59-1 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



CAGING QUEEN-CELLS OVER THE CLUSTER OF BEES. 



Please give some directions how to cut out queen- 

 cells and put in small cage, and also iu regard to 

 putting over cluster of bees to hatch out. Please 

 give particulars in full. I tried the plan, and out of 

 8 cells there were only 4 that hatched; and it appears 

 to mo that only those that were laid horizontal 

 hatched, and those that I put in the cage with the 

 apex of cell upward failed to hatch. 



Dk. H.J. Peters. 



Kogersville, O., May 81, 1880. 



If I am correct, 110 one has succeeded very 

 well with your plan of hatching queen-cells, 

 friend P., and this is why the idea has been 

 discarded. I think the cells hatch a little 

 better if they are placed pretty nearly in the 

 position in which they are usually built, al- 

 though we seldom take any pains to turn 

 them thus in the lamp nursery. 



TRANSFERRING IN OCTOBER, ETC. 



I am busy transferring from box to L. hives and 

 frames, and all are doing well, despite the pestifer- 

 ous robbers. The two colonies 1 transferred three 

 weeks ago have filled their frames with unsealed 

 honey, and some of the queens are quite busy. 



I send you a sample of the insignificant little weed 

 that grows profusely all over the country herefrom 

 which and from goldenrod our bees are now filliug 

 the hives. We call it "stiekweeJ." Can you tell 

 what its botanical name is? 



The species you inclose is Aster miser, 

 which has been so frequently mentioned in 

 back numbers. 



Some months ago my friends and acquaintances 

 thought, and even suggested, that I was just a little 

 "daft" on the subject of bees and bee culture; but 

 since I have talked with many of them, and loaned 

 them Cleanings and ABC and Langstroth, I flud 

 many of them taking the contagious fever; and I 

 think next spring you will have from this neighbor- 

 hood five correspondents and customers where you 

 had one or none last season. 



About those gray-back bees. How do you account 

 for them ? There are too many for it to be a freak of 

 nature; besides, they are just as industrious as the 

 other workers. Each has a white spot like a drop of 

 milk or paint on his back, and they seem to be a 

 shade larger than their companions. 



I have a large hybrid colony of two-banded bees. 

 I thought I was mistaken at first, but an hour's 

 close observation satisfies me that nearly all of them 

 have two distinct yellow bands, and the other two 

 bands are narrow white. All who have looked at 

 them notice the difference between them and my 

 pure Italians, as much as the difference between 

 them and the one-banded ones. Are they three- 

 fourths Italian? It is a large and very industrious 

 colony, judging from the way they pour out of the 

 entrance all day. L. M. Shumaker. 



North Danville, Pitts. Co., Va., Oct. 11, 1880. 



There is very little trouble in transferring 

 in October, or, in fact, at any other season, 

 when the bees are getting honey enough to 

 enable them to build comb. 



I fear you have not read your ABC book, 

 friend S., or you would have seen about the 

 bees with the white spot on their backs. It 

 is not a race of bees at all, but simply be- 

 cause the bees are getting honey from the 

 wild touch-me-not. 



The bees you mention are probably from a 

 black queen that has met an Italian drone. 

 They are often marked in that way. 



DAVIS' TRANSPOSITION PROCESS. 



I think it ought to be well known, that the trans- 

 position process is not always a success, and that 

 those who buy queens will be much more likely to 

 get what they expect. Last season I transferred 

 larva? into 7 cells, and waited results; and what 

 were they? I got two Italian and five full-blooded 

 black queens. The black bees removed the Italian 

 larva;, and replaced them with black larvse. I did 

 my work very carefully. L. S. Jones. 



New Philadelphia, Tusc. Co., O , May 31, 1880. 



You say you did your work very carefully, 

 friend J., and yet you admit, that the blacks 

 had larvse of their own that they could put in 

 place of what you gave them. I should not 

 call that "carefully," at all. We always let 

 them build cells of their own, until their 

 larvae is all out of the hive, and then tear 

 down their cells and graft them, and they 

 are obliged to use the Italian larvse, whether 

 or no. 



AN A B C SCHOLAR'S EXPERIENCE. 



About the 1st of July I sent to you for a dollar 

 queen. She arrived safely on the 7th, when I, being 

 laid up by severe affliction, called on a friend to in- 

 troduce her. He killed the old queen, and intro- 

 duced the Italian, and the bees killed ber right away. 

 I immediately sent to you for another, which arrived 

 in good time, and in good order. I was still in bed, 

 but I got my friend to introduce her. By this time 

 the bees were anxious for a queen, and accepted 

 her at once, and she went to laying right away. But 

 fiom some cause, the colony had become greatly re- 

 duced, and it was very difficult to keep it up in liv- 

 ing order. I was quite busy after I got up from my 

 affliction, and neglected t hem for a couple of weeks, 

 when, about Oct. 1st, I noticed one day while the 

 family were at dinner, that my bees were swarming. 

 I went out and found my Italians leaving their gum; 

 but, fortunately, I had clipped the madam's wings, 

 and she was found on the ground in front of the 

 hive, and we put her back, and all the bees returned 

 at once. I immediately examined the inside of the 

 hive, and found it minus honey, plus a great many 

 worms. I at once removed all the frames that had 

 signs of worms on them, which left me only four 

 sound frames, with no young bees of any age. Bad 

 fix, you say. Well, I thought so too; but I gave them 

 some common sugar syrup, and in two days there 

 were eggs in two of the frames, and in ten days two 

 frames were capped over full of brood, and the bees 

 have been very busy ever since, carrying in pollen. 

 I have kept up the feed; and intend to keep it up 

 through the winter. Do you think I'll bring them 

 through all right? My bees are beautiful three- 

 banded, leather-colored ones; longer, but not so 

 heavy nor plump as my other bees. I have given my 

 Italians two frames of black brood to keep up tho 

 colony since introducing the queen, and I can now 

 every day make a comparison as to size. The Ital- 

 ians seem more lively than the blacks in their mo- 

 tions, but I can not say as to whether they are pref- 

 erable or not. James Bussey. 



Bastrop, La., Oct. 20, 1880. 



You can feed them all winter and build 

 them up, in your locality, without any 



