1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



459 



A queen pretty well along in years will al- 

 most always tolerate one of her daughters, 

 and both lay right along together. Aside 

 from this, we have not found it much of a 

 success. 



]\toWJS 7IND QHEI^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. 



FROM 88 TO 150, AND 4500 LBS. OF HONEY. 



T AST spring- I commenced with 88 colonies, 

 1^ about 10 queenless. I built them, up but it 

 c|St took all the season. I increased to 150 colo- 

 ■*™ nies; ran 100 for extracted honey and 50 for 

 comb honey. Extracted, 1 got 4200 lbs. ; and 

 from the 50, 300 lbs. I sold the extracted at an aver- 

 age of about 8*4 cts. per lb.; the comb at about 11. 

 Cash expenses, about $15.00. I went into winter 

 with 150 colonies; came out with 140, none queen- 

 less, f wintered in single- walled hives, out of 

 doors. I sold some; will commence with 138 this 

 year. R. Robinson. 



Laclede, III., May 6, 1889. 



My son-in-law raised 170 lbs. of Japanese buck- 

 wheat from -lbs. bought of you last spring. We 

 think it very good. E. B. Glazier. 



Dryden, N. Y. 



ABSCONDING WITHOUT CLUSTERING. 



I ran put in my evidence, that two swa/rms from 

 this neighborhood went direct from their hive en- 

 trances last summer, for the woods. W. N. Root. 



Assumption, 111., May 6, 1889. 



DRONES FROM DRONE-LAYING QUEENS. 



1. Are drones from a drone-laying queen capable 

 of fertilization? 2. If so, are they as good as drones 

 from a fertile queen? Andrews & Lockhart. 



Pattens Mills, N. Y. 



[I. Yes. 2. We think not.] 



ONE BUSHEL FROM SEVEN OUNCES OF .JAPANESE 

 SEED. 



I purchased seven ounces of Japanese buckwheat 

 last season from you, and sowed it and got one 

 bushel of fine buckwheat from it. I think that is 

 pretty good. My bees seem to work on it almost 

 constantly while in bloom, and it seems to be 

 adapted to this country. J. S. Turner. 



Formoso, Kan., May 15, 1889. 



boardman's repository. 



1 am quite interested in Boardman's repository. 

 I have been pulling the bottom of my hives all off 

 every year. 1 have become convinced that the 

 common entrance is not large enough, for the bees 

 become clogged, and damage the colony. He hasn't 

 said how high from the ground the first row of 

 hives is; nor how he ventilates the first row. My 

 colonies are reduced down to about 110 this year. 



Portville, N. Y. F. Roulo. 



ORANGE-BLOSSOM HONEY. 



Referring to page 323 of Gleanings, 1 find; 

 "Orange-blossom honey, the first extracted honey 

 of tbe season," which was taken March 21st. While 

 visiting Prof. Webster, of Lake Helen, Fla., I as- 

 sisted in extracting honey three days previous; 

 yi/., March 18, whioh was the second extraction. 



The sources were orange-blossom and andromeda. 

 The crop in that locality is half harvested. In the 

 mangrove district, honey is coming in slowly, bare- 

 ly sufficient for brood-rearing. Grape and bay will 

 be open in a few days. Bees are in good condition. 

 New Smyrna, Fla. J. Y. Detwiler. 



a suggestion on the dovetailed hive. 



You can get rid of the strips of tin you nail un- 

 der the bottom of the super for the section-holders 

 to rest on in Dovetailed hive, by making the end 

 pieces of the honey-board wide enough for the 

 holders to rest on. W. P. Davis. 



Hyatt, N. C.. May 10, 1889. 



(.Your plan is very good, so far as it goes; but 

 what are you going to do when you tier up? You 

 would have to use a honey-board between every 

 super, and that would be too expensive. See?] 



WHY ARE THE DRONES CARRIED OUT? 



Two of my best Italian colonies are dragging out 

 drones at a rapid rate, full grown and immature 

 ones. I want those drones to mate with my young- 

 est queens. They have much sealed honey from 

 last season. They have done this since April 20. 

 What is the matter? E. A. Boon. 



Shellyville, 111., May 6, 1889. 



[I can not tell what it was, unless it was bad 

 weather that discouraged them from swarming. 

 Feeding regularly every day, I think, would have 

 saved your drones.] 



WILL BASSWOOD GROW IN SOUTH CAROLINA? 



1 should like to know if basswood would grow 

 well in this climate. By referring to the map you 

 can see where I am. G. D. Mime. 



Parksville, S. C, May 9, 1889. 



[Yes, sir, basswood will grow everywhere; in 

 fact. I never heard of a place yet where such trees 

 would not grow, if they were planted. It is true, of 

 course, that they grow naturally in certain locali- 

 ties and do not in others. In our locality we find 

 them on the tops of the highest hills and in the low- 

 est valleys; and I believe that wherever we have 

 sent little basswoods they have succeeded when 

 once started.] 



BLUEBIRDS AND MARTINS EATING BEES. 



Will bluebirds eat bees? Yesterday I saw one 

 catching something, and to all appearances it was 

 bees. I shot him, and his gizzard was full; there 

 was nothing but bees. Then I shot a bee-martin, 

 and he was full of bees also. My bees are doing 

 very well at present. I look for swarms soon. 



Dundee, Mo., May 10, 1889. B. F. Bailey. 



[It has been urged that these birds simply catch 

 drones and not workers. Did you examine the con- 

 tents of their crops, to be sure on this point? My 

 impression is, however, that it was workers that 

 they caught, and that it was the honey in the honey- 

 sacs that the birds coveted.] 



W. S. DEVOL, FORMERLY OF THE OHIO EXPERI- 

 MENT STATION, NOW FIELD SUPERINTEND- 

 ENT OF THE NEVADA AGRICULTURAL 

 STATION. 



I came to this station April 2, to take charge of 

 the field work, agricultural and horticultural, and 

 plenty to do in organizing the work. The field is 

 new, and I have no doubt but much valuable work 

 can be done here. The abundance of sage brush 

 i.\)1i mi sia tridenldlii) makes excellent bee-pasture, 

 and there is talk of conducting some experiments 

 in bee culture. W. S. Devol. 



Reno, Nevada, May in, L889. 



LWe are very sorry indeed to have you leave 

 Ohio; but if we must spare you, 1 am glad to see 

 you where you are. I should be pleased to hear of 

 some of the results of the experiments in regard to 

 sage brush for honey.] 



