ls^J 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



139 



few hours in the afternoon. Now, in this 

 case I do not think a single bee in the whole 

 nucleus lost a sting. The dead bees that 

 covered the alighting-board and partly filled 

 the hive were all blacks. r and 1 do not re- 

 member of finding a single Italian among 

 the mass of dead ones. In such cases they 

 certainly do not lose their stings nor receive 

 any harm. I have, however, seen bees, 

 when trying to sting a strange queen, sting 

 each other in such a way as to leave the 

 sting fast in the dead bee. In such a case I 

 can not see how the unscrewing operation 

 can be put in practice at all, for the dead bee 

 lias not weight enough, and, of course, does 

 not cling to any thing, so that the one that 

 stung him has to lug him around or loosen 

 his sting as best he can. 



]5eTEj3 wo QnE^iEg. 



We solicit for this department short items and questions of 

 a practical nature; but all QUESTIONS, if accompanied by oth- 

 er matter, must be put upon a separate slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



BEES WORKING IN JANUARY. 



Y bees were busy at work, Jan. 23, 24, and 25. 



working on the hickory stumps where 



clearing is being done on my father's farm. 



But since that it has been very cold. I do 



not mean the thermometer has been 40° 



below zero, for it has been down to only 8 above 



zero. My bees are in a splendid condition. 



Loring, Kansas, Jan. 27, 1889. P. C. Chadwick. 



FROM 5 TO 21, AND 1703 LBS. OK HONEY. 



I commenced last spring with five colonies of 

 Italians, and increased to 21 during the season, and 

 got 1700 lbs. of honey. I have about 40 gallons of 

 candied honey on hand now. A. Thames. 



Blum, Texas, Jan. 2, 1889. 



TOWARD WHICH POINT OF THE COMPASS SHOULD 

 THE HIVES FACE? 



What side do you prefer for the bees to fly? I 

 think to the east is the best, winter and summer? 



Deshler, O., Dec. 3, 1888. T. Oberhitner. 



[We have for years tried hives with their entrances 

 facing toward the different points of the compass; 

 and, take it all through, for a whole year, the differ- 

 ence is so slight that I do not think it material. 1 



to clean tin honey-cans. 



What is the best way to clean last year's tin hon- 

 ey-cans that are a little rusty inside, for honey 

 next year? P. Mullen. 



Green Isle, Minn., Jan. 14, 1889. 



[I do not know any better way to clean honey- 

 cans, where the opening is too small for the hand 

 to go inside, than to put in some coarse sand, and 

 shake it about until it scours off the rust. If you 

 can get your hand through the opening, take some 

 sand on a cloth, and scour it bright.] 



CARBOLIC ACID VS. SMOKE, FOR INTIMIDATING 

 BEES, ETC. 



I don't see any thing in your journal, about the 

 carbolic spray. I have used it, and find it very suc- 

 cessful. I never use a smoker now (and I never did 

 smoke), so I am not asking for one. I find the 

 spray the best quieter, and quickest for manipulat- 

 ing, and it keeps bees healthy. J. Dann. 



Wisbech, Scotland, Jan. 15, 1889. 



[We have tried the carbolic-acid spray in lieu of 

 smoke. It will answer tolerably well if the smoker 



does not happen to be handy; but for real execu- 

 tion, smoke is far ahead. We have tried a great 

 many substitutes; but every time we have gone 

 back, fully satisfied that smoke is better.] 



WHICH GOES OUT WITH THE SWARM? 



When a swarm of bees comes out naturally, does 

 the virgin queen come out, or does the old one 

 come out? Which one leaves the old home or hive? 



Bee-Keeper. 



[The old queen leaves with the first swarm of 

 the season, and this rule has but few exceptions; in 

 fact, with the Italians, a great part of the time the 

 old queen leaves before the young one is hatched, 

 and sometimes even before a queen-cell is built, so 

 you see it can not possibly be the young queen, 

 when there is not any young queen at all in the 

 hive - ] 



eight ok ten frame hives— which ? 



In handling my bees last year it seemed to me 

 that 10 frames in the Simplicity hive were too many, 

 as you recommend in the ABC book, both 

 in the brood-chamber and in top story, for the pro- 

 duction of honey. Do you still claim 10 frames as 

 the right number in the Simplicity hive? 



Edwin Holtkamp. 



Bellville, Tex., Jan. 22, 1889. 



[An eight-frame hive may be better for the pro- 

 duction of comb honey; but for a general-purpose 

 hive, and particularly one for extracting, we should 

 prefer one with ten frames.] 



HONEY-JUMBLES ; SOUTH MISSOURI. 



Will you please give a recipe for making honey- 

 jumbles? Can you or any of your readers give me 

 any knowledge of the honey resources of South 

 Missouri? S. G. Palmer. 



Tobias, Neb., Jan. 4, 1889. 



LThe nicest honey-jumbles are made only by ap- 

 propriate machinery^ such as is to be found in large 

 bakeries— at least, that is my impression.— The 

 only way to find out about the honey resources of 

 Southern Missouri, or any other particular locality, 

 that 1 know of, is to look over the reports in the 

 back volumes of the different bee-journals. If you 

 contemplate moving, it might pay you to purchase 

 all the back volumes you can find, and hunt them 

 over. Better still, tro on an excursion-trip and 

 make inquiries. }» 



I^EFei^Fff Digcea^eiNe. 



NO LOSS DURING WINTER, BUT DISCOURAGING 

 JUST THE SAME. 



Y report for the last two years has been dis- 

 couraging. I feed more syrup than I get 

 honey; but I am not discouraged. lam 

 going to hold on a while longer. I have 

 been in the business four years. I have 

 now 24 stands in good condition. I take Glean- 

 ings, and have your ABC book. I use your chaff 

 hives, and I have never lost a colony yet. 

 Horatio, Ohio. Jan. 28, 1889. Noah Thomas. 



NOT PAID EXPENSES; WHY THE BEES DIED. 



My bees have not paid expenses for the last two 

 years, and I am getting tired of stuffing bees and 

 getting no stuffing. I was not at home in the fall 

 when they should have been fed, and some of them 

 have died with cramp in the stomach. Will you 

 please say whether you know, by experience or 

 otherwise, the effect of beet-sugar candy, shorten- 

 ed with flour, for this fatal disease? I gave them all 

 a dose of that kind of medicine a few days ago, to 

 see how it would work. M. V. Ewbank. 



Wheatland, Tnd., Jan. 29, 1889. 



Beet sugar is not equal to cane sugar for 

 winter food— at least, the editor of the 



