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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



medicinal qualities, but can never gain a mar- 

 ket in England for table use on account of its 

 strong flavor. Australians defend their euca- 

 lyptus as of best quality, and say that England- 

 ers want pure sweet without flavor. Educa- 

 tion of taste may have much to do with it. 



No LICENSE has prevailed in Marengo for 30 

 years. One of the largest stove-factories has 

 been moved here, turning out two carloads of 

 stoves a day; and with the influx of factory 

 hands the '"'wets" thought their time had 

 come, and managed lo have an election on the 

 one question alone, " Yes" or "No" for license. 

 A remarkably full vote showed 3 to 2 for no 

 license. No license was a main reason for lo- 

 cating the factory here. 



How TO WASH CLOTHES. Fill a boiler two- 

 thirds full of soft water. Shave into it 1 lb. 

 soap. When it comes to a boll, add 4 table- 

 spoons kerosene. Mix thoroughly. Save out 

 about one-third for the second boiler of clothes. 

 Put dirty clothes in cold water and wring out 

 without rubbing. Put clothes into the boiler 

 and boil 15 or 20 minutes. Take out. and put 

 into tub of cold soft water previously blued. 

 Much soiled parts may need a little rubbing. 

 Wring out and rinse thoroughly. 



DOOLITTLE ANSWERS QUESTIONS. 



how to straighten brood-combs; upward 

 ventilation; wax and propolis. 



I am requested to reply through Gleanings 

 to the following questions, which I will do with 

 the editor's permission. 



1. " What is the best course to pursue with 

 brood-combs that are buckled or bent, so that 

 some of the cells are not deep enough for breed- 

 ing'? Is there any way of bringing them 

 straight? The foundation became bent before 

 the bees built up the comb." 



There was a neglect on the part of some one 

 In having the foundation bent when it was 

 given to the bees, or in giving it at such times 

 that the bees did not commence work on it at 

 once, before it had a chance to warp or twist 

 about in the hive. It is best to give brood 

 foundation to bees only at such times as they 

 are wanting more combs; for unless they do so 

 want, they will not be touched by the bees, 

 unless, perchance, to mutilate them, because 

 they have nothing to do except mischief. But, 

 having combs as described, there are two ways 

 of fixing them fit for use by the bees. The first 

 is, by melting them up and working over into 

 foundation again — a plan recommended by 

 some of our most advanced bee-keepers, but a 

 wasteful plan, as I consider it, unless the combs 

 are too crooked; and, secondly, straightening 

 them in the spring of the year when pretty 

 much free from brood or honey. Take them 

 from the hive to a warm room — one whose tem- 

 perature is up to 90 or 100°, and, when thus 

 warm and pliable, lay on a flat surface and 

 press them in conformity to that surface, cut- 

 ting out a little strip of comb if necessary, 

 where the worst bulged, so that the combs 

 will come straight without spoiling too many 

 cells by pressing them out of shape. Years ago 

 I straightened hundreds of combs in this way, 

 before foundation was known, so that the combs 

 in all of my hives were as straight as a board. 



2. " Is there any way to get bees to build 

 comb when they are disinclined to do so'? I 

 fed some colonies until all the vacant comb 

 was filled, but they would not build out the 

 foundation. This has reference to the brood- 

 combs exclusively." 



I do not see why you failed here, unless your 



foundation was adulterated; for, in all my ex- 

 perience in feeding, the bees would work foun- 

 dation as soon as they began to secrete wax to 

 lengthen out the cells or cap over the feed; but 

 had the bees been persistent in using the combs 

 in the hive rather than work out the founda- 

 tion, you could have made them work it by 

 taking their combs away from them and giving 

 nothing but foundation. In this case they 

 would have to work the foundation in order to 

 find a place to store the feed, after they had 

 their honey-sacs well filled. 



3. " What is your remedy where bees ball a 

 queen '? Why do bees ball a queen of their own 

 raising, after all queen-cells have been destroy- 

 ed, and they can have no hope of any other 

 queen'? " 



The last part of this is a mystery that I never 

 could really solve. It is easy to say that, in 

 opening hives, the bees fear that their queen is 

 to be injured, so bail her for safe keeping; but 

 I have known scores of instances where a vir- 

 gin queen has been balled in coming home 

 after meeting the drone, and at other times, till 

 they were killed, or nearly spoiled for future 

 usej being led to the discovery that the queen 

 was being balled by th" general appearance of 

 the colony at the entrance, such as an unusual 

 commotion denoting queenlessness, or doubled- 

 up bees having the appearance of being stung. 

 Who can tell us why such balling occurs'? The 

 remedy is the same as in introducing queens — 

 that of caging them till the bees behave them- 

 selves and are peaceably inclined toward them. 

 Smoke the bees till they release the queen, 

 then cage her and leave her till the bees pay no 

 more attention to the cage than they do to any 

 other part of the hive. When you find this to 

 be the case it is always safe to let any queen 

 out. 



4. "Do you believe that bees know better 

 than we what is best for them '? If it is best for 

 them to have upward ventilation, do you not 

 suppose they would provide therefor instead of 

 sealing every thing up tight'?" 



I have my doubts whether bees know what 

 they want along this line, but accept the sur- 

 roundings as they find them. It is their nature 

 to seal up ail cracks and holes not large enough 

 for their exit or return, and this they will do, 

 no matter whether in a tree or hive; but after 

 seeing them prosperous in trees that had only a 

 hole large or small at the bottom of their 

 combs, and all the way from there to a crack 

 large enough to put your hand in the whole 

 length their combs occupied in the tree, I have 

 concluded that they accepted things as they 

 found them, as said above, without asking 

 whether such were best for them or not. 



5. "To what extent can bees be induced to 

 work over wax'? Do you not suppose wax 

 could be incorporated with thick sugar syrup 

 in some way so that the bees would work it 

 the second time'?" 



There has been considei'able experimenting 

 along the line of having old wax worked over 

 by the bees, such as shaving it up in syrup, etc., 

 biit I believe it has been acknowledged, by all 

 who have tried it, to be a waste of time and 

 wax, when compared with having tlie wax 

 made into foundation. 



0. " What is the difference, chemically, be- 

 tween beeswax and propolis'? Is propolis a 

 special product of the bee, as wax is'? Do bees 

 consume any thing to produce propolis'?" 



Beeswax is a fatty substance peculiar to the 

 bee, and produced by the consumption of honey, 

 on a plan similar to animals, such as the hog 

 and cow consuming grains of various kinds to 

 produce lard and tallow, the same being of a 

 fatty nature, but differing from beeswax to a 

 considerable extent. Who can tell us more on 



