweetened water will give no trouble, because 

 the bees will soon evaporate it down. It is 

 usually preferable to mix the sugar and water 

 in about the proportion of -.■; of the former to )4 

 of the latter, by bulk. 



R. N. L., of Nchraska, asks how far drones 

 and queens will fly from the' apiary in mating. 

 .d-HS.— No one can tell positively; but it has 

 been observed that, of two apiaries five miles 

 apart, one containing Italians and the other 

 black drones, there will be hybrids in both in 

 time, even when it is known that there are no 

 bees between — cerliainly no Italians except those 

 in the Italian apiary, showing that, if the queens 

 and drones each fly about luvlf way. it would 

 luake it 2J^ miles. Fi'om various facts that 

 have come up, it is evident that mating may 

 occur two miles from the apiary, or about that, 

 though, as a general rule, it will take place 

 within half a luile. and generally a little remote 

 from the apiary at least. 



J. L. A., of Kentucky, inquires whether it 

 ever gets so hot that the bees can not make 

 comb. Ans.—If the hive is painted a dark 

 color, and is not sheltered in some way from 

 the direct rays of the sun, it may be so hoi that 

 the bees would refuse to build comb, or, in fact, 

 do any thing else. Indeed, there are times 

 when the inside of the hive becomes so hot that 

 the combs melt down, and then, of course, 

 nothing can go on decently and in order. As a 

 general thing, however, bees can keep the hive 

 cool by means of the artificial currents they 

 make with their wings: and it is only when 

 they can not do this that the combs melt down. 

 We must not expect our pets to accomplish loo 

 much. Give ihem a little assistance in the way 

 of a shade. 



C X. W.. of Neil' York, ask< why the bees 

 uncajj sealed brood. Atis. — '^I'he brodd may 

 have been overheated or chilled at some time, 

 or possibly moth-worms may be making their 

 way unobserved by you under the cappings. 

 Any or all of these causes may result in the 

 bees uncapping the brood. He also asks why 

 the bees sometimes come tumbling out of 

 the hive in lots of two or three, clinging togeth- 

 er by the feet. and. after struggling a while, 

 free themselves. This is evidently a case of a 

 robber or two getting past, the sentinels at the 

 entrance, and. Anally, being discovered by the 



workers farther in the hive, they are grabbed. 

 A struggle immediately follows, in which more 

 of the bees grab the robber: and the result is, 

 they come tumbling out of the hive as stated, 

 but, as a general thing, the robber frees itself. 



<S. F. T., of Illinois, wants to know how to 

 make his bees work on buckwheat that is two 

 miles distant from the apiary. ^ti,s.— It is not 

 hhvays that buckwheat yields honey; and un- 

 der such circumstances it would be impossible 

 to get the bees to work on it, even if it were 

 within a few rods of the apiary; and in the 

 second place, bees do not usually work to ad- 

 vantage at points further distant than a luile 

 and a half; so that, even if the buckwheat in 

 question did yield a little honey, it would be 

 just a '•little fur off." In this connection it 

 would be proper to remark, that bees have been 

 known to work, and work well, on fields two or 

 three miles from the apiary. In some instances 

 they have been known to go seven miles over 

 water or over prairies: but all of these are ex- 

 ceptions 10 the general rule. 



B. T. S., of West Vmjinia, asks how to get a 

 black queen out of a patent hive, without mov- 

 able frames. Aiis. — Turn the hive upside 

 down, if it has an open bottom, and place over 

 it a small inclosed box, on the under side of 

 which is a hole smaller than the patent hive. 

 Drum on the sides of the hive until all or nearly 

 all of the bees run up into the box. Presum- 

 ably, the queen will go with them. As black 

 bees run and scamper over each other, it is very 

 dii'ficult to find the queen, especially if you are 

 not an expert. Place perforated zinc over the 

 hole in the box; set the patent hive back on its 

 stand, or, better, put a new hive with movable 

 frames on the old stand. Now place the box, 

 with its uerfoiated zinc, in front of the hive; 

 smoke or drum the bees out. As the queen is 

 larger, she will not be able to pass the per- 

 forated zinc, and will be detained in the box. 

 If no zinc is at hand, shake the bees out on the 

 ground in front of the liive, a short distance 

 from the entrance; and then, as they crawl 

 into the hive, look sharp for the queen. We 

 might add. as a second thought, that it may 

 be bettei' 10 put the perforated zinc in front of 

 the entrance. The queen will, of course, be 

 barred from passing into the hive. 



Heads of Grain 



FROM Dl F f=^ERENT FIELDS 



When the bees swarm I take and give the old 

 colony a pulled queen from some choice stock, 

 and this i)revents ail aft<>r-swarming and Ital- 

 ianizing at the same time. Emkhy Nelson. 



Bishop Hill, 111.. July 30. 



WIRE SrUEEN IN S.MOKEK- NOZZLES. 



About a dozen years ago I placed a wire- 

 gauze spark-arrester in the nozzle of my Bing- 

 ham snuiker. and was much pleased with it. I 

 wrote to Mr. Bingham, sugsresting this as an 

 improvement. He replied, thanking me for the 

 suggestion, but said thai he had already tried 

 and discarded it, and thought 1 would soon dis- 

 card it. I did. and have never u.sed It since. 



Excelsioi-. Minn. John \V. MruK.w. 



[Yes. but read this:J 



WIIiE CLOTH FOK AHKESTLVO SI' ARKS IN 

 .SMOKER -NOZZLES. 



As to using the window-screen wire cloth in 

 smokers. I will say I have used a Bingham 

 smoker for ihree years, and did not have it a 



