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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar 15 



precipitation, while the honey was stored in a 

 large settling-tank, after which, drawing it 

 off into square cans or barrels. But clarifying 

 honey by precipitation is not necessary un- 

 less the honey is very light in coloi, and is 

 used for bottling purposes. 



I should like to receive an article from 

 some of our large extracted-honey producers 

 in this matter of clarifying extracted honey 

 for market. Which is the more practicable — 

 straining the honey a la Kuehne, or clarifying 

 it by means of preciptation ? And, by the 

 way, this question of producing a crystalline 

 extracted honey has not been very much dis- 

 cussed. Tell us the whole story. — Ed.] 



QUESTIONS ON WINTERING BEES. 



Please answer the following questions, 

 through Gleanings : 



1. How large an entrance, and of what di- 

 mensions, should bees have that are wintered 

 on their summer stands, without an)' packing 

 except on top ? Would it make any difference 

 if they were wintered on closed-end brood- 

 frames or in double-walled hives so far as the 

 entrance is concerned ? 



2. How many pounds of comb honey would 

 a colony average in an average locality, sup- 

 posing it to be in good condition every spring, 

 and not throw out any swarms ? Make an es- 

 timate. 



3. If I should give my honey a good sulphur- 

 ing on taking it from the hives, would I have 

 to sulphur it again ? 



4. What do you think of closed-end brood- 

 frames the size of the Langstroth, for comb 

 honey .'' Would they handle easily ? 



5. I have been troubled with my new 

 swarms leaving their new hives and going to 

 the woods. Could I prevent this by tacking 

 " perforated zinc " over the entra- ce? 



6. How would you manage outyards for 

 comb honey when there is no one to watch for 

 swarms? It seems to me if the entrance were 

 covered with perforated zinc the queen would 

 have to be replaced by a new one every two 

 years or so, or she would be superseded by a 

 young queen that could not get out of the hive 

 to be fertilized. 



I see you think it necessary, in cold climates, 

 to winter bees in double- walled or chaff hives. 

 I know of a man who has wintered his bees, 

 for the past 20 years, in single-walled hives. 

 He lays two sticks crosswise of the brood- 

 frames, throws some old cloths over the sticks, 

 packs them down tight, and his bees are ready 

 for winter. His bees are protected from the 

 cold winds by a windbreak of evergreens. 

 They are in the best condition in the spring of 

 any bees I know of, and we have quite a severe 

 winter here too. The weather has played 

 a'^out zero for a spell of two weeks or more 

 sometimes. Beginner. 



Ashtabula Co., O. 



[1. For outdoor wintering, an entrance ^^X 

 8 inches for an average strong colony is about 

 right. For a weaker colony, a shorter entrance 

 in proportion should be used. Closed-end 

 frames are certainly a pro ection, but the use 



of them would probably make no difference as 

 to the size of the entrance. 



2. It is pretty hard to give an average, as 

 every thing depends on locality ; but in Ohio, 

 from 10 to 50 lbs., or, we will say, an average 

 of 40 lbs. if we take a series of ten years. 



3. Probably not 



4. A good deal depends on the style of the 

 closed-end frames. One like the Danzenbaker 

 would do very nicely in a hive as deep as the 

 Langstroth ; but one like the Heddon would 

 not answer unless there were plenty of end 

 play. 



5. Clipping the wings of the queen, or using^ 

 entrance-guards, would prevent swarms from 

 going to the woods. 



6. Different plans are used. Some clip the 

 queen's wings ; but this is unsatisfactory. 

 Some use a hive so large that the brood nests 

 can not be cramped for room ; but if the local- 

 ity is not favorable, little if any comb honey 

 would be secured. Some cage the queen or re- 

 move her entirely, and then destroy the cells 

 in nine days and again in nine days. No one 

 general plan can be recommended, because so 

 much depends on the locality and the indi- 

 vidual. 



Queens would not be replaced if the colonies 

 were looked after. The zinc should be re- 

 moved after the honey season, and be kept fff I 

 till it comes on again. It is true, bees can be 

 wintered in single-walled hives outdoors in 

 cold localities. There are exceptions to all 

 good rules. In the case referred to, the wind- 

 breaks are over half the battle. Of two 

 things, good windbreaks or double-walled 

 hives, I think I would take the former. — Ed } 



bees and alfalfa hay. 



Do the bees lessen the value of alfalfa hay 

 in any way by gathering nectar from its bloom 

 before being cut for hay ? Some of the cattle- 

 raisers and ranchmen claim we should not 

 keep bees, as they take for every pound of 

 honey gatherel from the alfalfa-bloom just 

 that many pounds of fat off their beef cattle. 

 While I do not think this is the case, I should 

 be glad to have it explained by those in posi- 

 tion to know the facts. J. E. Pryor. 



Eagalite, Colo., Jan. 28. 



[The claim of the cattle-men is most silly 

 and absurd. Show them a copy of the ABC 

 book, and refer them to the article on fruit- 

 blossoms, where there is any amount of proof 

 to show that bees do a great deal of good in 

 the setting and perfecting of most fruit. If 

 tkey are of value to fruit they certainly would 

 be, to say the least, not harmful to the growth 

 of alfalfa hay. But here is a fact, and it 

 stands uncontradicted : The first seed crop of 

 red clover is usually not nearly as good as the 

 second one, for the simple reason that the 

 bees do not get at the blossoms of the first 

 crop Here is another fact : The farmers of 

 Australia were not able to grow red-clover 

 seed until they imported bees. When they 

 did so they could grow seed as well as we can 

 here in America. It should be remembered 

 that red clover and alfalfa are very near rela- 



