1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



547 



FROM OUR ABC CLASS. 



This department is designed primarily to cover questions 

 either not already answered in the A B C of Bee Culture (price 

 in cloth $1.26), or, it incorporated in this work, are here dwelt 

 upon more in detail on account of the importance of the 

 question. While these answers are of vital interest to the 

 ABC scholars, they will doubtless be found, in many in- 

 stallers, to be of considerable value to the more advanced 

 student. For lack of space, the question itself, instead of be- 

 ing directly stated, is omitted, the same bciiiK' implied in the 

 answer. It is hoped that the class will first consult their 

 text-book before sending in their questions. 



QUEENS FERTILIZED BUT ONCE. 



J. D., Mississippi.— So far as our present knowl- 

 edge extends, queens meet the drones but once in 

 their lives. If a queen once produces Italian work- 

 ers, she will always produce the same kind of bees. 



TEXAS WHITE-CLOVER HONEY. 



C. A. W., Texas.— Your sample of Texas white 

 clover came duly to hand, and was tested. In color 

 and body it is good. While better than the average 

 grade of Southern honey as to flavor, it is not quite 

 equal to the Northern clover, we think. 



RUSHINO OUT AT THE ENTRANCE. 



11. L., Texas.— When there is a dearth of honey, 

 feeding will always cause the bees to rush out to 

 the entrance in excitement. The reason they fly 

 out is because they are anxious to know whence 

 comes this wealth of sweet, as it is evident to them 

 that stores are coming in from some source. 



WHY ARE THE BEES DYING AT THE ENTRANCE? 



S. W. B., Ohio.— If your bees are dying at the en- 

 trance, and young bees are being carried out, it is 

 pretty evident that they have been starving. Bees 

 behave very much in this way when their stores 

 are used up. The remedy, of course, is to feed at 

 once, preferably granulated-sugar syrup. 



A FRAME OF HATCHING BROOD, AND A FEW BEES, 

 NOT A CURE FOR THE NAMELESS BEE-DISEASE. 



H. M. H., New York — Giving a frame of hatching 

 brood and a few bees to a colony will not cure it of 

 the nameless bee disease, provided the source of 

 the trouble is with the queen. Her removal always 

 effects a cure, and this proves pretty conclusively 

 that the disease originates with her. 



very little if any honey was coming in, when bees 

 have nothing to do but to gnaw around the wires 

 and get into mischief generally. If you want them 

 to patch up the combs again, feed them, or remove 

 the combs and put them in the hive again, when 

 honey is coming in at a fair rate. Bees never gnaw 

 holes in foundation when honey is coming in. 



VIRGIN QUEENS SOMETIMES THE CAUSE OF AFTER- 

 SWARMING. 



H. F. O., New York.— A surplus of young queens 

 immediately after the first swarm is pretty apt to 

 give rise to a second swarm; and as long as there 

 remains two or more virgin queens in the hive, 

 there is apt to be swarming. Second swarms some- 

 times come out when the young queen comes out 

 for her wedding-trip. 



UPWARD VENTILATION; WHEN TO REMOVE PACK- 

 ING FROM CHAFF HIVES. 



C. B. W., Oh io. —Our chaff hives— at least the two- 

 story— are so made as to provide for some upward 

 ventilation through the chaff cushion. In cellar 

 wintering, upward ventilation is not only unneces- 

 sary, but it is even detrimental. We remove our 

 packing from the chaff hives soon after frosty 

 weather and cool nights, which with us is about 

 the middle of May. 



WHY BEES SOMETIMES TEAR DOWN FOUNDATION. 



E. E. S., Illinois.— The reason why your bees lore 

 down the foundation is possibly due to the fact that 



TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



T. O. D., Ohio.— It is very difficult to prevent 

 swarming when bees get the swarming mania, as 

 yours seem to have. The only advice we can give 

 you is to give the bees plenty of room, plenty of 

 shade, and ample entrance; and we would advise 

 you to cut out all the queen-cells but one. In eight 

 days, again cut out the remaining cells that may be 

 found. Perhaps you had better hive the old swarm 

 on top of the old hive. As soon as the swarming 

 fever is over, unite the two again. 



CAN OLD HIVES, AND COMBS IN WHICH BEES HAVE 

 DIED, BE USED FOR NEW SWARMS? 



M. V ., ( >hio. —Those hives which you have, which 

 are spotted with dysentery, and in which the bees 

 have died, during the past winter, can be given to 

 new swarms, or, in fact, to other colonies. The 

 bees will very soon set things to rights. They will 

 clean the dead bees out of the combs, and make the 

 hives just as habitable as they were before. For 

 further particulars, see "Wintering," in the ABC 

 book; also "Dysentery." 



HOW TO GROW BASSWOOD. 



M. N. E., Michigan.— On p. 292, 1882, we published 

 an exhaustive article on basswoods— when to gather 

 seeds, how to grow the young trees, etc. It was 

 written by Fr. Holtke, Carlstadt, Bergen Co., N. J. 

 If you will consult some nurseryman, we have no 

 doubt he will give you the information you require. 

 Usually, young basswoods can be obtained in the 

 woods. If they do not abound in your locality, you 

 can purchase them of A. I. Root, Medina, O., who 

 will send you small trees. 



FULL-WIDTH ENTRANCE; THE HONEY-BOARD AND 

 BRACE-COMBS. 



H. S. B., Maryland.— It will be best to allow the 

 full width of entrance, if you have a strong colony, 

 or if the bees cover, say, 6 or T frames tolerably 

 well. It is only weak colonies, and during a honey- 

 dearth, that the entrance of a hive should be con- 

 tracted. So far we have no practical method for 

 preventing bees from building brace-combs between 

 the brood-frames and honey-boards. All that a 

 honey-board can be made to do is to prevent brace- 

 combs from itself to the sections or surplus ar- 

 rangement above. 



SEPARATING ADVERTISEMENTS FROM THE READING- 

 MATTER, FOR BINDING PURPOSES. 



A. C. M., Rhode Island. We have thought of that 

 same matter you speak of in reference to the make- 

 up of Gleanings before; but on account of the 

 rush of advertisements at the very last minute, and 

 the necessity of getting in an important editorial or 

 special notice, our reading-matter crowds in some- 

 times on to the advertising space; and the adver- 

 tising space, on account of the large number of 

 advertisements, sometimes upon the reading-mat- 

 ter. This condition of affairs is well nigh unavoid- 

 able; at least, we can not obviate the trouble with- 

 out great expense, and we are not sure that the 

 inconvenience it affords a very few would warrant 



