1874. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



~i»\/7r R ' R0< } T - Dear Sir:— Of course you may put me 

 {•/•I down for the dollar Queens, and accept my 

 4?/?=^ gratitude for the suggestion and the kind offer 

 that accompanied it. I assure you I do not need the 

 least urging to induce me to lend hand, head and 

 heart, to the advancement of apiculture, as far as ray 

 endeavors can promote it. 



My bees seem to like nothing better than raising 

 Queens, aud I have no doubt I could easily raise 1000 

 or more, hut I did not think of it till you proposed it. 

 I thought my course wo\ild be to make as much honey 

 as possible, and so benefit myself, the cause of apicul- 

 ture, and the favorite bees at the same time. 



There are only part of the Queens I now have, that 

 I would be willing to sell daughters from. I intend 

 raising plenty of drones from one of my best Queens 

 tiiis spring, and think with care, I can keep them 

 through the summer and winter, and then be able to 

 have Queens about whose progeny I will feel no hes- 

 itation. 



Our winters here are almost nominal, in fact this 

 winter. I have only seen ice once, and then only the 

 least little bit. My bees are working beautifully— one 

 of my hives is scented with an agreeable perfume 

 now. coming 1'rom the pollen I suppose. 



Last fall for about a week, a very nauseating odor 

 hung around all my hives, I was quite alarmed at 

 first, but noticed that the strong hives were most 

 offensive, and every thing else appearing right, I con- 

 cluded it must be from the pollen. 



*■ *■ * * * * * 



We must have a journal on Apiculture, in the South, 

 our wants are so different from yours; our troubles 

 are chiefh summering, over swarming, and insects, 

 •of whose annoyance you can scarcely form a concep- 

 tion there. Miss. Anna Saunders, 



Woodville, Miss. Feb. 16th, 1874. 



We regard swarming as only an indication 

 <»f prosperity and as we have before remarked, 

 like no better fun than the task of keeping the 

 disposition under proper control. 



We presume all will admit that, as a general 

 rule, if the women undertake to rear Queens, 

 we should be sure of getting of them o\\\y good 

 honest ones, and as a proof of their ability to 

 hold out, in' any matter where they have ar- 

 rived at a fixed determination, to succeed, we 

 have only to cite the glorious victories they 

 have achieved over intemperance, in our own 

 state of Ohio at least. 



FRIEND NOVICE:— Do you think Blue Birds are 

 enemies of Bees, do the} - catch them, if not are they 

 any advantage by picking up the Moth Miller, would 

 you encourage them about the Apiary ? 



Indepeudance, Iowa. E. A. Sheldon, 



We have never heard complaint of the ordi- 

 nary Bine Bird, but consider the Blue Jay 

 without doubt an enemy. At seasons when 

 our Apiary is most populous, they are seen to 

 hover about in considerable numbers as though 

 attracted there from the forest. To prove that 

 they really catch bees without doubt, they 

 have been shot and dissected. Whether the 

 damage they do should consign them to ex- 

 tinction or not, we are unable" to decide. We 

 dislike to kill birds, and would first like to 

 inquire if they have not some redeeming traits. 

 Can they not be frightened away from the 

 vicinity by sthne means? 



Could not the Nucleus hives be sent by mail? Ev- 

 eryday i see packages of hooks etc., passing through 

 the mails heavier than the hives would be. 



St. Genevieve, Mo. Mrs. C. C. Rozieu, 



Print d matter and seeds, are mailable to 

 the extent of 4 Hi:-. , other matter 12 oz.. 'only. 

 So many complaints are 'th< losses in 



introdu< ':.j Qu I ■ '■ isid 



ing whether enough bees might be mailed with 

 the Queen to build up a colony with the as- 

 sistance of a comb or two of brood only. 



By tlie way Novice, I wish the Bee Journals would 

 stop publishing letters about feeding sugar syrup to 

 bees in order to make more honey; there is hardly a 

 month but we have an article on that subject now, in 

 the A. B. J. In this month's number I see some one 

 contends that sugar syrup is not honey till after it 

 goes into the bees stomach and becomes acidized, it is 

 just such articles, and such men, that hurt the honey 

 business. I don't think that it makes honey out of 

 syrup, any more than putting a piece of.brown paper 

 in my pocket-book makes a greenback of it. People 

 don't want sugar syrup, even if it is acidized, and you 

 have no idea how suspicious people arc. One thing 

 they think looks bad is, it is so clean; I tell them if a 

 little extract of pollen will improve it I'll bring them 

 some and they can add to taste, but here I am run- 

 ning wild ; yet I can't help it, I get so mad whenever 

 I hear sensible men, (otherwise) talk and write 

 of increasing their vield of honey by feeding. 



Cincinnati, O. April 2nd, 1874. H. E. CURKT, 



Langstroth says in his book, page 275 : 

 "That the honey undergoes no change du- 

 ring the short time it remains in their sacs 

 cannot positively be affirmed, but that it can 

 undergo only a very slight change is evident 

 from the fact that the different kinds of honey 

 or sugar-syrup fed to the bees can be almost 

 as readily distinguished, after they have sealed 

 them up, as before." 



Now as this has been shown over and over 

 again, and not one single practical experiment 

 (so far as we know) to the contrary, are we 

 not excusable in feeling somewhat as friend 

 Curry does in the matter. 



DEAR NOVICE:— A year ago I brought through 

 three rather poor colonies, out of 19. Increased them 

 to 8, which I put in the cellar in good condition, Nov. 

 10, and then left them for the winter. Dec. 10, my 

 wife found the cellar damp and bees uneasy. She 

 aired and warmed the cellar, when they quieted down, 

 and the cellar and house were locked up, and not 

 opened again till I opened it myself March 30. Of 

 course I was quite anxious to know whether any of 

 them were alive, and was surprised to find the whole 

 8 in perfect health, with not a quart of dead bees in 

 all. "Well, what of it?" you say. Why, nothing; 

 only can't you let a body tell you of a little streak of 

 good luck after losing 60 colonies in the two preceding 

 winters ? Chicago, Ills. C. C. Miller, 



P. S. — My wife insists that she deserves the credit of 

 saving the bees, by wanning and drying them in Dec. 



We agree with Mrs. M. and think the bees 

 in future should be considered he*r exclusive 

 property. 



I have a shed 6 ft. high in front and 5 ft. in the rear, 

 boarded tight on three sides ; on the south side, I 

 have heavy muslin curtains that can be rolled up or 

 let down at will, according to the weather. My bees 

 are strong and work busily on rye flour every fine 

 day. I wish you would give a piece in Gleanings 

 about robbing. 



Shimersville, Pa. L. N. Kern, 



We once heard of a Blacksmith's shop be- 

 longing to the Am. Watch Factory, that had 

 white window curtains, but we never before, 

 that we remember, heard of curtains before 

 bee-hives. As this gives them the full benefit 

 of the sun whenever it shines, and keeps off all 

 cold winds and storms, it may not be a bad 

 idea, if the Apiarist could afford to be on hand 

 to " pull the strings" when advisable. 



A PIECE ABOUT ROBBING: 



Well here goes ; robbing is bad ; bad when 

 your bees rob each other, worse when they rob 

 j-our neighbor's bees, and still worse when 

 vour n< ighbor's bees rob vour own hh es 



