lid 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1874- 



I don't like to take the honey all away from the 

 bees, and give them cheap sugar-syrup iu place of the 

 honey for which they work so hard all summer. 



ShimersvUle, Pa. L. X. Kern. 



Nor would we for the world, if we thought 

 the dear little chaps were not just as well 

 pleased, and sometimes a deal healthier, with 

 syrup made of clear, white sugar. 



Took my bees out of the pit March 17, all right and 

 to all appearance as strong and heavy as when put 

 in. Bees build wavy combs when from any cause 

 they are building slowly, whether a strong swarm or 

 a weak one ; the stronger the swarm, the worse the 

 comb. This is gospel. 



We might accept it as "gospel" were it not 

 that so few points can be laid down in Bee 

 Culture as invariable. Whenever we think 

 we are sure of a thing and no mistake, some- 

 body else's bees upset the whole theory by 

 doing directly the opposite way. 



I don't take any horse manure in mine yet awhile, 

 dirt is just as good and smells better. My bees always 

 have plenty of brood when I take them out of pit. I 

 can't make Quilts work on my side opening hives, 

 frames 3 . s from tops, they don't tuck down worth a 

 cent. My wife says if I make her as much trouble 

 with all the new notions I get from you, she'll quit the 

 bees-ness. I use a honey-board 3-8 thick and believe 1 

 like it better than Quilts", at least for hot weather. It 

 seems to me your plans all assume straight combs in 

 frames to begin with, I supposed side opening hives 

 were now considered indispensable. I put on Quilts 

 2 weeks ago, some gnawed through already. 



Wyoming, Wis. R. L. Joiner. 



Several complain of having Quilts gnawed, 

 but if coarse, strong hard woven cotton be 

 used, we feel sure the bees will not trouble 

 much ; at least ours do not. 



Guess we'll have to try a "pit" next winter. 

 We are sure no one will use "side openers" 

 very long ; they will have to be classed with 

 box honey, and revolving can Extractors. 



DEAR NOVICE:— Two months ago I thought I 

 could bring all my bees through, but have lost 3 out 

 of 12, the rest are in good condition; our winter was a 

 very mild one, but the spring is very cold ; our Co- Pa- 

 per says one-half the bees iu the Co., are dead. I 

 like the manure idea, but wouldn't it soil our nice 

 while hives and make them look bad? We are hav- 

 ing a snow storm to-night— bees gather no pollen yet, 

 --have seen them carry it in Feb. 



Chariton, Iowa. April 4th, 1874. A. McMains. 



If you cover the hives with shingles they are 

 not discolored. We can cover the Simplicity 

 hives with dry straw, and then the manure, 

 and if put on in the proper shape the straw is 

 not even wet through. 



W T ill not bees waste dry sugar if fed for stimulative 

 brood rearing? Langstroth says feed sugar-syrup 

 very thin. 



liow can I get candied honey from a barrel, with- 

 out taking the head out? So far I have worked on 

 lirst principles, namely a shingle worked through the 

 bung-hole— molasses gate useless. 



Four swarms wintered on C sugar-syrup on summer 

 stands, all right. 



Canandaigua, N. Y. R. H. Dixon. 



Put some dry sugar in a tin pan where it 

 will be in the sun, but out of the rain, and see 

 if you can discover that any of it is wasted. 

 Our bees don't undertake to carry sugar home 

 in lumps. Your neighbors bees may get some, 

 'tis true, but shall we call that wasted ? 



Candied honey — a poser truly, but we think 

 it can be " got out," nevertheless. Make the 

 barrel hot, either in the sun or by the stove and 

 we think the molasses gate will work. Bor- 

 row your wife's teakettle (when her back is 

 turned) and make diluted honey for feeding, 

 of all that obstinately persists in staying inside. 



1st. I believe it is generally admitted, that bees are 

 inclined to raise brood toward entrance of hive rather 

 than otherwise. Would it be likelv to increase breed- 

 ing to have an entrance in each end of hive and occa- 

 sionally turn the hive half-way around, always 

 keeping back entrance closed ? 



2nd. Can transferring be done early in April with 

 safely ? 



3rd. Can combs be emptied clean with Extractor. 

 so that Queens will lay in cells immediately? 



4th. If enough combs be given to new swarms to- 

 half till the hives, is it best to put them together, with 

 empty frames on sides, or to place an empty frame 

 between every two combs ? 



5th. Will coarse brown paper answer well in sum- 

 mer and winter, to retain the heat and allow the 

 moisture to pass off? 



6th. Quite a number of Queen breedex-s offer 

 Queens, in Gleanixus, the coming season at $1.00 

 each. I understand these Queens to be fertile Ital- 

 ian Queens but not wan-anted to have mated with 

 Italian drones. Are any of these persons so situated 

 at a distance from Black bees, that these Queens will 

 be almost certain to have mated with Italian drones? 

 7th. I can purchase butter-firkins here at 50c. each, 

 which will hold about twelve gallons. Will they an- 

 swer for holding extracted honey, or will they be 

 likely to impart a bad flavor to the" honey, after hav- 

 ing contained butter? 



8th. Do you know anything about Alfalfa or Lu- 

 cerne, as a hay or honey plant ? 

 White Plains, N. Y. Geo. O. Tompkins 



1st. We have not found that they are more 

 inclined to rear brood near the entrance. In. 

 order to save useless travel, they may do so in 

 the long hives; we have tried changing them 

 end for end on the plan you mention, but dis- 

 covered no especial advantage in so doing. 



2nd. The objection to transferring in April 

 would be danger of chilling brood, and inter- 

 ference from robbers* if they were not occupied 

 in gathering stores. 



3rd. The Extractor never leaves the combs 

 dry, but the bees will lick out the cells clean 

 enough for eggs in a very short time, say half 

 an hour ; an examination will then show the 

 honey that adhered to the cells, carefully col- 

 lected in a few filled cells, near the top, or 

 outside of the comb ; we frequently find eggs 

 in a comb within a couple of hours after ex- 

 tracting. 



4th. Much is dependent on the size of the 

 swarm, and the weather. We would put the 

 combs all together at first, and put one empty 

 frame between them at night, when the comb 

 was well started, another, and so on, endeav- 

 oriug to keep each comb strait, by having it 

 built between two full ones. 



5th. We do not think it sufficiently porous 

 to keep dampness from accumulating in win- 

 ter, but it does very well in spring. 



6th Messrs Shaw and Daniels ; Dean, near- 

 ly as good, and every season shows more 

 Italians and fewer common bees. 



We cannot speak for those who reside at a 

 distance. 



7th. They will certainly do if waxed, and 

 may answer if not ; we cannot say. 

 8th. B. II. Stair & Co. Cleveland, O. write : 

 W T e regret to sav we are not well posted on Lucerne, 

 There has not been sufficient interest manifested in 

 Lucerne for us to test it ; have sold it for many years. 

 Iu Europe it is also called everlasting clover, on ac- 

 count of its remaining some 1(J to 15 year- without 

 re-seeding. The'price of Lucerne is 50 ets. per pound. 

 The Prairie Farmer contains several articles 

 on its cultivation an 1 \- e gather from them that 

 it must be kept free from wee.]- for the first 

 three years by careful culture, and that it yields 

 no crop, or but a small one until the third year. 

 As the roots penetrate to a great depth, its 

 power to withstand drouth is immense. 



