848 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



respect, nor do I believe that she does. From my 

 observation, it would the rather seem that pro bono 

 publico is the motto of the hive. When honey is in 

 excess, store-room is necessary; and it can be most 

 rapidly fashioned if drone comb is built. 1 believe 

 in this drone-comb building- at such times, as also 

 when drones are needed, as the colonies become 

 crowded, and again when only storage is required, 

 as in the absence of a queen; then all the bees 

 cheer the work of building drone comb. Economy 

 calls for this, and bees are excellent economists. 

 When, on the other hand, bees are needed, and 

 room for worker eggs imperative, then I believe all 

 are in hearty accord, and are eager to see worker 

 comb. It has seemed to me that Tennyson's lines 

 state the law that governs in this bee-hive king- 

 dom: "The individual withers, but the race is 

 more and more." Let a bee become weighted 

 with mi Ik- weed pollen, stupid with age, or impo- 

 tent from any cause, and how heartlessly the oth- 

 er bees drag it from the hive. I believe a queen is 

 no exception. 



The survival of the fittest, and the extermination 

 of the weak, seems to be Nature's inexorable law. 

 Even among men this law is not entirely absent. 

 It seems tome that Christ introduced a grand im- 

 provement on this law; that is, kindness and love, 

 even to the weak among us— even to our enemies. 

 The bees have no higher ethics than the greatest 

 good to the greatest number— no asylums, no alms- 

 houses there; yet so loag as all are strong and able, 

 just so long are all respectable in the bee-hive 

 world, and each does its proper work with no let, 

 hindrance, or compulsion. This is the impression 

 which I have received from the closest observa- 

 tion I have been able to make. 



WINTERING. 



The spring may not be the time to write of win- 

 tering; yet it is the time when we are forming 

 Judgments that will control our future manage- 

 ment. It seems to me that the question is solved; 

 and that for localities in the latitude of Michigan, 

 and, I think T may say, of Ohio and north, the cel- 

 lar is the place. Give me a good cellar, and good 

 honey or syrup in sufficient quantities, and I will 

 warrant even rather small colonies. I speak after 

 several years of absolute success. The cellar must 

 be kept as near 4.5° F. as possible. Ours never falls 

 below 38°, rarely below 43° F. This temperature 

 may be cheaply and safely secured, either by 

 sub-earth ventilation or by the presence of water. 

 Probably artificial heat may be depended upon, but 

 the above means I consider safest. The food must 

 be good and abundant. Thirty pounds is none too 

 much. It Is very essential to pay close heed, after 

 the bees are prepared for winter, that they he not 

 robbed in the fall, and so starve during the winter. 

 We lost one colony in this way a year ago. and two 

 this winter. Every drop of honey was gone. Our 

 apiary is so that we can not watch it continually, 

 aad so weak colonies, such as we form in autumn 

 from nuclei, are, of course, subject to robbers. 

 Our bees were in the cellar from November 13th to 

 April 8th, and came out very strong. As in previ- 

 ous years, there is almost no brood. I prefer to 

 have none. The colonies wintered in the new 

 Heddon hives are wonderfully strong — T think be- 

 cause of the fact of a deep space under the hive. 1 

 believe that having the upper case full of honey, 

 and the lower empty, would make a superb hive for 

 cellar wintering. I wish all my hives were raised 



one inch from the bottom-board in winter. T 

 would cover closely above, but leave the entrance 

 widely open. Bees wintered thus in a gnnd cellar 

 will give no trouble in spring, even though not 

 packed. I know this because I have tried it. I 

 wish to confine the bees on a few frames, and can 

 succeed as well with single-walled hives as with 

 chaff hives. I am not even sure that it is necessary 

 to have packing above. A simple board may serve 

 as well, but I am not sure of this. T shall try 2.5 

 colonies this spring. 



Now, why I prefer the cellar is this: If the cellar 

 is right, we are always safe, providing we look out 

 for food. With chaff hives, we are not safe; at 

 loast, it so seems to me, even in the latitude of 

 Central Ohio. Occasionally a long severe uninter- 

 rupted winter comes, and the bees are swept away, 

 when those in the cellar are as safe as ever. Of 

 course, the cellar mHSt be right, but that can be se- 

 cured with ease and certainty. 



EFFECT OF BBE-STINOS. 



I have noticed several references of late in 

 Gleanings to bee-stings. This matter of bee- 

 poison is surely one of much interest. In the 

 many years which I have taught bee-keeping here, 

 I have had often thirty or forty students a year. 

 I always say to the class, that I do not think any 

 one has properly completed the course who has not 

 received at least one sting. Usually, each one 

 passes satisfactorily in this respect. Of all these 

 many students, only three have been seriously in- 

 jured. In each of these cases, a severe fever was 

 induced, attended with general swelling, even of 

 parts distant from the wound, intolerable itching, 

 and a sense of suffocation. I have always recom- 

 mended cold water, either as a bath or pack, and it 

 has always given quick relief; though the unpleas- 

 ant symptoms of swelling and sore muscles would 

 not disappear for two or three days. Very many 

 are stung, and often there is considerable local 

 swelling. For this we have tried all the remedies 

 we have ever read of. from watch-key, clay, ice- 

 water, to alkaline washes. We have not tried the 

 new English remedy, but shall this season. Of all 

 remedies, we have found aiumonia the best. 



The other day, in removing our bees from the 

 cellar, we had a strange case. The student who 

 aids me most with the bees has had, for several 

 years, considerable experience in handling them. 

 Like all who work with bees, he received the occa- 

 sional stings, but suffered so slightly that he hardly 

 noticed the matter, and cared scarcely any th-ng 

 for it. Upon this occasion he was stung on the 

 temples. In a fe%v moments his skin all ^ver the 

 body was so red as to resemble a rush. Soon white 

 blotches appeared all over his body. He filt faint, 

 and seemed troubled for breath. 1 was somewhat 

 alarmed. He went to his room at oneo. took a cold- 

 water bath, and in two hours was relieved. He has 

 been stung since, with no 'crious or peculiar 

 effects. It would seem as if this was a case where 

 the sting entered an arte»>' or arteriole, and so the 

 amount of virus injected into the blood was very 

 great. .\ .1. Cook 



Agricultural College, Mich . Apr. I~', IKS7 



Friend Cook, in regard to tlie queeirs 

 ruling or leading the coldiiy. permit nip to 

 call your attention to om- fact liid down in 

 the ABC book. In my early eKperiments 

 I gave a neighbor a black queen that I did 

 not want, to start ;iii observatory liive. I 



