i26 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 



$ch§ and %mm§> 



BAGGING A SWARM, "BLESSED BEES," ETC. 



^grSfeLEASE let me know if a net of some kind, 

 Jlr c l a PP e( l over the mouth of a hive as soon as a 

 '■as swarm begins to issue, and kept there for a 

 few minutes till a hive is got ready, would prevent 

 swarms from rising in the air, and going off or clus- 

 tering together. 1 lose too many queens by clip- 

 ping wings, and shall give that up. If something 

 could be devised to place over the front of hives 

 when a swarm issues, what a trouble would be 

 saved ! I hope you will get at the truth or falsehood 

 of that book, the Blessed Bees, and let us know. 



I. C. Thokn, M. D. 



Garafraxa, P. O., Ont., Can., March 10, 1879. 



[No doubt, a swarm could be "bagged" in the man- 

 ner you mention, if you were on hand at the exact 

 moment when they commenced to issue, and had 

 your bag ready to hold over the entrance, but how 

 will you be able to do this? I have written the au- 

 thor of Blessed Bees, asking him for a truthful state- 

 ment of what he did do. His name, John Allen, is 

 fiction, his locality. Action, and I should call the 

 greater part of his statements, not only fiction, but 

 utter impossibilities. If any one has ever succeed- 

 ed in feeding back extracted honey as he did, I 

 should be pleased to hear from them.] 



WATER FOR BEES. 



I kept water by my bees last summer, but they 

 persisted in going to my ^neighbors', who complain 

 of them. How shall I stop them from going else- 

 where for water? John Newton. 



Westville, Conn., March 10, 1879. 



[Fix a place at home, where they can always find 

 water, without any danger of getting drowned, and 

 they will, in time, become so attached to it, that 

 they will seldom go to other places. Such an ar- 

 rangement will soon be described in the ABC 

 pages.] 



SWARMING OUT IN EARLY SPRING. 



Being a beginner in the bee business, I am full of 

 wonder at the whims and notions of the little crea- 

 tures. Yesterday, about 3 p. m., I had a swarm 

 come out as in swarming time, which finally settled 

 over and on the hive (an old fashioned box hive). I 

 soon discovered the queen on top of the hive, and 

 attempted to catch her, but she got away from me. 

 I cannot tell whether she went back to her home or 

 not. At night the bees settled down into the hive. 

 There seemed to be enough honey. Why did they 

 come out? I cannot comprehend it. 



Five Corners, N. Y., March 10, '79. C. G. Barger. 



[I should think it very probable, from the account 

 you give, that they swarmed out for want of food; 

 if you know such was not the case, it is a phase of 

 the absconding mania. See absconding in A B C] 



About Vi of the bees in this part of the State are 

 dead. Mine wintered full better than the average. 

 Delaware, O., March 13, 1879. Dr. A. V. Conklin. 



ABSCONDING TO THE "NOTRHEAST." 



My bees all left me last summer; that is, all the 

 young ones. I have 3 good strong stands. Now 

 what shall I do to keep them this summer? They 

 never would settle, but rose very high, and all went 

 one course, northeast, and went" so fast I could not 

 follow. S. D. Smith. 



Mercer Co., Pa., March 13, 1879. 



[I think, my friend, that there must be much bet- 

 ter pasturage somewhere in the direction you name, 

 and that your bees decamp for that locality to save 

 so much travel. See absconding in ABC. Of first 

 swarms, keep the wings of the queen clipped as a 

 preventive.] 



I have 14 colonies of bees, in two-story Simplicity 

 hives, all packed with chaff as you direct. I have 

 the lower story entirely covered up with saw dust, 

 except a small entrance in front. They have win- 

 tered to date without loss; not more than a pint of 

 dead bees among them all. Some colonies would not 

 cover 2 L. frames, when packed. During Dec, they 

 did not fly, and not in Jan. until the 22d. They have 

 consumed but little honey. Wm. Parmelee. 



Bean Blossom, Ind., Feb. 11, 1879. 



