826 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELD! 



DOES ERYSIPEI.AS AGGRAVATE THE EFFECT OF 



STINGS? 



T COMMENCED by purchasing of you a colony of 

 M Italians, with which, I am glad to state, I am 

 ^It satisfled. The tested queen produces very 

 -*■ handsome workers, and is very prolific. From 

 those Italians I received 25 lbs. of comb honey 

 (15 lbs. white, and 10 of buckwheat); and let me 

 state, I did not get those Italians until the 4th of 

 July; and from this fact, of receiving them on the 

 4th of July, the anniversary of our glorious free- 

 dom, my apiary takes its name. I next purchased 

 12 colonies of bees from a young man near by, who 

 wanted to sell cheap so as to attend school, and ac- 

 cordingly I purchased what he had, although his 

 father always, since 1870, kept them and was loth to 

 part with his old comrades. He could not care for 

 them, as he was subject to erysipelas, and came 

 near dying by being stung by bees. 



I noticed the article in Gleanings of Sept. 15th, 

 " Killed by Bee-Stings," and it then came to my 

 mind that that lady must have been,subject to ery- 

 sipelas; in fact, if such be the case, it will not be 

 safe for such people to interfere with bees. 



From 3 hives of those 12, 1 received 144 lbs. of 

 honey, which was very fine. I have increased my 

 bees until I now have 20 swarms to go into winter 

 quarters with. I intend to winter part on summer 

 stands, and part in cellar, as I have one 12X40, and I 

 hope to give a good report next spring. 



I purchased an imported queen from Frank Ben- 

 ton, and I am glad to say it met with satisfaction. 

 I intend to import a Cyprian and Italian in the 

 spring. The one I received was a Carniolan, a per- 

 fect beauty; and what has been said for the Carni- 

 olans, in my opinion, does not half do them justice. 



Batavia, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1885. F. J. Crowley. 



We are glad to liear tliat yon think tlie 

 Carniolans have not liad jnstice done them, 

 friend ('.—In regard to erysipelas, we shall 

 be glad ot tuither tacts in the matter. Do 

 bee-sliiigs really produce a more aggravated 

 effect where one is thus affected? 



REMOVING BEES IN COLD WEATHER, IX CHAFF 

 HIVES. 



Can bees be moved in cold weather, in a chaff 

 hive, a distance of about 17 miles, without removing 

 the cushion? F. Fox, Jr. 



Cherry Valley, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1885. 



Friend F., it might be done without any 

 trouble ; but if the bees sliould get stirreJl 

 up, and become demoralized, so as to crowd 

 the entrance and the other crevices that fur- 

 nisli air, they would smother. The oidy safe 

 way is to remove the cushion and fasten the 

 cap down so it can not get out of place, put- 

 ting a piece of Avire cloth over the eutrance. 

 They should then l)e left until they settle 

 down quiet— say an hour or two ; then they 

 may be carefully taken up and moved by 

 sled, wagon, or on the cars. If the latter, 

 however, I would, for safety, remove the 

 cover entirely, sul)stitutiug a sheet of wire 

 cloth in its place, then they can not possibly 

 smother. AVhen they reach their destina- 

 tion, let them stand until they get off the 

 wire cloth and get on the combs ; that is, if 



they luive left their combs. After they re- 

 cover so as to be in tlieir normal condition, 

 put in the burlap sheet and cushion as usual. 



AVHERE DID THE EGG COME FROM.-' ANOTHER POSSI- 

 BLE CASE OF A STOLEN EGG. 



1 read friend Knox's article, headed, "Where did 

 the Egg come from?" and also friend Williams'. 

 "Do Bees steal Eggs?" I accordingly concluded to 

 give you a very singular occurrence in my own ex- 

 perience. I got through the winter with four colo- 

 nies, or all I started with. Two were weak, and I 

 took one about 4 miles away to my father-in-law's, 

 during apple-bloom, as there were but few bees 

 near to build up. and they did very well at first. 

 One day I went to look at them, and I saw they were 

 very strong, and would swarm soon; but as my fath- 

 er-in-law was old, to give him no trouble I told him 

 I would come and divide them, as he wanted a colo- 

 ny any way. So I went over again in 22 days, and, 

 alas! no queen nor eggs, and not a worker-bee in 

 a cell, and only 6 or 8 drones, and they dead. ' But 

 there were several queen-cells, all empty but one, 

 and that was sealed. So I waited a day or two, and 

 put in a queen-cell, and examined again in four or 

 five days, and found the first one had hatched, and 

 the one I put in cut down and destroyed. Why 

 would all the workers be hatched, and remaining 

 drone-larva? all dead, if the same queen laid the 

 eggB? 



HOAV LATE CAN QUEENS BE FERTILIZED? 



I tried raising queens from nuclei, and hatch- 

 ed several. Some would be deformed, having but 

 one wing, or some other deficiency, and in a few days 

 disappear. I then tried dividing strong colonies, and 

 made a success of it. One queen hatched about the 

 very last of September or first of October, after ev- 

 erybody said there were no drones. She began laying 

 the first week of October, and everybody said she 

 would be a drone-layer; but her bees are now hatch- 

 ed, and all are workers too. She is two-banded. 

 She is still laying; and of five other colonies, none 

 are laying now, and three quit in September. I fed 

 all of the time, to get into good wintering condition. 



It was a very bad honey season here. Several did 

 not get a taste this season. I took only 2 lbs., and I 

 fed, to five colonies and one nucleus, 140 lbs. of su- 

 gar. I am going to test the chaff hive for wintering, 

 for the first time. I borrowed two of a neighbor 

 Avho lost all of his bees last winter, but from having 

 too much cider, I think. E. B. Haughev. 



Pearson, O., Nov. 7, 1885. 



Friend IL, you liave been raising queens 

 with nuclei that were too weak in bees. 

 With from a pint to a quart of bees, and all 

 other requisites, we have no trouble with de- 

 formed (pieens, or those dehcient in legs or 

 wings. 



A REPORT FHOM ONE OF OUR QUEEN-BREEDERS; 

 MORE ABOUT YELLOW-JESSAMINE HONEY. 



The bees are having a good time of it. and I have 

 lost many a good queen from the nuclei starving, as 

 I have been sick lately. All my full colonies are 

 overrun with honej', top and bottom story alike, 

 not being able to extract any honey since June. 

 The bees had nearly evei'y crack filled when I saw 

 them last. There is no chance now to take it away, 

 and they will have it to winter on. If I am spared 

 to see next spring, won't I have some tall colonics 

 for early queens? I have some splendid stock now. 



