24 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Jan. 



COCKOO-BEES. 



I have had trouble with the cuckoo-bees, and did 

 not know what they were until I saw Prof. Cook's 

 explanation. I am the one who first called atten- 

 tion to them at our bee-meeting last May, and that 

 was what set the investigation on foot. If what 

 Prof. Cook thinks is true, they are going to be a 

 terrible pest; for, so far as I can learn, they are 

 spreading. I already hear of them in three coun- 

 ties, and so far we know no remedy. The idea of 

 their breeding in the hive never occurred to me 

 until I saw Prof. Cook's article. I sold my bees 

 last spring, so that 1 had no opportunity to observe 

 them after I found out what they were. 



Noblesville, Ind. T. W. Abbott. 



SIZE OF BROOD-CHAMBER AS AFFECTING liONOEV- 

 ITY OF QUEENS. 



Will a queen last longer in a small brood-chamber 

 than in a large one? Is it possible to have the 

 brood-chamber so large that the oviparous duties 

 of the queen would exhaust her in one year? 



Fayette, Miss. J. N. Bedford. 



Friend B., the size of the brood-chamber 

 has little to do with it unless there are bees 

 enough to prepare cells for the queen to lay 

 eggs. Then the question assumes this shape: 

 Will a queen become exhausted by having a 

 very large colony of bees, with hive to match, 

 sooner than she would with a small colony 

 of bees V My impression is, that the queen 

 is not harmed by doing extra work ; for 

 some or the queens that have lived the long- 

 est have produced the greatest number of 

 bees, and given the greatest crops of honey. 



We solicit for this department short items and questions of 

 a practical nature; but all questions, if accompanied by oth- 

 er matter, mu.-it be put upon a SKPARATK slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



Can I make any thing selling honey— that is, buy- 

 ing and selling, and peddling? J. G. Nance. 

 Graeey, Ky., Nov. rJ6, 1889. 



(Without knowing our man, friend N., 1 do not 

 know how we could answer. There are people who 

 make buying and selling honey their exclusive 

 business, and we have some friends in mind who 

 take whole cities like Cleveland, Columbus, and 

 Toledo, and canvass them thoroughly, going to ev- 

 ery house, and showing samples of their honey. 

 They have for years been doing a good business.] 



[It depends upon where you put your bees, friend 

 R. If in the cellar, I think I should prefer to have 

 tbem fastened in; but in that case I should want 

 plenty of space under the combs, that dead bees 

 might fall down out of the way. Where bees are 

 wintered out of doors It is not generally considered 

 best to fasten them in.] 



FROM OUR ABC CLASS. 



This department is designed primarily to cover questions 

 either not already answered in the A B C of Bee Culture (price 

 in cloth 81.25), or, if incorporated in this work, are here dwelt 

 upon more in detail on account of the importance of the 

 question. While these answers are of vital interest to the 

 ABC scholars, they will doubtless be found, in many in- 

 stances, to be of considerable value to the more advanced 

 student. For lack of space, the question itself, instead of be 

 ing directly stated, is omitted, tne same being implied in the 

 answer. It is hoped that the class will first consult their 

 textbook before sending in their questions. 



F. W. O., Massachusett)^.— You can Italianize at al- 

 most any time during the warm months of the year. 

 It is usually better to wait until after the main 

 honey-flow. 



CELLAR ventilation FOR BEES. 



W. B. IF.— Do not go to the expense of putting in 

 extra ventilators for the bees. Open the cellar 

 door and windows at night, and close them before 

 daylight. In colder weather, of course you will not 

 need to do this. 



ARE DEEP HIVES BETTER FOR WINTERING THAN 

 SHALLOW ONES? 



J. W. C, Otoi.— Theoretically a deep hive is better 

 for wintering than a shallow one; but practically 

 there is no difference. Those who have the Lang- 

 stroth hives, winter their bees just as successfully 

 as those who have deeper hives. We can make bee- 

 hives of odd size if you want, but you will always 

 have to pay more for supplies. 



KEEPING BEES ON SHARES. 



Suppose A has an apiary of 20 colonies, and lets it 

 out to B on shares, B to do all the work and bear all 

 expenses, A to get his share in money, what part 

 should A gel? Wm. Coleman. 



Birr, Ont., Nov. ^.'0, 1889. 



[Such questions are hard to answer. The best 

 answer I can give is to say, "Just as you two can 

 agree." I think it will be very much better for B to 

 buy the 30 colonies outright, then he will have all 

 the money himself— that is. providing there is any. 

 We do not favor putting bees out on shares, espe- 

 cially so small a number.] 



SHUTTING BEES IN THE HIVES DURING WINTER; 

 IS IT ADVISABLE? 



Would it injure bees to keep them shut in the 

 hives in the winter time, by nailing screen wire 

 over the entrance? Daniel Richardson. 



Spencerville, Ohio, Dec. 7. 



J. W. F., Kentucky.— Yes, you can feed the bees in 

 the open air in the spring, or, in fact, at any other 

 time, providing you put your feeder at a distance 

 of, say, 100 yards from the apiary, house, or public 

 highway. The honey should be pretty well diluted, 

 and should be fed in an atmospheric feeder, or in 

 any feeder that will prevent the bees from being 

 daubed or drowned. Wo usually prefer to feed in 

 this way cheap sugars dissolved in water. For full 

 particulars, see " Water," in the ABC book. 



foul brood; acids a kailurb; a sure way to 

 curb it. 

 J. TV. F., Califuniia.-YouT favor inclosing 85 cts. 

 for an atomizer is received. Later experience, as 

 you will see by more recent issues of our journal, 

 has convinced us that the acid methods for curing 

 foul brood are of but little avail. Even C. F. Muth, 

 who for years advocated salicylic acid, now pro- 

 nounces it a failure. We should be glad to send 

 you an atomizer, but we don't wish you to invest 

 your money where it would do you no good. The 

 only satisfactory way to treat foul brood is to scald 

 the hives with boiling water for 1.5 or 30 seconds; 

 burn the old combs and frames of brood; shake the 

 bees on to frames of foundation, and the cure is 

 certain. For particulars, see " Foul Brood," in our 

 ABC book. Perhaps it would be interesting to 

 you to know that, at the last session of the N. A. B. 

 K. A., ill Brantford, it was declared most emphati- 

 cally that spraying with acid for foul brood is a fail- 

 ure so tar as cure is concerned, and a waste of time. 



