S874 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



m 



This process we had repeated so many times, 

 -we began to think failure impossible, but when 

 we began to draw on our block stocks for bees 

 and brood we were disappointed in rinding two 

 Queens in front of the hive, dead. This was 

 passed over as a small matter, until to save 

 the Queens that kept hatching, we killed our 

 three remaining black Queens and gave them 

 the young ones as usual. The whole three 

 were found in front of the hive dead ; three 

 more were given them and one of them was 

 soon walked out with a bee on each side of her, 

 holding each a wing. We returned her caged, 

 the first caging we have done for weeks. If 

 this is another unfavorable trait of the blacks, 

 we shall assuredly endeavor in future to "run 

 our Apiary" without their assistance. Again, 

 the black colony that we requeened so expedi- 

 tiously on Sunday to save a fine Queen, was 

 found all right Tuesday and no cells started ; 

 she consequently had been allowed full liberty 

 of the hive for 48 hours or more, yet to-day, 

 she too, was found dead in front of the hive 

 and a host of cells started. Is it possible they 

 i lid not discover the "swap" we had made until 

 after two days or more ? We think we shall 

 have to try them with a Queen cell to-morrow, 

 yet we decidedly prefer the "Lamp Nursery," 

 ns there is no cutting of combs at all, and no 

 loss on cells, be the}' built ever so closelj'. 



The following just at hand shows we are not 

 alone in the field. 



I have succeeded in introducing '27 out of 30 virgin 

 Queens ; three of them by caging. Over '20 were intro- 

 duced by letting them run into the hive at the entrance, 

 just as soon as practicable alter hatching. Such as 

 hatched at night were introduced in the morning. 



Two veal's ago, I introduced a fertile Queen by let- 

 ting her crawl into the entrance alter night, the next 

 morning she was laying eggs ; this is the only fertile 

 Queen 1 ever introduced in that way. You know bees 

 from different hives can be united much more readily 

 after night than in day time. 



T. G. McGaw, Monmouth, 111. 



Aug. 1(M — Our 08 all have Queens, defend 

 themselves fully from robbers, and everything 

 goes finely. The four black stocks have ac- 

 cepted their unfertile Queens with one excep- 

 tion, and we gave them a Queen cell. Yester- 

 day being Sunday we had leisure to watch our 

 young Queens as they took their flight (we 

 never open hives on the Sabbath unless in a 

 case of positive necessity), and we were re- 

 joiced by seeing several take wing with a vigor 

 and ease that dispels any fears we may have 

 hail about so many cells in a hive giving all 

 strong and vigorous Queens. 



As the yield of honey has about ceased we 

 have been feeding all colonies having laying 

 Queens, from one half to a teacupful of syrup 

 every evening about dusk. The way in which 

 we do it is described on another page. We 

 have decided not to commence out-door feeding 

 so long as no bees molest the groceries etc., as 

 we have so many other bees now in the neigh- 

 borhood. 



Aug. \Ath — Is it not really provoking. Our 

 big lot of young Queens are all safe in hives, 

 and the greater part of them laying, yet we 

 felt so sure that some of them would be lost, 

 we started another comb for cells, to replace 

 missing ones, and now we have once more 

 large fine Queens, hatching and no place for 

 for them. Our friends who have sent us their 

 "dollars" for Imported daughters, doubtless 

 think we might readily fill their orders, which 



we would with alacrity, w r ere these laying- 

 Queens. If some one will tell us how we can 

 get them fertilized with the ease and certainty, 

 that we hatch them in that same "lamp nur- 

 sery" we shall feel as if they had divulged to 

 us the whereabouts of a small gold mine on 

 our own premises. Three frames of brood and 

 bees will it is true, convert them into laying 

 Queens in 8 or 10 days, but really we dare not 

 draw on our other colonies more this season. 

 We might also sell those just commencing to 

 lay and thus make a place for them, but we 

 dare not even do that, for fear of marring our 

 prospects of successful wintering. This morn- 

 ing we debated seriously what to do with three 

 remarkably large and yellow ones just hatched, 

 and finally made three more colonies for them, 

 into which they crawled as if they owned it 

 all, and "nary a bee" dissented by word or look. 

 Now we are going to give the result of our 

 experiments in regard to 



BROOD OR EGGS FOR QUEEN REARING. 



Our friend Dean, always uses the latter, and 

 advised us, if we wished good Queens, to get 

 a new empty comb built perhaps half way 

 down, and insert it one day in our Imported 

 Queen's colony. When it was supplied plenti- 

 fully with eggs, to remove and give to a Queen- 

 less stock having no other brood, thus obliging 

 them to commence with eggs; such Queens 

 hatching in sixteen instead of 10 days. Now 

 we did just this, two days after starting the lot 

 for the 58 cells, noting results carefully. 



The large lot were started by the bees at 

 different times, but the first of these hatched 

 on the morning of the tenth day. Those hatch- 

 ing on the first two or three days, from large 

 nice cells were large, and tolerably light for 

 imported stock but some of the last to hatch 

 were very black and small, though quick and 

 active. We have saved several of the latter 

 for experiment, but mind you, we do not pro- 

 pose to sell any of them. Another thing, in 

 none of the large lot did we find any jelly re- 

 maining in the cells, but this could hardly be 

 expected with so many. 



About one dozen only, were started in the 

 comb with eggs only, but they were swimming 

 in jelly as soon as the larva? were visible to the 

 naked eye ; a day or two after, more cells were 

 started over pretty good, sized larvae, half 

 grown perhaps, these have not hatched but the 

 first constructed produced the yellowest 

 Queens we have ever reared from the Import- 

 ed stock, and they are larger limbed and strong, 

 though not so quick and active as yet, as the 

 small black ones mentioned heretofore. We 

 shall keep a record of course — we can do it 

 easily with our Queen cards — of the longevity 

 of these respective Princesses. 



Aug. 19th — The great loads of orange and 

 yellow pollen that come in, in the fore part of 

 the day, more especially the hives that con- 

 tain the daughters of our Imported Queen, 

 call forth admiration from every one, from 

 Blue Eyes up, and as nothing prevents our 

 peeping into the interior as well, we are happy 

 to say the young Queens are faithfully doing 

 their duty, even the dark inferior looking ones 

 as well as the rest. Notwithstanding quite a 

 severe drouth, under the stimulus of our liber- 

 egg seems to produce a perfect 

 lon't remember seeing before. 



