1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



129 



have all died. The frames (8 of them) are well filled 

 with honey, so they did not lack for food. They 

 sweat so that the hive was very damp, which may be 

 the reason of their dying-. I never had anything- to 

 do with bees before, so did not know what to do. 



Joyfleld, Mich., Feb. 9, '80. Wm. A. Joy. 



[I should infer, from the description, that their 

 stores were not wholesome, or, at least, that they 

 were of such a nature as to be unsuitable for con- 

 finement. Had they been outdoors and permitted to 

 fly, asthey would doubtless have done during- our 

 warm winter, I think they would have got along 

 very well.] 



WHAT IS THE MATTE K WITn THE BliES? 



My bees are all in chaff hives warm and good, but 

 they die off by handf uls every, day, and lie on the 

 bottom board or in front of the entrance, or come 

 out one after the other, and fall on the snow and die. 

 I think they have the dysentery. What can I do 

 with them? I have a one inch ventilation hole on 

 the top of the hive, but they come out, and are 

 bound to come out. In the spring- they carry away 

 lots of meal. Can I give them as much as they will 

 take? The weather has been cold from November 

 till now, when it is raining, but the bees had one 

 good fly in January. They all have eggs and larvas. 



Bell Plain, Wis., Feb. 12, 'SO. Johan Jackel. 



[It is doubtless a feature of our late wintering 

 troubles, and, if they are well packed as you say, I 

 do not know what the especial trouble is, unless it is 

 improper food. If they take so much meal as to 

 store it in their combs, it may do harm, as I have 

 explained heretofore. I do not see why you have a 

 hole in the top of the hive; chaff hives have no 

 opening aside from the entrance. May not this — 

 having a cold draft constantly through the hive— be 

 the cause of a part of your troubles?] 



Please excuse this sheet's being- wrong side up; I 

 haven't had scarcely any sleep for 3 nights back; 

 my baby has been very sick, but is better to-night. 



S Cuyler, N. Y., Jan. 26, '80. G. H. C. Potter. 



[To be sure, you are excusable. Take good care 

 of the baby, friend P. Give it a kiss for me, and 

 may God bless you both. I am glad it is better.] 



BLACKS AND HYBRIDS: WHO WANTS THEM? 



I expect to unite a few, weak colonies, this spring, 

 and will have a few surplus queens, black and hy- 

 brid. Will they be of any use to you, or would I 

 better pinch their heads off and throw them away? 



Eipley, O., Feb. 17, 'SO. Lizzie McConnell. 



[For mutual accommodation I will give the names 

 free of those having such queens to spare. Of 

 course, those wanting them will furnish cages and 

 pay postage.] 



WHEN AND HOW TO TAKE BEES OUT OF THE CELLAR. 



The second week in April is soon enough, down 

 here, to take bees out, as a general thing. The 

 journals insist on setting them out on a warm, sun- 

 shiny day, which, I think, is wrong. Set them out 

 on a cloudy day, and not half so many of the bees 

 will fly at once. I would rather have a floe mist of 

 rain falling, than to have the sun shining, then only 

 a few fly nt once, and they are not nearly so apt to 

 swarm out and become confused. 



SWARMING OTJT IN TIIE SPRING. 



When so many fly at once, it has a tendency to put 

 the swarming fever on some that are already dis- 

 couraged; such as the queonless, and those short of 

 stores. Sometimes strong, healthy colonies are in- 

 tfuuod tcr come out wfter bearing' others bitwltrj 



round for days. When once in the habit of swarm- 

 ing out, they seldom ever do any good afterwards. 

 An ounce of preventive is said to be worth a pound 

 of cure. Try it. R, A. Parker. 



Abbington, 111., Feb. 14, 1880. 



ALSIKE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



I have sowed Alsike now for 10 years. The wetter 

 the land, provided water does not stand on it, the 

 stouter it grows. We cultivate but 10 acres all to- 

 gether, and average 3 tons of hay to the acre. With 

 us, there is no second crop of Alsike. We sow red 

 clover with it for a second crop. I have never been 

 able to see that much honey was obtained from it, 

 and have seen it when the smell from it was sicken- 

 ing, it was so sweet. Honey is very dull of sale at 

 the East. e. C. Newell. 



Brookfleld, Carroll ( !o., X. H. Feb. 16, 1880. 



blue thistle. 

 We have blue thistle in any quantity. I think, if I 

 was handy to a railroad, I would just fill an old 

 freight car full of plants, and start it up to you. 

 We consider it a great pest. I do not think it 

 amounts to much as a honey plant. 



STENCIL PLATES FOR MARKING BEE-HIVES. 



Can you furnish brass or tin sheets with letters cut 

 in them for lettering bee-hives? A. H. Duff. 



Flat Ridge, O., Feb. 7, 1880. 



[We do not letter our hives. One reason is that 

 they need painting frequently for looks, as well as 

 durability, and it is so much trouble to paint the 

 stencil over again. Doubtless some of our readers 

 can furnish the plates.] 



I think my Italians and hybrids are more stirring 

 and energetic than the blacks. My hybrids beat all 

 for robbing- that I ever saw. A black colony, or a 

 weak Italian stock, stands no more chance among 



hybrids than a candidate has for tho 



presidency. They are prowling about every hive, 

 and one of my neighbors, who lives a mile away, says 

 it has been his regular business every Sunday this 

 winter, to sit at his hives all day and help his blacks 

 kill Italians. My hybrids are also all ahead of my 

 full-bloods in brood rearing- this spring. 



Cabot, Ark., Feb. 16, '80. B. F. Cathev. 



[Friend C, you want to stop for that neighbor, and 

 induce him to go with you to Sunday School, instead 

 of breaking- two of the ten commandments at one 

 clip. Give him some Italians, lend him a bee-journal, 

 and have him employed, if possible, in buildiug his 

 neighbors up, instead of killing their bees. I know, 

 for I used to pass my Sunday afternoons In much 

 the same way.] 



PLANING-MILL SHAVINGS FOR PACKING. 



My bees are doing well to date. I have them 

 packed in planing-mill shavings. Those packed in 

 shavings in this neighborhood last winter came 

 through all right, and have done well; and those 

 that were packed in straw lost heavily, and their 

 bees have done little or nothing. 



Eagleton, Wis., Feb. 5, '80. Wm. Chkystal. 



[I can but think, my friend, that it is due to some- 

 thing else besides tho packing, that you have such 

 different results. No doubt, fine shavings would bo 

 better than straw, but I am better satisfied with 

 soft chaff, well packed down, than with cither.] 



I am a beginner with bees. I commenced last 

 spring with 6 swarms, increased to 14, and got about 

 150 lb. of honey. J. W. Smith. 



Pilot Knob, Admna Co., Wis., Feb. 11, lWfc 



