84 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jn.Y. 



My bees wintered very well. I had them in an out 

 cellar which is quite dry and cool, and lost but one in 

 fifteen : that one being Queenless. I find in handling 

 them that the Quinbv frame as compared with the 

 Xnriee frame is rather too long, and the full combs 

 too heavy to handle nicely. C. B. Gayloud. 



Irving, Kansas. 



The above shows that wintering- in-doors is 

 practicable as far south as Kansas, even with 

 winters as mild as the past. Since our friend 

 wrote the above in regard to the large frames, 

 he has countermanded an order for smaller 

 ones, saying : 



If it would make you no trouble, I should prefer the 

 Quinby hive for the" reason that the most of mine are 

 of that sized frame. Another season, I shall conform 

 to whatever size of frame shall seem to become Stand- 

 ard among Bee-keepers. 



Just the idea exactly, and hundreds of other 

 Bee-keepers are feeling the same way. 



Mk A. I. ROOT— You may condense the following 

 fdcts for Mr. Sager [see page 59] of Hudson, 111. and 

 others. Bees do work on Buckeye some seasons. I 

 am inclined to think it is sometimes very rich; have 

 not the positive proof. In cold rainy weather, back- 

 ward Bprings, it puts out large buds before grass comes, 

 and cattle will eat them, and it makes them drunk. I 

 have known dozens of them to die from being "Buck- 

 eyed," The old woman's remedy is a pint of lard. If 

 they get down once they are sure to try it again. No 

 danger after warm weather and plenty of grass. 



Sherman, Texas. May -ilith, 187-1. M. S. Klum. 



We have had no rain since the 24th of April. Yes- 

 terday evening we had some hopes, but only a light 

 shower hardly worth having, and to-day hotter and 

 dryer than before. The bees cannot gather a living 

 from any source, and we shall have to feed for, we 

 know not how long. 



'•How doth the little busy bee 



Improve the sweltering hours. 



Loafing around the 'gro-ci-ree' 



Stealing both sugar and flour." 



And although the police does not interfere with 

 their operations, they do not get enough to be of any 

 •"benefit to their owners. 



We truly commenced Bee-Kceping in a bad season, 

 but don't iuean to give up while we have any old 

 clothes left (We have no new ones), to trade for sugar. 



New Orleans, June 1st, 1874. J. H. Y. 



I think you Editors, I mean Mrs. Tapper, Clarke, 

 King, and you. have one fault in your Bee Journals; 

 you ought to give lessons in natural swarming, hiving, 

 etc., because there are ten bee-keepers that use the 

 box hive with a 20 or 30 lb. box on to)), where there is 

 one who has frame, and practices artificial swarming. 

 1 think we have too many contrary people, they won't 

 give up the old way. I know more than a dozen who 

 would read papers', if they could get some that would 

 talk a little in their favor; I think you could give a 

 piece sometimes that would encourage those box hive 

 men. 



1 Have seen in June No. about placing hives and 

 about the color, I see you go in for pure white ; I don't 

 like white on account of the moth,- 1 think they will 

 enter a white hive before they they will go lor a dark 

 one, though perhaps that don't make anj difference in 

 your Apiary because you look through your hives 

 pretty often", but that Lsh'ot the case with all bee-keep- 

 ers. I would say to those who do not look often after 

 their bees, get dark colored hives. I have my hives 

 under the shed with the curtain arrangement to it, 

 and every hive of a different color. Hives not more 

 than six inches apart and never had any trouble from 

 their getting mixed. I have had bees over two years 

 anil nave nut lost a Queen, either old o young. 

 I had over a dozen young Qiieens fertilized •Did thev 

 all came back to the fight hive. My hives gel the 

 morning sun ; the sun shines on the hives till about 



lo o'clock, then they get shade from the r 



shed; at about 4 o'clock the sun shines on the^hives 

 again from the west side, and that keeps them work- 

 ing till dark. 



I have got twenty one hives and ten different kinds, 

 Which I think are nine too mam. I think .' will ' i . 

 one kind of hive next year, and that v ill be vour hive. 

 My advice to all beginners in A pie;; It 1 .: re i- to gel 

 kind of movable frame hives. I). N. Kehx. 



Shimersville, Pa. 



SHALL WE HAVE A DEPARTMENT FOR BOX HIVE 

 BEE-KEEPERS V 



There may be much truth in what you say 

 friend K. but what can we say for the benefit 

 of the "box hive" people? As an illustration ; 

 An acquaintance had a colony in a box hive 

 that gave him 40 lbs. of honey last season, ami 

 as they cast no swarm, were full of bees ai d 

 seemed to winter nicely. In April they began 

 to dwindle down as ours did, and we sugges- 

 ted that they might be Queenless, he mean- 

 while thinking that the moth was the trouble, 

 although we attempted to tell him that the 

 moth never troubled a hive with plenty of bees; 

 but he could not quite accept that theory, and 

 so we Anally decided to transfer them to settle 

 the matter. This was done the last of May, 

 and a nice Queen was found with a fair colony 

 of bees, and considerable sealed brood ; but to 

 our astonishment this sealed brood was all 

 eaten up by the moth. Eggs were found in 

 great plenty all over the hive, but as soon as 

 larvae appeared they were devoured by these 

 great disgusting over fed worms, until a good 

 colony was just about discouraged. After try- 

 ing in vain to pick out the worms after the 

 colony was transferred, our friend removed 

 their comb entirely, and gave them one comb 

 from an empty hive, placing an empty frame 

 between this and the side of the hive. We are 

 happy to relate they are now building new 

 comb, which the Queen is filling with eggs and 

 brood, with all the energy of a new 7 swarm. 

 The recent troubles in winter and spring, make 

 it more important than ever before that our 

 combs be "get-at-able," if we may be allowed 

 the expression. In the same neighborhood a 

 subscriber who had between 30 and 40 colonies 

 in box hives has lost all but two this spring. 

 Now what shall he do with the comb in those 

 hives '? Judging from the way the moths are 

 going for our own this summer, perhaps the 

 best advice we could give would be to burn 

 them all up. A new swarm put into a hive of 

 combs where the moth had made a lodgment, 

 would be just about thrown away, if they did 

 not take themselves away. 



It seems to us movable combs are a necessity, 

 and as a proof of this we would iuvite atten- 

 tion to the fact that not one person in a dozen 

 now keeps bees who did formerly. Those who 

 have formerly had their box hives by the for- 

 ties and fifties have now only three or four, or 

 none at all, and every winter of late, sweeps 

 them off at such a rate that 'tis now an easy 

 matter to find localities for rearing Italians, 

 with no common bees within two or three 

 miles. Like many other industrial pursuits at 

 the present time, success can be attained, only, 

 by an incessant battle against disease, weath- 

 er, and the depredations of the various enemies 

 among the insect tribe. In this war for victory 

 we are almost powvrless with box hives, so 

 much so that we cannot think it worth while 

 to devote very much time to the matter. 



When our friend gets rid of his nine different 

 kinds of hives, he of course will have them all 

 alike, that is if every frame goes nicely in any 

 hive, and we think he will find dark colors 

 quite objectionable in very hot weather. If he 

 has a ■ mi had a i trouble with hive-; six inches 

 apart, tie i in I have when he gets to 



extracting, as . , | bee-keeper must 



sooner or later. 



