1««7 



GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTURK. 



767 



HO"W TO PREPABE A NUCLEUS FOR 

 "WINTER. 



QUESTIONS FROM AN A B C SCHOLAK. 



fkEUMIT mo to write a friendly letter, and close 

 r with a low questions. Before getting- the 

 threeframo nucleus and select tested queen 

 you sent, I had two colonies of bees. I did 

 not iittetniit to work with them without veil, 

 gloves, and smoker. 1 blamed the trouble on my 

 nervousness from office work. I am a telegraph 

 operator. When I went to open your nucleus I 

 bundled up as usual, expecting a bee-fight, but be- 

 gan by using only enough smoke to drive the bees 

 down on their combs, so they would not get lost. I 

 took out one frame; a few bees began flying, but I 

 missed that wicked buzz that 1 was so used to. The 

 flying bees would alight on me, but not one attempt- 

 ed to sting through my clothes. No wicked buzz. I 

 put the three frames in the hive, then shook in the 

 loose bees from the nucleus-box, but still no at- 

 tempt to sting. To say I was surprised would be to 

 put it mildly. Was it possible 1 had a queen that 

 would raise bees that a nervous man like me could 

 handle with pleasure? I tried them without veil, 

 smoke, or gloves. From August 23d until now, 

 Sept. 16th, I have handled them with only one sting, 

 and I think that came from another hive. They 

 crawl over my hands, alight on me, and fly away. 

 Sometimes I have taken out every frame twice in 

 one day, and no stings. I purposely go to this hive 

 without any protection whatever, to get confidence 

 in myself, and to test their gentleness. I am feed- 

 ing them every night (except Sunday), and still they 

 do not seem to be cross. If they are this way when 

 the colony gets populous and crowded, T shall bo 

 pleased. Perhaps their gentleness is owing to their 

 babyhood, as they are mostly young bees. I do not 

 want to strengthen this nucleus from my other 

 hives if I can avoid it. If these bees are gentle, I 

 want to know it and keep them so by not putting in 

 brood from colonies not so gentle. This brings us 

 to question first. 



1. Will your three-frame nucleus, received and 

 put in a hive August 23d, be strong enough to win- 

 ter without strengthening from other slocks, if I 

 give the queen plenty of room and give them plen- 

 ty of stores, and feed some every night that is 

 warm enough? When necessary, I give them 

 frames partly filled with honey from other hives, 

 but no brood. 



3. Will these bees be likely to continue so gentle 

 •when the colony gets populous, and the bees are 

 old? 



3. I understand from the ABC that the space be- 

 tween the bottom and frames, the sides and frames, 

 the ends and frames, and between the frames, 

 should be ''s of an inch. T have a stick that thick- 

 ness so as to be accurate and rapid in spacing. 

 Gleanings, Sept. 1, says the space between the 

 frames should be M an inch. Can you make this 

 plain? I want it right. 



4. What distance apart should the frames be plac- 

 ed when colonies are packed for wintering out- 

 doors, in the same place they stood in the summer? 



5. In packing for winter, must we give them 

 frames solid with honey, or must they have some 

 empty cells where the brood generally is— the 

 frames, say, two-thirds full of honey? 



6. Do you oil your brood-frames before using in 

 the hives? Phii-o S. Dilwohth. 



Pittsburgh, Pa., .Sopt. 1«, 1887. 



1. The tliree-tiiune nucleus, cared for as 

 you describe at the date nieiitioued, would be 

 amply strong? to winter, if the. queen is pro- 

 lific, and keeps the frames lilled with brood. 

 2. Italians, as a rule, are always gentle ; and 

 the bees you have are nothing' more nor less 

 than a fair sami)le of the bees from Italy. 

 As a general thing, a weak colony is much 

 easier to handle than when it becomes 

 stronger: but with mild and careful treat- 

 ment you will tiiid but little difference in the 

 dispositions of the Italians, whether weak 

 or strong. 3. Three-eighths of an inch should 

 be the space between the bottom-bar of the 

 frame and the l)i)ttom of the hive, and also 

 between the end-bar of ilu; hive and the side 

 of the hive. One-half inch is the correct 

 distance for spacing the frames. 4. When 

 preparing for winter, however, it is custom- 

 ary to space a little further apart. ,'>. Dur- 

 ing early fall you can give them frames sol- 

 id with honey', and the clusters will gradual- 

 ly consume the luMiey in the cells in the 

 tipper central portion of the frames, making 

 what is called a " winter nest." (i. We 

 don't oil our brood-frames. Oiling is some- 

 times recommended to prevent the bees 

 from propolizing the end-bars in closed-end 

 frames, but it is not necessary in suspended 

 frames such as you liave. 



HONEY-MARKETS. 



THE DAXGKU OF INCOKRECT QUOTATIONS. 



AM decidedly in favor of the publication of 

 market report.*. I am satisfied, however, that 

 sometimes harm is done by them. I think 

 they are often incorrect— I know they have 

 been sometimes. At one time I took the pains 

 to go to about every house where honey was whole- 

 saled in Chicago, and I could not buy honey within 

 several cents of the price quoted in the bee-papers 

 and dailies. I went to the ollice of the leading 

 daily which gave honey quotations, and asked why 

 they did not give correct reports. They said they 

 published what was given them. I showed them 

 the statement of sales of my own honey by a com- 

 mission house, and they said it was a revelation to 

 them, as they had had no opportunity of looking 

 behind the scenes prior to this, and immediately 

 the quotations were changed a few cents higher. 

 With no thought of doing any great harm by it, the 

 commission men sometimes report a lower figure 

 than they are selling at, so that, when they make 

 returns to their customers, the customers will be 

 well satisfied when they see they are getting more 

 than the market price according to the printed 

 quotations. But as these printed quotations are 

 often used as a help in fixing prices elsewhere, 

 any other than a correct report may be mischiev- 

 ous. 



Even if correct reports are given, an incorrect 

 use of them is often made. Mr. Jones lives at such 

 a distance from the nearest city market, that, after 

 paying freight and commission, he receives net 

 about 3 cents less than the price at which the hon- 

 ey is sold; so, if the price at the city market is V2 

 cts. per pound, he receives H cts. net, nnd will do 



