NOVICE'S " GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



47 



can we afford to waste so much time, for 

 in extracting 50 two-story hives we should 

 be obliged to do this 1000 times. With 

 frames made of I width top bars we can 

 give each comb wherever it may come, all 

 die room needed, and the average thick- 

 ness of the ten combs being such that we 

 never find any trouble in giving each one 

 the proper amount of room, or in remov- 

 ing any one we wish "in a twinkling," 

 even without stopping operations in comb 

 building, brood rearing or ovipositing. 

 The same remarks will apply equally to 

 closed end frames, yet almost every be- 

 ginner in apiculture "goes strong" on the 

 idea that frames should be kept at fixed 

 and equal distances ; a very nice theory, 

 like many other things, but we believe 

 generally quite inconvenient when put in 

 practice. 



73.— Do you leave all the frames except the 

 one in which you rut the piece of comb, 

 empty, or is it better to put in with it, other 

 frames containing brood. <fec., from the old 

 hive? Please answer if not too much trou- 

 ble, for I am a beginner. 



James W. Sewall, Old Town, Maine. 



A frame of sealed brood just next the 

 comb containing the eggs from the im- 

 ported or choice queen, would be an ex- 

 cellent idea if one could be found in the 

 old hive positively without eggs or larvae, 

 or any brood con™ mi^ht be put in after 

 queen cells were sealed from the choice 

 eggs. But be sure you make no mistake 

 or you might blame the sender of the 

 eggs when he was not in fault. 



76.— Tell the boys and girls to carry two or 

 three pineburre to throw at flying swarms, it 

 will bring them every time, for pino burrs 

 look like a bunch of bees. 



W, Stuart, Natchez, Miss. 



I 



AN ITEM. 



F a swarm of bees is hived in a "sim- 

 ij plieilty" or other movable comb hive, 

 will they be as likely to build combs 

 across the frames as parallel to and in 

 them ? What plan do you adopt to make 

 them work by the "square rule?" We 

 need more light on the question, "How 

 shall we get the bees to build straight 

 combs in frames?" Light your candle, 

 friend Novice, and place it on a "simplic- 

 ity" hive. Jos. Sixrox, Ithaca, N. Y. 



A pious old deacon who was fond of 

 fish once told his boys "never, under any 

 circumstances, to go fishing on the Sab- 

 bath; but if they did to always briny 

 home the fish." 



Now we say don't have natural swarms, 

 but if you do, always give them some 

 comb for a pattern, and insist on having 

 each comb built between two good ones, 

 or one and the side of the hive. This is 

 no more trouble than to feed your pony 

 daily, yet you never omit lhat. We know 

 of no nicer fun than to watch and direct 

 the growth of new combs. Again, never 

 put a new swarm into an empty "simplici- 

 ty" hive, but if you do, fix the quilt close- 

 ly over the top of the frames and raise 



the back end a little; we believe the bees 

 seldom fail under such conditions to build 

 their combs along the thin comb guide. 



We clip the following from the Rural 

 New Yorker : 



Bees by Mail. — The shippers of bees 

 by mail are complaining because some of 

 them pay only paper postage on their 

 shipments while others are compelled by 

 post-masters to pay letter postage. They 

 demand an uniform interpretation of the 

 law. Then the post-masters are com- 

 plaining because bees are shipped by 

 mail, and evidently think they should be 

 excluded. They are shipped in this 

 wise : The cage is a block of wood, in 

 which are three large holes, covered with 

 a fine wire netting. Seven bees, includ- 

 ing a queen bee, are placed in each com- 

 partment, and are introduced through a 

 hole in the side of the block, which is 

 plugged up by a piece of sponge soaked 

 in honey. The post-masters and clerks 

 allege that the honey soaks through the 

 paper placed over the holes and daubs 

 other mail matter, and besides, as one 

 post-master complained, the clerks in his 

 office did not get through examing and 

 studying the contrivance until the bees 

 stung every one of them, and in showing 

 them how it was made, and how to handle 

 it without injury, they stung him too ! 



Now it may be that all queen rearers 

 use a block in which are bored three holes 

 and that they put in seven bees, but we 

 really cannot think they have been so 

 careless, shiftless, or slovenly is the prop- 

 er term perhaps, as to put in honey in 

 such a shape as to soil the other mail 

 matter or allow a possibility of the bees 

 getting out. If the wire cloth was pried 

 off by the clerks of course they could not 

 blame the bees nor the sender ; but as ice 

 read the postal laws a queen and a dozen 

 bees can be sent for two cents as well as 

 other merchandise, and it any kind of 

 care is used in shipping, there can be 

 nothing about them to endanger the 

 mails or employees of the department. 

 Mr. J. W. Winder of Cincinnati, makes a 

 queen cage that we think might answer 

 excellently for mailing, if he will add a 

 secure cap to confine the bees and also to 

 aid in preventing it from being crushed. 

 Mr. Quinby sent us a queen a few days 

 ago with no other food than a hard lump 

 of loaf sugar and some water in a sponge ; 

 they seemed in excellent condition and 

 we think the plan worthy of imitation. 



So many prefer | instead of 2 inch space 

 between the frame and the hive, that we 

 have reduced the length of the arms to 

 our metal corners \ of an inch, and all 

 made after May 20th, will have arms 4 in- 

 stead of I as heretofore. The change is 

 so slight that no inconvenience need re- 

 sult thereby. 



