18S0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



23 



%ml§ 4 pain, 



From Different Fields. 



fN November Gleanings, I saw something said 

 about the length of time that the eggs remain 

 _j in the cell before hatching-. 1 thought it was 

 well known that they would hatch, even if over a 

 week old. List summer, I used the queen from a 

 nucleus, and they failed to raise a new one from the 

 eggs left, so I gave them a piece of new comb, about 

 as large as my hand, taken from a new swarm, and 

 every cell containing- an egg. For 3 weeks it re- 

 mained untouched, and then they built out the cells 

 and capped them over for workers; but there was 

 no sig-n of a queen-cell anywhere in the hive. Then 

 I g-avethem a frame of old comb with fresh eg-g-s, 

 and in due t me they had a new queen. I have fre- 

 quently noticed eg-g-s remaining a week untouched, 

 and thoug-ht it common. Bees have done virtually 

 nothing- in this section except increase; and as much 

 as half of the increase and a Large proportion of the 

 old stocks have not honey enough to winter on. 



Stephev W. Hall. 

 La Moille, Marshall Co., Iowa, Nov. 27, 1879. 



You may be right, friend II., but if you 

 are it is something that has so far escaped 

 my notice. Whenever I put eggs into a 

 hive, after three days' time I have always 

 found the eggs hatched into a minute larvae, 

 or spoiled for want of warmth or care ; at 

 least I can remember of no exception to this 

 rule. 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



Send me one thermometer to hang in my bee cel- 

 lar. 



Now let us quarrel a little. Your chaff and cush- 

 ion hives are not worth their cost to winter bees in. 

 The best winter hive is a frost-proof room or cellar, 

 then learn how to use them, and you have got the 

 right hive. 



I commenced the season with TO swarms, increas- 

 ed to 145, and have taken 2200 tt>. of honey. Bees 

 were in the cellar ou Nov. 20th, all in good order. 



D. L. Buler. 



South Fairfield, Lenawee Co., Mich., Nov. 21, 1879. 



There are two conditions, friend B. You 

 say "a frost-proof cellar,'" and " then learn 

 how to use it." If I am correct, both of 

 these are difficult to attain ; so much so, that 

 I think it safer to advise our ABC class to 

 winter out-doors. 



Mr. Rout:— I wrote to you some time ago about 

 shifting- my bee-shed, and you advised me to shift 

 the shed gradually. I could not do so, as the posts 

 were in the ground; so I carried the bees into my 

 cellar, and took down the shed and put it up again. 

 Mr. Doolittle talks of carrying bees into a cellar 

 without disturbing- them. I can't do it; but my bees 

 always act differently from other folks' bees. Oth- 

 er folks' black bees do not go on red clover; mine 

 always do when there is honey in it. Other folks' 

 bees (Italian) do not sling- or rob; mine do, and they 

 are go->d at it. So, as I said. I carried the bees into 

 th" cellar, Nov. 3d. It was too warm, and they kept 

 up a roaring-, nig-ht and day ; so 1 had to carry them 

 out to the new shed on the 15th, after they had been 

 in twelve days. The shed was shifted thirteen or 

 fourteen yards, back from where it was before. The 

 15th was a fine day, and, on opening the hives, how 

 they did fly! it was a perfect jubilee with them. I 

 think the only bees lost were a few who mistook 

 their hives, and went into other hives. 1 had a good 

 day to move them, and am thankful. I will not put 

 them into the cellar again. 



If you put the bees in the shed in the same 

 position they formerly occupied, it is my 

 opinion they would have made no trouble 

 had you not put them in the cellar at all ; 

 for the shed is such a strong landmark they 

 would have gone to it any way. 



ITALIANS VERSUS BLACKS AS ROBBERS. 



In September last, a girl came to me, saying that 

 they thought one of her father's hives was being 

 robbed, ami wished me to go andsee. Before I went 

 I looked at all my bees, and found all the blacks as 

 quiet as usual; but the Italians and hybrids, every 

 hive where the bees had yellow on them, were going - 

 it in style. When 1 went to see the neighbor's hive 

 which they were robbing-, they were just tumbling 

 over one another in handfuls, and all in yellow dress. 

 I shut up the hive. They tried every part of it to 

 get in, and then pitched into the next hive, "U there 

 was Of them. It was a strong- hive, but, if I had not 

 shut it up too, they would soon have made short 

 work of it. I waited till nearly night, then let the 

 robbers out, and carried the hives into a dark closet 

 and shut them in. Every spring and fall I have to 

 make the entrances of my black bees small, so as to 

 enable them to defend their hives. I used to think 

 the black Dees needed reformation, but they are 

 honest in comparison with the others. All bee- 

 keepers around me give them the same character. 

 One thing- more: 1 would advise bee-keepers to have 

 all Italians or else all blacks. In spite of what Mr. 

 Cook says of the twelve or fourteen points of supe- 

 riority of Italians over the others, they are whittled 

 down to a very small point with me, and with others 

 around here also, even at the risk of being one of 

 the unfortunates who delig-ht in being- contrary. 



I do not despise the Italian bee, but think there 

 has been an awful number of lies told about them. 



The case of robbing which you mention, I 

 think was one where the Italians discovered 

 a hive of stores unprotected. In such a case 

 they are ahead of the blacks, because they 

 are more enterprising. It is almost univer- 

 sally agreed, that Italians will be laying in 

 stores without trying to rob at all, at seasons 

 when the blacks do nothing but rob, and ac- 

 cumulate nothing. I have often seen this 

 state of affairs, when keeping both kinds of 

 bees in my apiary. 



BENEFITS OF FEEDING DURING A SCARCITY OF 

 FORAGE, ETC. 



When I told you of my feeding three swarms 29 lb. 



of sugar made into syrup, in September, I forgot to 



tell you that I fed it in eight days, and gave it to 



them at night. In the day time, they carried in a 



great deal more pollen than unfed bees, and, on tho 



! ninth day, I weig-hed them again, and carefully; 



i they were just 22 lb. heavier, and there was no rob- 



, biug. I suppose if I had fed it all in— say two days, 



i the result would have been different; but, I suppose 



I if I had fed it so quickly, and had weighed them eig-ht 



J days after feeding-, the result would have been about 



! the same. It will not do to feed a certain quantity 



i of sug-ar and expect your hives to weigh just as 



i much. 



I think it is well established, that colonies 

 fed every night, during a dearth of honey, 

 : will gather more pollen and rear very much 

 more brood. A pound of sugar ought to 

 : produce a pound of sealed stores, aside from 

 ; what is used for brood-rearing, and consum- 

 ed by the inmates. 



SIZE AND SHAPE OF STARTERS. 



Some bee-men put a small bit of fdn., triangular 

 in shape, into 4J4 x 4J£ sections. Is that as good as 

 more? 



I do not know that the shape of the starter 

 is very material, though it has been suggest- 

 ed that a triangular piece is nearer the natu- 

 ral shape. Bees will get along faster with a 

 large-sized starter, but the base of the cells 

 is more apt to be objectionable in the comb 

 honey. With the very thin fdn. we are now 

 able to make, I think it very likely that it 

 will pay to have the fdn. till the boxes. 



VACANT CORNERS IN SECTIONS OF HONEY. 



My bees leave holes in corners of sections; how 

 Can I get them to till them up? JOHN DAWSON. 



Pontiac, Oakland Co., Mich., Nov. 22, 1879. 



Bees are more prone to leave these open 



