524 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



why don't those men put their names on it 

 as you do?" Aug. Buchhagen. 



Steubenville, Ohio. 



PRESERVING QUEENS OUT OF NUCLEI. 



What is a safe way to maintain and pre- 

 serve a laying- queen when taking her away 

 from her colony, without supplying- her 

 with nuclei? I am satisfied that queen- 

 breeders and bee-men in general have a 

 system by which queens are kept in contact 

 with colonies which already have a queen, 

 without coming in dangerous contact with 

 the reigning queen. C. A. Vincent. 



Picton, Ont., May 6. 



[I do not know of any practical way of 

 keeping them any length of time. They 

 can be kept in mailing-cages with a few 

 assistants, and kept over a strong colony 

 for two or three weeks, perhaps occasional- 

 ly putting in fresh bees. They could be 

 kept in small nuclei of the size of two or 

 three section boxes for several months; but in 

 that case the entrance should be covered 

 with perforated zinc, to keep the little colo- 

 ny from swarming and the queen from go- 

 ing with them. — Ed.] 



BURLAP and THE HILL DEVICE. 



I notice in the American Bee Journal that 

 the subject of burlap and the Hill device is 

 being brought up. I think the Hill device 

 with burlap over it has caused the death of 

 many a colony of bees, and should like to 

 see the advice corrected. In 

 actual experience I have lost a 

 number of colonies by using bur- 

 lap over the frames in winter. 

 The chaff seemed to absorb 

 moisture, and, to all appear- 

 ances, the upper story of the 

 hive would have the appearance 

 of allowing the snow to drift in. 

 Then when a warm spell came 

 this would melt, and the chaff 

 would become a cake of ice. I 

 would throw away the Hill de- 

 vice and use a board like the 

 Porter escape-board, reversed, 

 leaving a double bee-space over 

 the frames, and on this place 

 my chaff or dry leaves. With 

 this arrangement, strong colo- 

 nies, and plenty of honey, I be- 

 lieve I can winter successfully 

 in your Medina climate — yes, 

 with hives made of quarter- 

 inch lumber. I am often asked 

 for advice on this important 

 subject, and with my experi- 

 ence I can not recommend the 

 Hill device and burlap pack- 

 ing. W. S. POUDER. 



Indianapolis, Ind., May 30. 



[Some years ago there was 

 considerable discussion over this 

 question of sealed covers versus 

 absorbents; and the preference 



in favor of one or the other seemed to be 

 about evenly divided. In some seasons the 

 absorbing cushions over the Hill device 

 seemed to give better results; in others the 

 sealed cover (a board }{ inch thick, with a 

 chaff cushion on top) gave the better show- 

 ing. In our own apiary we are gradually 

 working toward the sealed cover; but a 

 double bee-space under it, I believe, would 

 be an advantage. But I doubt very much 

 whether, with such a sealed cover, even 

 such as you describe, you could winter in 

 hives having a side thickness of only }4 

 inch. In my own experiments I found there 

 was a very marked difference between the 

 single-walled hive and that with two pack- 

 ed walls both having sealed covers with the 

 chaff cushion on top. — Ed.] 



STILL DOING BUSINESS AT THE OLD STAND; 

 COMBS 21 YEARS OLD. 



I am reminded to write to you to-day by 

 a bee-sting. Twenty-one years ago this 

 spring a swarm of bees came here and 

 went into an empty hive. The next year 

 they made 416 lbs. of extracted honey, and 

 " are still doing business at the old stand." 

 The combs are 20 years old, and may be 

 21. I used to be "our eighteen-year-old 

 bee-keeper" when Gleanings was 3'oung, 

 but have not much time to care for bees 

 now. L, Z. Jones. 



Galva, 111., May 12. 



'^ J/ l'^ DlavtcL nucloA. a/nc( ntruMQ 



^ccCUxm 2:00 P^^^ frtrr^-R^K SfoU'frr^ 

 S tj-cc^jf^ ;^oArr cxnA a-rix. meun: ^iWn 