THE COLD BLAST SMOKER. 



That smoker is a little daisy. W. M. Gifford. 



Jolietsville, Ind., March 1, 1879. 



I received the smoker you sent me, in good order, 

 2 or 3 days ago. I am delighted with it, and so is 

 every one to whom I have shown it. 



Hillsboro, O., March 10, 1879. Chas. Bowles. 



I received the smoker the 15th, and it came through 

 all right. I could hardly wait until I could try it, 

 and then what a smoke! Now, you cross bees, look 

 out ; for I have a boss smoker, and you may get 

 smoke in your eves. O. P. W. 



Twin Grove, Wis., March 18, 1879. 



I received the in. rip saw you sent to my address, 

 and have made a foot-power machine, to rip stuff for 

 beehives. I had the frame made when the saw 

 came, aud got the mandrel made the same day I got 

 the saw. The mandrel cost $1.50, and my machine 

 cost me $4.87, for bolts, saw, mandrel, etc. It works 

 tiptop. I can rip 12 to 15 ft. per minute. Any child 

 can run it. 



I had one stock of bees which smothered. They 

 were 4 miles from home, and the sleet and snow 

 closed the entrance of the hive. I have 3 stands 

 packed in fine cut straw. W. W. Edington. 



Bluffton, Ind., Jan. 4, 1879. 



[We find it quite difficult to get up a good steel 

 mandrel, with boxes and all complete, for a foot- 

 power saw, for even $5.00; but it seems our friends 

 manage to get up something that answers, for a 

 very much less amount. I hardly think the cheap 

 mandrels run as easily, are as durable, or give as ac- 

 curate work, as those we make, yet I may be mis- 

 taken. If you can rip the amount you say, even with 

 one of the best machines, I think you must be a 

 pretty stout man. 



If your bees that died were packed in cut straw, 

 they certainly could not have smothered, simply 

 from having their entrance closed.] 



I am well pleased with my progress; from the col- 

 ony of Italians procured of you in April last, I have 

 increased to 3, by artificial swarming. I have adopt- 

 ed your hive and plan of management throughout, 

 and now have 12 strong colonies, snugly packed in 

 sawdust, and chaff cushions over frames. I took 56 

 lbs. of beautiful sections from 1 colony, made in 14 

 days. Sam G. Hillis. 



Concord, Xy., March 4, 1879. 



HOW TO WORK FOR RAPID INCREASE. 



I have 4 swarms of Italian bees in L. hives, all in 

 apparently good condition. I would like to in- 

 crease, either by natural or artificial swarming, this 

 coming season, to 12 stands. One of your ABC 

 class, C. B. Woodman. 



Johnson's Creek, Wis., Feb. 23, 1879. 



[It will be quite risky for an A B C scholar to make 

 4 colonies into 12, in a single season. You can do it 

 easily enough, but to build them all up strong 

 enough to winter safely is where the trouble comes 

 in. You might have no more than 4 again, by the 

 next spring. If your colonies are strong, you can 

 commence rearing queens as early as May, and 

 when these queens get to laying, build them up with 

 frames from the others as given in the ABC. To 

 increase to 12, you would have to feed liberally, at 

 all times when honey was not coming.] 



WHEN TO TAKE OFF THE CHAFF CUSHIONS. 



Is it safe to leave the chaff cushion on top of the 

 frames through the summer or not? 



[The chaff cushions are beneficial until they must 

 be removed to put on the boxes.] 



RICE CHAFF. 



Will rice chaff do for making these cushions, and 

 for packing bees in the winter? 



[Any chaff that is soft and warm, and absorbs 

 moisture, but dries out quickly afterward, will do.] 

 transferring. 



I am about through transferring 25 colonies, and 

 I tell you it is a bad business. 1 am very tired of it, 

 I assure you. 



ABSCONDING DURING TRANSFERRING. 



In transferring one strong colony, I found plenty 

 of brood, but did not see any queen; and in an hour 

 after the transfer, the bees left and settled, and 

 finally went into other hives as if they were queen- 



