478 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



bloom filled the space with comb, and had 

 a fine lot of drone brood. You mig-ht think 

 that, when a hive is raised on blocks, mak- 

 ing a space of an inch or more, comb will 

 be built under; but I never had that hap- 

 pen. The bees seem to think it is not worth 

 while to begin building in so shallow a 

 space. 



HOW BEES ARE POISONED WHEN SPRAYING 

 IS ADMINISTERED DURING A HONEY-FLOW. 



3Ir. Root: — I am having a little trouble 

 about my bees, and will ask you a few 

 questions. Last December I put 21 colo- 

 nies of bees in the cellar under my house. 

 This spring, about the 10th of April, I took 

 out 20 nice lively colonies. All came out 

 dry, bright, and healthy. One died in the 

 cellar; and now within two weeks I have 

 lost eight colonies by their losing their 

 queens. I noticed some of my bees acted 

 queerly. I looked them over and found 

 plenty of worker brood, but no young larvje 

 or eggs, and no queen. Sometimes I have 

 found the dead queen near the entrance of 

 the hive. Now, what I wish to know is, if 

 bees get poison will the queen be the first 

 or one of the first to die? The bees all had 

 plenty of natural stores. 



Please tell me if there is any way I can 

 have my dead bees or honey analyzed; and 

 if so, where had I better send it? 



S. E. SCOFIELD. 



Enosburg Falls, Vt., May 6. 



[This is a very clear case of poison, for 

 the symptoms tally almost exactly with the 

 cases of bees poisoned by spraying-liquids. 

 In such cases the queens are almost sure to 

 be the first to succumb. Young brood dis- 

 appears or fails to mature. 



There is nothing you can do if there is no 

 anti-spraying law in your State (and I 

 think there is none) but to give your neigh- 

 bors such spraying literature as we are 

 prepared to send out free, and urge them to 

 spray before and after bloom. 



But you should see to it that concerted 

 action on the part of bee-keepers is made, 

 looking toward an anti-spraying law. Such 

 men as A. E. Manum, Bristol, and J. E. 

 Crane, Middlebury, your State, will be 

 able to give you substantial assistance, I 

 have no doubt. 



Last year, I think, we had hundreds of 

 reports almost exactly like yours; but not 

 till the latter end of the season did I really 

 " get on " to the cause of the trouble. It is 

 the same old story every time. 



With regard to having your dead bees 

 analyzed, you might submit them to your 

 State chemist if you have one. But they 

 should be sent on at once, together with 

 samples of the poisoned brood. — Ed.] 



A BUNCH OF SEASONABLE QUESTIONS. 



1. Please tell me how to prevent bees 

 from spending all their time "swarming," 

 instead of storing honey ? 



2. How can I transfer them from old 

 dirty hives to new clean ones ? 



3. I shaded my hives and packed straw 

 around them. When opened, all hives had 

 live bees; but hives and combs were moldy. 

 What caused it ? How can I clean hives ? 



4. Will bees do best in a house, or in 

 scattered hives in a field ? 



5. Last year I had several swarms leave 

 the hives after having been in from two to 

 six days. Some had built combs, and then 

 deserted. What caused it? Others in this 

 vicinity had same experience. 



6. How do bees get foul brood first? 

 Berwick, N. S. D. C. Crosby. 



[To answer this question fully would re- 

 quire a little volume; but I might give a 

 few pointers. If possible, there should be 

 only young laying queens in the apiary. 

 Be careful not to let the bees get crowded 

 for room at any time. Keep ahead of them. 

 Give a good large-sized entrance, % by the 

 width of the hive. If you have one of the 

 old-fashioned narrow entrances, lift the 

 hive ofi" the bottom-boards and set under 

 four %-in. blocks during the hottest of the 

 weather. If hives stand in the hot sun, put 

 on shade-boards, or, better still, arrange 

 to have the hives located in the first place 

 under some trees that will leaf out just in 

 time to cut ofl^ the hot rays of the sun. As 

 a matter of convenience, keep the wings of 

 all queens clipped. 



2. That is easy. Just take them out of 

 the old hive and put them in a new one. 

 But perhaps you inquire as to the modus 

 operandi. My method is to lift the combs 

 out, grabbing three at a time. This can 

 be done very readily if the frames are 

 the Hoffman self-spacing. Set them down 

 in a clean hive; pick up three more and 

 set them down, and so on, until all the 

 frames are in. Move the old hive off its 

 stand, and put the new one in its place. 

 Dump the old hive in front of the new one. 

 Clean it out inside with a scraper. If you 

 wish to make a good job, use a kettleful 

 of boiling water, scalding around the in- 

 side. This will clean it as well as disin- 

 fect it to a great extent. The hive may 

 now be used for the next colony. 



3. Combs from colonies that winter out- 

 doors are apt to show in the spring a thin 

 coating of blue mold. It does no harm; 

 and the very fact that it appears on the 

 combs of all strong colonies that are in a 

 normal condition is an evidence of good 

 wintering. As to how to clean the hives, 

 see answer to No. 2. 



4. I suppose you mean whether the bees 

 will do better in a house-apiary or out- 

 doors, each hive having a separate stand 

 of its own. As a rule it is more convenient 

 to handle bees outdoors; and on the ground 

 of economy the field plan is very much 

 cheaper than the other. 



5. Newly hived swarms are quite apt to 

 behave in this way at times, especially if 

 the hive is all new, and nothing but empty 

 frames or frames of foundation are given. 

 A new swarm should always be given a 

 frame of unsealed brood and put into a hive 



