538 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov 



COST OF IMPORTING, AND CYPRIAN AND HOLY-LAND 

 QUEENS. 



As to whether it pays to import five queens, I will 

 let you judge from what the entire cost was. Cost, 

 of check, $7.15; of express, $13.76; total, $20.01, and 

 one of the queens was dead. The four are first-class 

 queens.— Why do you keep Cyprian and Holy-Land 

 bees with your Italians? From what I learn, they 

 are crosser than Italians, and no better in other 

 ways. Seems to me, you would not want to send 

 out Italian queens fertilized by these drones, and 

 consequently hybrid. Chas. R. Bingham. 



Edinburg, Portage Co., O., Sept. 27, 1880. 



AVell, it seems, friend B., you did not do 

 so very badly, after all, in importing a small 

 number of queens; for if they are fine ones, 

 as you say, they would have cost you a little 

 more to have bought them here. — You mis- 

 take about the Cyprians being cross. They 

 are very gentle, and nice to handle. I do 

 not remember that I have ever used smoke 

 at all for the Cyprians. It is only one of the 

 two colonies of Holy-Land bees that are 

 cross, and I have handled these without any 

 trouble, in the middle of the day, when they 

 were flying. They differ so little from the 

 Italians, that I can not think any objection- 

 able features will be developed by the cross. 

 Of course, we shall not carry it to any great 

 extent, unless the two races show some de- 

 sirable traits. 



I started, this spring, with 17 swarms— 13 good, and 

 4 very light. The light swarms have built up to 

 good heavy ones, and I have increased to 35, all hea- 

 vy but 3, which I am now feeding. I have made 546 

 lbs. box honey, sold $60.66 worth, and have on hand 

 142 lbs. yet to sell. I sold all at 16 c. per lb. This is 

 as near as I can get it. I think it will overrun this 

 some, as we have used a good many boxes in our 

 own family, which are not counted in this report. 



I see in last month's Gleanings, that some one 

 wishes us to tell what cage we prefer for shipping, 

 introducing, etc. ; also how bee-stings affect rheum- 

 atism. 



the peet queen-cage. 



Now, I prefer the Peet cage above all others, and 

 my reasons are these: In the first place, they are 

 nicer, have more room for the bees to stir around, 

 are lighter, and cost one cent less to send them by 

 mail than yours. They are handier to introduce 

 from, for you can open your hive, kill or take out 

 your old queen, slide your Peet cage down between 

 your combs, close your hive, and the thing is done; 

 while, with your cage, one sometimes has to open 

 the hive a number of times before the queen will be 

 accepted ; and I do not like to have a cage on top of 

 my frames, because I can not use my surplus story 

 while it is there, whereas the Peet cage makes no 

 difference. Another good feature in the Peet cage 

 is, that the back is made of tin, the front of wire, and 

 you can see the bees much more plainly than you 

 can in any other cage that I have yet seen. 

 bee-stings and rheumatism. 



In regard to the bee-stings, I can not see that they 

 make any difference in rheumatism, as 1 have been 

 troubled with it for years. Stings may be just as 

 good as any counter-irritant, as far as they go, but I 

 prefer other medicine, although bee-stings do not 

 pain me in the least after two or three minutes. 

 They swell quite badly at times, and at other times 



not at all. When they strike a bone they swell, and 

 do not swell when received in deep tiesh. 



That homely, dark, and small queen you sent me 

 i« all right, and has got the hive full of nice yellow 

 Italians. I looked at her three days ago, and, as you 

 said, she is a golden beauty. 



I guess I will stop, for I want the reports all put 

 in Gleanings; and, if I till the whole book, how 

 will you get in the rest? R. P. Lovejoy. 



Greig, Lewis Co., N. Y., Sept. 25, 1880. 



I am very glad indeed to hear so many 

 good reports of the Peet cage ; but is it real- 

 ly true, that no one has lost queens while 

 using them? If 1 am correct, you may have 

 to open the hive a great many times with 

 even the Peet cage.— Your last remark, 

 friend L., is one that the A B C class would 

 do well to think of often. If we are going 

 to hear from all, we shall certainly have to 

 learn brevity. 



OMITTING STARTERS IN SECTION BOXES. 



Now, I have a little matter that I would like to 

 ventilate to you. When you sent catalogue, section 

 boxes were entirely new to me. Well, I thought it 

 a good idea, and went to work and put them upon 

 two hives— 7 frames of 8 sections each, in each hive. 

 Well, the result is, that I have some 40 or 50 lbs. of 

 honey in each case, but it is put in them in such a 

 way that I can't get a single section out without 

 breaking the comb. It is fastened upon one or both 

 sides to the tin separators, and as soon as moved 

 the honey begins to run. Now, I don't know but 

 they are all right, but win) didn't you let us know all 

 about that part, or else tell us where to get educated 

 bees for the Z>ees-ness? Perhaps one well-trained 

 bee might teach a whole apiary, and then the sec- 

 tions would be of use. Is it a common thing for 

 you to have bees do this? If not, why not? and if 

 so, what can be done to prevent it? The separators 

 were of new bright tin, 3 in. wide. I shall go back 

 to the larger boxes if that is the way they usually 

 work.— My bees are Italians. D. E. Washburn. 



Felchville, Vt., Sept. 27, 1880. 



Although you do not say so directly, I in- 

 fer you omitted the fdn. starters, friend W., 

 and then, of course, you would have trouble. 

 Had you examined the catalogue a little 

 more closely, I think you would have noticed 

 this point. Starters of natural comb will do, 

 if they are sufficiently large, and put in ex- 

 actly square ; but, of late, fdn. starters are 

 so universally used that I had almost forgot- 

 ten that anybody ever did make the mistake 

 you have. Your sections were, I presume, 

 by what you say, home-made. Prepared as 

 we put them up, not one section in a thou- 

 sand should leak honey. 



INTRODUCING UNFERTILE QUEENS SEVERAL DAYS 

 OLD. 



Though it is late in the day, I will attempt to an- 

 swer your communication in the July No., p. 321, in 

 regard to unfertile queens. Although I agree with 

 you in part, I will have to differ with you in opinion 

 in regard to introducing them; for I have intro- 

 duced them 4 and 5 days old; and, if you will send 

 me one next season, I will introduce her and return 

 her to you a laying queen. S. H. Lane. 



Whitestown, Ind., Sept. 25, 1880. 



The exce] >tion only proves the rule, friend 

 L. I too can introduce virgin queens four or 



