66(1 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



crude sugars, arc put in molds, and clay is placed 

 on the top of each mold, and water is filtered down 

 through the claj- and the sugar, which bleaches it 

 white. 



Our bees are jubihiiit over the enormous white- 

 clover honey harvest which they are garnering up 

 rapidly. They built up surprisingly on the fruit- 

 bloom. ('. F. MiLLKK. 



Dundas, Minn. 



Thanks, friend M. It had already oc- 

 cnired to me that the lioney would have to 

 be reduced witli water before it could go 

 through this filter of animal charcoal. Then, 

 of course, we should be obliged to thicken it 

 again by boiling or evaporating; and unless 

 we liave expensive apparatus for the pur- 

 pose, I am afraid we should injure the color 

 and rt ivor of the honey more than it would 

 be benefited. At present it does not seem 

 as if the plan were very practicable. 



CAGING QUEEN-CELLS. 



SOME DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING IT. 



'E are having a rather poor honey season. 

 We got no honey from clover, to speak of. 

 There was plenty of bloom, but too much 

 I'ain; and now we are in a great basswood 

 How, but poor weather for the little fellows 

 to work. One day it was so cold they hardly left 

 the hive, although the day before they had just 

 been rolling in honey; then we have so much high 

 wind here in the prairie, and now it has been rain- 

 ing the most of the time for three days and nights. 

 I have increased from 6 to 18; have sold several 

 queens, and the most of my hives are very strong 

 and active, but they don't take possession of the 

 supers very readily. I put starters in all but part 

 of one frame. I put in small pieces of comb, and 

 those they went right into the same day. 



I lost nearly all of the first lot of queens that I 

 had hatch out. I was working away from home, 

 and could see them only nights and mornings, so 

 you know what happened. The fli-st that hatched 

 destroyed the rest, so I fi.xed some little cages and 

 put the cells in them, and hung a frame full of these 

 in a hive. 1 have had good success in this way. 

 One cell got badly dented; and when it hatched the 

 queen had frizzled "bangs," or her wings were friz- 

 zled or curled up so she could not fly. M'e tried to 

 straighten them, but could not, and to-day I find 

 another with one wing curled up. What can be the 

 causeV and will they ever get so as to fly? 



1 saw an article in a book called "100,000 Facts," by 

 one Shafer, in regard to fertilizing queens in con- 

 flnenaent, telling just how to do it. I have fixed a 

 cage, and am going to try it. Now, is this a fact or 

 a fancy? If it has been done as long as he says, 

 why haven't we known it before';' 

 Sac City, Iowa, July 22, 188.5. John Baiilow. 



Friend B., one great reason why we gave 

 up caging tiueen-cells is, that so many of the 

 queens would be hatched with Irnperfert legs 

 or wings, especially when we began to have 

 cool nights. Tlie animal heat of a colony of 

 bees is not sufficient for the purpose, only in 

 July and perhaps the month of August. 

 Even then we occasionally have cool nights 

 tliat produce such results as you mention.— 

 Fertilizing queens in confinement is an e.x- 



ploded myth, as you will see by the A B C 

 book. It is true, "however, that every once 

 in about so often somebody comes up and, 

 thinks he has made it a success; but it is 

 usually soon dropped again. I would not 

 advise anybody to waste time with it. 



INTRODUCING VIRGIN QUEENS. 



SOME VAI.L'ABLK FACTS GLEANED FROM EXPEIII- 

 ENCE. 



M.VKE a common practice of letting virgin 

 queens run in at the entrance, as soon us pos- 

 sible after a colony has sent out a first swarm. 

 .\s a large part of the bees left in the old hive 

 are young bees, the queen is hardly noticed, 

 and, true to her instinct, she destroys the queen- 

 cells, preventing all after-swarming. I also remove 

 laying queens and introduce virgin queens at once, 

 with good success, never having lost more than a 

 small per cent of those introduced in this way. My 

 experience has been, that the action of the queen 

 has a good deal to do with safe introduction. If 

 they are strong, and able to stand up for their 

 rights, they are less liable to be killed than weak 

 ones that are just able to crawl. 



WINTERING. 



We have experimented pretty thoroughly, and 

 have had the best success packed in chaff on sum- 

 mer stands, with good well-ripened honey for stores. 

 Pollen they will not eat, if they have plenty of other 

 stores. When they get out of other stores they will 

 eat pollen rather than starve. 



THE FOUNTAIN PUMP. 



With one of these we control the clustering of 

 swarms. If they commence clustering on high 

 trees, out of reach, by directing a stream of water 

 on the limb they will leave it and cluster on a lower 

 limb. 



ALSIKE CLOVER. 



I believe this to be one of the best paying plants 

 for artificial pasturage. We have about 30 acres, 

 and with us it has never failed to yield a fair 

 amount of honey. This season white clover was al- 

 most an entire failure, and nearly all of our white 

 honey was from alsike. It is equal in every respect 

 to the best white-clover honej. Aside from the 

 honey obtained from it, it pays well to raise as a 

 hay crop. 



BUCKWHEAT. 



Buckwheat also pays well in this locality. It sel- 

 dom fails to give something, and some seasons we 

 get immense yields of honey from it. The best 

 variety which has come under my notice is the "lit- 

 tle silverhull." This is far ahead of the old " silver- 

 hull," both for honey and grain. 



SUMAC. 



.Vo have had our first experience with this, this 

 season. It lasted about a week. The strongest col- 

 onies stored whole crates (43 lbs.) from this source 

 alone. The honey is darker than clover, but when 

 well ripened it is nearly as good, and is selling at. 

 tlie same i)rice in our markets. 



H— O. G. Russell, 34—38. 



.\ftoii, N. v., Sept. 7, 1885. 



Friend H., I should agree with you in al- 

 most all you say ; but this is the first time I 

 ever heard of more than one kind of silver- 

 hull buckwheat. Where did the seed come 

 from, and has it been advertised under the 

 name you give it? Alsike clover. I believe. 



