1879 



(iLEAXIXGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



27 



I cannot think it best. I know full well how 

 new jewelry "takes,"' and often induces 

 those to buy who cannot afford it. Deliver 

 us from temptation. 



There is another view of the case. When 

 away from home, on the cars, etc.. it would 

 be very pleasant to know all the bee folks. 

 A pretty little badge would answer the pur- 

 pose, and a queen bee might be made of sil- 

 ver or of a still cheaper metal, nickle plated, 

 that would answer all purposes. "What do 

 the friends think of it 'i Please bear with 

 me a little farther; suppose 1 should get up 

 a very neat, silver, queen bee, that could be 

 sold tor 25c, just the price of ;in A B C book. 

 The latter would talk to you, would suggest, 

 and draw forth ideas, but the pin would— 1 

 guess I will let you finish the sentence, for I 

 might forget, and get to arguing the case. 



GOOD AND BAD HONEY, SMOKING BEES WHEN 

 CARRYING THEM OUT, EMERY WHEELS. ETC. 



What is the matter with our western honey that 

 you are finding fault about? Now, Mr. Root, I con- 

 sider that we can produce just as good honey west 

 as you can east. Buckwheat honey is as poor in 

 quality as any 1 know of, and there is a large variety 

 of honey producing plants here. Jt seems tome 

 you ought ot be a little more cautious how you go 

 back on us western bee-keepers. Now I will tell 

 you something you do not know. It is for the ben- 

 efit of those that winter their bees in cellars, or in- 

 doors. 



1 hose that ha\c had experience in carrying bees 

 out when it is very warm know that hees will sting. 

 Alter being stung somewhat in that way, I began to 

 think why something could not be done to stop it. 

 So when I commenced to carry out my bees, they 

 commenced to sting unmercifully. It seemed as 

 though their stings weic longer than when I put 

 them into winter quarters. I guess they had grown 

 some. 1 called aloud for my boy to get a kettle, 

 and I made a smudge in the cellar. Soon all was 

 quiet; then I had quiet also, and carried them out 

 to my heart's content. When they roused up, I 

 gave them more smoke. Now 1 should hate to be 

 deprived of its use in that line. 



One question about emery wheels; can you use 

 them to a good purpose on small circular saws, 6in. 

 in diameter? Something ought lo be used besides a 

 file', or else a different shaped file, togh'eit more 

 "thioat," to keep it from clogging. 



Eureka, Mis., Dec. 16, "18. Albert Potter. 



I beg pardon, friend P.; I did not mean to 

 carry the idea that you did not have nice 

 honey. I only mentioned it to show that 

 honey not pleasant to the taste is not neces- 

 sarily adulterated. Your plan of making a 

 smudge in the bee house or cellar, when tak- 

 ing bees out, 1 think, is a good one. The 

 emery wheels we advertise are purposely for 

 keeping 6 inch saws in order, and a saw' can 

 be made to cut beautifully, without any hie 

 at all. The emery wheels are also much 

 cheaper than files, "but it takes people a good 

 while to get over old notions. 



USING SECTIONS ON BOX HIVES, FDN. FOR HONEY 

 FOR TABLE USE, LAI E TRANSFERRING, ETC. 



1 thought of using your 3 section cases on my box 

 hives, with the 7 in. Langstroth cap. The difficulty 

 to my mind is, there are but 4 holes in top of the 

 box hive, 1x2 in., which would not be sufficient, I 

 think, for sections; it does not seem practicable to 

 make more holes with the bees in. Also, I have 

 been in the habit of using 4 and 6 lb. honey boxes, 

 and excluding the bees from clustering in the top of 

 the cap; but in your arrangement, I do not see but 

 they would have free access to the whole cap. The 

 comb fdn. is a new thing to me, which I think quite 

 an aquisition, but is it in anyway detrimental to 

 comb honey, for table use? 



