K0V10B i GLXA*1NG!( IK B2B CULTUJLK, 



35 



HEADS OF GRAIN FROM DIFFER- 

 ENT FIELDS. 



^O. 108.— In your bee bonse, in winter, 

 what is the exact temperature you 

 would constantly maintain, if possible? 

 The temperature of the general atmosphere 

 outside of the hives, I mean, with the tops 

 tiff. Hosmer lays stress on having all under 

 ventilation doted. He lays so much stress up- 

 on this, that one might hastily conclude that 

 a perfectly tight-fitting ibottom is what he 

 advocates— what he uses successfully. My 

 knowledge of physiology and chemistry 

 teaches me that in every instance, a perfect- 

 ly tight hive — an air tight hive— would fill up 

 with the tsarhonic odd gas, from the breath of 

 tbe bees. G. C. Corbin, M. D-. 



St. Johns, Mich. 



Our correspondent need be under no 

 apprehensions that Mr. Hosmer's hives 

 will fill up with carbonic acid, for, as they 

 are of the "American persuasion," there 

 •will be ample room for all gases to crawl 

 out or in through the innumerable crevices, 

 even when closed as best they can be. 

 Our bees are usually quitest at about 40°. 



Nc. 109.- How shall I free combs from old 

 pollen? Will the bees do it themselves? 

 How to separate the old bees from the young 

 so as to have nearly all young bees in the hive 

 at the beginning of winter. All my hives are 

 two story and both stories are now filled with 

 bees. The lower story will not afford suffi- 

 cient room for all the bees and 10 sheets of 

 comb. The upper story, of course, I shall 

 remove as soon as honey ceases. 



J. H. Wiison. Lexington, Texas. 



September 1st, 1873. 



Novice says yonr large amount of pollen 

 is the secret of the large number of bees, 

 and that you should save both by ail 

 mean?. Give the upper story a queen 

 and plenty of stores and they will do as 

 well as the other. Our bees always use 

 their pollen in spring, besides usually 

 large amounts of flour or meal. This is 

 one of the cases in which it is desirable 

 that both upper and lower story should 

 constitute a complete hive when need be, 

 a la simplicity. 



No. 110. — If hives are kept sbaded from the 

 sun, are combs apt to break down in frames 

 11 inches deep by 17X- wide? (from front t-o 

 rear). J. Bfmis kroner, Jr", Kimbolton, 0. 

 Although there would be other objec- 

 tions to a frame so deep, (see Prob. No. 

 4 and Heads of Grain No. 22), we should 

 liars uo fear of combs breaking dowa 

 from the cause mentioned. W- e have 

 never bad combs meit down but on one 

 occasion, and theu the hive ft-ns an Amer- 

 ican painted dflrk brown, nearly black, 

 and was without ^baue. Afu-r paiuting 

 til.: tamo hive white, we had no trouble, 

 although left in the same situation. 



No- 111.— I wish to knew where silver hull- 

 ed buekwhent can be got on fair terms tbis 

 fall, for seed next season. Bees almost all 

 died iu tbis section last winter, I only saved 

 i.>nestst-nd out of forty. Bought a few in the 

 spring and, having plenty of c 'rub, have in- 

 vi eased to 82 stands. Hope to have better 

 ■access wintering tins time. 



JoxateaS Smith, Willow Branch, Ind. 



Will some one tell us whether the silver 

 hulled is any better than the common for 

 bees. We have an impression of having 

 heard that its value has been over esti- 

 mated. We have now only one word of 

 advice to those having lost beo- wintering: 



No. 112.— Friend Novice :— What doe* it 

 mean, a queen that does not lay an egg; 

 there is neither brood nor eggs in tbe hive- 

 M. Kafp, Poe, 0„ Sept. 12th. 



It probably means they are short of 

 stores. Give them at once enough syrup 

 to make them feel good, i. e, fill up their 

 combs nicely and if her majesty don't 

 straight-way make a whole comb "sparkle" 

 with eggs it is because she is bad. The 

 former is most generally the trouble, how- 

 ever, at this season. 



No. 113.— I think I eould help yon on the 

 pollen question, if we lived near each other, 

 by swapping combs, as I have a superabund- 

 ance of it. Perhaps if you would raise an 

 acre of hemp every year, your bees would 

 gather enough pollen in the fall to supply 

 their wants the next spring. I have heard 

 that if bees are fed syrup on brown (rye and 

 Indian) bread crusts they will eat all the soft 

 part of the bread. Perhaps that might be fed 

 m dull weather as a substitute for pollen. 

 8. Rowell, Faribault, Minn. 



Many thanks Mr. R. We shall certain- 

 ly try the hemp next season, and wa hav« 

 made experiments, without succeES, simi- 

 lar to the last. Has any one else ever 

 known bees to use brown bread as a sub- 

 stitute for pollen. We should like to send 

 the $5.00 to some one. 



No. 114.— Friend "Novice" i— The pins, to 

 designate the condition of the stocks to 

 which the queen-rearing cards are attached, 

 as suggested in the last number of "Glean- 

 ings" answer a very good purpose, so far a* 

 two of tbe centers are concerned. But for 

 the center of the circle of figures, I prefer ft 

 tinned tack and two small pieoes of ainc, or 

 brass, one of them a trifle longer than the 

 other, and arranged like the hands of a clock. 

 Let the shortest one indicate the year and 

 the longest the day of the month a queen was 

 approved. For instance, supposing a queen 

 was reared during the season of '72. then let 

 the shortest index point to the figure 2, if 

 during '73, let it point to the figure 3, and so 

 on. In that way the cards, as now printed, 

 can be made to indicate the age of the queen 

 until the year 1901, and by that time some one 

 may study up something better, and perhaps, 

 have it patented. J*4}f es Bolin, West Lodi, O. 

 We had thought of your device but 

 considered it rather expensive, and feared 

 'twould get "out of kilter." Wo would 

 suggest that one of the bent pins be put 

 anywhere in the hive to designate the 

 year. Imagination can suppose figures 

 around it like a clock dial, and we keep 

 record thus: Straight up, of course in- 

 dicates 12, and slanting slight !y to the 

 right, 1 ; horizontally to the right would 

 mean 3, and a little above horizontal, 2; 

 while below horizontal a little, would be 

 4, and so on. The four positions up, 

 down, right and left, heing plain at a 

 glance, a slight inclination from anv one 

 of these positions would indicate the re- 

 maining eight numbers, with little danger 

 of mistaking, especially after some prac- 

 tice Tbis is an important item, fo: such 

 records might be used to indicate num- 

 bers for a variety of purposes, for in- 

 stance: our friend Shaw desires to in- 

 dicate tbe hive from which be takes brood 

 to rear queens ; as bis apiary consists of 

 over 100 colonies, two pins might be used 

 aide by side, and reading tbe numbers 

 designated as we read figures, we would 

 have 33 by turning both to the right, 29 

 by tnrning both In the left, €3 by turning 



