206 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Bees Starving with Honey in the Hive 



Will you advise me what caused all my bees to 

 die in the hive during present winter, queen and 

 all? They had plenty of stores, and were in a 

 double-walled hive which was also protected by a 

 shed which had a clearance of about 6 inches around 

 the hive, which clearance was covered and stufifed 

 with burlap bags, carpets, etc., so that they certainly 

 could not have frozen. We did not notice them flying 

 these fine sunny days, so we investigated, only to 

 find them all dead. There is no evidence of foul 

 brood. 



Would you recommend destroying combs now in 

 the hive before putting in new bees? 



Pittsburg, Pa. Wm. McGall. 



[Prom our own experience with bees wintered out 

 of doors in chaff hives this year, as well as other 

 reports which are similar to yours, we are led to 

 believe that your colony starved to death with honey 

 all around them. This condition was brought about 

 by the long steady cold stretch of winter weather 

 which we had during the past two months. While 

 there was plenty of stores in the hive, yet the bees 

 were so stiffened by the cold that after they had eaten 

 all the honey within reach they were unable to move 

 over, and, consequently, starved to death. 



If you are sure that there is no disease in the 

 combs there is no reason why you should not use 

 them again. — Ed.] 



Substitutes for Pollen should be Fed 



Why use sweet of any kind in a pollen substitute? 

 Mix it according to my method, page 313, April 15, 

 1914, and I will guarantee that the bees wiU do the 

 rest in a proper manner. 



I have fed flour for twenty-five years with good 

 results, placing it in the beeyard in shallow boxes, 

 rye, graham, shorts, and bran thoroughly mixed. 

 The bees work it as readily as they would natural 

 pollen or even honey. There is sufficient natural oil 

 or starch in the mixture that the bees have no trouble 

 whatever in loading up quickly. I doubt if the bees 

 use any honey in the manipulation of this substitute 

 or the natural pollen, other than that naturally con- 

 tained in the blossom producing it, L. L. Langstroth 

 to the contrary. True, it is very sweet to the taste, 

 yet is readily crumbled like pellets of flour. 



Union Center, Wis. Elias Fox. 



Painting Hives is Economy in the End 



T take care of over 250 colonies of bees, and 

 have watched every point in bee culture for year.s. 

 I began when young, and am now 55 years old. I 

 have read that Dr. Miller does not believe that paint- 

 ing his hives is an act of economy. 



I want to say to my bee-brethren that, if they 

 make their own hives, and are not willing to use all 

 the paint necessary to protect the wood, they should 

 paint the inside of the hive first. This will prevent 

 the sides and ends of the hive from taking up the 

 moisture from the bees on the inside, and thus pre- 

 vent the sides from curling out. I favor painting 

 on both sides with good oil paint. I believe this is 

 economy in the end. N. M. GoOD. 



Grand Valley, Colo. 



Place to Scratch Matches on the Bellows of 

 a Smoker 



I have an improvement on the smoker that is so 

 simple that one might smile, and perhaps feel a little 

 disgusted over it; but after using it a few times that 

 feeling will disappear. 



Take a little very thick paint; spread it on the 

 lower right-hand side of the bellows, next to the 

 fire-pot. Cover the lower half, and then fill it with 

 coarse sand. .\fter it is thoroughly dry you will 

 smile every time you scratch a match on it. 



Bradentown, Fla. D. W. Abbott. 



Boards to Protect the Winter Entrance 



I notice by Jan. 15th Gleanings that the entrance 

 to those large quadruple winter cases on the cover 

 picture contemplates using a board for a runway 

 to the entrance- instead of leaning it up in front. 

 I may say that in this locality, where snow gets 

 quite deep, it seems to be a great advantage to lean 

 the board up in front. It prevents snow blocking 

 the entrance, as the snow slides away from the en- 

 trance, and it never packs solid under the board. 

 After the first day it does not seem to annoy the 

 bees to have the board there. I am never the least 

 concerned about the entrance if snow is three or 

 four feet deep, as I know they will be all right so 

 far as the snow is concerned. 



Forest, Ont. I. EiANGSTEOTh. 



Lead Pipes in Honey-tanks 



We intend to put some kind of spiral pipe in our 

 extracting-tank next year, so that we can turn on 

 the steam and heat the honey enough to prevent 

 granulation. This would be a convenient way to 

 heat bulk comb just before packing it. Does any 

 one know whether the use of lead pipes would affect 

 the flavor or quality of the honey ? 



Corpus Christi, Tex. E. B. Ault. 



[We have never used lead pipe in connection with 

 honey. We should be afraid, however, that it would 

 not be safe. Can any of our readers report? — Ed.] 



Has Tried Eight Hives in a Case 



Dr. Miller, p. 95, Feb. 1, suggests trying quad 

 ruple winter cases with hives two deep, eight in a 

 case. I tried this twostory plan one year, with the 

 result that in the spring nearly all of the bees were 

 found to be in the lower hives. Perhaps it would 

 work better if the entrances were turned in different 

 directions. 



Valparaiso, Ind. E. S. Miller. 



In opening a colony of bees to note condition a 

 few days ago I found several combs badly mildewed, 

 especially on the ends tow^ard the back of the hive. 

 Will this condition bring any bad results? or will the 

 bees clean it up later? 



Quite a number of combs are white with mildew, 

 and I find nothing after searching the ABC and 

 X Y Z. 



Morganton, N. C. L. E. Webb 



[You need have no fear of the mildew doing any 

 harm. As soon as the weather turns warm enough 

 for the bees to fly every day and to build up they 

 will clean up the combs and use them, and without 

 any bad effect on the bees. Mildew is found very 

 commonly on combs in hives in the spring of the 

 year, especially where they have been wintered in a 

 damp cellar; but the same condition is oftentimes 

 found in outdoor-wintered colonies as well. — Ed.] 



My Dream Woman of the Bees 



BY GRACE ALLEN 



She works and she sings, like her bees with brave 

 wings. 

 Exultantly eager and free. 

 Unfolding in beauty like flowers of the sod 

 That flood with their fragrance the sunshine of 

 God— 

 This woman I'd like to be. 



A lover of trees and birdsongs and bees, 



She treads where the poets have trod; 

 Like Martha she labors, and still like the sweet 

 ,\nd quiet-souled Mary she sit-s at the Feet, 

 And listens alone to God. 

 Nashville, Tenn. 



