1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



265 



haste to sell hatching eggs to all his neighbors at 

 "two dollars a sitting." Before he is well aware of 

 it he finds everybody crowded with that kind of 

 chickens and he himself trying to trade his fine 

 eggs at nine cents a dozen to the village grocer for 

 molasses and stale cheese. Just so in the bee-busi- 

 ness. A man gets a few bees, and hastens to adver- 

 tise " Bees and Queens for Sale." He discounts his 

 future profits for present benefits, and shortly finds 

 all his neighbors in the bee-business, the locality 

 overstocked, and his honey begging for a market. 

 Philo S. Dilworth. 

 Pittsburgh, Pa., March 5, 1889. 



I also am opposed to any monopoly that 

 works injustice to the poor, and I also be- 

 lieve that the way to secure exclusive terri- 

 tory is to make a contract with your neigh- 

 bors not to keep bees if you can do so ; and 

 I still think that, in many neighborhoods, 

 this can be accomplished. If we are going 

 to raise forage for bees, and have a boney- 

 farm, it would be of the utmost importance 

 that the adjoining farms should agree not 

 to keep bees. Why can't it be managed as 

 well as they manage the matter of making 

 leases when drilling for gas and oil? Be- 

 fore men go to the expense of sinking a well, 

 they very carefully lease the land adjoining, 

 so as to have the control of the locality in 

 case it should be found to be a valuable one. 

 Now, while it is true that the man who gets 

 a new kind of poultry may stock the neigh- 

 borhood until he runs the price down, I 

 think great good comes from this kind of 

 work, many times, without getting the 

 price down, or, if you choose, before the 

 price gets down. Surely it is better to buy 

 choice stock of any kind of your neighbors 

 than to send away off to a distance, pay 

 heavy express charges, and then get some- 

 thing you have not seen before handing over 

 your money. In the same way I believe it 

 pays most bee-keepers to advertise bees and 

 queens for sale. Now, none of you need ac- 

 cuse me of saying the above from selfish in- 

 terests, because I have just advised very 

 strongly trading with your neighbors in- 

 stead of sending away off to a distance ; and 

 I do think that bees and queens had very 

 much better be bought near your own home, 

 than to send away off, take the risks of 

 heavy charges, damage in transportation, 

 and may be getting foul brood besides. 

 When it is impossible to get what you real- 

 ly need, in your own neighborhood, why, 

 then, of course, you can call in the aid of 

 the express and freight companies. 



HOUSE-FLIES, AGAIN. 



A subscriber from Ohio says he finds myriads of 

 flies in his horse manure in winter. He says that, 

 as the eggs were laid last summer, drawing the 

 manure out in winter would freeze out the in- 

 sects. This is not true. The house-fly hibernates 

 in winter— this is genuine hibernation; so eggs 

 will be laid next spring. This explains why flies 

 are scarce in early spring and summer. They breed 

 rapidly, and become very numerous by fall. The 

 same subscriber says: A neighbor drew out all his 

 manure in winter. Soon his manure heap was full 

 of house-flies, yet all was made in the last two 

 weeks. An explanation is asked for. I answer, 

 there is some mistake. House-flies do not breed in 



winter, and all insects come from eggs; thus if 

 flies were seen they came from eggB laid last 

 autumn. Hence either the manure was not drawn 

 out clean, or else some old manure, or rubb : =h with 

 eggs, was thrown out with the manure. Flies do 

 not lay eggs in winter, in the North. All insects 

 come from eggs. Any observations that seem to 

 contradict these statements need to be repeated. 

 Agricultural College. Mich. A. J. Cook. 



I think your explanation is correct, friend 

 Cook. When our friend wrote me, it did 

 not occur to me that the eggs laid by flies 

 might remain several weeks or months, un- 

 til the temperature was right. If this is so, 

 it will account for the presence of larva- in 

 the manure, which I presume has been ob- 

 served by many, even during the winter 

 time. 



THAT QUEEN OF MRS. CHADDOCK'S UNDER A GOB- 

 LET; DOES A SWARM EVER ABSCOND WITH- 

 OUT THE QUEEN? 



Friend Root:— I think Mahala B. Chaddock owes a 

 word of explanation in regard to what she says on 

 page 89 about 4 swarms of bees going to the woods, 

 and leaving their queens under a goblet on a plate. 

 Now, does she mean that those bees went off with- 

 out any queen, and set up housekeeping in the 

 woods, without any queen? If she doe6, then she 

 has "downed " Langstroth, Quinby, and A. I. Root 

 as effectually as she did A. J. Cook in regard to the 

 color and scent of flowers. These fathers of apicul- 

 ture have taught the young American that no 

 swarm of bees will leave without the queen, and my 

 experience has proved the correctness of their the- 

 ory. Now, if sister C. has made the discovery that 

 a swarm of bees will abscond without a queen, what 

 is the use of clipping the wing to prevent abscond- 

 ing? or did the bees know that the queen's wing 

 was not clipped, and the good woman of the house 

 had her under a glass goblet, and that she would let 

 her go in a few days, and that she would follow 

 them to their new home, and by that time they 

 would have house-cleaning done ready to receive 

 her ladyship? 



The way I keep the bees from putting propolis in 

 the beveled joints is not to have any beveled joints, 

 but use a hive with square joints, like the old-style 

 Heddon hive, thereby obviating the use of tallow, 

 chisel, and hatchet; but if I had bevel-joint hives to 

 sell I might recommend the use of tallow and oil to 

 prevent the bees from gluing them together. 



Sherman, 111., Feb. 0, 1889. D. D. Coper. 



Etiend G, we did not understand Mrs. 

 Chaddock to say that four swarms went off 

 to the woods, leaving their queens under a 

 goblet. No doubt one of the queens was 

 under the goblet ; but the other three ought 

 to answer for even four swarms — that is, if 

 they went to the woods en masse. Mrs. 

 Chaddock did not make her point very clear 

 about the four swarms that went to the 

 woods.— Your last sentence, it seems to me. 

 makes out that you are a " badder man " 

 than bee-keepers in general. I know there 

 are some men who would sell a thing that 

 they knew was worthless, and a hindrance 

 to their fellows, if they could make money 

 by it. Surely there are not many such 

 among the readers of Gleanings ; and I do 

 not believe there are many who believe the 

 editor would set the example, We furnish 



