16 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Jan. 



can be made without trouble, for about 10c. 

 each, or $1.00 per doz. Notwithstanding all 

 that friend B. says about them, I cannot 

 think they will give as good results in cold 

 weather, as a division board made of thin 

 wood enclosing chaff orsomething of a like 

 nature. The thin wood might be warmed 

 up by the cluster so they could rest against 

 it, while the other side was covered with ice; 

 but, if the single 7-8 boards had ice ■ on one 

 side, it would be pretty sure to cold on the 

 other. 



WHY DID THEY PERSIST IN SWARM- 

 ING OUT? 



fjlRIEND ROOT:— July 2d, a swarm of bees came 

 out, and we put them in a hive, and thought all 

 — ■ would be right; but they came out again in 

 about 24 hours, after having built some nice comb. 

 Then we put them in another hive, giving them a 

 frame of brood, and the frame of comb made the 

 day before, and thought surely you will not desert 

 any more. Well, July 4th, they came out again and 

 started off, but with dirt, water, and the music of an 

 old pan, we brought them down again, and hived 

 them. 



I made up my mind that they had no queen, and 

 went straightway to another swarm to And one for 

 them. I overhauled them, took out all the frames, 

 and hunted an hour for a queen,— for the queen, but 

 could not find her. I could not use an embryo one, 

 as the frames were not like my others. AVell, I had 

 just got through hunting, when out the bees came 

 again, determined to go off; and off they went, in 

 spite of me. 



I am one of your little class, and never had much 

 experience, and don't know what to do. I have just 

 ordered an A B C of you, but. I am afraid it won't 

 tell about this affair. What ivas the matter? Had 

 they a queen? and, if so, what made them discon- 

 tented? Is it a difficult matter to find a queen in a 

 hive of bees? and how should one proceed to Qnd 

 her? what time of day, etc? 



The hives I am using are similar to the Simplicity 

 story and half. Both the hives I used with the run- 

 aways were new. S. H. Garfield. 



Hamilton, Fillmore Co., Minn., July 4, 1879. 



If you put in a frame containing unsealed 

 larvae, your case is a very singular one, friend 

 G. It could not be on account of their not 

 having any queen, as far as I can see, for 

 queenless colonies are the ones most sure to 

 stick to unsealed brood. It is possible they 

 lost their queen when first coming out of 

 the hive, or that, by some mishap, she did 

 not go along with them ; but, in that case, 

 they would not have remained in the hive at 

 all, but would have swarmed out and gone 

 back to the old stand. Again, a swarm 

 without a queen seldom remains in the hive 

 long enough to build any comb ; if they do, 

 they invariably build drone comb, whether 

 they have brood to keep them or not. Did 

 you notice whether the comb they built was 

 drone or worker V If worker, they certainly 

 had a queen. A frame of unsealed brood 

 would be much more apt to hold them than 

 a new queen. Practice will enable you to 

 lincl queens without trouble. I would not 

 look more than ten or fifteen minutes in any 

 hive for a queen, much less an hour. Shut 

 up the hive and try another one. It is prob- 



ably lucky you did not find the queen, for 

 the swarm would have killed her, and then 

 you would have had two colonies to fuss 

 with. The ABC has much to say in regard 

 to absconding. Are you sure the hives were 

 not set where the hot July sun drove the 

 bees out? New r swarms should always be 

 carefully shaded. 



WILL REQIJEENING IN THE FALL 

 PREVENT "DWINDLING?" 



SfPSjfcURING the past four years, I have had several 

 f[Jj j colonies each year, that were queenless during 

 the month of August. I gave them young 

 queens, and, if necessary, a few bees, and I have al- 

 ways noticed that these colonies were my very best 

 the next season, and yielded the largest profit. In 

 Sept., 1878, 1 reared and introduced about 30 young 

 queens. Last spring, I noticed quite a number that 

 were far outstripping the rest, and, upon examina- 

 tion, I found that they were labeled "Received 

 queen, Sept., '78. " I at first attributed it to achange 

 of stock, but two of the queens had been reared 

 from my own stock, and one of them was second best, 

 so this idea was exploded. 



This has been a poor honey season, yet these 

 stocks havogiven a larger average profit than a like 

 number of my best, in any year previous-. They 

 were entirely free from the disease called "dwind- 

 ling, " while the rest of my stocks were not, but only 

 a half dozen suffered badly. These stocks that 1 re- 

 queened lltst fall had no brood in any form, nor had 

 any of my stocks that I examined. The young 

 queens that I introduced commenced laying imme- 

 diately, without stimulating, and these stocks went 

 into winter quarters with plenty of young bees, 

 while the others did not commence to breed until 

 the first of January. I verily believe that nearly all 

 of these would have dwindled and died, had they not 

 been wintered in a cellar. As they had none but old 

 bees, these would have died before they could have 

 replaced them, had they been wintered out-doors. 

 As my neighbors lost heavily by d windling, I conclude 

 that in-door wi tering saved mine. My very worst 

 had a half pint of bees and a queen left, and as they 

 were pemevtring Italians, they came out all right by 

 the close of the honey season, without much assis- 

 tance on my part. 



As a preventive of dwindling, I would suggest rc- 

 queening in the fall, and cellar wintering, providing 

 you have a suitable cellar. But who will furnish the 

 queens? As you, Mr. Novice, seem to be the most 

 expert hand at that business, I think that you ought 

 to take the contract at starvation wages, and board 

 yourself. 



I have practiced what I preach this fall again, and 

 will report, if you wish. I. W. Vankirk. 



Washington, Penn., Nov. 26, 1879. 



Thank you, friend V. Your premises, I 

 agree to; or, at least, I admit that a large 

 part of the spring dwindling is caused by the 

 bees in the hive being too old, and that any 

 means that will cause the bees to rear a lot 

 of young bees in the fall will do much to ob- 

 viate spring dwindling. Your conclusion, 

 however, that the only way to secure this 

 state of affairs is to put young queens in our 

 hives in the fall, 1 can hardly agree to. By 

 feeding, or, what is still better, by the use of 

 flour candy, we can get almost any old queen 

 to rearing brood, and I think this will be 



