1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



493 



MY EXPERIENCE WITH ROBBERS. 



Sept. 10th, of the present year, I had my first ex 

 perienee with robbers. About half past one o'clock 

 1 walked out into the apiary, and, to my surprise, 

 bees were roaring around two hives, in great num- 

 bers. I smm ascertained what they were doing - , and 

 proceeded to stop them. 1 contracted the entrances 

 until they were so narrow that but one bee could 

 pass at a time; but that did not seem to do any 

 good. They would rush in "whether or no." Bo I 

 closed the entrances entirely, only leaving airholes. 

 They soon left these hives after they were closed; 

 but, bad as ever, attacked another one, which was 

 treated in like manner. So they continued until the 

 sun was sinking- in the west. About dusk, T opened 

 the hives, leaving- very small entrances. The next 

 morning, they were working busily on the buck- 

 wheat, showing no sign of robbing. 1 thought that 

 I had stopped them "for good." Every thing- went 

 all right until about the time when they began the 

 day before. Then they commenced business more 

 lively than ever. The apiary was getting in an up- 

 roar fast, and I, almost a fit subject for "Blasted 

 Hopes," was running from hive to hive closing en- 

 trances. The third day they commenced again; but 

 each colony seemed to understand that they must 

 fight, if they wished to thrive. Every time a robber 

 tried to enter, he was nabbed by two or three guards. 

 I have not been troubled with robbers since, for 

 which I am thankful indeed. J. P. Moore. 



Morgan Station, Ky., Sept. 30, 1879. 



The reason your bees did not rob in the 

 fore part of the day was because the buck- 

 wheat yielded enough to keep them busy. 

 In the afternoon, after they had gathered all 

 the buckwheat honey, they had tune to take 

 up the robbing again. How much do you 

 suppose, friend M., it would be worth to 

 have just bee pasturage enough, every day 

 in the year when bees could fly, to keep an 

 apiary of 500 colonies occupied so they would 

 not rob V This is what I hope the Simpson 

 and spider plant will do for our own apiary. 



SECTIONS PLACED ON THE FRAMES, ETC. 



Will you be kind enough to inform me if you find 

 that sections are much more conveniently handled 

 when in frames than when simply placed on strips 

 of wood resting on the frames? This has been my 

 plan, and the separators are very troublesome to 

 keep in place when introducing fresh sections and 

 removing them filled. Zinc is cheaper here than 

 tin, so of course I use it. 



You will see by back volumes, friend E., 

 that my original plan, which I used two sea- 

 sons, was to set the sections on the frames 

 as you suggest. Like yourself, I found it an 

 immense amount of labor, compared with 8 

 sections in a frame, as Ave use them now. 

 Are you not mistaken in saying zinc is cheap- 

 er than the thin tin, which is really the bet- 

 ter for separators? 



AN AIR SPACE BELOW THE BEES IN WINTER. 



HaviDg had previous experience of the very great 

 benefit of an empty space below the combs, in our 

 cold, damp winters, when the lower edges of combs 

 so often get moldy and rotten. 1 have this, year ar- 

 ranged for wintering two hives on this principle: In 

 one, the bees nearly fill the frames in the upper sto- 

 ry— the lower story being empty, and the entrance 

 at its lower edge. In the other hive the bees (a 

 smaller stocki are inclosed on five frames (Wood- 

 bury) between two double-walled winter -shield 

 frames. The bees occupy the center of the hive. 

 This hive will be placed on an empty hive. This 

 great additional cubic space of air will, I anticipate 

 (from my past experience), preserve the combs trom 

 injury by moisture, and be in several respects an 

 advantage to the bees. May I ask you to try a hive 

 or two on this plan that is, packed with chair on 

 your most approved winter plan, and placed upon 

 an empty, chatt'-packed lower story or empty hive? 

 In the September A. li. J., I see two or three bee- 

 keepers remarked, at a convention, that they " want- 

 ed better ventilation." By my plan (the entrance 

 being at the bottom, and small), they have this with- 



out a draught. Upward ventilation seems so contra- 

 ry to the instincts of bees, that, with sufficient bot- 

 tom ventilation, I doubt if bees could not be winter- 

 ed in a glass box. 



It may be that bees could be wintered in a 

 shallow glass jar, if it had a large mouth and 

 an open space below it ; but I think it would 

 be poor economy, even then; although it 

 might be far better than to have the bottoms 

 of the combs damp and moldy. An open 

 space below the combs lias been tried year 

 after year by bax-hive men, with tall hives 

 only half full of combs. With a chaff hive, 

 well tilled with bees, we have the bees clus- 

 tering, during the severest weather, not only 

 against the top and sides, but on the bottom 

 also, keeping it warm and dry all the time, 

 and keeping every particle of frost out so 

 thoroughly that neither dead bees nor damp- 

 ness are ever found in the hives at all. Is 

 not this a better way, friend E.V 



"THINGS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD." 



1 want to propose to you an additional column for 

 Gleanings, headed, " Things Not Well Understood," 

 or words having- a similar signification. It might be 

 started with, " How many pounds of honey or sugar 

 are consumed in the production of a pound of wax?" 

 " How best to winter bees in-doors and out? " The 

 experience of readers requested. " What is the spe- 

 cific gravity of different kinds of honey?" I am glad 

 to see your report of the doings in your own apiary 

 and bee garden. I consider this as one of the most 

 interesting parts of Gleanings. 



With all my heart ; but there are so many 

 things not well understood, will it not em- 

 brace the Avhole journal almost V 



SPRING DWINDLING "ACROSS THE WATER." 



I had a case of spring- dwindling in 1878. The stock 

 only recovered by being fed almost through the 

 summer. It became a strong stock bv autumn. 



J. W. Eldridge. 



Earlham Roads, Norwich, England, Oct. 14, 1879. 



A PLEA FOR THE GALLUP FRAME. 



Noticing in Gleanings a sketch of all the princi- 

 pal movable frames now in use, 1 see you are a little 

 in favor of the Langstroth, and, in your explanation 

 of their origin and the inventors^ I see that you 

 think the Gallup frame is not suitable to use in a 

 two-story hive. I have used and handled the Lang- 

 stroth, Adair, and American, and have in my own 

 apiary the Gallup, and will give you the result of a 

 two-story hive of 15 frames each. I extracted 108 lbs. 

 of nice honey, and took from them one swarm of I u i is 

 and 73 lbs. of comb honey, in sections from on top of 

 the second story, making a total of 271 lbs. Can any 

 one show a larger result from any other hive of no 

 greater dimensions— each hive being 12 x 20 inside? 

 I have also taken 151 lbs., in one-lb. sections, from a 

 hive holding only 11 frames, and section-crate hold- 

 ing 27 sections. I write this, not to condemn other 

 hives, but to show that bees will carry honey even 

 two feet from the alighting-board, and in large quan- 

 tities. I should like to hear from some others who 

 have had as good or better results. 



B. N. Bennett. 



Springrport, Mich., Nov. 2, 1870. 



Thanks, friend B. I have no doubt but 

 that good or even large reports can be fur- 

 nished from any of the frames mentioned, 

 but I still think the advice I gave holds good 

 generally. 



QUEENS TO CALIFORNIA, STINGS, &C. 



The last queens you sent came in such good order 

 that they seemed able to stand almost anything, and 

 no dend bees with them. One Lgot nicely introduc- 

 ed and she is laying well. The other, after being 

 accepted for one day and night, was balled. I then 

 save her to a nucleus wDich also concluded, after a 

 day, to kill and throw her out of the hive, and went 

 to work to raise another from some black brood I 

 put in. But, to-day, having found a bee tree, we 