I do not like the trouble of transferring to some 

 other hive, as Mrs. Lizzie Cotton, or Mr. as the case 



may be, advises us to do, with the whole apiary, as 

 late as Oct., which, from my experience in bee- 

 keeping, led me to think all was not right. 

 Lockport, N. Y., Dec. 17, 1878. H. Kingsbury. 



Your bees will work in sections on the box 

 hive, as well as in your old style boxes; but 

 1 think you will be' the gainer by taking the 

 whole top of the hive off, and replacing it 

 with strips having i inch space between 

 them, just right to match the spaces be- 

 tween the bottom bars of the 3 box cases. 

 If this is too much trouble, just set the 3 box 

 cases on the combs left exposed. With a 

 smoker, it is not at all difficult to take the 

 top off from a box hive, after the combs are 

 old enough so they will not break down. 

 Fdn. is used very extensively for comb hon- 

 ey, and few have ever complained of it. 

 lr the fdn. is made very thick, the bees 

 sometimes leave it without thinning. With 

 the thin fdn. made now expressly tor comb 

 honey, no one will probably be able to tell 

 the difference. Never allow the bees to get 

 between the cover and the boxes. To advise 

 beginners to undertake to transfer an apiary 

 in Oct.. would be quite a grevious error, in- 

 deed. 



WHAT MADE THE BEES HIE'.'' 



One of my near neighbors has about 22 stocks of 

 bees, and ^ of his best swarms— first swarms- have 

 died, and 2 or 3 mote are most all dead. I have ex- 

 amined 1 he combs, Qui) iby size, and don't see what 

 is the trouble. They seem to have died quite sud- 

 denly. Theie is no dysentery, aud no bad smell. 

 Their combs are bright and nice, but still, the un- 

 sealed honey don't look just right; it seems to be 

 pushed out of the cells, and not as thick as it is gen- 

 erally. Can it be the honey gathered during the 

 dry spell last summer, or the honey dew which they 

 got, mat caused the disease? This morning, anoth- 

 er of my neighbors came over for me to look at his 

 bees. He had 1$ stands and we found one of his 

 "gone up," too; this was also a first swarm. Old 

 swarms and alter swarms seem to be all right yet. 

 My bees are all right so far. When 1 first heard of 

 the trouble, 1 went at my hives, and took out the 

 combs, to see if there was much unsealed honey. 1 

 was going to throw out all the unsealed, but 1 found 

 but very little, and so I took out all combs that bees 

 did not occupy, put in division boards, filled in the 

 empty space with chaff, and took off honey boards, 

 ana tilled the caps with chaff, too. Did 1 do right? 



King's Corners, Wis., Nov. 30, 1878. H. G. King. 



P. S.— The bees have rtot gathered any thing from 

 cider mills, sorgham or grapes; for there are none 

 within 5 or 6 miles. They have died in the cells, on 

 the top of frames, and among the combs, as if of 

 starvation, yet they have enough stores. H. G. K. 



The above was sent us by friend Sayles, of 

 Hartford, Wis. I should pronounce it the 

 genuine old bee disease, and give the cause 

 as bad stores, as suggested. The honey 

 pushing out of the cells, with a thin foamy 

 look is just it, exactly. The only remedy 1 ■ 

 could suggest is what friend King did with 

 his own bees. Some frames of sealed honey, 

 gathered earlier in the season, if they can be 

 procured, will sometimes stop the mortality. 

 A good chaff protection, close to the bees, 

 has seemed to save them, several times, 

 even with their bad honey. 



CLIPPING QUEENS' STINGS. 



Now please don't laugh, but could not two or 

 more queens be induced to occupy one hive, if the 

 extremity of the sting is severed? So we might run 

 mammoth hives and stocks, and have many other 

 advantages. Would it affect the longevity or fertil- 

 ity of queens? s. D. Haskin. 



Y r our idea, my friend, is not a new one, 

 but I believe no one has as yet ever succeed- 



