336 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



to whether it should be termed the Forn- 

 crook section, or the Lewis & Park's section. 

 As is usual in such cases, the parties became 

 warmer and warmer in the contest, and our 

 friend F. applied for and obtained a patent, 

 more to demonstrate his position, than to 

 try to monopolize the section business. I 

 suppose he has a patent, or he would not say 

 so ; but the fact is, he would have had little 

 trouble in getting a patent on almost any 

 thing else belonging to modern bee culture, 

 because the patent officials are entirely ig- 

 norant of what is in use. If I am correct, 

 friend Forncrook does not intend to try to 

 interfere with anybody who makes them, 

 but simply to insist on his right to the credit 

 of being the original inventor, or perhaps 

 more properly introducer, of this precise form 

 of section. Do not let us be in any great 

 hurry, friends, to roll up our sleeves for a 

 tight. We have written to the Commission- 

 er of Patents, to get a copy of friend F.'s 

 claim. 



them, during the swarming season. For the 

 reasons above given, I have little faith in the 

 utility of buying or selling drones, unless 

 you could get several thousand, and then 

 your queen would be more than likely to 

 meet those from some distant hive. See 

 "Drones" in A B C. 



DRONES WANTED, ANABC SCHOLAR'S TROUBLES. 



Friend Root: — I am in a "peck of trouble." I 

 hate to bother you now, knowing- you must be busy, 

 but I can not find what I want in the books. I have 

 got a virgin queen, and only one drone, and he is in 

 another hive. The queen hatched last Saturday. I 

 commenced this spring' with two swarms,— one Ital- 

 ians, and one blacks. The Italians swarmed June 

 ~'d, and the blacks June 8th. Both were transferred 

 during fruit bloom. I used fdn., and cut out all 

 drone cells. Last week I found several drones in 

 the black colony and pinched their heads off; but, 

 so far, have found but one drone in the Italian hive. 

 This queen was hatched in a nucleus hive. Now the 

 question is, will she meet this one drone? There are 

 no other bees within a mile of here, and none in the 

 county except blacks. This queen is a fine one, and 

 I don't like to have her meet a black drone. This 

 was my object in pinching off the heads of the black 

 drones, thinking, of course, there would be enough 

 drones among the Italians. Do you send out drones? 

 I have never read anything about it. If you think I 

 need any more drones, send them along, and I will 

 remit. 



The queens you sent me arrived safe. I intro- 

 duced one to the black colony all right, but lost the 

 other one. I left the cage on the frames all night; 

 in the morning, all was quiet, and about a dozen 

 bees on the cage; I opened the cage and let her out; 

 but, before I had time to think, one of them stung 

 her. I know how it is done now,— I mean the sting- 

 ing. 



White clover and motherwort are booming. As 

 yet, I haven't seen a bee on clover, but the mother- 

 wort is covered with them. Pardon me for writing- 

 so much, but when I get to going, I don't know 

 when to stop. Geo. H. McGee, ABC Class. 



Marblehead Light House, O., June 14, 1880. 



Do not worry about the drones, friend M. 

 Your queen will get fertilized at this season 

 of the year, without any question ; but the 

 chances of her meeting your one drone are 

 so slim that we might as well call it an im- j 

 possibility. You do not know of any bees 

 near you. perhaps, but I assure you the 

 queen will find drones in the woods, and as 

 they often fly several miles from their hive, 

 a queen seldom fails of finding plenty of 



A COLONY THAT WON'T REAR A QUEEN. 



Friend Root:--1 have a queenless colony which I 

 cannot get to rear a queen. They build plenty of 

 cells, but there is no larva*, or anything else in them. 

 I gave them a comb of eggs, and a comb of hatching 

 brood. They started 6 cells. I examined them the 

 .'id, 6th, and 10th day, and there was nothing at all 

 in any of the cells. I then put a piece of comb in the 

 center of a strong colony, and let it stay 3 days, when 

 it was nearly full of eggs. I put it in the center of 

 the queenless colony, and, on the 3d day, examined 

 it, and they had started queen cells. On the 8th day, 

 1 looked again, and there was not a thing in any of 

 the cells. Whose fault is it, mine or the bees? Just 

 give me your hand, friend Root, and help me over 

 this trouble. Tell me what to do, for I am a very 

 young ABC scholar. 



I commenced this spring with 3 old, box hives, 

 given me by a friend. They cast one swarm each, 

 so I bad four. When I got the ABC book, I trans- 

 ferred them into movable frame hives, and made 

 two artificial swarms. I can handle the bees with- 

 out veil or smoker. 1 keep the veil you sent me for 

 visitors. 



I thought I was getting on well, but this thing 

 bothers me teribly. They must raise a queen, and I 

 want you to tell me how to make them do it. 



J. J. Simpkins. 



Summerfield, Dallas Co., Ala., June 10, 1880. 



I have never seen a colony behave just as 

 you describe, friend S., but somewhat in the 

 same way. I am inclined to think they have 

 a fertile worker, or some sort of a half drone 

 and half worker, but [ would not fuss with 

 them longer, in the way you are doing. Break 

 them up, and reconstruct them; perhaps the 

 best way of doing this willbe to swap places 

 with some other hive, watching both to be 

 sure they will not fight. The bees of the 

 stubborn colony will then have a good queen, 

 and a new set of combs filled with brood, 

 and it will be strange if they do not go in and 

 go to work. The old combs will be cover- 

 ed with steady industrious bees, and these 

 will build queen cells, without question. If 

 you have put in brood enough, the young 

 bees, when they hatch out, will without 

 question build good queen cells, and you 

 may succeed without going to the trouble 

 of the plan I have given. It should be re- 

 membered that a hive of all very old bees 

 will seldom rear good queens. 



ANOTHER BEE-KEEPER GONE— ON A WEDDING TOUR. 



F. W. Dryor, of this place, was married on the Kith 

 inst., and started to Denver, Col., on a short trip. 

 He has introduced a queen to his hive. May she 

 prove to be a good worker, as be is, in that "Sunday 

 school on the hill," and may she never swarm and 

 leave him, but always keep his hive in good order, 

 and help to take care of the stores he may collect. 



Wyandott, Kan., June 18, 1880. J. A. N., 39. 



Very good, friend N. I am interested in 

 this matter, especially that part about the 

 Sabbath school on the hill. 



