442 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Nov 



short distance. I have never had direct proof to the 

 effect, yet there is ground for the belief that if hon- 

 ey could not be found nearer, bees would not tly the 

 distance named, without being- gradually led along 

 by newly opening blossoms as in the case mention- 

 ed.— Quinby 8 New Bee-Keeping. 



A IC1 UIMII It. 



GETTING BEES READY FOR WINTER. 



^jrmRIEXD ROOT :— InGL 

 jSp p. 123, you request me 



.eanings, Vol. VII, No. 4, 

 me to remind you to turn to 

 that page about next Nov. My name has been 

 so often brought before the public in connection 

 with chaff packing, that I very much dislike to say 

 anything farther in relation to it, but prefer rather 

 to leave the discussion of its merits and demerits to 

 others who have given, and are giving, it a trial, feel- 

 ing confident, not only from my own experience but 

 also from what information I get from other sources 

 both public and private, that, notwithstanding the 

 inconvenience of using heavy, bungling, chaff pack- 

 ed hives, the day is not far distant, when, in the 

 northern states, the plan of keeping bees on their 

 summer stands, packed in chaff summer and winter, 

 always prepared in a moment's time for either, will 

 be quite generally if not nearly universally adopted. 

 But, Mr Editor, is not Nov. rather late ? we some- 

 times have quite severe winter weather in Oct., and 

 I prefer to have the bees prepared for winter before 

 such weather comes ; neither do I like making up 

 wintering colonies by uniting small, queen raising 

 stocks ; or taking brood from strong colonies to build 

 up weak ones, later than about the first of August. 

 In fact, I prefer to disturb the brood department of 

 stocks intended for wintering, as little as possible 

 after that date. Perhaps it may be a conceit of mine, 

 but I imagine at least, that such stocks usually win- 

 ter best. How was it with your house apiary last 

 year, as compared with the bees out doors ? If you 

 must make up stocks for wintering later, crowd the 

 hive with bees, leave off the enameled cloth, put 

 duck, carpeting-, or some better conductor of mois- 

 ture in its place on the frames, put on the chaff 

 cushion, or, what last winter's experience indicates 

 as better, leave off the cushion and cover the frames 

 with four or more inches of loose chaff. In short, 

 put the bees in such shape that their own heat will 

 make the interior of the hive so warm and dry that 

 uncapped honey, in any part of it, will keep thick 

 and waxy till spring, and I think you will have little 

 cause to complain of spring dwindling. Mr. Presi- 

 dent, you are correct in saying that this "malady" 

 affects young as well as old bees. I have known good 

 stocks, composed largely of young bees hatched in 

 the spring, to die off by the dozen, during the months 

 of April and May. And now a question or two. Are 

 not your young queens that are laying drone eggs 

 in straight, smooth, worker comb, five cells to the 

 inch, artificial queens? Did you ever know a natur- 

 al queen to be guilty of any such "misdemeanor," 

 unless she was old, and her time almost out? 



J. H. TOWNLEY. 



Tompkins, Mich., Oct. 14, 1879. 



You are right, friend T. ; when I asked 

 you to remind me to read that passage in 

 Nov., it was not that I expected to delay 

 putting my bees in the chaff hives until then, 

 but that 1 might remember my promise not 

 to try to winter any more in Simplicity hives. 

 The chaff hives have been made, with good 

 tin roofs, and the bees were mostly put into 



them some time ago. If bees that are strong 

 and well filled up for winter are lifted out of 

 Simplicity hives and set into chaff hives in 

 Nov., or, in short, at any time in the winter, 

 I think it would be better than not to be in 

 chaff hives at all. 



Some of our weak colonies have been used 

 to keep queens until late in Nov., for the 

 accommodation of those who are always 

 wanting a queen late, to save some accident- 

 ally queenless colony. Now we shall have 

 quite a number of stocks that are made up 

 from these weak stocks, or nuclei, and rath- 

 er than let them be lost, 1 shall try to unite 

 and winter them, although I know from 

 past experience it is rather a difficult matter. 

 I hope, by profiting by past failures, I may 

 be able to succeed better this winter witn 

 such stocks. I agree with you, friend T. ; I 

 would prefer to have stocks that had not 

 been tinkered with and the combs mixed up, 

 later than their last yield of honey ; but, as 

 we who raise queens for sale cannot well do 

 this, we must take the consequences, for 

 aught I see. I agree with you also, that 

 loose chaff in the upper story of the hive is 

 apt to make a better protection than the 

 chaff cushion, but if the cushions are tucked 

 down carefully, I think they may be at least 

 nearly as good, and they are vastly more 

 convenient in looking into a hive. 



DRONES IN WORKER COMB. 



I presume, friend T., your question refers 

 to the occasional drones that I spoke of, in 

 worker comb. It is not confined to artificial 

 queens, and I think I can find an occasional 

 drone in almost any hive, in the summer 

 season, among black bees in box hives as 

 well as Italians. If you, by careful looking, 

 cannot do the same, please remind me of it 

 the next time I come to see you. 



%ftfld§ c§ ^min, 



From Different Fields. 



cutting a "bke tree." 



¥OU say, in the Sept. No. of Gleanings, that 

 you like to hear of cutting bee trees, so I will 

 _ tell you how 3 men who work in the same shop 

 with myself cut one a short time ago. They found 

 the tree about 2 months ago, and have been talking 

 about it ever since. They even contracted to deliv- 

 er 25 lb. of honey to a party. They got permission 

 to cut the tree on condition that they would cut and 

 trim it into logs. They worked oue night about 3 

 hours chopping it (it was a solid basswood tree, 2'/2ft. 

 through). Alter getting it down, they began look- 

 ing for the entrance, and one of them, running his 

 hand into a crotch, felt something peculiar, and call- 

 ing for a lantern, the 3 bee-hunters found— not a nice 

 lot of honey, but a large hornet's nest. You can 

 imagine how they got away from there. Fortunate- 

 ly, none of them were stung, but they won't hear 

 the last of it for some time to come. 



F. H. Wilmarth. 

 Gloversville, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1879. 



REPORT FROM AN A B C SCHOLAR. 



I commenced a year ago last spring, with four 

 swarms of blacks. 1 bought one late last fall, and 

 bought three queens during the season, increased to 

 IS, and took about 300 lbs. of surplus. I wintered 

 my 18 all right, and increased this season to 52, all 

 good, strong stocks, except 4 or 5 which I think I will 

 double up, and have taken about 1000 lbs. of surplus 

 honey. The season has not been very good here. 



Me'rton, Mich., Sept. 17, '79. Harvey Auton. 



