1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



277 



to bee-keepers, and to greenhouse owners 

 in particular. I copy nearly all of it. 



BEES UNDER GLASS. 



Where fruit is extensively cultivated in glass struc- 

 tures, the aid of the busy bee is often invoked, always 

 with good results to the cultivator, but often with dis- 

 astrous effect on the bees. 



Our stocks were originally procured in the light- 

 fr;iine I,angstroth hives; but as these were much the 

 ■v\ (ji se for wear, we determined to transfer to a more 

 niiKKrn pattern, and were induced to adopt the Dan- 

 zenliaker hive. Two weeks ago, the peach and nec- 

 tarine buds being far enough advanced to sh iw color, 

 a hive was brought in, and, after allowing the bees 

 their first flight, the frames were lifted out and the 

 combs carefully cut to fit the new Danzenbaker 

 frames, whch, being slightlj' smaller, allowed of a 

 snug fit without any wiring. 



We noticed that there was lots of stores — honey— to 

 carry the bees through vintil spring, and in the enter 

 of the hive wa^ a patch of young brood and egus as 

 big as the palm of one's hand. This induced ns io 

 examine closely for pollen sto ed up, but scarcely any 

 could be detected; certainly not enough with which to 

 rear young brood. 



A few large pots of single violets full of bloom were 

 in the house, and the bees worked zealously over 

 these, gathering what pollen was available; but, sin- 

 gular to say, they did not touch the old frames with 

 scraps of comb full of honey that were laid round the 

 new hive for the bees to clean up 



This set us to thinking, and it was reasoned that 

 something was lacking, and that this must be pollen. 

 Having read that, in the absence of this most essential 

 article of food, rye meal had been found a good substi- 

 tute, some was procured, and about a tablespoonful 

 was heaped on the old hive-cover, which had also 

 .some honey spilled on it, and, presto ! the result was 

 a revelation — the bees came out and simply revt led 

 in the meal They became as white as millers, and at 

 the end of the first day it was seen that all the coarse 

 particles of meal had been carefully brushed aside, 

 the whole of the fine meal being removed and carried 

 into the hive to feed the young. And then they at 

 once began to clean up the scraps of honey; not a par- 

 ticle remained at the end of the first day. 



Some cultivators do not use bees to set their fruit- 

 bloom, but it is the best of economy to let them do it. 

 Tlie co.st of a swarm is soon outbalanced by the 

 amount of labor expended in .setting the bloom by 

 hand. 



It is a fair estimate that one house alone of peaches 

 and nectarines would cost as much to set by hand as 

 would buy a good colony of bees; and if these are 

 carefully tended they come out stronger and better 

 for their .sojourn under gla.ss, always provided that 

 there is plentj' of honey stored in the hive. Should 

 their stores be short, syrup must be fed as well as the 

 rye meal. 



We used to have to borrow a swarm from a bee- 

 keeper, and at first he did not much like the idea, 

 unless we would guarantee him against loss; but the 

 hive, when returned to him, threw off such early and 

 very strong swarms that he had no further misgiv- 

 ings, and we became interested ourselves in the art, 

 and have never before taken up a study that was at 

 once so intensely interesting as that of the busy bee. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 

 This is the name of a French bee journal 

 now in its second year, of which we have 

 just received our first copy. It is publish- 

 ed in Alencon, France. The February is- 

 sue contains a biography of Mr. Charles 

 Dadant, with a fine view of this apicultu- 

 ral veteran. It states he was born in 1819. 

 It should be 1817. We are g"lad to receive 

 this new journal, as it abounds in interest- 

 ing- thing-s relative to apiculture and farm- 

 ing generally. 



BEES. 

 This is the short title of a new bee-paper 

 started the first of the year in London. It 

 is the outcome of a dispute between the pub- 



lisher and editor, E. A. Geary, and the 

 editor of the British Bee Jourtial, Mr. W. 

 B. Carr. Last spring Mr. Geary sent an 

 advertisement to the B. B. /. , headed, 

 " Perfection at Last in Management. " Mr. 

 Carr very promptly rettirned the money and 

 copy, saying he would not insert the ad- 

 vertisement at any price. The resulting 

 correspondence is published in full in the 

 January issue. After a long war of words 

 the clarion notes of Mr. Geary's trumpet 

 were heard on the hillside, and his sword 

 leaped from the scabbard ; and llie result is 

 a splendid addition to the apicultural littr- 

 ature of England, for Bees is in e\ery way 

 a readable publication. It is claimed that, 

 where twelve colonies would be enough to 

 keep one man busy in the old way, by Mr. 

 Geary's new plan thirty can be managed 

 as easily. Interesting results are expected. 



PRIME SWARMS. 



" Good morning, Mr. Doolittle. I am in- 

 terested in the swarming of bees, and feel 

 that I know very little about the principle 

 on which swarming is conducted, so I came 

 over to have a little chat with you regard- 

 ing the matter." 



"All right, Mr. Brown. But what start- 

 ed you off on this swarming matter now? 

 Bees are not likely to swarm here in Cen- 

 tral New York to any amount under nearlj- 

 three months." 



" Yes, I know that is so; but I have been 

 looking over my back volumes of Glf;anings 

 during the stormy days which we have had 

 along back, when I came across this in Dr. 

 Miller's Stray Straws, page 511 for July 

 1, 1895: 'A prime swarm,' says Doolittle, 

 p. 484, ' is often erroneously called a first 

 swarm. Why erroneously?' I copied it off 

 so that I could ask you if you ever answered 

 that question." 



" I do not remember whether I ever did 

 or not; but I think it can be answered sat- 

 isfactorily." 



" But I alwaj's thought a prime swarm 

 was a first swarm, and all of those coming 

 later on from this same parent colony were 

 after-swarms. ' ' 



"You are correct in thinking that a 

 prime swarm is a first swarm, for stich is 

 always the case; but that is not the ques- 

 tion Dr. Miller raised, if I understand him 

 correctly." 



"Well, then, I do not understand Dr. 

 Miller as well as I thought I did. What 

 do you understand to be the question he 

 raises? " 



" He wishes to know why it is erroneous 

 to call a first swcirm a prime swarm. A 

 prime swarm must of necessity be a first 

 swarm, but that does not necessarily make 



