1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



285 



wintered without any protection are much weaker 

 than mine, and no drone eggs deposited as yet. 



MISSING QUEENS. 



I never had a better chance to Italianize. I intro- 

 duced an Italian queen to a black colony two weeks 

 ago. In 7 days, I examined the hive and found her 

 attending to her motherly duties. But she is now ab- 

 sent and the bees are starting queen cells. 1 was 

 very careful when manipulating them, and do not 

 think I killed her. What is the cause of her ab- 

 sence? E. J. Hinshaw. 



Lynn, Ind., May 15, 1880. 



It is quite difficult to say why queens are 

 suddenly missing, as in the case you men- 

 tion; if the state of the brood indicated 

 that she was lost about the time you opened 

 the hive, it would be fair to presume that 

 she must have been injured or lost while so 

 doing. We frequently find queen cells how- 

 ever, just as you state, without being able 

 to assign any reason for the queen's absence ; 

 and, in view of this, they may be regarded, 

 on the whole, as rather uncertain property, 

 even when they have the best of care. 



$ch§ and %iwhh 



THE ALL-ONE-PIECE SECTION; WHO IS THE INVENTOR? 



SEE the sections, " all in one piece," are attract- 

 ing considerable attention, and several parties 

 are manufacturing and claiming to be the in- 

 ventors. See my notice in American Bee Journal for 

 1878, page 17(5, of these boxes. My application for 

 letters patent on this section is duly filed with the 

 Commissioner of patents at Washington, and if any 

 person knows any just cause why they should not be 

 granted, let him make it known, or for ever after 

 hold his peace. Thomas T. Delzeu,. 



Hersey, Osceola Co., Mich., April 21, 1880. 

 [After reading this, if one examines the advertise- 

 ment of Lewis & Parks, and also friend Forncrook's 

 in the last No., one gets a vidid idea of the rickety 

 condition of the patent office, and of the utter igno- 

 rance or indifference on the part of the offiicials, as 

 to what has been patented or placed on file.] 





What causes bees to carry out young brood at 

 this time? (.Moth worms probably, if there are but 

 few; if many, it would look as if it was starvation.] 



How can you make your bees build straight combs 

 in frames without fdn? [By having each comb built 

 between two old ones; but using fdn. is much the 

 better way.] 



Is it safe to put this fdn. which you sent me for 

 boxes, into brood frames for trial? B. Both. 



Fort Alleghany, McKean Co., Pa., May, 1880. 



[The thin fdn. that we make for boxes will be more 

 apt to stretch or bulge; but if a single strip is put 

 along the top bar of the frame, it will not bulge or 

 stretch to do any harm.] 



IMMOVABLE MOVABLE-COMHS. 



The smoker comes in use the most now, for some 

 of our hives are 5 or 6 years old, and not a frame has 

 ever been lifted out of them yet. Since we have 

 had your A B C, however, we are cleaning them out, 

 although it takes a pretty hard pull to get them. 



Fred Juerqens. 



Hutchinson, Minn., May 13, 1880. 



"HOUSE-KEEPER" WANTED. 



I have a colony of bees (last year's) which has lost 

 its queen. They have honey enough to commence 

 house-keeping on, if they had a house-keeper. Please 

 send me a queen, if you can, at once, so that it may 

 be introduced, and the family resume business 

 again. If you can't send a queen (Italian), please 

 return money, and I will look farther. 



Canton, O., May 14, 1880. D. A. Arter. 



[You should keep better posted, friend D. ; Italian 

 "house-keepers" are not usually to be had for a dol- 

 lar, in the month of May. We have plenty of queens 

 right in the office ready to ship on a minute's notice, 

 but can't sell them for a dollar so early. I hope you 

 may save your colony, nevertheless.] 



ASPARAGUS AS A HONEY PLANT. 



Bees work right well on asparagus. I have dem- 

 onstrated that to my satisfaction; and, as it blooms 

 through the entire season, it is a desirable forage 

 plant, if grown in sufficient quantities. 



SUGAR CORN AS A HONEY PLANT. 



Last season, I raised some sugar corn, and, as it ri- 

 pened very early, I tried the experiment of raising 

 a second crop from seed ripened the same season. 

 I got it so far matured as to have roasting ears, and 

 I noticed the bees on it continually, bringing in 

 both honey and pollen. There is no mistake in this. 



RETARDED DEVELOPMENT OF QUEENS. 



Dr. A. P. Coulter, of Marissa, 111., stated to the 

 writer a few days ago, that he had an undoubted 

 case of a queen's not hatching until the 21st day 

 from the egg; is this possible? Have you heard, or 

 do you know, of similar occurrences? 



[The matter of retarded development of the larva? 

 of the bee or queen is a subject just being investi- 

 gated. Friend Doolittle says that even the egg may 

 remain for some time in a dormant condition, as it 

 were, and then hatch out all right. The whole mat- 

 ter wants investigating.] 



SWARMS COMING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. 



You are right in saying that bees will come to a 

 well conducted apiary, for last August I secured 

 one colony in that way, and again, yesterday. May 

 7th, a very powerful colony of hybrids came, and I 

 have them now on 10 frames of wired fdn., in one of 

 my new chaff hives. It tilled the lower part nearly 

 full of bees, and I fear it will test your wired fdn. 

 severely; but we will see. 



WHERE OUR BEES CAME FROM. 



My "American Encyclopedia" states (Vol. III. p. 

 50) that bees were originally imported to this coun- 

 try, but fail3 to state the time when, or persons by 

 whom, they were imported. 



HOW TO GET RID OF LIVE DRONES. 



I notice that there are a great many drones in the 

 swarm just hived, and, as I wish to rear pure Ital- 

 ian queens, and have cut out all drone brood in the 

 few black colonies I have, how shall I get rid of 

 these fellows? I shall have some nice queens 

 hatching out shortly, and I want them purely ma- 

 ted. E. T. Flanagan. 



Belleville, St. Clair Co., 111., May, 1880. 



[Shake the bees, drones and all, out of the hive, 

 and then fix over the entrance either wire cloth or 

 perforated tin that will admit the workers and not 

 the drones. Do this just at night, and, after the 

 workers are all in, scoop up the drones and kill 

 them by immersing in hot water, or in some other 

 way to give them as quick and paialess a death as 

 possible.] 



