128 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Mae. 



helplessly in some such utensil, he took no 

 pains to empty out the water and hang up 

 the basin, as it should have been. I do not 

 mean to find fault, friend K., but I wish all 

 to take warning from your experience, and 

 not leave cups of water where bees may fall 

 into them. 



$&q§ and %u%riq§* 



J? HAVE been in the ABC class in bee-keeping f or 

 more than 20 long years, and have gravitated 

 ~~ i from Blasted Hopes to Smilery and vice versa, 

 and am just now crossing over into the promised 

 land, where milk and honey abound. 



GRAPE-SUGAR CANDY. 



I have tried the grape-sugar candy with good suc- 

 cess. It is just what I have been searching for these 

 many years; but my experience tells me, it is haz- 

 ardous business to try to carry colonies through a 

 cold season on that alone. I would prefer having 

 Htores in the combs where bees can nestle during 

 cold spells, and use the candy to bridge over with. 



EIGHT-FRAME HIVES. 



I see D. W. Fletcher makes inquiries in Feb. No., 

 in regard to 8-frame, L. hives. I tried that experi- 

 ment some years ago, under very similar circum- 

 stances, and came to grief. It did very well in sum- 

 mer, but in winter the bees did not do well, and I 

 landed in Blasted Hopes. Samuel Rau. 



Homeworth, O., Feb. 16, 1880. 



SMUT FROM A STRAW STACK AS A POLLEN SUBSTI- 

 TUTE. 



I have been to Wm. Cook's to-day, where I have 16 

 colonies. The day was fine, and bees were flying 

 fast. On approaching the bee-yard, I noticed that 

 the little fellows were very jolly, and making a bee- 

 line for a straw stack in the barn-yard. What ! bees 

 eating straw ? Well, there they were, literally 

 swarming, tearing down aud digging into the straw 

 and chaff, just as though the best one had to be fore- 

 most. Then Mr. Cook mentioned that there had 

 been much smut in his wheat, and perhaps that was 

 what they were after. A closer examination proved 

 it to be so. They have been noticed by Mr. Cook, 

 working on the stack for some time past, whenever 

 the weather permitted. We opened the hives and 

 found the smut there, packed away near by the 

 brood. They are raising brood nicely, and are at 

 present in fine condition. Has anyone noticed this 

 heretofore? Is it injurious to them or not? Who 

 can tell? G. J. Yoder. 



Vistula, Ind., Feb. 16, 1880. 



PLANK HIVES VERSUS CHAFF HIVES. 



My bees, 20 swarms, have wintered nicely so far. 

 1 use permanent two-story hives, the lower story of 

 which is made of 2 in., soft-pine plank, with short L. 

 frame, and upper frame running crosswise. I am 

 well satisfied so far with these short frames, holding 

 6 of the 4i4x4J4 sections. My bees put brood in the 

 outside frame of the plank hive, just the same as in 

 a chaff hive. P. Underwood. 



North Lawrence, Kas., Feb. 0, 1880. 



INK FOR THE OHEIROGRAPH. 



That gelatine pad works splendidly; the ink, how- 

 ever, can be much improved by using part acetic 

 acid, instead of all water, in dissolving aniline. 



Heilmandale, Fa., Feb. T, '80. A. F. Hbilman. 



LAYING OUT AN APIARY. 



Wishing to start an apiary of about 150 colonies, 

 consisting of 7 apiaries of 19 colonies each, I would 

 be much pleased if you could give me a little infor- 

 mation as to how to lay it off. I want it about the 

 same as yours. What are you going to use for trel- 

 lises? How far apart did you set your evergreens for 

 hedge? What kind of evergreens did you use? 



Uhrichsville, O., Feb. 14, '80. F. J. Wardell. 



[We shall make the trellises exactly as descrihed in 

 ABC, except that we may use oak posts only 2V 2 in. 

 square. The hedge is Norway pine, and the trees 

 are 10 feet apart. To lay out the apiaries, get three, 

 light, pine sticks, 14!4 ft. long, and bore holes near 

 each end, just 14 ft. from each other. Lay these 

 poles on the ground in the form of a trianele, and 

 put an iron pin through the holes at each corner. 

 Using one corner as a centre, swing your triangle 

 around it, moving it each time from one pin to the 

 next. Stick a stake at each corner, and at the mid- 

 dle of each pole, every time you move it, and you 

 will have a hexagonal apiary staked out exactly, for 

 19 hives. I would have the different apiaries sepa- 

 rated by roadways of about 21 ft. in width.] 



A UNIFORM LENGTH OF FRAMES. 



Let all use the same length of top-bar. It is so an- 

 noying to get a frame of nice brood from somebody, 

 and not be able to get it into your hive; and it is 

 simply provoking, to procure a lot of hives from 

 somebody, and then have to transfer, change, or 

 throw away the whole lot. Well, why not all adopt 

 the Langstroth length? then each could make his 

 hives deeper or shallower, or narrower or wider, as 

 climate or fancy might dictate. That would be a 

 considerable advance toward general convenience: 

 then, in these interchanges, we readily change the 

 end bars, and thus utilize the frames of comb. Per- 

 haps that will be as near an approach to similarity 

 of hive as would be worthy of universal adoption. 

 A shallow hive is more suitable, doubtless, to our 

 climate, than to a northerly one. We find no diffi- 

 culty here in wintering on frames %\i in. deep. lam 

 using that depth, with top-bar 19 in. long satisfact- 

 orily. — I have now 128 colonies, all Italians and hy- 

 brids. Wm. L. Gorden. 



Shreveport, La., Feb. 12, 1880. 



THE FAMILY GRINDSTONE. 



I received the "grinder" last week Tuesday, and 

 our family are sharpening up some. What a bless- 

 ing to a "dull" community 1 It is the best grinder 

 and polisher I ever saw for general use. 



Killbuck, N. Y., Feb. 16, 1880. W M. Folts. 



DRONES IN JANUARY. 



I have about 40 colonies of bees, about one half be- 

 ing Italians. They are in good condition. From 

 one colony, I saw drones flying the 20th of January. I 

 do not expect you will belie ve it, but it is a fact. I 

 have been feeding flour in December and January. 



Samuel Ambleu. 



Ambler, Belmont Co., O., Feb. 11, 1880. 



[Certainly I "believe you, friend A., for I am sure 

 none of you would make such a statement unless it 

 was so. If the drones are reared by a good, healthy, 

 prolific queen, it indicates prosperity; but, are you 

 sure it is not an unprofitable drone layer that pro- 

 duced them?] 



WHY DID THEY DIE? 



I bought a heavy swarm of blacks last fall, and 

 put them In my cellar ; and, fen." some reuwrni they 



