940 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



respond ing'ly hig-her. Then Mr. Doolittle 

 is also a queen-breeder: and had he not 

 been such it would have been difficult for 

 him with onl}" 75 colonies, average, to secure 

 such good results. I do not mean to belittle 

 what our friend has done — not in the least; 

 but one who begins rnnv should understand 

 that the possibilities from so few bees are 

 not so great. — Ed. J 



E. M. E., Ohio. — Queens will sometimes 

 lay two eggs in a cell, provided they are 

 crowded for room; but if a queen is some- 

 what defective she may do so when there is 

 plenty of room. 



L. L. /?., \'a. — It is a very difficult mat- 

 ter to get queens purely mated in localities 

 where black bees have been for a number 

 of years. You will probably have a inixed 

 progeny just as you describe. In regard to 

 the queen that curled up and appeared to 

 be dead, I would state that she had what 

 we call the cramps. It very frequently 

 happens that when a queen is picked up by 

 the wings she will curl up so tightly that 

 she seems to get a hitch in the back, and, as 

 a consequence, lies down and remains ap- 

 parently lifeless; but if put into a cage, and 

 left alone a few minutes, she will be found 

 running about as lively as ever. 



E. O. ()., If. — I think you could use 

 the bees in the greenhouse. There will be 

 some loss from their bumping their heads 

 against the glass, and dying. If possible. 

 keep the temperature higher than 50, at 

 least during the day time. If the tempera- 

 ture goes up to 70 or 80, so the bees can fly. 

 and remains there four or five days, or pos- 

 sibly a week, and then goes down to 50 or 

 lower, a great deal of young brood will be 

 destroyed. You can, if you have had ex- 

 perience enough, transfer the bees in a 

 greenhouse ; but I would now advise you 

 to defer the matter till next spring — say 

 about fruit-blooming time. I should be 

 pleased to have you give us an account of 

 your experience this winter — particularlj^ 

 so if you are successful in avoiding the loss 

 of bees. 



CONVENTION NOTICE. 



The Michigan State Bee-keepers' Association will 

 be held at Petoskey. Jan 1, 2, 1902 This promises to 

 be the largest-attended meeting of the Association in 

 years. Yon are invited to attend. Reduced rates on 

 all railroads. Tickets can be bought the 30th and 1st, 

 good to return not later than the 4th. There will be 

 no set programme, but another of our open-congre.ss 

 meetings; those who have attended in the past know 

 what that means, and those who don't should come 

 and find out. A novel design for badge has been or- 

 dered in honor of Petoskey. 



Geo. E. Hi I, ton. Pres. 



Long tongues are getting to be too much 

 on the order of a " craze." See next issue. 



Mr. Harry S. How?:, of Artemisa, Cuba, 

 the well-known lightning operator, and 

 Miss Maria Habrera, of Hotorro, Cuba, 

 were married at the home of the bride, on 

 the evening of Oct. 11, 1901. Mr. Howe 

 may well consider himself a lucky man, as 

 his wife comes from one of the best families 

 in Cuba. 



Gleanings proposes to have some articles 

 on wintering. While this question of cel- 

 laring bees has been thrashed over and over 

 again, yet I am satisfied there is a good 

 deal to learn along lines that have not been 

 exploited as thoroughh' as they might. One 

 is the matter of having a cellar large in 

 proportion to the ntimber of bees confined 

 in it. 



I w.\s planning to attend the meeting of 

 the Colorado State Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion; but on account of a great pressure of 

 work I found it impossible to get away. 

 The one I did go to two years ago was cer- 

 tainl}' a verj'^ enthusiastic and profitable 

 meeting. The bee-keepers of the Mountain 

 State can get up about as good a conven- 

 tion as those in any other portion of the 

 country. The last meeting, I understand, 

 was a good one — " the best in the history of 

 the Association." 



Since I wrote about one of the bee-para- 

 dises, the one in Texas (indeed, there are 

 several in that State), I have learned with 

 some degree of pleasure that one of my 

 friends, a hustling young man, is about to 

 start a bee- journal. If writing about bee- 

 paradises results in part in the starting- 

 up of healthy competition, I shall feel that 

 I have done good, even if I do have to work 

 a little harder on our own journal. When 

 I say that I wish all our new" rivals suc- 

 cess, I mean it. My little trip of six thou- 

 sand miles has convinced me that this coun- 

 try, with its magnificent distances, is so 

 very large there is no need of our getting 

 jealous of each other. There is plent}^ of 

 room for all. Come on, boys ! we will join 

 hands, i. e., if the "magnificent distances" 

 will permit. 



WILT. THERE BE: LESS ALEALKA HONEY IN 

 THE FUTURE? 



A CORRESPONDENT in this issue refers to 

 the fact that the growers of alfalfa hay are 

 beginning to cut earlier than ustial; that 

 instead of two cuttings in a season the3' 

 now get three. The result is that the mow- 

 er now begins its work just about as soon 

 as the plant begins to bloom. If it should 



