344 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



plus combs. Much depends upon the methods em- 

 ployed. 



Ohio. N. W. H. K. BOARDMAN. 



I should think about as often as to visit one run 

 for extracted honey, and that is once a week from 

 the first of May until in July. I pauge my visits by 

 indications in the home yard. If honey comes rap- 

 idly, surplus cases must be ready, and must be put 

 on, even if the visits have to be oftener than once a 

 week. Our visits average about once in ten days. 



New York. E. Rambler. 



Oh gracious! Everything depends upon the sys- 

 tem of running out-apiaries which you adopt, es- 

 pecially in the production of comb honey. My plan 

 is to keep a good man in an apiary, said apiary con- 

 taining bees enough to keep him busy and be 

 worthy of his hire. In the production of extracted 

 honey I have always done the same way, but I am 

 by no means sure but that out-apiaries might be 

 run at a greater profit by locking them up and 

 visiting them occasionally. Every thing depends 

 upon the style of hive you use, and consequently 

 what manipulation and general system of manage- 

 ment. 



Michigan. S. W. James Heddon. 



The above seems to be pretty well answer- 

 ed, without any thing additional from my- 

 self. Enend lleddon, however, hits a point 

 that I think should be considered. He says 

 his plan is to keep a good man in the apiary. 

 Now, the point is to get a good man. I have 

 had men in the apiary who did so many 

 things that were*a direct damage, that I 

 should much prefer having the bees under 

 lock and key, so as to keep them from be- 

 ing tinkered to death. We should be slow, 

 however, in finding fault, especially when 

 many of us have our own selves several 

 times done harm by this same unseasonable 

 tinkering. When the house -apiary first 

 came out it was especially recommended 

 because it might be locked up, to keep the 

 bees and honey safe when located away 

 from the home of the owner. 



\mE^ ^PD QlIERIEg. 



We solicit for this department short items and questions of 

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

 er matter, must be put upon a SEPARATE slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



KILLING OCT ALFALFA. 



I read in the Denver Field and Farm two instances 

 where alfalfa was plowed under and the ground 

 seeded to wheat, and a crop of wheat and a crop of 

 alfalfa seed were harvested the same season. 



Silver Cliff, Col., Feb. 37. M. Nevins. 



PROF. COOK'S SUCCESS IN MAKING MAPLE SUGAR 

 IN THE SPRING OF 1890. 



I lost all my sugar-apparatus, house and all, by 

 fire. I bought new, and have nearly paid for all in 

 this one year. A. J. Cook. 



Lansing, Mich., April, 1890. 



What is the best way to fertilize a queen by any 

 special drone? Roland Lindsay. 



Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. IT. 



[There is no best way— it can not be done. Keep 

 only drones at large of good selected stock, and 

 you will get good bees.l 



CLIPPING OR A QUEEN-TRAP. 



What plan would you advise — clipping the 

 queeu's wing, or using the queen-traps during my 

 absence? J. N. Smith. 



Harvey Cedars, N. J. 



[Clip the queen's wing. The traps are a hin- 

 drance if kept on the hive all summer.] 



DO BEES swarm WITHOUT A QUEEN ? 



I got into an argument as to whether bees will 

 swarm without a queen or queen-cells. I want 

 your opinion on that question. L. I. Morris. 



Snowville, O., Feb. 28. 



[Bees will seldom if ever swarm without a queen 

 of some kind.] 



THE little busy BEE. 



How doth the little busy bee 



Improve each shining minute I 

 And sometimes, too, he has his fun; 

 But, friend, don't you begin it. 

 Cleveland, O., Mar. 6. R. V. Murray. 



[Mr. Murray is our special artist for Gleanings. 

 He has lately come into possession of some bees, 

 and v(ouch!)es from experience.] 



WILL BEKS WORK IN THE LIGHT ? 



Is light injurious in any way to the welfare of 

 bees? I have a 10-frame glass hive. 



Kennonsburg, Ohio, April 7. J. B. Williams. 



[Friend W., bees do not seem to fancy working in 

 the full light of day, as a rule. They may be ac- 

 customed to it, however, so that they go right 

 along without any apparent hindrance. We see 

 this in observatory hives placed before windows.] 



PROPER SPACE BETWEEN END-BAR AND HIVE. 



With J^-inch end-bars, is there any danger of 

 propolizing when clearance between end-bar of 

 brood-frame and hive is oniy ^i inch, or how close 

 can the end-bar come and be safe from propolizing'?' 



St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 20. A. C. Allen. 



[One-eighth of an inch is hardly enough. Bees 

 will fasten it with propolis. Five-sixteenths or % is 

 as close as you can space; in fact, a bee-space is the 

 best.] 



TOO CLOSE SPACING. 



I have been using Simplicity hive, 8 frames, spac-- 

 ed IV2 inches. I want to try thick top-bars, 1 inch 

 wide, spaced /o. Would you use 9 frames per hive, 

 or is that too near together to have bees winter well 

 outdoors? BuRDETT Hall. 



Chittenango, N. Y., April 2. 



[Use 8 frames spaced 1?8 inches from center to- 

 center. Closer spacing would not be advisable.] 



BEE-STINGS NOT A CURE FOR RHEUMATISM. 



I must let you know that I am on the sick-list 

 with that dreadful disease, rheumatism. For three 

 weeks 1 have been suffering terribly, but I am on 

 the mend, though slow. I hope I shall be all right 

 again. It comes very easily, but it is hard to get 

 rid of. Bee-stings are a very poor remedy. They- 

 might help some people, but are no good for me. 



Edwardsville, 111., Mar. 17. Louis Werner. 



ANOTHER USE FOR FEEDERS AS HILL DEVICES. 



Please tell your readers that two Simplicity bee- 

 feeders, turned bottom side up across the brood- 

 frames, will give as good results as a more costly- 

 device for packing bees for winter. C. A. Dean. 



Meshoppen, Pa., Mar. 1. 



[Yes, sir, they will work all right. When we fed 

 up our apiary with two wooden butter-dishes we 

 turned the latter upside down over the center of 

 the brood-nest, after they were empty, on some of 

 the hives. They work just as well as the Hill de- 



