4fl 



(( KOVICE'B " GLEANINQ2 IN BEB CULTURE. 



the matter would suggest that bees be 

 housed in a location where a zero tem- 

 perature is known in winter. We think a 

 saving of stores might be effected even in 

 warmer climates, but perhaps it might be 

 necessary to use a cellar or one made 

 purposely, to keep them cool during warm 

 spells. 



3d. We think it will be found that as 

 more bees are kept, pasturage wid grad- 

 ually improve, for those plants that are 

 visited most by bees produce more per- 

 fect seeds, and thus the bees themselves 

 ultimately aid in producing fall pastur- 

 age by their agency in fertilizing the 

 blossoms. When you (and bee keepers 

 generally, of course), have kept 40 or 50 

 colonies in one locality for a half-dozen 

 years, we think you too will find that you 

 have fall pasturage. 



4th. When yon have the eggs hatched 

 in your pieces of comb (see directions in 

 May No.) make five nuclei and compel 

 them to raise queen cells from the larvae 

 in question. When the queens are 

 hatched build them up by combs of brood 

 from other colonies; your empty combs 

 will assist very materially. We have also 

 known a colony wintered on a little over 

 one pound of food per month, and have 

 faith that it can be done every time ; but 

 we have as yet been unable to arrive at 

 such a result uniformly. 



70.— Four years ago last fall, two of my 

 brothers, who were partners living near Cov- 

 ington, had 38 colonies of bees and it so 

 happened that one of our merchants had a 

 lot of good coffee sugar which somehow had 

 got scented with coal oil, so he offered it at 

 half price. Mv brothers concluded to try 

 some of it for their beeg, so they took all the 

 honey away from one stock and fed them 

 e nough of this scented sugar to do them over 

 winter, they took it as though there was 

 nothing in it and sealed the most of it over 

 nicely ; during the winter and spring they 

 lost all their bees by dysentery except four, 

 and the one that had the sugar was the only 

 one that was not diseased- 



Jacob M. Mohler, Covington, Ohio. 



We give die above as a sample of many 

 of the reports in the same direction. 

 Next fall we will try and give plain and 

 and simple directions for preparing bees 

 for winter. 



71.— My experience in losing swarms by 

 the swarming out process is as follows : I 

 have never known a swarm in good condition 

 with plenty of bees to leave the hive, whether 

 wintered in a repository or on their summer 

 stands. I have frequently lost, and have lost 

 this spring, several weak swarms. Is it pos- 

 sible that a few robbers get in and demoralize 

 the swarms causing them to rly out leaving 

 honey, brood and even the queen ? I leave 

 the question for others to solve. 



Scientific 

 Reports seem to indicate that it is weak 

 colonies generally, but sometimes, we 

 are sorry to add, good, strong ones ; and 

 we feel "cross" now to think of the recent 

 loss of a favorite queen, bees and all 

 by this cause, leaving much unsealed 

 brood in all stages. 



72.— I like your hive except the entrance, 

 which looks like a poor thing. Perhaps your 

 door-step when attached, makes it all right. 

 Can you regulate the entrance in hot and cold 

 weather in a satisfactory manner. 



Johx Ashley, Bloomington, 111. 



With the door step, (which should have 

 two strips nailed across like a letter V 

 inverted, to prevent warping, and to guide 

 the bees to the entrance when made small 

 in the spring,) we have no trouble. Those 

 who prefer, can bore an auger-hole in the 

 front end, and Mr. Quinby, we believe, 

 thinks such an entrance an advantage, be- 

 cause the bees show a preference for it ; 

 we, however, can discover no positive ad- 

 vantage and dislike the holes when any 

 one of them happen to be used for an up- 

 per story. Our aim has been to have any 

 piece answer equally well anywhere, and 

 to have those pieces as few and as plain 

 and simple as is possibly consistent, with 

 convenience and rapidity in handling. 



T3. — Notwithstanding my loss, the evidence 

 I see in favor of Sugar Syrup is so favorable 

 that I would without doubt feed it on a lart. r o 

 scale in preference to their native stores. It 

 does look to me as if the idea would be one 

 of vast service to us notwithstanding I have 

 been slow to conclude that any food was as 

 natural for them as their own stores. 



R. Wilkins, Cadiz, 0. 



71.— IIowe"-er objectionable tight top bars 

 may be, I must think that it would be an ad- 

 vantage to have tho frames secured in their 

 places at the top at least. I expect my ideas 

 will be much modified by experience, but I 

 find it very much like learning to swim ; you 

 have got to go in on your own judgment be- 

 fore you know how, but had better keep in 

 shallow water until you jknow what you are 

 about. I want all the advice from the exper- 

 ienced that I can get, but as much of it is so 

 conflicting, shall have to decide for myself af- 

 ter all. (*. Lee Porter. 



Cedar Mountain, N. C. 



Mr. P. utters some rare good sense in his 

 last remarks, and we do hope he will try 

 closed top frames in "shallow water" be- 

 fore "going in deep;" as our experience 

 may have some weight, we will give it 

 freely. After an experience of five years 

 with about 30 hives with closed top frames 

 and as many more open top, we were 

 forced to conclude the closed top out of 

 the question, where bees are to be hand- 

 led, as it seems to us they must be for box 

 or extracted honey either. Wherever 

 bees find two pieces of wood close or 

 near each other in the hive, they glue 

 them fast with propolis; also every crack 

 and crevice and even the entrance blocks 

 are "gummed" in place so that unless 

 they are frequently "scraped oil" they 

 cannot be kept up in place. Again, 

 combs all alike in thickness and curva- 

 ture, for they will curve, are not to be 

 had, and the consequence is they must 

 be always replaced in the same order or 

 brood is killed and bees and combs are 

 crushed. If we attempt to number the 

 combs and always keep them in the same 

 place and in the same hive, how are we 

 to make artificial swarms and equalize 

 brood and stores. Whenever an opening 

 is made into a hive large enough for a 

 bee, those inside especially young bees, 

 begin to crawl out and those outside to 

 crawl in, and when we are closing the 

 tops of the frames together the same 

 thing happens; it is true by bringing the 

 sharp edge of the lrame up gradually 

 thev can be made to crawl in or out, but 



