1S85 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



815 



A MODEL BEE - KEEPERS' ASSOCIA- 

 TION. 



THE EDITOR Oi" GLEANINGS IS ASKED TO ANSWER 



SOME QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED BY THE 



FAYETTE COUNTY (OHIO) B. K. A. 



1^'INE months ago the bee-keepers of our coun- 



pKI ty organized an association, and up to the 



1^ present time the readers of your worthy 

 '*■' T journal, except our own members, are in the 

 dark as to what we have and arc doing-. We 

 started out last February with a membership of 10, 

 and now number 34. Wo liave monthly meetings, 

 holding them around at the homes of the different 

 members, each taking his basket well filled, and 

 having a regular picnic dinner; and with our wives, 

 sons, and daughters, we have a general good time, 

 socially as well as mentally. If you will allow me a 

 little space, I will refer brielly to our last meeting, 

 which was held at the home of Bro. Lewis Haines, 

 Oct. 22d. The day being bright and beautiful, add- 

 ed much to the enjoyment (,f the occasion. The 

 time till noon, as is our custom, was occui)ied in 

 looking at some of the outdoor attractions; name- 

 ly, his hexagonal apiary of Italian bees in the Root 

 chaff hive; also his machinery for manufacturing 

 bee-keepers' supplies; and last, but not least, his 

 beautiful carp-pond, situated near and fed by a 

 never-failing spring. The day being a little cool, 

 we did not get to see any carp; but Mr. H. assured 

 us they were there all the same. 



This brings us up to our bountiful feast, of which 

 we all freely partook. After dinner the meeting 

 was called to order by Vice-President Bay, who 

 gave us a brief but appropriate address. There 

 having been no special work assigned to any mem- 

 ber, our question-box was opened, and the follow- 

 ing questions read and discussed very interestingly: 



What is the best mode of wintering becsV 



Is it too late to feed for wintering? 



What is the best mode of spring management? 



Will bees permit a queen and fertile worker to re- 

 main in a hive at the same time, and both raise 

 brood? 



How would you Italianize an apiary in the spring, 

 without interfering with your crop of honey? 



Are bees rearing brood now? if so, is it best for 

 them to rear brood so late in the season? 



Is It best to feed our bees sugar syrup, and sell 

 the product for lioney? This hist question arose 

 from the fact that our market is being supplied 

 now from Columbus with this kind of honey. 



An answer to part or all the questions discussed 

 in our last meeting would be very acceptable. 



The foregoing questions being very interestingly 

 discussed, the meeting adjourned to meet at the 

 home of J. H. Ferguson, four miles east of Wash- 

 ington C. H., on the Circleville pike, Nov. 19, Ks.s.'j. 



Bloomingburg, O. S. K. Morris, Sec. 



Friend M., I congratulate you on your 

 having got started in sncli a liealtliy and in- 

 expensiye way of conducting a local bee- 

 keepers" society. With i)leas^ire, I answer, 

 to the best of liiy ability, the questions pro- 

 pounded, in order: 



The l)est mode of wintering bees must de- 

 pend on the locality and other circumstanc- 

 es. As a general rule, I would say chaff 

 hives, arranged as described in theABC 

 book. 



It is neyer too late to feed for wintering | 



while there is weather warm enough for the 

 bees to fly. 



The best mode of spring management 

 must also depend on circumstances. Watch 

 the bees ; love them and help them. 



Neither Italians nor common bees will, as 

 a rule, permit a fertile worker to remain in 

 a hive while they have a queen ; but the 

 Syrians and Cyprians both at times are 

 guilty of this misdemeanor. 



To Italianize an apiary in the spring, 

 without interfering with the honey yield to 

 some extent, might be a very difficult mat- 

 ter; but the advantage of Italian blood 

 would, under almost all circumstances, be 

 such that tliey would catch up, and more 

 too, before the season is over, so in the end 

 your crop of honey would l)e greater. 



Bees will be rearing brood now where the 

 colony has a young queen, where thev have 

 been fed, or where they get late forage ; and 

 sometimes strong colonies will raise brood 

 in Novembei- any way. 



It is jirrer l>est to feed bees sugar, aiul sell 

 the product for honey. Honesty used to be 

 the best policy, and I guess there'is no doubt 

 but that it is vet. I)ear friends, are you 

 sure that anybody is i)nttiiig a producton the 

 Columbus market, under the name of honey, 

 that is only sugar fed to lieesV This is a seri- 

 ous charge, and we ought to be very careful 

 that we are right before we accuse anybody. 



CARNIOIiANS AS COMB-BUILDEES. 



NOT DISPOSED TO MAKE PROPOLIS; SOMETHING 

 ABOUT BREEDING THEM. 



fKIEND ROOT:-I herewith send you a letter 

 that was written to me, which I think gives 

 more information regarding the Carniolan 

 bees than any thing I have seen in any of 

 the bee-journals; and if you think it worthy 

 of a place in Gleanings I should be glad to have 

 you publish it. Chas. D. Duvall. 



Spenccrville, Md., Oct. 30, 1S85. 



We give place to the letter below: 

 Mr. C.D.Duvall:- 



1 have raised over 100 Carniolan queens this fall, 

 and find more yellow in the race than I expected, 

 though some queens, whose bees show considerable 

 yellow at first, raise very nice bees when six 

 months or a yeai old, as their yellow mostly proves 

 to be a reddish band, as Mr. Benton calls it. But I 

 find there are some Carniolans that resemble the 

 cross between them and Italians. The yellow is in 

 drones as well as workers, and in imported stocks 

 as well as home-bred queens. The first queen I sent 

 you was raised from an extra imported queen; but 

 if she is mated pure it must have been with one of 

 those yellow drones, and those yellow drones you 

 will find to be all through the race; but some 

 queens raise much finer-looking ones, and of a 

 more uniform color, than others. 



It is much harder to get good specimens cf this 

 race than Italians, and some have so much yellow 

 in markings, that, if we raise them for sale, we 

 shall have to test them and price them according 

 to grade and markings of bees. The most reliable 

 test for some is, that pure Carniolans carry no 

 propolis, but they will make use of It if there is 

 any on framcS. I could mail you a piece of duck 



