1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



697 



height of the honey-harvest; but to find queens a 

 week or more old, all dwelling: in harmony, at a 

 time when robbers were so thick that a tent was re- 

 quired to work with the bees to any amount, seems 

 a little singular. Has any one else had a like expe- 

 rience? 



SKUNKS IN THE APIAKY. 



Under one of the hives at the end of the apiary 

 nearest the woods which come close to one side of 

 the same, and which act as a windbreak, was a 

 large bumble-bee's nest, judging from the number 

 of bumble-bees which were seen going in and out 

 a couple of weeks ago. 1 had known that they 

 were there, for some time, and had left them from 

 curiosity, showing them to visitors when they 

 came. One morning in passing by this hive I saw 

 that the nest had been dug out the night before, 

 and the bees and most of the comb eaten. One 

 bumble-bee and a little comb was all there was left 

 of the once prosperous family. I was sorry, for I 

 believed this was only the commencement of a 

 raid on my hives, for this is not the first time I have 

 been bothered with skunks. The next night but 

 one the hive next where this bumble-bee's nest was, 

 was disturbed; and now the apiary is visited night- 

 ly by these gentlemen. I am about setting traps for 

 them, but I should have much preferred that they 

 stay away, for it is no pleasure for me to have any 

 thing to do with them. Their mode of procedure 

 is to go to a hive, keep scratching on the front of it 

 till the bees come out, when they catch them and 

 eat them. In this way the hives visited the most 

 are badly depopulated ; and if they are not caught, 

 much harm to the colonies is the result. If the 

 hives were well up from the ground they would 

 not be troubled; but where low down, the only way 

 I know of is to catch and kill them. I think that 

 they prefer the bees with honey in their sacs, and I 

 believe that they scratch on the hives so that the 

 bees will partially fill themselves with honey, for 

 dead drones and some workers are thick in front of 

 some hives, yet none of them are touched. 



G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 16, 1889. 



I am very glad, friend D., that you have 

 mentioned this matter of ordering queens 

 for hives when they are not queenless. 

 Over and over again novices have imagined 

 that their hives were queenless, and some- 

 times have bought expensive queens, only 

 to have them killed in trying to introduce 

 them. You may remember that I have re- 

 peatedly urged that unsealed brood should 

 always' be found in every hive. While a 

 colony is rearing a young queen, and just 

 about the time she is taking her wedding- 

 flight, I should greatly prefer that there be 

 somebr.'Od in the hive for the very reason 

 you mention. A glance at this frame of 

 brood, to see when they have queen-cells 

 started, will always tell when any thing has 

 happened to the queen. Now, in your case 

 I should by no means take out this frame of 

 brood and put it back, when I wanted to in- 

 troduce the queens. Just let it alone ; and, 

 if you will excuse me, neither would I roll 

 the queen in honey. Whenever we have 

 reason to suspect that a colony is queenless, 

 and rind queen-cells started after giving 

 them brood, I should let any laying queen 

 loose at once without any ceremony. It 

 has been such a very rare thing in our expe- 

 rience to lose a queen under these circum- 



stances, I prefer to take the risk of loss. 

 Besides, I do not believe the risk will be 

 much if any greater than by any other mode 

 of introducing under such circumstances. 

 Please remember, however, the conditions. 

 The colony must first have been queen- 

 less, and without any brood from which to 

 rear a queen. Now give them some brood, 

 and, after the cells are started, to indicate 

 you have made no mistake, they will accept 

 any laying queen let in by any method that 

 is handiest ; and turning her loose at the en- 

 trance is just as good as any other way. If, 

 however, robbers are troublesome, I think I 

 would wait until so near dark that no rob- 

 bers will be flying. I do not remember of 

 ever finding several virgin queens in a hive 

 under such circumstances as you mention. 

 —In regard to skunks, why not poison them, 

 as I mention in my California notes V A 

 method of poisoning is also given in the A 

 BC book. One who is acquainted with the 

 habits of skunks can tell at a glance where 

 they have been at work, by the scratching 

 of gravel and weeds in front of the hive, 

 and also, usually, the marks of their claws 

 on the hive around the entrance. 



BEE-VEILS. 



THE GLASS FRONT. 



TF you will excuse another head-dress for bee- 

 ||[ keepers, I beg leave to introduce to your read- 

 W ers what is known as the " Ideal " glass-front 

 ■*• veil. The great objection, at first urged, 

 of the moisture of the breath forming upon 

 the glass in cool weather, and thereby obstructing 

 the vision, has been overcome in adjusting the glass 

 a little higher, hringing it above the mouth, the 

 breath passing through the veil below; but I must 

 admit that our manner of fastening glass in the 

 body of the veil has not altogether succeeded 

 against the excessive heat in the extreme Southern 

 States for long-continued use. 



w 



THE GLASS-FRONT VEIL. 



The majority of veils made have been of grena- 

 dine, rubber cord at top and bottom, some prefer- 

 ring- the bottom loose to tucK under the vest or sus- 

 penders; but my "better half" suggests a cord 

 with a slip-knot below, by all means to come around 

 the dress collar and hook on the dress button, for 

 the wives and daughters. For the glass front we 

 lay claim to the following advantages: 



