1890 



glea:nings in bee culture. 



129 



GETTING BEES TO BUILD CLEAR 

 DOW^N TO THE BOTTOM-BARS 



BY LEAVING AN EXTRA SPACE UNDER THEM. 



The thing I like best about Gleanings is the 

 deep enthusiasm and love for the business your- 

 self, and your j/ood will to all the bee-men, so that I 

 have come to regard you as a personal friend; and 

 I speak not only for myself, but for others who 

 have expressed themselves similarly. The last 

 time you were through here you had not much 

 chance to get acquainted with the bee-keepers of 

 Woodman. 



There was a good deal said at one time In the 

 journal about full frames of comb, some advocat- 

 ing reversible frames. Now, I don't believe in 

 turning the cells upside down if it can be helped. 

 I have about OtO frames of comb that are nearly all 

 built down solid to the bottom-bar, and yet I never 

 used foundation. The reason I assign for it is this: 

 There is a space under the brood-frames, of about 

 3 inches in depth. Now, I think it is natural for 

 bees, if left to themselves, not to build their combs 

 clear donui to the bottom of a cavity; and where the 

 frames reach nearly down to the bottom-board it 

 will be natural for them to leave that space, unless 

 crowded for room. Some hives have the bottom of 

 the frames so near the bottom-board that they har- 

 bor moths underneath; and it is more difficult for 

 the bees and all concerned to keep them clean. 

 One man in the last journal advocates giving a 2- 

 inch space under the irames in winter, but reduc- 

 ing the space in summer, as it is not so well to have 

 it at that time of the 3 ear. Now, if there is any 

 thing wrong about leaving that space at all times, 

 I should like to know it. If the space is left, the 

 bees will certainly build the comb down to the bot- 

 tom-bar. They may not all be built solid the first 

 year, but they will in time. If this is of any im- 

 portance I can give the exact space under my 

 frames. If the space is too great they will build 

 burr-combs under the bars. Once in a while they 

 will do it on mine, but not often. 



My uncle says he has observed, that, when bees 

 visit the flowers, each individual bee will stick to 

 some particular flower or species of flower. I have 

 not noticed it myself; but if the thing is mentioned, 

 there may be those who will observe. I have seen 

 that, in gathering pollen, some bees will bring in 

 one kind and some another, but I don't think I 

 have seen different kinds of pollen on one bee. If 

 it is as I have stated, it shows the wonderful adapta- 

 bility of the wants of plants and animals to each 

 other, as that would tend to the more certain fer- 

 tilization of plants, and also prevent cross-breeding. 

 I suppose it is well known, that Charles Darwin, in 

 his experiments on the fertilization of plants, by 

 confining, under glass frames, certain kinds that 

 bees and other insects visit, discovered that, in some 

 species, fertilization would not take place, so that, 

 without the bees, some species would perish. 



Woodman, Wis., Jan. 38. J. MuRRAy. 



Thanks, friend M. Your kind letter re- 

 calls mv pleasant two-hours' visit in your 

 town. Your suggestion in regard to more 

 space under the bottom-bars is a valuable 

 one. One objection, however, is, I think, 

 making bees extra trouble in getting from 

 the bottom-board to the frames. With a 

 space I of an inch they very often if not al- 

 ways build little projections to climb up on. 



I do not know that I ever tried two inches 

 in the summer season. When we first used 

 Kings" American bee-hives there was a 

 cross-bar in the middle of the frame, and no 

 bottom-bar at all ; therefore the bees built 

 the comb down as far as they wanted to, 

 and stopped. I believe they usually stop 

 somewhere at about two inches and the 

 bottoms of the combs are very irregular. 

 In fact, they were a good deal as we find 

 them in box hives. It has before been men- 

 tioned, that we can secure comb built clear 

 to the bottom-bar by raising one frame a lit- 

 tle higher than the rest. But I do not re- 

 member that anybody has suggested raising 

 all of the frames in order to secure this re- 

 sult. — Your suggestion in regard to why 

 bees should never mix pollen seems to be a 

 reasonable one, and indicates, as you sug- 

 gest, divine wisdom. 



BEE-HUNTING IN 1857. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS AND THEIR 

 HABITS. 



I HAVE a bee-book with your name to it, and I 

 should like to know whether you realize much from 

 the 4000 basswood-trees you set out in 1872. They 

 must be quite large by this time. 



Last spring I had 4 swarms of bees. I got 350 lbs. 

 of section honey, and have now 15 swarms. 



I hunted bees a little one season, years ago. I 

 found eight swarms, summer and fall; the lightest 

 weighed 25 lbs. ; the two heaviest, 200 lbs. apiece. I 

 saved one swarm in a pine-tree. I cut it out of the 

 top, and let it down with a rope. I kept them in the 

 log, standing up. They did very well. In December, 

 when the snow was si.x inches deep. I went hunting 

 and came across a bear-track. I followed the track 

 very cautiously for half a mile; then I discovered 

 that the bear was a bee-hunter. He was climbing 

 every tree that looked like a bee-tree. He went up 

 twelve or fourteen trees, then turned down into 

 the valley. The first tree he went up was a bee- 

 tree. I went up on the ridge to the road, and 

 marked the tree. Then I went back to the track, 

 and, following about a mile, he went up on the 

 ridge. He did not go up any more trees. I went 

 up on the ridge where he had been sitting down, 

 watching for me, which they will always do. Well,. 

 then he went off on the jump, and I put for home. 

 In a short time I took my neckyoke and two sap- 

 pails, each holding 20 quarts. The tree was white 

 oak, 30-inch stump, leaning in a bow, so the top 

 nearly touched the ground. The bees went into 

 the tree 30 feet up on the under side. They had a 

 nice place. I cut the tree down. I cut in where 

 the bees were, and took out the honey. I filled the 

 two pails, went home, came back, got two more,, 

 went home, then it was dark. In the morning I 

 went back, took out two more, then I went and cut 

 In three feet from the butt, and struck honey; and 

 if I had cleaned out the butt I could have seen the 

 honey. I left my pails, went home, got my horses 

 and bob-sled. I had to go about six miles to the 

 tree. The way I went first was two and a half miles. 

 I took a large wash-tub. After I had got all the 

 honey out of the tree into the tub, I put in one pail 

 full, which was all I could get Into the tub. I must 

 have had nearly 300 lbs. It was good honey, no 

 empty comb. There are no such trees nowadays. 



