6i: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



other punctured near one eye; a third my 

 nose, and in a few minutes I received five 

 sting-s upon my face. I bathed in cool vi^a- 

 ter, and to-day there is no soreness or 

 swelling-. I suppose those bees thoug^ht I 

 was to blame for the scarcity of nectar. 



In a recent trip throug^h the country, in 

 cars and carriage, I looked constantly for 

 bee- pasturage. All I saw was a little 

 white clover lay the roadside. Farmers do 

 their work more thoroughly than formerly. 

 In looking over the large fields of oats and 

 corn I could not see a weed. The sloughs, 

 where flowers bloomed year by year, are 

 now tiled, and the plow and the reaper have 

 destroyed them, and corn and meadows 

 have taken their place. The Illinois River 

 has overflowed her banks, and when the 

 waters recede, bees may gather nectar from 

 the button bush; and, later, the lowlands 

 yield from Spanish needle, polygonum, and 

 other wild flowers. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, 111., June 25. 



[I believe you have partly answered j^our 

 own question yourself. Intensive agricul- 

 ture has so monopolized lands that were 

 once used for pasture, and where white clo- 

 ver grew and blossomed, that our former 

 source of nectar supply has been largely 

 cut off. But these very rains that have 

 been killing the goose that laid the golden 

 egg this year, are feeding the goose that 

 will lay the eggs next year, because there 

 are thousands of acres of white clover which 

 are growing luxuriantly in every available 

 spot where, before, drouth for a series of 

 years had made their growth impossible. — 

 Ed.] 



the calling-notes of young queens. 



I once took a frame in my hand, on which 

 I expected a queen to hatch. Presently I 

 saw her cut her way out, and she walked a 

 few steps and put her head into a cell of 

 honey and commenced drinking, and almost 

 immediately began "piping." The piping 

 and drinking seemed in noway to interfere 

 with each other. 



Recently I had a swarm from which I 

 was expecting a second swarm. Piping 

 was nearly constant, but only the younger 

 queens were heard until the full time for 

 the swarm to issue. Then I began to dis- 

 tinguish the high and querulous tone of the 

 first to hatch. Still no swarm appeared. 

 Next day I opened the hive and looked a 

 long time for the queen. Her tone, still 

 continuing, directed me to a certain frame, 

 yet no queen was visible. Then I found a 

 cell near the middle of the frame, which I 

 tore oft", and out walked a perfect queen. 

 From some cause, however, she failed to be- 

 come a layer. J. A. Barber. 



Chuluota, Fla. 



contains. I have a question for you to in- 

 vestigate. Has a dog ever been trained to 

 watch for bees swarming? If so, what 

 breed will do it? My shepherd thinks the 

 bee-yard is the place for him to stay away 

 from. I think a bee-dog would be a valua- 

 ble addition to an apiar3% especially in 

 swarming time. J. D. Craig. 



New Germantown, N. J., June 23. 



[I was thinking about this very matter 

 the other day, but more particularly in con- 

 nection with an apiar}^ located out in the 

 woods away from any house. I wondered 

 if we could not have a watch-dog that would 

 stand as a sentinel over bees to keep off 

 thieves. But a dog is a companionable an- 

 imal, and it is doubtful whether he would 

 be content away from his master unless 

 held by a chain, and then he would be use- 

 less in case of the approach of thieves, if 

 they knew he was chained. I doubt if a 

 dog could be trained, unless he be an ex- 

 ceptionally smart one, so as to bark when 

 swarms come forth. About the first train- 

 ing a dog gets around hives is that bees can 

 sting, and they soon learn to keep entirely 

 away from the premises. — Ed.] 



DOGS TO watch SWARMS. 



Your paper has saved me several dollars 

 on the sale of my honey alone, in addition 

 to the valuable information every number 



THE USE OF ENTRANCE-GUARDS DURING THE 

 SWARMING season; A CORRECTION. 



It occurs to me that your advice to W. "W. 

 Brockunier, page 479, is misleading. Per- 

 haps you did not understand the question 

 as I see it. In my experience, where a 

 swarm is thwarted in its desire by having 

 the queen detained, after the second or 

 third attempt to swarm they are almost 

 sure to kill the queen; therefore, should the 

 queen be confined by an entrance-guard 

 she would be killed; and if the guard is 

 not removed it would prevent the young 

 queen, which would be due to mate ten or 

 twelve days later, from taking her wed- 

 ding-flight, and the consequence would be 

 a hopelessly queenless colony, or else a 

 drone-laying queen. Study over this, and 

 see if I am not correct. Possibly this may 

 not be the experience of others, but I al- 

 ways expect a queen to be killed if repeat- 

 edly prevented from accompanying the 

 swarm. You say no harm will result if the 

 guard is kept on during the whole season. 

 That advice would not do for me to follow. 



Bluffton, Mo. S. E. Miller. 



[On reading your letter I said, " I agree 

 with you exactly." While there is no di- 

 rect conflict between my footnote and what 

 you write, I see that my answer is not 

 quite complete if a swarm should attempt to- 

 come out and a queen pass the guard. In 

 that event even the guard, without doubt, 

 should be removed after the swarm returns, 

 or, better, while the swarm is in the air a 

 hive with empty combs should be placed on 

 the old stand, the queen caged, and put 

 therein. The parent hive should be remov- 

 ed to one side, and the super put on the new 

 hive. When the swarm returns, which it 

 will do, release the queen. — Ed.] 



