642 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



AtKi. 



accept a queen, after they have failed one 

 or more times in raising one I should 

 think it quite likely they had something 

 among them that they treated as a queen ; 

 and though she never lays eggs of any kind, 

 this bee will be the ruin of the colony if she 

 is not put out of the way. Treat them ex- 

 actly as you would a case of fertile workers. 

 (Jive the colonies several frames of brood, 

 with bees adhering, or unite them with a 

 weak queenless colony, which amounts to 

 the same thing. 



BURR-COMBS; CAN THEIR ATTACHMENTS TO THE 

 SURPLUS APARTMENTS BE AVOIDED WITH- 

 OUT THE HONEY-BOARD? 



Can we make our new hives so as to discard the 

 honey board and not have burr-combs built be- 

 tween the brood-frames and section-ease? If not, 

 why not? Yes. By making- the top-bar V a wide by- 

 is (hick, and closing- them to i 3 (i , you will not have 

 any more dauby messes by tearing off honey- 

 boards, nor will you have any burr-combs built be- 

 tween the brood - frames and the section-case. I 

 used this kind of frame last year, and this in about 

 80 colonies, and I have yet to find the first bit of 

 burr-comb between. It briug-s the sections close to 

 the brood-nest, and the bees are quick to enter 

 them. A. L. Kildow. 



Sheffield, 111 , July 8, 1889. 



We do not know but there is something 

 in what you say, friend K. We have a hive 

 out in the apiary, with top-bars H inches 

 wide, and spaced \-\. inchee apart. Although 

 there are fewer burr-comb attachments to 

 the cover it does not prevent them entirely. 

 It has been claimed before, that top-bars 

 one-half or even a full inch thick, and I 

 wide, will do away with burr-comb attach- 

 ments. We should be glad to hear from 

 others on this point. 



A ")-CENT PACKAGE OF JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT, 

 AND WHAT IT DID. 



Please find inclosed 17 cents, for which send me 

 some Japanese buckwheat and oje bee-brush. I 

 planted the 5-cent paper you sent, early in the 

 spring, and saved about a quart of seed. ] planted 

 that the first of June, and it is now in full bloom, 

 and very attractive to the bees. I wish to plant 

 some more; and if I wait until the seed matures I 

 fear it will be too hot and dry. I think it is the first 

 buckwheat ever grown in this part of the State, 

 that is attractive both to people and bees. I also 

 have a few of Simpson and spider plants, which the 

 bees do not notice. Mignonette, bee-balm, and bee- 

 clover they are continually humming over. 



Mrs. Hose Riley. 



Columbus. Tex., June 23, 1889. 



COMBS BUILT CKOSSW1SE OF THE FRAMES ; WHAT 

 TO DO. 



The first of last month I obtained three swarms 

 of bees from a neighbor, the first swarm I had ever 

 seen. I put two of them in Simplicity hives; the 

 other was put in a box hive with the intention of 

 transferring it. The trouble is, with the Simplicity 

 hives, the frame in one of them got out of place in 

 some manner, and they have built their combs be- 

 tween the frames attached to the shitted honey- 

 board, so that I can not take a single frame out. 

 The frames in this hive had starters in them, and 

 were contracted to six. The other one had no 



starters in, but the lull number of frames, 10. The 

 bees, instead of building their comb to the comb- 

 guides, built to the bpace between the frames, so 

 that none can be removed except two on one side 

 that have not been built on yet. Would you advise 

 me to take out part of the frames containing hon- 

 ey, substituting frames of foundation? I want to 

 put Italian queens in them. There is nothing in 

 your book so indelibly stamped on my memory as 

 your advice about starting with a few colonies. 

 There are several small things I havelearned, that, 

 had I had several colonies, might have been costly 

 lessons to me. J. C. Singles. 



Strickersvillo, Pa., July 6, 1889. 



We should think, from the account you 

 give in your letter, that in one case your 

 frames were improperly spaced. In the 

 other case they were jarred out of position, 

 as you say. Either one would cause combs to 

 be built crosswise, or in between the frames. 

 We would advise you to pull the hive apart, 

 having previously given them a good smok- 

 ing. Select the cards of comb that have 

 brood in ; put them into frames, and fasten 

 them with transferring-clasps, or in any of 

 the ways that are usually adopted in trans- 

 ferring. The combs containing only honey 

 had better be used up on the table as chunk 

 honey. The rest of the space fill up with 

 frames of foundation. Be sure next time to 

 space each frame so their common centers 

 shall be If inches apart. The tips of the 

 fingers, shoved between the top-bars, will 

 usually make the right spacing. 



DOES IT PAY TO FURNISH ALSIKE SEED FREE TO 



FARMERS WITHIN A MILE AND A HALF OF THE 



APIARY ? 



I have something over 70 stands of bees. I have 

 an offer from some farmers within a mile of me. 

 They say they will sow all the alsike clover seed 

 that I will furnish. The question is, will it pay? 



Sabina, O., July 6, 1889. N. Shumaker. 



It is a hard matter to answer your ques- 

 tion by a direct affirmative or negative. 

 Perhaps we should say this : That we are in 

 the habit of furnishing alsike clover seed, 

 free of charge, to farmers within a range of 

 a mile and a half of our place. In like man- 

 ner we furnish the buckwheat. A good 

 deal depends upon your locality as to wheth- 

 er it will pay, and the amount put out. 

 One of our bee-keeping friends — a Mr. 

 Chase, in a neighboring town— buys his al- 

 sike and sells it to the farmers at a reduced 

 price. We believe he has within range of 

 his bees something over 100 acres of alsike. 

 Of course, where a bee-keeper is able to sell 

 the seed to the farmers, the question as to 

 whether it will pay or not is not so hard to 

 settle. Generally speaking, however, we 

 think it does pay to furnish farmers within 

 a mile and a half of the apiary as much al- 

 sike seed as they will sow. 



BEES TOO NEAR A HIGHWAY ; HOW TO MOVE 

 THEM BACK. 



I live within five steps of a turnpike road, and 

 my bees have been a source of great annoyance to 

 people passing. I have been very uneasy in hand- 

 ling my bees, for fear they might make some horse 

 run away, and do damage. So great has been my 



