ns 



GTLEANINGS IN BEE CVLTUKE. 



S'feFT'- 



ponred a tea-kettle full of hot water across the hot- edg-e of the tin, then turn your syrup on the wire cloth- 



foni which cieaneil it thoroushh' anrT killer! the smell ; 

 I put them back and they came ont in the spring all 

 ;'iq:ht and were quiet the rest of the winter, which 

 was n long; one with ns. 



At.axzo Borden, South Lyon, Mich.. Airg. I'st, '75. 



and ftTl np j-out tin. It is fun. to see the bees carry ofl." 

 the syrup." Bees have done well here this season,. 

 swarmeiT.S or 4 timeSi, an«T pratliered a goor? su;(>ply 

 of elaver am\ basswoo<l honey. 



V. McBrarrE, OhctrcTon, <>- 



From my 4:^ colonies— for that was the mimber I had 

 Hft.er they got fairly throush mixing up in the spriptr — 

 r have had 09 nuwones, all but 4 o{ which were natu- 

 ral swarms. Several second swarms nuifed. so I have 

 ilow 10.5, and have taken about 1000 lbs. of choice hon- 

 ey, and expect to take more. I am tryinc; 4 New Idea 

 hives with '24 Gallup frames each ; so far, I am well 

 T)Ieased with them. One of them cast a swarm, but I 

 returned it after extracting and destroying tlie (.^uoen 

 reUa. E. A. Sheloon, Indeiiendence, la, Aug. 9, '75. 



EDITOR GLEANINGS:— As you requested report 

 from the "Organ Hive." I hereby record its death and 

 burial. With the death of the swarm, ends the ]yrr>- 

 ,wc,tforfhc in-esenf, as the Apiarv from which it was 

 selected has run down so low. When we have learned 

 fo winter bees, however, we will try it again. Mean- 

 while, the old organ (purchased in the old, school 

 <iavs), must do duty still. Perhaps the new one vdll 

 come by the time Blue Eves (of the same age as your 

 own) will need it. I wish better success tothose who 

 fry the same experiment. Mi?s. S. Rowell. 



FRIEND NOVICE:— Only one of the six swarms I 

 put into the cellar last fall lived through the sfiring, 

 and that was weak, did not ^et ready to swarm till the 

 iSth of July. On the 25th of July I raised np the hive 

 and ]iut under them a hive full of empty comb ; by the 

 2nth extracted from the 2 hives more than 60 lbs. of 

 nice light honey, (whire clover and linden). Yester- 

 day, (Aug. 7th), I extracted I'rom the new swarm more 

 than 50 lbs., and think there is as uTuch more in thf 

 other hive. But how am I going to winte>' them? 

 That is the question. During the last five winters I 

 have lost more thrin my increase the summer before. 



Mr. Thomas, r.f Brobkline, Canada, in the A. B. ./., 

 several years ago, said an out-door cellar was a sure 

 thing for wintering bees, but he did not describe it 

 very particularly. Do you know whether lie or any 

 one else has such a cellar to winter bees in, and what 

 their success has been ? I have a side hill (south 

 slope) on my place, just the best kind ofa place to 

 build such a cellar, biit I do not want to go to the ex- 

 pense of building till I can hear more about its adajit- 

 abiiity for wintering bees, and more iiarticulars about 

 its construction. Would not areiiort and description 

 of it from Mr. Thomas be of sufficnent interest to your 

 readers to justify you in -publishing the same ? 



S. iiowELL. Faribault. Minn., Aug. 8th, '75. 



Like the many plans given that were to be 

 >;ui'e thinp:s, Mr. Thomas failed with all the rest, 

 and even to his own sorrow. We believe cel- 

 lar:-' under buildings are now considered safer, if 

 anything, than others, simply because they are 

 more apt to be frost-proof. A cheap and efficient 

 plan for an out-door cellar is given on p:igel8;J 

 Yob 2. With the good report you furnish from 

 one colony, it seems a pity that yoi! shouid 

 f)e vaucjuished simply because you can't wintei 

 them. Are you sure you luive plenty oi bees to 

 cover all the combs while tliey are sealing np 

 their stores all through the I'all months? 



MR. NOVICE:— I have noticed dead brood in my 

 hives, unsealed, with the cells length'ened. This be- 

 ing my first attentpt at Apiculture, I d'o not under- 

 stand the caiTse; if you can give nve any ii/formation,. 

 you will oblige me very iiHiciir 



W. L. Shei'arb, Natchez, B5iss., Aug. fith, "75. 



We are strongly inclined' to think yai7 mis- 

 taken about the brood being dead, and that if 

 you watch carefully, you will find they vnW all 

 come to life in due time. S'ealcd Queens and 

 worker bees also, are toall api>earance dead un- 

 til just before they hatch, and these unsealed 

 workers — always found during very hot weath- 

 er — turn dark just before liacching, and look 

 very much like dead brood. Your mistake is a 

 very common one, bnt if they really are dead' 

 it is something that has never jk yet conie un- 

 der our observation. 



