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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May. 



remark that we have probably made our last 

 experiment to detei'iuiue the superiority ot 

 sugar over natural stores. Others may do as 

 tliey choose, l)ut we shall provide sugar for 

 feeding in the fall, or at any other season when 

 feeding may be advisable. One other colony, 

 although strong and rearing brood rapidly, is 

 bringing out daily what we might term .rick 

 bees. 'Iheir bodies are elongated almost like 

 Queens, and they crawl about in front of the 

 hive in the sun, lor several yards, but eventu- 

 ally die , and this occurs even during our 

 warmest days. The ground is getting covered 

 with them, and yet their comrades are gather- 

 ing pollen as briskly as any hive in the yard. 

 Their stores are sealed, every thing looks heal- 

 thy inside, and yet this mortality continues to 

 go on. There are no symptoms of dysentery, 

 and the puzzling part of it is, that cold days or 

 nights do not seem to aggravate it at all. 



Our third bad one, is the Quinby hive, in the 

 abandoned lorcing hous( . Since the south 

 Side has been opened, we have a more even 

 temperature inside than outside, but this even 

 temperature ranges too low for brood rearing: 

 even during our warmest weather, the influence 

 of the underground apartment is such as to 

 keep the air inside at about 45 or 50°, when out 

 in the open air, it is up to 70 or 80o. Here is 

 where we see the advantage of hives with thin 

 walls ; frequently the weather changes sudden- 

 ly, or the sun warms up the air in the morning 

 so quickly that hives with double walls, or 

 those placed in a shaded position will not be 

 stirring until tlie bees have been at work an 

 hour or two in the others. A winter reposito- 

 ry of course should be as free from atmospheric 

 changes as possible, as we wish the bees there 

 to sle^'P ; but in April and May, the case is 

 different and we would give tlam all the sun 

 possible. If the colony is strong, we cannot 

 discover that an occasional Irosty night does 

 any harm. 



April StJi, — Continued beautiful weather and 

 prosperity. The new lot of brood is now just 

 beginning to be sealed over. In examinations, 

 We have been puzzled to tind in many stocks, 

 dead larva; in the center of the cluster, gener- 

 ally full grown, and in some cases sealed or 

 partially sealed over; we might have feared 

 foul' brood, had this looked black, but it is 

 wJdte. We think the solution is this: most of 

 our colonics had brood in ditferent stages when 

 taken out of the house, and about the 24th of 

 March we had several zero freezes; now in 

 moderate colonies, this jierhaps killed all un- 

 sealed larva', and may be none of the other. 

 Accordingly after the zero weather was 

 over, brood rearing was started anew 

 from the e^^,\ as this severe weather occurred 

 just about two weeks ago, our olelest larva' 

 Should be Just being sealed, which is really the 

 condition of most of our hives. The moral 

 seems to be, that bees should be kept in-doors 

 until all prospect of zero freezes are past; as 

 we frequently have such weather of late years 

 in March, will it not be best to keep our" bees 

 In-doors as a general thing until April V These 

 remarks, of course refer to this latitude. 



Ajn-il 9/h — One colony is found Queenless. 

 They have plenty of bees, and have l)een bring- 

 ing pollen briskly, but examination sliows nei- 

 ther eggs nor brood. As their (^ueen was nearly 



3 years old, it seems to us the case only points 

 out another moral. As a remedy, we look the 

 weak colony out of the Quinby hive just at 

 dusk, combs, bets and all, and set them gently 

 into one side of the Queenless hive. As we 

 were led to expect by loimer experiments, the 

 bees soon scraped acquaintance by crossing 

 antenna;, and very soon the news ot a new^ev- 

 iile Queen spread through the hive ; the mourn- 

 ing note of Queenlessntss ceased, and soon there 

 was a rush of all hands to see if the good news 

 was really true. When satisfied, so boundless 

 was their rejoicing that they took wing and 

 filled the air as they would of a summer after- 

 noon, although it was nearly dark. In the 

 morning the Queen had laid a broad circle of 

 eggs, and these bees were the first in the Apia- 

 ry to scamper in with huge loads of pol'en. 

 Of coitrse we were obliged to put on an upper 

 story, and stand the Q. frames on end, to get 

 them into an L. hive. It is our impression 

 that a Queen can thus be introduced into a 

 hive that is QuetnJess and withaut brood., with 

 scarcely a failure. 



Of course we expected the flying bees from 

 the Q. hive would be lost, and Mrs. N. was 

 lamenting during the forenoon, that nothing 

 could be done for the homeless wanderers that 

 went in and out of their deserted home, with 

 such a doleful anel disappointed hum of dis- 

 tress. About dark on going into the Apiary 

 to i-ee it we could not do something for these 

 lost ones, we discovered a brisk going out and 

 in eif llie hive that had been Queenless; on 

 looking at the Q. hive we saw quite a cluster of 

 bees on the combs, and they were really having 

 a fine time in conveying the honey from tliese 

 combs to the new hive where their Queen was. 

 Was it purely accidental that no other hive in 

 the Apiary had any hanel in this, or had these 

 little fellows really taken in the full state of 

 aflairs, found where their Queen was, anei 

 agreed on moving in maase, carrying along 

 their honey, and joining hands peaceably with 

 the bereaved colonj'':* We accept the latter, 

 for not a bee remained in the Q. hive over 

 night. The hives are perhaps 5 rods distant, 

 and the Q. hive was in the lorcing house en- 

 tirely out of sight of the other. 



April lOih — The one hive containing natural 

 stores, has been united with another, to 

 save it, so we have now only 51 colonies ; as 

 one of our remaining Queens seems to go rather 

 slowly, we think one more doubling, so that 

 we have an everr 50 to commence the season 

 with, will perhaps be advisable. 



Ajjril VJth — We have had another very cold 

 spell, even as low as only 14" above zero; our 

 weakest colony died out-right, (which leaves us 

 with an even 50,) and all were more or less in- 

 jured. Our strongest colony had brooel clear 

 down to the bottom bar of their central combs, 

 and so near the entrance that the severe freeze, 

 drove them back away fremi it allowing it to 

 freeze; the consequence was that we found a 

 small heap of bees in front of the hive, anel 

 among it we founel brood almost matured. At 

 first we thought they might have sufiered from 

 want of water, or even stores, but examination, 

 showed plenty of stores, and water that had 

 run down on the bottom board at the back end, 

 so we are forceel to think the troirble was that 

 their brood was more than they could cover 



