i879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



183 



ey, and I will soon be able to divide or swarm them 

 artificially, as I shall try more tor bees than honey 

 this season. 



Now, I would like to ask you if there i3 any state 

 north where, if your bees had no honey in October, 

 they yet could go through the winter successfully, 

 without feeding! 



Hogarths Landing, Fla., Apr. 12, 1879. 



A. S. Areson. 



The smoker and fdn. arrived all safe, and give 

 perfect satisfaction. Accept thanks. 



It has been a hard winter on bees, and about Vi of 

 the bees in old fashioned hives have died; but those 

 put up with cloth cushions on top have come out 

 well. It pays to take care of bees as well as cattle. 



Watseka, 111., Mar. 24, 1879. W. H. Shedd. 



My experience teaches me that the queen is more 

 apt to lay in the sections in drone comb, than in 

 worker comb. K. B. Rian. 



Yoik, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1878. 



HOW THEY SWARM (AND GO OFF) IN MISS. 



Six months ago, I could not have said with certain- 

 ty that I had ever seen a bee-hive, but. now I think I 

 could "run" an apiary myself, under the directions 

 to be found in your A JJ C. In Jan. last, we moved to a 

 new farm, where bees were kept, and were induced 

 to buy n co'onies in old box hives. One swarm died, 

 and 14 new s.\ arms went to the woods in March and 

 April, some without stopping to cluster, others 

 alter being hived in new box hives, however I have 

 increased to 14 and expect to go into bee keeping in 

 earnest next year, if I can save enough to buy 

 hives, extractor, etc. 



How many hives can one person take care of, on 

 an average? 



Como, Miss., P. J. McKenna. 



If you allowed 14 to goto the woods, and 

 then' had 14 left from only Tin the first place, 

 you must certainly have a wonderful bee 

 country, friend M. I do not know how many 

 colonies one man can care for until he has 

 made a trial of it to see. An experienced 

 hand should have about 100 on an average, 

 to keep him fully employed, and I think a 

 man ought, if he devotes his whole time to 

 the business, to be able to do all the work for 

 that number. 



KEEPING THE GROUND CLEAN 1 N THE APIARY, LUM- 

 BER FOR HIVES, AND HIVING SWARMS ON SUNDAY. 



I got the "bee notion" last summer, subscribed for 

 Gleanings, bought parts i and 11 of A B U, and 

 have been studying them ever since, with pleasure. 

 1 purchased 37 colonies of bees this spring, in the 

 American hive, and as I am one of 1he ABC class, 

 of course, I must transfer. Now a few questions. 



Do you keep the sod cut away from between your 

 hives? If so, is'nt the ground "sticky" after rains? 

 In making hives, do you use lumber that is entirely 

 free from knots? Is it wrong to hive bees on the 

 Sabbath day? If not, why is it wrong to haul sugar 

 water on the same day? As there is a great deal of 

 sugar water hauled here on the Sabbath, a little ex- 

 planation why bees can be hived by Christians, while 

 the man who hauls sugar water is condemned, would 

 be of interest as well as pro! it. 



Mingo, Ohio. Burleigh R. Parson. 



In our old apiary we keep the sod all off, 

 and hoe down the weeds, and then sweep 

 the ground clean with a broom. As the 

 ground is thoroughly under drained J it is 

 sticky but a very few hours after a rain, 

 and I very much prefer a clean space in 

 front and around each hive. In our new 

 apiary I have decided to let the sod remain, 

 on account of the labor it will require to 

 keep so large a plat entirely clear of vegeta- 

 tion. For hives, we use lumber that has no 

 loose knots; knots do no harm, if they are 

 sound and will not get loose by the action of 

 the sun. Should I tell you it was wrong to 

 hive bees on the Sabbath day, do you think 

 you would be perfectly satisfied to follow 



j my opinion on the matter? If I should say 

 it was right to haul sugar-water on Sunday, 

 would till church members agree with meV 

 ( )n these points where honest opinion may 

 differ so much, shall we not let every one 

 who is trying to do right, decide for him- 

 self V If you wish to do what is right, and 

 your conscience lets you feel satisfied with 

 what you have done, I have no fear but that 

 God will be satisfied. I do not think so 

 much of what we are doing, as of the spirit 

 we have while doing it. I should feel per- 



j fectly happy and contented while hiving a 

 swarm of bees on Sunday, but I should not 



I feel happy if I sat on tfie fence afterward 



' and talked bees with a neighbor for a half- 

 hour. There are two extremes in this mat- 

 ter, and if you read your Bible carefully, I 



I think you cannot go very far astray. Jesus 

 reproved for doing business on the Sabbath, 

 and he also reproved those who found fault 

 with him for healing the sick on the Sab- 

 bath. 



COVERS TO HIVEj. 



In Feb. No. you say that a hive cover made of 

 narrow lumber matched together will leak sooner 

 or later. Last season, I made some in that way, 

 and run a I'-lti bead on each side of the joint, and 

 put the joint together with paint, and they have 

 not leaked yet. A small V shaped groove, cut with 

 a saw or a cutting tool made on purpose, would an- 

 swer nicely, thus: 



The V grooves prevent the water from running 

 into the joint. A. Fradenburg. 



Port Washington, O., Mar. 31, 1879. 

 The idea is quite an old one, and with nar- 

 row strips, say 4 or 5 inches wide, it does 

 very well while well painted. The roofs 

 that have troubled me were made of 2 boards 

 only, with such a joint in the middle. If 

 the hives are set sloping a little, they leak 

 less, but, for many reasons, I prefer it hive 

 set exactly level; and a flat roof, made of 

 strips in the way you mention, I think would, 

 in time, be sure to leak, on a level hive. 



UNITING NEW SWAHMS. 



We had some visitors when the swarming fever 

 was contagious, and a second swarm issued. I told 

 one of them (an old bee-keeper) that 1 would unite 

 the said swarm to one previously issued. 



"Oh, my! you must not do that; you will spoil 

 both of them," said he. 



"Well," said I, "it must be returned or united; I 

 guess I'll take the latter move," and so I did. 



This proceeding took place in the fore-noon, and 

 before they left us the bees were working with 

 their whole force. "Well, I never before saw such 

 a thing done in my whole life," said he. "I always 

 hive second swarms separately, and if any lack 

 stores, 1 put brimstone under their noses, and that 

 finishes them." 



I told him that was too cruel a way for our little 

 pets. Don't you think so, Mr. Koot? 



Preston J. Kline. 



Hoopersburg, Pa., April, 1879. 



Swarms that have issued on the same day 

 can always be united without trouble, so far 

 as my experience goes, and they will almost 

 always unite peaceably, even if one of them 

 is a tew days or a week old. In the latter 

 case, it would be well to watch them a little, 

 and use the smoke if necessary. A new 

 swarm, laden with honey, as a general thing, 

 will be well received in any colony, but 

 swarms that desert, or are driven out by 

 starvation, will almost always be stung, 

 when they attempt to enter another hive. 



