660 



GLEANINGS IK iJEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



enter into their calculations. For fully a month 

 their stores hav^c not increased, and some have 

 been living on their earlier g-athering-s rather than 

 expose themselves to "sunstroke." I should think 

 the richest honey should be gathered in hot weath- 

 er, but the bees ought to know. .J. C. Frisbee. 

 Suffolk, Va., Aug. 1.5, 1887. 



Friend r., it is very strange indeed that 

 so many of your colonies swarmed out and 

 went off in "the same direction. I know it 

 is a fact that bees, after liaving been ship- 

 ped or moved, sometimes take a notion to 

 desert their hives ; but I don't know that I 

 ever heard of so^many following suit. You 

 probably will never have a like occurence 

 again.— I think W. Z. II. was right, for the 

 small crop of honey has made a stir and ex- 

 citement in the honey-market, such as was 

 never known before since I can remember. 

 It is now^ called for and bought up at good 

 prices as soon as it makes its appearance, 

 and I should not be surprised if prices go up 

 a good deal higher than they are now be- 

 fore another crop comes to our relief. We 

 are sold out here at the Home of the Honey- 

 Bees about all the time, with the exception 

 of our carload of California honey that we 

 have had for several years, and some extra 

 nice comb honey which we are selling at IS 

 cents a pound wholesale. We are now 

 offering 7 cents for basswood honey, and 8 

 cents for a nice article of clover, delivered 

 here ; and if it does not come at these prices 

 we shall have to keep raising. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



QirESTTONS BY A BEGINNER. 



^TISIHIS is my first year with bees. 1 bought 

 'fK' four colonies last fall in 10-franie portico 

 ^1? L. hives. They were buried during- winter 

 "*" according to the instructions of a local 

 bee - keeper. They came out in spring 

 rather weak; but as the hives were full of honey 

 they built up rapidly. One hive cast a swarm 

 in June; and as others were clustering and had 

 queen-cells nearly ready to cap over, I swarmed 

 them artificially as per the ABC book. The colony 

 that swarmed naturally also swarmed again in a 

 few days. I saved all, and now have nine, with but 

 very little honey. The four I bought had over 160 

 lbs. of honey to go through the winter on, but I 

 weakened the parent stocks by taking out frames 

 containing both brood and honey, for the artificial 

 swarms; and also one frame each for the natural 

 swarms. Basswood was budded heavily; and as we 

 had plenty near by we supposed they would at least 

 fill their brood-frames with winter stores. They 

 worked like beavei-s while the basswood lasted, but 

 there are still some empty frames, and some with a 

 little comb and honey. Now, 1 study the ABC and 

 Gleanings, and am well i)aid for all time so spent; 

 but it is somewhat like a beginner joining an ad- 

 vanced singing-class — all very interesting and fine; 

 still, one feels the need of the rudiments. For in- 

 stance, I might open every hive I have, and I could 

 not tell whether it were better to unite the swarms 

 or to feed them for winter. Neither could I deter- 

 mine the number of frames to leave in the hive; 



whether it were best to contract or not, and to what 

 extent. A writer in the American Apiculturist of 

 last year said he aimed to have all brood hatch by 

 Oct. 1st, as he wants no " baby bees " for wintering. 

 He does not tell how to control brood-rearing, and I 

 am yet in the dark. Now about wintering. 1 don't 

 care to go to the expense of chaff hives. Can I not 

 safely jiack chaff around and over the hives, placing 

 them first all close together? I dislike to bury 

 them, for they came out so weak last spring that I 

 should rather try some other i)l!in. 



I do not write this in a critical mood on account of 

 what I fail to find in the ABC and Gleanings. 

 They are admirable publications, and no doubt you 

 have gone over the same ground many times be- 

 fore; but a discussion of the best way to manage 

 colonies in this poor year, that are short of stores, 

 and weak, would help me greatly, and perhaps oth- 

 ers, just now. c. H. Murray. 



Plainfleld, Will Co.. 111., Aug. 6, 1887. 



Friend M.,the things you mention can not 

 be learned all at once. The more your heart 

 is in it, however, the quicker will these dif- 

 ficulties become easy. Perhaps no one can 

 tell you positively "whetlier it is better to 

 unite your colonies or feed them up just as 

 they are. Sometimes one way would be the 

 wiser, and sometimes the other. As a rule, 

 however, safety is on the side of the strong 

 colonies. — I do not think it makes very much 

 difference how^ many frames you leave in 

 the hives, providing they contain an abund- 

 ance of stores. It is qii'ite likely, however, 

 that just about so many as the cluster cov- 

 ers, and no more, will be best. So yon see 

 the quantity of bees has much to do with the 

 quantity of" combs needed.— I shall have to 

 disagree witli the writer alluded to. I have 

 induced bees to rear brood every month in 

 the year, by feeding them pollen and honey; 

 and" the colonies that raised brood largely 

 clear up into November seemed to winter 

 best. I feel quite sure, however, that it is 

 by no means necessary to have brood-rear- 

 ing after the tirst of October. Bees will usu- 

 ally stop rearing brood at that time of their 

 own accord. — Packing chaff' around the hives 

 you have will answer just about as well as 

 chaff hives. After you have put it on or 

 taken it off, however, year after year for 

 several seasons, I think you will conclude 

 the chaff hives are a saving of time, and 

 money too, in the end. 



A NON-SW ARMING COLONY. 



We have had a swarm of bees for three years, and 

 have them yet. They have swarmed but once, and 

 then they went back. This is the third summer, 

 and no sign of swarming. We took the bees, not 

 being able to buy. I have tried to have the widow 

 who owns them share the expense of an Italian 

 queen, but she very graciously tells me every time 

 to do as I think best. They have barely lived 

 through the winter, so you see we have solved the 

 problem of successful wintering. Had they been 

 our own, her head would have come oft' three years 

 ago. She is a drone-laying queen. 



Inland, Mich., June 13, 1887. H. T. Davidson. 



Friend D., bee-keepers are not usually par- 

 ticular whether bees swarm or not, so they 

 produce nice large crops of honey. Now, 1 



