812 



(J LEANINGS IJS BEE OUL.TUKE. 



Nov. 



plan ] do not g-et a laying queen any sooner than 

 with the others, and fail about once out of four 

 times. However, it is a little more simple than the 

 first, but requires the opening of the hive one more 

 time. What we want is a safe plan of direct intro- 

 duction; but direct introduction, except the first 

 queen when making the nucleus, has very nearly 

 !)affied me entirely. G. M. Dooi.ittle. 



JJorodino, N. Y., Nov., 188T. 



There is no question, friend D., but that it 

 would be worth lots of money to us to know 

 how to introduce virgin queens when old 

 enough to be almost ready to commence 

 laying ; for in that case we could sell a 

 queen and have another one laying in the 

 same hive, in three or four days. In a week 

 she should have the hive pretty well tilled 

 with brood. The queen-nurseries made of a 

 lot of cages, to be hung in the hive, claim to 

 accomplish this, but I believe they never do 

 it with enough success to make it really 

 practicable. Erom what experience I have 

 had I should give your tirst plan the prefer- 

 ence. We should be very glad to hear from 

 our queen-breeders generally in this matter. 



ARTIFICIAL HEAT IN THE "WINTER- 

 ING-CELL AB. 



DR. C. C. MILLER DISCUSSES DOOMTTLE'S POSI- 

 TION IN REGARD TO THE MATTER. 



"Up FTER reading friend Doolittle's article on 

 giM page 738 several times, and each time with 



j^K' increased interest, and also looking over my 

 ■*■•*■ own article, page 613, I am more than ever 

 convinced that, for me at least, there is yet 

 something- to learn about wintering. In the pres- 

 ent case, self-interest makes me pocket my pride, 

 and desire that Doolittle may come out ahead. I 

 am sorry to say, that too often, when controversies 

 arise, I am more anxious that I may come out 

 ahead than that the truth shall come out ahead. 

 After all, what does it matter whether I am right 

 or wrong in the first place, so I may be sure to be 

 right in the last place— in other words, that the 

 truth may be established? 



And now, not for the sake of controversy, but for 

 the sake of lessons to be learned, I refer to some 

 points in Bro. Doolittle's article. With the mercu- 

 ry 10° above, outside, and a brisk wind blowing, he 

 could, in one hour, reduce the temperature inside 

 from 45° down to the freezing-point, by throwing 

 both ventilators wide open; but he was convinced 

 this was an injury to the bees, for the commotion 

 caused did not subside for two or three days after- 

 ward. Very likely. I think we may learn that 

 such rapid lowering through so many degrees is 

 undesirable. I never tried such violent measures. 

 With the thermometer 10° above, I have never 

 found it necessary to cool down the cellar; but 

 when warm days and nights came I lowered the 

 temperature, not 13 ', but perhaps 4 or 5°, not in one 

 hour, but in 10 or 1.5, and then the commotion sub- 

 sided before the cooling process was over, and 1 

 think the bees were much benefited thereby. 



Vou say, brother Doolittle, that you " resolved on 

 no more artificial heat of any kind, and not to al- 

 low the temperature to go lower than 43°." I have 

 never seen any evidence of harm from stove heat; 

 still, I should much prefer to dispense with it; but 

 so far I have not succeeded in keeping the tempera- 

 ture 43" above without it. Perhaps I ought to do 



more banking up ; and If you can keep at 43" or 

 above, I want to try to approach it, although some- 

 times our winters go down to nearly 40° below zero. 

 But I must confess, that my anxiety for ventilation 

 has made me less anxious to have my cellars closed 

 up tight. Your experience of last winter, with no 

 eftort for ventilation whatever, shakes my previous 

 belief somewhat. Still, if the 50 colonies had plenty 

 of ventilation, would 100 have done as well? 



Mr. D. gives a table showing the spontaneous 

 passage of air through walls of stone, etc., and then 

 asks, " Does the doctor now think that doors wide 

 open are necessary?" Now look here, brother 

 Doolittle. If, during a warm spell, I found my bees 

 uneasy, and my previous experience taught me 

 that, if let alone, the uneasiness would increase, 

 but if well aired all would be quiet by morning, and 

 remain so for days, you couldn't stop me from 

 throwing doors and windows wide open; no, I 

 couldn't be stopped by a table of figures ten times 

 as long as the one you have given. 



After all, friend D., even if I could beat you at 

 controversy in this atfair, and I don't believe I have, 

 you have done what is of more importance— beaten 

 me in practice; for you can put your bees into 

 your cellar and leave them for the winter un- 

 touched, while I have already laid in my stock of 

 best Cross-Creek Lehigh nut coal, which will re- 

 quire ray attention every morning and evening 

 through the entire winter. 



PRICES OF HONEY. 



Bro. Root, on page 744 you quote comb honey at 

 1^ to 30, and extracted 10 to 15, making the latter 

 about three-fourths as much as the former. The 

 Honey Column in the same number of Gleanings 

 makes the average price of extracted less than half 

 that of comb. Taking the quotations as given by 

 the eleven different houses, comb i-anges from 8 to 

 30 cts., the average of all being 16 cts., and extract- 

 ed ranges from 3!4 to 10, the average of all being 

 a shade less than 7 cts. Have you not put extract- 

 ed a little too high in proportion to comb? 



SPACE BELOW FRAMES. 



Oil page 767 you give three-eighths of an inch as 

 the proper space between the bottom -bar of the 

 frame and the bottom of the hive. I think most 

 will say that, for winter, a much larger space is de- 

 sirable. As the bees are much given, at least mine 

 are, to building little piles of propolis on the bot- 

 tom of the hive, a larger space than 'b is, I think, 

 desirable, even in summer. I have a space of %, 

 and have never seen a case where any harm oc- 

 curred from it. I think I should prefer a space as 

 large as could be used without having the bees 

 build comb under the bottom-bar. Would they do 

 so with a space of an inch? C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111., Oct., 1887. 



Friend M., we put extracted iioney ac- 

 cording to demand and supply ; and a really 

 first- class gilt-edged article does bring with 

 us at least three-fourths as much as comb 

 honey.— I think the shape of the bottom-bar 

 has something to do with the question 

 about bees building combs below it. With 

 a very narrow bottom -bar they are more apt 

 to do so than with bars such as we usually 

 make. I have seen hives, frequently with a 

 full inch between the bars and bottom- 

 boards, and no combs were built below un- 

 less they were waved so as to have the bot- 

 tom edges run off at one side. 



