338 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



the cellar bottom. I have wintered for 50 

 j'ears in a cellar, and only once did I ever 

 have them winter so poorly, and that was 

 when they g^ot honey-dew. 



West Rupert, Vt. C. M. LiNCor,N. 



[I can not understand why you should 

 have had results so unfavorable. Our bees 

 would roar invariably if we did not give 

 them sufficient ventilation. Sometimes when 

 the days were mng-gy and warm outside, 

 the bees would become quite restless till 

 toward night; then when we swung the 

 doors open, in the course of an hour or so 

 they would become quiet. During this time 

 the thermometer would remain about the 

 same. I should be inclined to feel that the 

 food or some other condition, rather than 

 the opening and closing of the door at night, 

 was responsible for the uneasiness on the 

 part of the bees. — Ed.] 



A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS. 



1. Is there any danger of introducing foul 

 brood into one's apiary by using comb 

 foundation from any and all dealers? If 

 so, where would you buy foundation? 



2. How many days old is a drone from 

 hatching before he is able to fertilize a 

 queen? 



3. By using Alley drone-traps can one 

 rid a hive of drones that may be in there, 

 providing no more be raised? How long 

 will it take to do it? 



4. When running for extracted honey, 

 about when would you pui on queen-exclud- 

 ing honey-boards? 



5. In the early spring, just before drones 

 begin to fly, can one secure as good queen- 

 cells by the Doolittle method, as in swarm- 

 iug-time, if he feeds the colony to stimulate 

 them? How much and how long should he 

 feed? Will the cells produce as good 

 queens? 



6. Where can I get an electrical appara- 

 tus for imbedding found at ion- wire? What 

 will it cost? 



7. I want a fine breeding-queen — one for 

 business not color. What sort of queen 

 would you advise me to get? 



Henry Perkins. 

 Highland, San Ber. Co., Cal. 



[1. Not the slightest. Foul brood has 

 never been known to be transmitted through 

 foundation. 



2. I do not know exactly, but anywhere 

 from ten days to two weeks. 



3. The Alley trap will take care of all 

 the drones in the hive. It may take a week 

 or so before the drones attempt to fly; and 

 when they do they will go into the upper 

 chamber, where they will die of starvation. 



4. Excluding honey-boards should be put 

 on at the same time that the supers or up- 

 per stories are given. 



5. Nearly if not quite as good queens can 

 be secured by the method you outline; but 

 the feeding must be of a stimulative kind — 

 a verj' little thin syrup daily. If the wea- 

 ther is cool or chilly at night I should not 



expect as fine queens as I would later on 

 when the weather is more mild. 



6. The A. I. Root Co. now supplies an 

 electrical apptiratus made up of six dry 

 cells for imbedding wires into foundation, 

 at a cost of $3 00. This includes a com- 

 plete outfit. 



7. I would select my queen-breeder, and 

 then call for just the kind of queen you call 

 for in your question. — Ed.] 



two-story hives for michigan; spring 

 management. 



On page 822, last year, you say you 

 would not advise the use of the double- 

 decker for all localities. Would it not be 

 an ideal plan in Michigan? If I take my 

 bees out of the cellar about the middle of 

 April, how many pounds of stores does each 

 colony require in order to build up strong- 

 ly? In case some colonies have from 25 

 to 30 lbs. of stores left, can I leave that, 

 or had I better take some of it out, so as to 

 give them more room for brood? 



After the middle of April can I encourage 

 brood-rearing too much or too soon? I de- 

 sire to have them in the best possible con- 

 dition ior white clover. W. Bos. 



Forestgrove, Mich., Mar. 27. 



[Double-decker colonies might answer 

 very well for your part of the State. Un- 

 der no circumstances would I advise you to 

 take away any stores from a colony of bees 

 at this time of the year, for they will need 

 all they have. I would not stimulate brood- 

 rearing too early in April. For your lo- 

 cality you had better not do any thing of 

 the kind before the first of May, and not 

 even then if the weather should remain 

 cool. — Ed.] 



sealed v. porous covers IN wintering ; 

 alfalfa. 



What do 3'ou think about wintering bees 

 under enameled quilts with a good suppl}' 

 of packing over the top, and with a Hill 

 device over the frames? 



The farmers are beginning to sow alfalfa 

 clover, and some people say it will not pro 

 duce any honey in this State. Is it true 

 that it has failed in some States? 



A. A. Stickley. 



Strasburg, Va., March 17. 



[Enameled quilts are very often used in 

 packing over a brood-nest, with verj^ good 

 results. They make what we call a sealed 

 cover. Others argue in favor of one por- 

 ous, like burlap, claiming that the moisture 

 then has an opportunity to pass upward 

 and away from the bees; but this is an ob- 

 jection in that the packing material be- 

 comes damp and cold. All things consid- 

 ered, we should prefer in our outdoor win- 

 tering the sealed covers. 



Alfalfa does not yield honey in all States. 

 In the East we do not know of its furnish- 

 ing any honey, while in the West generally 

 it is regarded as a very important honey- 

 plant. — Ed.] 



