1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



309 



Exclusive of the extracted, my comb honey 

 weighed but a little over five tons when it should 

 have been many more. As many of the writers for 

 the journals predict a great honey season this year 

 I will join, and say 1 hope their prophecy may 

 prove to be true. J. R. Tunnecliff. 



Van Hornesville, N. Y. 



]S[0¥ES fl^B QUEI^IE$. 



We solicit tor 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. 



fHE 10 lbs. of Japanese buckwheat seed I got 

 from you last season gave me ltiy 2 bushels, 

 measured. I had 4 acres of the silverhull, 

 and got only 25 bushels from it. 



JOS. F. BlLDERBACH. 



Rockwood, 111., March 29, 1889. 



Please tell me where you put the tarred paper in 

 the chaff hives. Mrs. A. A. Simpson. 



Swarts, Pa., Feb. 6, 1889. 



[The tarred paper to our chaff hives is put be- 

 tween the bottom-hoard and the chaff. See further 

 particulars in our A B C of Bee Culture.] 



How many bushels of chaff will it take to fill five 

 chaff hives? V. Buxser. 



Justus, Ohio, March 14, 1889. 



[We usually calculate on about three bushels of 

 loose chaff, not packed, to the two-story hive, and a 

 little over one bushel for the one-story hive.] 



WHITE PAINT FOR HIVES. 



I prefer white paint to any other color, and I have 

 tried several. Bro. Root, go on with your Home 

 talk, and may God's blessings rest with you and 

 yours. S. C. Frederick. 



Arcadia, Kan., Jan. 24, 1889. 



[The general testimony is with you in regard to 

 white paint for hives.] 



MELISSA. 



According to your description of melissa, it 

 grows sometimes to the height of 9 feet. I planted 

 a little last year, but it didn't attain the height of 

 one foot in good garden soil. Perhaps mine was a 

 small variety. The seed wasn't from you. 



Chandler, Ind., Feb. 21, 1889. A. Heine. 



IMPORTED CARNIOLANS SHOWING YELLOW BANDS. 



We are expecting a fair honey crop this season, 

 from present indications. Our Carniolans are 

 booming; have had them three seasons, and find 

 them equal to the best. But our imported queen 

 from Benton shows many yellow workers. 



Avon, Ind., March 18, 1889. A. A. Parsons. 



SETTING OCT A SMALL APIARY. 



I want to lay out an apiary for about 25 or 30 col- 

 onies, and set out grapevines. How near, and in 

 what position ought I to set them? I am building a 

 board fence on the north side of my lot. The bees 

 will be on the south side. J. Bills. 



Southington, Conn., Mar. 23, 1889. 



[The conclusion to the A B C of Bee Culture 

 gives you the plan which we prefer to arrange 

 hives, and also their entrances with reference to the 

 points of the compass. Six feet apart is the usual 

 distance from center to center. Some prefer eight 

 feet. The latter distance means just so much more 

 traveling to get through with a certain amount of 

 work.] 



STIMULATING BROOD-REARING. 



I wish to ask you if I may begin safelj t^ stimu- 

 late brood-rearing by means of the " Good " candy. 



Dayton, O., March 5, 1889. T. B. Reynolds. 



[You can stimulate brood-rearing with the (!ood 

 candy; but an easier way would be to give them 

 sugar syrup. Good candy is used, as a general 

 thing, for the purpose of shipping bees, and for 

 winter feeding, although it can be used for other 

 purposes.] 



NO LOSS IN CHAFF HIVES ; DOUBLE-TIER WIDE 

 FRAMES. 



I keep 50 colonies of bees. I winter on your plan, 



and had no loss last winter nor this. I am getting 



tired of double-tier wide frames. Can you suggest 



a better arrangement for the chaff hive? 



A. G. Mendenhall. 

 Economy, Ind., Feb. 23, 1889. 



[Use single-tier wide frames, or the T super or 

 the section-holders described in Gleanings for 

 Mar. 1st.] 



0HR QUEgTO]S[-Be& 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



All queries sent in for this department should be briefly 

 stated, and free from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions should be written upon a separate slip of paper 

 and marked, "For Our Question-Box." 



Question 118.— a. How large an entrance do you 

 allow each col my when they begin to work in spring? 

 b. When do you enlarge this, and how much? 



a. Four inches wide; b. I do not enlarge. 



R. Wilkin. 



a. About 1J4 inches wide by H high. b. I enlarge 

 as soon as the colonies get strong and weather 

 warm. Geo. Grimm. 



It varies with strength of colony, but it is small. 

 Vary to suit size of colony. Make full size as col- 

 ony gets strong and nights warm. A. J. Cook. 



a. 3x?8- b. As soon as the season becomes so 

 warm that they seem to need more ventilation, or as 

 soon as they begin active honey-gathering. 



James A. Green. 



I allow as large an entrance as the bees will use, 

 whether for one bee to enter at a time, or the full 

 width of the hive, and I'm not troubled with rob- 

 bers. A. B. Mason. 



Three or four inches; we enlarge the space ac- 

 cording to the number of workers flying out. We 

 raise the hive 2 inches in front in the summer in 

 very hot weather. Dadant & Son. 



No set size, but it depends on the strength of the 

 colony; usually as small as can be without danger 

 of clogging. We enlarge it accorging to increasing 

 strength of colony, and sometimes it is oue inch by 

 ten. P. H. Elwood. 



When in spring I contract my brood-chambers in 

 order to stimulate breeding up, I contract the en- 

 trances to about an inch, and remove the blocks 

 after the colonies have become strong, and more 

 air is desirable. Chas. F. Muth. 



a. Just as small an entrance as possible, without 

 retarding the bees while passing in and out. b. T 

 follow no special rule in this, as much depends on 

 the size of colony, weather, capacity, and style of 

 hive, kind of honey we are working for, etc. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



