676 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



great deal ol' 1113' birds, and do not wish to saeriBce 

 them until the tact ia fully established that they are 

 an injury to my neijrhbor. The birds are company 

 lor me, and are also useful in keepinfr the hawks 

 away from my poultry. I know i>rotessional bee- 

 meu in Ohio (iny native State), and also in tliis 

 State, who kee]) martins on their i)remises, and it 

 strikes me they would not do so if the nuirtins ate 

 their working- bees. A. V. Lvr.E. 



("line, Texas. 



Friend L., I am sorry to say Ihal martins 

 do sometime.s learn to eat l)ees ; and, for 

 that matter so do common fowls occasional- 

 ly. It seems to be an acquired habit, like 

 hens eating tomatoes, cucumbers, and the 

 like. Sometimes, when short of food, they 

 get the hang of it and remember it as long 

 as they live; and then, again, tliey never 

 notice thein at all. I would try "placing 

 plenty of such food a.s the martiiis prefer. 

 ■where they can get it conveniently, and may 

 be they will give up bees. When any i>f the 

 feathered tribes, however, discover what a 

 sweet morsel a heavily laden bee is to the 

 V)alate, it is not so easy to get them over it. 

 Perhajts when the bees cease gathering hon- 

 ey, and stop tumbling around their hives, 

 heavily laden, the mischief may cease. 



HOW TO MAIL QUEENS SAFLI.V. 



Many of our friends north ask for our seent in 

 always sending- queens safelj'. Oui- losses ui) to 

 .luly 30th were one-fourth of one per cent. We use 

 well-ripened honey (ripened in the hive), and pure 

 l)ulverizcd sugar. Make it so that it will not run- 

 not too thiek. Make it as \ ou need it for each luail- 

 hiij, and mail tlie queens as soon as the eages are 

 ready. Send out no (jueen that is not a gcod layer, 

 as this is the iiroof of health and condition. Use 

 l>recaution in caging; be very careful in handling 

 her nui.jesty. We rarely touch her. Do not use the 

 smoker. We use the I'eet cag(^ lor mailing, and 

 send from Oregon to Maine without loss, other than 

 delay, or. we should say, astrays. .1. W. K. Smaw. 



[,ore:mville. La., Aug. 13, 1885. 



(juite a number of times this fall. 1 know 

 of only two causes to produce such results. 

 Tho first is, scanty stores, or. in other words, 

 starvation. As alast resort, the bees will 

 uncap the larva^ to suck the juices, and the 

 lifeless bodies will be seen scattered around 

 the entrance. The other cause is the work 

 of the moth. The moth worms often tunnel 

 under the bodies of the l)rot)d : and the bees, 

 in their efforts to dig out the mischief, will 

 sometimes tear consideiablc brood, sacrific- 

 ing the life of ^onie of tlieir offspring, as a 

 last resort to save the life of ilip whole col- 

 ony. I have never known this sort of trou- 

 ble to be worse on new comlis of fdii.. liut 

 usually to tiie c:jntiary. 



DOKS A l-KHTll,i; VfEK.V EVEK I.K.AVi: Till; IIIVK. 

 i:XlEl'T AT SWAKMING TIME? 



Woiiia the (jueen I got last spring leavr the hive 

 and go to another, eight feet away? 



A/.le, Texas, Sept. II, issr,. o. L. KiMBUoufiH. 



Friend K., this question has been discuss- 

 ed quite a little in someof ottr back volumes. 

 As a rule, a fertile queen never leaves a 

 hive except with a swarm ; but there seem 

 to be some exceptions to this rule. Thus, 

 queens have been found in a hive several 

 feet away, without any apparent explana- 

 tions in the matter. \\'e once found the 

 (|ueeiis had changed places in two hives, 

 about the distance apart you mention. One 

 of them we knew, because both of her wings 

 had been clipped entirely off. Such changes 

 are sometimes made wiiile extracting, the 

 ipieen being carelessly shaken in front of the 

 hive, and by mistake crawling into some 

 other one instead of her own. 



i CAlt.MOF,A.\ Rl 



lSTIN(il- 



lliriAll.lNfi EXTRACTED HONEV IN WAL.NLT SHOV,- 

 CASES. 



I lia\e had a great many large show-cases, built 

 of walnut and ash, to hold a large quantity of box 

 honey and ornamental tumblers of extracted, and 

 liavc placed them in the principal stores throughout 

 the city, and they keep account of what they sell, 

 and settle whenever I say so. They seem to prefer 

 this plan rather than paying cash for a single crate 

 of IS boxes; because whatever they can not sell I 

 iiave agreed to take back, and they receive their 

 percentage on what they sell. I5ut this plan has al- 

 most blocked out all the sales of all the small bee- 

 keepers who used to sell small (piantities for cash. 

 They, of cviurse, don't like my style of doing busi- 

 ness; but my aim has always been to be ahead in 

 the hoiu'y line, although T find myself behind in 

 some others. .1. C. Simmons. 



Pottsville, Pa., Sept. 4. 1885. 



IMMATUHE KKOOD; WHY DO 11E1:S ( AltUV IT OCT? 



Will you please tell us what makes oui- bees un- 

 cap and carry out of the hive hatching brood from 

 new combs on foundationy The.v are strong in bees, 

 have i)leiity of honey and brood in all stjigcs, and 

 no signs of moth worms in the hive. 



Ouincy, Mich., Sept. 4, 1H8.J. M. .1. Ka-.vso.v. 



The above question has been answered 



\ND HOW TO 



j caossEs. 



; I concur with the article by Dr. E. K. lUanck, on 



i page .5!)6 of Geeanincs, but I now feel safe in say- 



! ing something more of Caruiolan bees. You ask 



[ how we shall distinguish crosses with our native 



, bees. 1 answer, by their behavior, if not by color. 



, 1 have not seen a cross by nati\ e drones; but when- 



j ever we get in any bees the disposition of unrest bc- 



I longing to our native race, we will reject them. 



i Caruiolan bees are not disturbed by lifting their 



combs from the hive; and I believe it will be found 



that their cross with blacks will be a ^■ery much bet- 



j ter race than the cross of Italians with blacks. 



j Another point I make for Caruiolan bees is. 



, that they are more readily gotten off the combs 



and sections when you want them oti'. This trait 



j will commend them to all, for it is a matter of im- 



j portance when rcjbbers are around thickly. They 



I again differ, as widely as can be, from our black 



I bees, when shaken off the combs, in not flying 



j ai-ound, but at once crawling into the hive again. 



Carniolan queens, when mated with Italian drones, 



produce some beautiful bees, some having three 



bands and some none, but all with the gray or white 



bands of down, behind the yellow bands. I send 



you a cage with some of llicse bees. I ha\c llnish- 



ed re(iu('i'iiiiig my whole apiary of (i^; colonies wHIi 



Caruiolan queens. 1 repeat, let us choose queens 



on a(;couiit of their quality, and not on account of 



their dress. S. W. Mohuison. :>!. I). 



Oxford, I'a., Sept., 1S85. 



j Thanks, friend JVL, for the cage of bees, 

 I and for your suggestions. I agree with you 



