1887 



GLEA^l^GS IN BEi^l CULTURE. 



Now, while the above may be true, I be- 

 lieve almost every bee-keeper in our land, 

 including those who have nothing but full- 

 blood Italians, would say the statement is 

 very much stronger than any thing ever 

 ought to go into print in regard to bee-stings. 

 On page 4 we lind the following : 



Swiirminj^ is t-oiitrolleci as completely aiui with iis 

 iiinch certaintj- as the incroase of cattle, sheep, or 

 swine. If swarms are desired, we arranffo in early 

 spring- to have them issue any week in the swarm- 

 ing- season that will best suit our convenience, and 

 they will swarm at the time desig-natod. 



Now, I am not positively sure that Mrs. 

 Cotton can not do this; but if she can malie 

 her bees swarm or not swarm, as she choos- 

 es, she has gone beyond any of the veterans 

 or experts in bee culture, at least so far as I 

 am informed. She still charges $4.00 for 

 drawings and illustrations ; but to modify 

 it she oft'ers to deduct the S4.00 paid, fro ni 

 the first order for bees or hives. Her prices 

 are still away beyond those of any other 

 dealer in bees or supplies ; but if her cus- 

 tomers are pleased and satisfied, I do not 

 know that we have any right to object. 

 Perhaps the reason why her customers are 

 satisfied, is because they are not posted in 

 regard to the usual prices of such goods ; if 

 so, it behooves supply-dealers to let people 

 know wliat other people charge for swarms 

 of bees, both black and Italians, and other 

 commodities. 



Mrs. Cotton now furnishes her Controllable 

 hives in the flat, to be shipped by freight. 

 This is a very great advanceover her former 

 method of doing business. Mrs. C.,in a 

 private letter, expresses the wish to hear 

 from every customer who is in any way dis- 

 satistied with any dealing they have with 

 her ; and if she carries out this plan, I do 

 not know ^hy slie should not have a place 

 among the supply-dealers of our land. 



FOUNDATION OR NO FOUNDATION. 



Shall it be Used in the Brood-nest "When 

 Securing Comb Honey ? 



ALSO SOME FT'ItTHEU KEMAUKS IN FAVOR OF 

 BLACK BEES FOR COMB HONEY. 



fHE last number of Gleanings is full of good 

 articles as usual, and I derive much plea- 

 sure and pro tit from reading- them. 1 think 

 Mr. Hutchinson is honest in his ideas and 

 oyiinions reg-arding the use of foundation in 

 brood-chamber, but I am sure that rules laid down 

 for the same in his location will not do tor (his lo- 

 cality, where we have a long slow .season for surplus 

 honey. The first honey of importance is fi-om 

 locust, from May loth to 30th; then poplar about 

 May 25th. White clover and blue thistle blossom 

 at the same time, June 1st to 10th. These two 

 latter sources give us most of our surplus. Blue 

 thistle gives us a s-teady flow of honey to the first 

 of September, if not too dry. 



After repeated experiments the past four years, 

 we have decided that only full sheets of fdn,, put 

 in on wire by the Given press, will do for us. 

 Swarms hived on starters in brood-frames will not 

 do any thing in sections until the brood-chamber is 

 full, clear to the bottom, unless the swarm be a 

 double one, tn which case they are pushed to work 



In sections for -want of room. Swarms hived on 

 starters about one inch wide usually give us from 10 

 to 20 pounds of honey in sections, while those hived 

 on full frames of fdn. give us an iiverage of 40 lbs. 

 of comb honey. I do not doubt that, by using 

 division-boards, and confining swarms to one-half 

 of the brood-chamber, they would bo forced to com- 

 mence work in sections at once, and thereby store 

 more surplus honey; but then we should be obliged 

 to feed sugar to them to make up the necessary 

 amount of stores for winter— a practice which we 

 do not believe in. Next season we will make a 

 moi-c careful report on the advantages derived 

 from the use of fdn. in brood-frames as regards 

 amount of section honey stored. 



As regards the amount of drone comb built, we 

 think an advantage fully as great is gained by the 

 use of full sheets of foundation; for unless we do 

 it, some swarms will fill nearly one-third the space 

 in brood-frames with drone comb. 



We transfer a great many box hives every spring 

 to frames; and after thi-owing out all drone comb 

 and other poor comb, we do not have nearly 

 enough to fill all the brood-frames, so we make up 

 the deficienc.v with full frames of foundation, as we 

 know bj' experience that transferred colonies in 

 the spring will iininediately fill the extra frames 

 given them with one-half, at least, of drone coml>, 

 when furnished with starters only. 



We are glad to see Mr. France, Heddon, and oth- 

 er prominent bee-keepers say a good word for the 

 black, or native bees of this country. We, too, give 

 them a flecided preference, and would feel sick if 

 all our comb honey were made by the Italians. 

 We have tried queens from Alley, Thomas, Shaw, 

 and other breeders, but have never yet seen any 

 thing that will make any more honey, and as nice 

 honej-, as the native bees of Virginia. The native 

 bees do not use one-half the propolis about the hive 

 that the Italians do, and they are not so ready to 

 follow the bee-keeper from one hive to another 

 while operating, and pitch into what belongs to 

 another. I have noticed, the past season, that 

 nine-tenths of the bees entering the house and 

 honey-house are the yellow ones, and we have only 

 four or five stands of them out of 80 in our home 

 apiai-.y. The only thing I can say in favor of them 

 is, that thej' defend themselves better against rob- 

 bers, and are a little nicer for timid people to 

 handle. 



Our demand for honey has been good this season, 

 and we have disposed of two-thirds of it at a good 

 fair price, and we think that a good article, neatly 

 put up, will continue to bring a fair price. 



Front Royal, Va., Dec. 23, 1886. H. W. Bass. 



Friend B., I am not sufficiently well post- 

 ed in this matter of Hutchinson's way of 

 working to say just where you have failed to 

 follow his plan of management ; but at the 

 Michigan Convention the matter was talked 

 over so thoroughly that I became convinced 

 that anybody will succeed as friend Hutch- 

 inson dbes. by observing all the conditions. 

 These conditions have all been given at dif- 

 ferent times tlirough the various journals ; 

 but the matter is more complex than one 

 might imagine, and I would suggest that 

 friend H. carefully prepare an exhaustive 

 article, taking in all the points necessary to 

 secure all nice honey in the surplus-arrange- 

 ments. I think the whole would make a nice 



