1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



507 



Now, friend Root, I am sure that the average 

 bee-man loses very many queens in shaking- the 

 combs in handling- beos; and I quit that practice, 

 tor the reason that I was satisfied I shook many 

 (jueens outside the hive, and they never got back. 

 I proceed as follows: I raise the cover while my 

 son pours in the smoke. When the bees are well 

 smoked down I raise a comb and hold it with one 

 hand and brush the bees with the other, while my 

 son smokes and brushes the other side (no shaking-). 

 In this way there is no turning- of the comb, and it 

 is very quickly cleared of bees, and the gentle vol- 

 ume of smoke constantly going- over the top of the 

 hive keeps the bees down, and rapid and effectual 

 work is done; as soon as a full comb is taken out an 

 empty one is put in; and thus we proceed from hive 

 to hive, getting over a large number in the least 

 possible time, and no loss of queens, and very few 

 stings. 



THE COMB-CAKT. 



I wish Ernest would make and use one. I know 

 he would not be without one again. Do not make 

 it to clear the ground more than about 5 inches; for 

 if you do, when the front or back end rests on the 

 ground there will be danger of the combs slipping 

 one way or the other. Begin loading at the back 

 end, pulling the cart from hive to hive. When 

 full, push It before you and it will astonish you 

 with what perfect ease you can handle TO combs 

 of honej'. 



rS FOl^L BROOD MORE APT TO AFFECT SOME RACES 

 OF BEES THAN OTHERS? 



1 most certainly agree with you in your remarks 

 upon J. J. Keith's statement (page 443), where he 

 speaks of foul brood among his Italian bees, and 

 not the blacks; for if there is any ditference in the 

 two it is in favor of the yellow bees. I should 

 say that he did not have the virulent foul brood. 

 Once in a great wliile brood will die in the cell; and 

 one who has not had much experience with foul 

 brood would think it was the simon-pure stuff. 1 

 have had two such cases since I have been here in 

 Cuba, and 1 came to the conclusion that it was the 

 fault of the queen, owing, as 1 thought, to a con- 

 stitutional weakness in the queen; and upon re- 

 moving her and substituting another, the trouble 

 was removed. Let's hear from Prof. Cook upon 

 this matter. 



I pi-efer the beveled-edge hive. 1 have used both 

 extensively. T would not have the square sides. 



A. W. OSBORN. 



Havana, Cuba, Apartado 378, June 16, 1887. 



Many thanks, friend O. You are liardly a 

 candidate for Blasted Hopes yet, are yon V 

 Your yield from 80 colonies was large, not 

 to say enormous— 375 lbs. per colony. We 

 should very much like to know what was 

 your greatest yield from any one colony, and 

 about how much said colony in its best days 

 stored in one day. — In regard to the matter 

 of foul brood, we are afraid, as you say, that 

 in large apiaries it is difficult, if not well 

 nigh impossible, to cure the disease in one 

 .season. At the present writing, June 22, 

 we are having one or two cases appear daily. 

 This is somewhat better than a week or two 

 ago.— We think it is quite likely that sound 

 hard green wood would work nicely in the 

 Bingham smoker, when it is got well going. 

 We will try it and see. If any one has any 

 better way of using the Bingliam or Clark 

 smoker we want to know it. On the other 



hand, friend O., I hope you will try sawdust 

 mixed with e.xcelsior, and then stop the noz- 

 zle with grass, as described in the issue for 

 June 1, department of Our Own Apiary. 



VIRGIN QUEENS. 



IS IT ADVISABLE TO DESTROY THEM WHEN 30 

 DAYS OR MORE OLD? 



fRIEND ROOT:— Not presuming to dispute 

 what is laid down in your ABC book, never- 

 theless your advice to destroy queens that do 

 not lay within 31 days after they are hatched 

 does not agree with my experience. For the 

 past few years, early in March I place my bees on 

 their summer stands from the cellar, and the first 

 warm day after they have had a fiight I examine all 

 as to the condition of their stores, keeping a sharp 

 lookout for queenless colonies. I usually find from 

 three to five colonies, out of .50 or 60, tliat are queen- 

 less. T then hunt around until I find a comb with 

 eggs. Out of this I give to each queenless colony a 

 small piece of comb with eggs in it. If the colony 

 is strong enough they seldom fail to raise a queen, 

 but it is then 6 weeks or more before drones are fly- 

 ing. Those queens begin flying soon after drones 

 begin to fly, and prove very fair ones, but never the 

 best, but are al)Out as good or equal to those reared 

 in any other manner ai'tificially. I have watched 

 this matter carefully by examining colonies for 

 drones and drone brood, and lam almost convinced, 

 but not positive, that those queens are 31 days old 

 or more before they are fertilized. Now, friend K., 

 let me stop and tell you, for you are doing a great 

 deal of good that you are unaware of, and may nev- 

 er hear of in this world, not only tome, but to many 

 others. You will say, or think, " There must be 

 some mistake. I don't doubt the queens were prob- 

 ably fertilized long before they began to lay, by 

 drones that escaped your scrutiny, which possibly 

 might be the case, but I am skeptical." 



This has been the worst season, up to a week ago, 

 1 ever experienced. There is nearly 100 acres of al- 

 sike clover in my locality. It failed to yield honey, 

 I think, because of the long drought last summer 

 and this spring. I was making great expectations, 

 as this was the first season it blossomed. Red do- 

 er, for three or four days, gave a good flow of honey 

 —the first crop at that, but my bees were destitute 

 at the time, and barely filled their hives only in the 

 strong colonies. I have noticed before, when red 

 clover is dwarfed it yields honey bountifully, and 

 the bees swarm on it; but when it is so rank they 

 do not notice it— at least, that is the way it acts in 

 this locality. M. F. Tatman. 



Rossville, Kan., June 30, 1887. 



We are always very glad to receive criti- 

 cisms, or to be corrected, where our state- 

 ment is apparently wrong, in the A B C of 

 Bee Culture ; but," friend T., you and the 

 ABC book do not differ so essentially, aft- 

 er all. If you will read carefully the matter 

 under the head of Queens, especially that 

 part under the sub-head, " How Old may a 

 Queen be iind still become Fertilized V "^ p. 

 202, you will lind the following : " I think I 

 would destroy all queens that do not lay at 

 the age of 20 days, if the season, flow of 

 honey, flight of drones, etc., are all right."' 

 Notice the last part of the quotation. Dur- 