EDITOR (iLEANINGS:— Nearly allourl>ees in thi^ 

 and adjoining counties died of "spring troubles;" sj 

 tliat out of 9(5 stocks last fall. I had 10 miserable rem- 

 nants left on the the 20th of May. At that time I had 

 received one stock with an imported (^ueen, from 

 Hamilton, Ills., and 20 stocks from Jefferson, ATis., all 

 fine Italians, with about a do:'.en of m.y neighbors" 

 'h-emnants" on shares; I had enough bees then. I 

 thought, to commence the se;ison with. Can rei>ort 

 1000 lbs. ver\- choice basswooil honej-, and 1.50 lbs. 

 mixed fruit bln^'-'oms, maple, etc., all extracted, and' 

 the sale of lilly t.hieens ransring in price fron? $1. to S5. 

 each ; and an increase to loO stands in gmod condtliort 

 to do duty on the autirmn flort'ers, o^f Avhich we have- 

 an abundant supply hi this part of the countrj-. It 

 has been very wet and cool most c/^ the time since first 

 week in June, and has l?een the most unfavorable- 

 [ season for haney I ever knew in these parts ; clover 

 I j'ielding none, and hasswootl but little, in contparison 

 to what it usually does. _ D-. K. 



Napoleon, Ohio, Aug. 9th, ''to. 



Bees gathered just enough to raise ])lenty of broo-!, 

 and not store any surplus. They would swarm out 

 and leave a hive full of brood, and very little honey; 

 they went along in this way until the linden bloomed, 

 when the>' ceased swarming, — this was about the 1th 

 of July— they gathered a great deal from it, and it 

 lasted for two or three weeks. 



John Baiki>, Elm Grove, W. Va., Aug. Ilth, '75. 



A very fcAV have reported linden honey, but 

 in most localities, like our own, it is reported 

 an entire failure this season. We who have 

 been so successful in getting increase of stocks 

 rather tiian honey, will have to see how cheap- 

 ly we can supply our less fortunate friends 

 next season, if we winter theiu. 



DEAR N0VI(~;K :— For the benefit of bee -feeders I 

 will tell you liow I feed bees. I get a tin pan made (of 

 any shape wanted), one or two inches high, then cover 

 the top with wire cloth, bend the wire cloth over the 



FRIEND NOVICE :— On iiMge 105 you ask rae. how t 

 woulil h'lvc taken the bees ofl' the apple tree. Really, 

 friend N.. the stricture wa^ written for a iiarmles.- 

 kind of "drive" at a leader of our ranks, for a little 

 irregularit)-, and not at all with the idea that 1 wa^- 

 competent to srive you instruction in- Apiculture. 

 And vt'e should i>robalv!y have- taken them oft' very 

 much as you diil, Krecp?, that all hands would have- 

 been properly protected aljout the tacc, before cross 

 hybrids wore meddled with, and no thouglit ofa re- 

 treat would have been entertained. The hive, i>!at- 

 form in front, would have l)eeu i)laced conveniently 

 near the tree. A little water would have been gcnt'y 

 poured on the cluster, and a proper hiver would have 

 Ijeen used, in which to shake the bees, and ((uietly de- 

 posit them on the platform. The feather end of a tur- 

 key quill would have been used to i>artially direct 

 their movements, in the proper direction. And as a 

 result, even cross hybridswoulil probably have been 

 hived with scarcely the infliction ofa single sting. 



Perseverantia rincit. Respectfully, D. P. Lane, 



Koshkonong, Wis., Aug. I'th, '75. 



Should we have occasion to hive a second lot 

 of bees reared from that Queen, we shall doubt- 

 less take some precaution, but never having us- 

 ed or needed any protection before, how were 

 we to know they would be cross? The foliage 

 of the tree would have made it ciuite dithcult 

 to sprinkle them, and as for "poking" them 

 with a quill, well, it strikes us they were in no 

 mood, on just that particular rainy morning for 

 any such play. The Q. hive in which it was 

 our desire to place them, it so happens, re()uiri\« 

 about "two men and a bov" to carry it. 



I am happy to report a yield of 170O lbs. of stricth/ 

 linden honey— all gathered" by the workers of sixteen 

 Queens. How's that for "iirasshoiiper year?" Blind 

 staples are an unmiti'infcd humbuq. 



E. M. IlAynuK.ST, Kansr.s Citv, Mo,, Aug. 10th, '75. 



