GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



In reg^ard to worker bees laying-, I will 

 tell you of an experience I had of that kind 

 recently. Owing- to an oversight on my 

 part a box was allowed to remain queenless 

 until this state of aflfairs took place: 



I had introduced a queen, but it seems 

 the bees had not accepted her, and, later 

 on, in looking in the box to see how she was 

 getting on I found this state of affairs. I 

 immediately went to my A B C to find out 

 what to do, but for once got no satisfaction, 

 as your book said a queen introduced at 

 this stage will not be accepted, or words to 

 that effect. Well, what was I to do? I 

 thought over the matter for half a day, and 

 finally struck on a plan that proved a suc- 

 cess; and for the benefit of some brother 

 w ho may happen to have the same bad luck 

 I will give it. The box that stood next to 

 ihis one was a pretty strong one. I took all 

 I lie frames from the queenless box but four. 

 I brushed the bees from the others and put 

 Ihem awaj'. The four remaining ones I 

 transferred to the strong box (bees and all), 

 and lifted four frames from that box and 

 put them in the empty box. I then intro- 

 duced a queen on these frames, which the 

 bees accepted, and when the queen began 

 to lay I began to supplj' the box with the 

 empty combs I had put away, and soon the 

 box was built up, and is now doing all 

 right. What became of the laying worker 

 I am unable to say, as she ceased her 

 ]iranks very shortly after being- transferred 

 to the strong- colony. 



I see some one wished to know in a recent 

 number of Gleanings how to prevent the 

 bees from crowding the queen in the brood- 

 chamber, in running- for comb honey. I 

 was troubled a great deal in that way at 

 first, but have learned how to stop it. If I 

 find the box is heavj', and little honey go- 

 ing into the super, 1 at once know there is 

 something wrong below. I lift the super 

 off, take out the side frames (sometimes I 

 find two or more on each side pretty well 

 filled), take them to mj' extractor (a home- 

 made machine), extract the honey, and re- 

 turn them to the box, but not to the sides of 

 the box. I lift a frame or two, as the case 

 may be, from the center of the box contain- 

 ing brood, and put these on the outside and 

 the empty frame in the center of the box. 

 The queen at once fills these empty combs 

 with eggs; and as the bees can not store on 

 the side ones, they at once begin "toting" 

 the honey above, where you can take it off 

 at 3'our pleasure. I tell you a fellow has 

 to work his brains (if he has any) as well 

 as his hands, to make a success with bees. 



I ag-ree with you, brother, in regard to 

 the yellow bees. I have introduced a few 

 such queens, but had to kill them, as their 

 bees did nothing but rob the whole season 

 I had them. I have tried the three-banded 

 and five-banded also, but like the leather- 

 colored strain the best, and breed nothing 

 else. 



This has not been a good honey 3'ear with 

 us, but I have taken as much as 80 lbs. 

 from some of my colonies, while the average 



honey-producers around here have taken 

 comparatively nothing. 

 Raleigh, N. C, Aug. 22. 



ADDITIONAL PROOF THAT BKES HAVE NOTH- 

 ING TO DO WITH PEAK-BLIGHT. 



It appears strange that an intelligent 

 community of pear-growers should accuse 

 honey-bees of disseminating the blight. 

 That an all-wise Creator should create so 

 useful an insect, and let it be the means of 

 spreading disease and death while pollen- 

 izing the bloom to insure the setting of 

 fruit, is incredible. If bees spread the dis- 

 ease, why do trees die with it that have 

 never bloomed? 



About 25 years ago every pear-tree in 

 this vicinity blighted, and many died. One 

 morning I was admiring a fine pear-tree. 

 Its leaves were shiny and green. At noon 

 I was surprised to see its branches black 

 and withering. No one knew whence the 

 blight came or whither it went; for, like an 

 Arab, it silently folded its tent and depart- 

 ed, and has not appeared here since. We 

 had a Flemish Beauty pear-tree that was 

 killed to the ground with blight; but a 

 sprout came up above the graft, and bore 

 four bushels of lovely pears this year. 



About ten years ago, while traveling 

 throug^h Northwest Florida, I greatl3' ad- 

 mired the pear-orchards — row upon row of 

 fine trees, without a break. The blight 

 came and destro3'ed them. A grower told 

 the writer that, whether trees were culti- 

 vated or uncultivated, mulched or irrigated, 

 the3' died all the same. I had in Florida 

 a row of four Leconte pear-trees and one 

 Keifter. The Lecontes were blighted, and 

 killed to the ground. Two sent up ver3' 

 strong shoots. The others were entirel3' 

 dead. I had fertilized these trees abun- 

 dantl3% and they made great growth, and 

 bore heavil3' — that is, the Lecontes; but the 

 Keiffer grew slowly, and bore heavil3'. If 

 the bees carry blight, why didn't they car- 

 ry it from the Lecontes to the Keiffers? 



In the future I'll not cultivate nor disturb 

 the soil under m3' pear-trees, for I've no- 

 ticed trees growing in 3'ards, that were 

 tramped around, never cultivated or fertil- 

 ized, didn't blight. I may spread under 

 them ashes and lime, or a coating of de- 

 cayed leaves, and turn them over to the 

 care of the Almight3'. 



I was in one of the cit3''s parks last week, 

 and I never saw such a wealth of bloom, of 

 every color imaginable. I looked them all 

 over carefulU', but never found a hone3'-bee. 

 Yesterday on my way to church I saw bees 



