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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Dec. 



A GOOD REPORT OF THE BATCHELDOR DRONE-TttAp, 

 FEEDING BEES IN WINTER. 



In loiykiug- over Gleanings for Nov. 1, page 756, 

 I saw a report of friend Batcheldor's drone-trap. 

 My experience with two the past season has been 

 very satisfactory. We have caged queens four 

 times, one of them being- a clipped queen. It has 

 never failed to cage a queen, that I know of, when 

 it was properly adjusted, and I now exclaim, " No 

 more trouble in swarming; no more hurrying, for 

 fear that the colony will go to the woods; no sawing 

 of a neighbor's trees, or treading down grass." But 

 when I am told that the bees are swarming, and as 

 soon as they begin to cluster (which will be on the 

 trap), I place them at the entrance of the new hive, 

 release the queen, and when the bees are nearly all 

 in I give the hive a new location, and place the trap 

 on the same, which will prevent them from leaving 

 the hive, which they might do if it wei-e not for the 

 trap. 



A TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR. 



Page T55, Gleanings, in speaking of feeding bees 

 in cold weather, you say there is a danger of the 

 queen taking wing. Why is she more liable to leave 

 the combs in cold weather than warm, as we have 

 rarely known them to leave them in warm weather? 

 With the feeder that we use there is no danger of 

 the queens leaving the comb, or of the bees being 

 drowned. I also notice, on page 748, an item in re- 

 gard to a bad odor about the hives in the fall of the 

 year. If it were herein New Hampshire, I should 

 call it the goldenrod. A. H. Hauvey. 



Keene, N. H., Nov. 19, 1885. 



Friend IL, you have got hold of a very 

 bad typographical error. I had no thought 

 of saying that the queen took wing in cold 

 weather, or under any other circumstances. 

 It should have read that the bees take wing. 

 The bhuuler escaped my eye, and also the 

 eye of two proof-readers. 



UNTESTED QUEENS FROM THE SOUTH IN THE 

 WINTER TIME. 



I should like to take advantage of your very clov- 

 er offer in Gleanings, of u free advertisement for 

 Southern queen-raisers. If you will, you may an- 

 nounce that I will furnish Italian queens by the 

 half-dozen at 80 cents each; or single queens, at 90 

 cents. What about guaranteeing safe arrival? I 

 will leave it to you to insert or not. To the South- 

 ern States it would be safe to guarantee safe ar- 

 rival; but to the colder States it seems to me that, 

 in case a queen died, another one at half-price 

 would bo fair, or charge SI. 00 in the first place. I 

 will simply state what I wish to accomplish, and let 

 you insert what, in your judgment, you think best. 

 I shall be more anxious to get my name before 

 the bee-beepers than to make money; still, 1 do not 

 want to lose any. 1 have no bees but Italians. The 

 young queens wiil be raised from a choice, select, 

 tested queen. I have over 20 colonies anti nuclei, 

 but only a dozen are run for queen-rearing. Please 

 announce onJr/ what you think best. I.. W. G ray. 



Orlando. Fla., Nov. 21, 1885. 



Friend (i., I think it would be better for 

 you to make the arrangement directly with 

 your customers, although I will suggest, if 

 you wish. I think you liad l)ctter keep the 

 price at $1.00 in the winter time, and rei)la('e 

 where the queens are evidently dead from 

 want of care in putting them up. This, of 



course, will call for a little charity on your 

 part, as well as on the part of the friends 

 who receive them, in deciding where the 

 fault is. We received some queens a few 

 days ago, when it was quite cold. They Avere 

 put in wooden cages, without any metal ex- 

 cept the wire cloth, and were packed in 

 several folds of soft tiannel. Not a queen 

 nor bee was dead. 



Friend G., the important matter is. Have 

 you some untested queens all ready to mail 

 now V You do not say you have or have 

 not ; but we want somebody who has the 

 queens all ready to ship, and we want them 

 to advertise in this way ; like this, for in- 

 stance : 



Ready to Mail.— I have 17 young queens that have 

 just commenced to lay, which I will ship promptly 

 at .^1.00 each. Safe arrival guaranteed, if they are 

 uncaged and handled according to the printed in- 

 structions accompanying the package. 



John Jones. 



The printed instructions accompanying 

 the package should be something like this : 



Keep this package out of the frost as much as 

 possible. Unroll it in a moderately warm room; 

 and if the bees and queen seem chilled, leave them 

 several hours where the thermometer stands at 

 70 degrees, before you decide they are dead. When 

 they begin to move, a little warm honey might be 

 given them on the point of a pin; but don't daub 

 the poor little fellows, whatever you do. When 

 they are lively, introduce them according to the 

 usual method. 



Halloo! here is one name already, and it 

 is not from away down south either : 



Please insert my name in Gleanings, for sending 

 queens during the winter months as you offer to do 

 free of charge. I have a number of untested 

 queens on hand, and can fill orders by return mail. 



Mechanicstown, Md. Simon P. Roddy. 



And still another: 



I have 18 untested queens which any one can 

 have at §1.00 each, by return mail. 



Stateburg, Sumter Co., S. C. W. J. Ellison. 



some kind words from friend parshall, aft- 

 er he got over his hurt (see p. 347). 



I have been wanting to write for a long time> 

 mostly to thank several of the bee-brethren, and 

 some of the sisters, who have written to me, sym- 

 pathizing with me in my loss and bad luck. There 

 is one, Sarah J. Axtell, Roseville, 111.; H.J.Han- 

 cock, of Siloam Springs, Ark.; Mr. Hughes, of Illin- 

 ois, and a brother at New Orleans. I thank some 

 for sending (juecns and others offering me bees. 

 Some of their addresses I have lost. God is the 

 only one who knows how my heart swelled with 

 gratitude, and how I say, " God bless them." I 

 want them all to feel that I appreciate their offers 

 to me, just the same as though I had accepted them. 

 I was so badly crippled that I could not do a lick of 

 work till in July, and this is my first writing. It 

 was my "write" arm and hand tiiat got terribly 

 iiiangleii. 1 can not shut my hand yet. 

 jiY report. 



I commenced the season with seven colonies— six 

 good, one very weak. I increased to 35 by natural 

 swarming; have taken 1.500 lbs. of extracted and 



000 lbs. comb honey. I am selling my honey at 

 home for 10 cts. for extracted and 15 cts. for comb. 



1 have sold the most of it. My bees all have lots of 

 winter stores. God has wonderfully blessed me, 



