948 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JS'ov. 15 



blew a little smoke over the tops of the 

 brood-frames, put on the cover quickly, and 

 then smoked them quite profusely at the 

 entrance. I next opened the queen-cage, 

 smoked it, and killed the escort bees one 

 by one as they came out. After letting the 

 queen walk in at the entrance I sent four or 

 five puffs of smoke after her and closed the 

 entrance to within one inch. 



Those colonies contained eggs and brood 

 in all stages. They had been fed for sev- 

 eral days previously on warm sugar and 

 honey syrup. This seemed to absorb their 

 entire attention, and hence they were more 

 kindly disposed to the new mother. 



I believe there is a world of wisdom in 

 feeding a colony a day or two previously, 

 and at the same time when a queen is to be 

 introduced, especially if there is no honey 

 coming in. J. W. Johnson. 



Davis, 111., Oct. 6. 



SUGAR-BEET A REMEDY FOR GROUND TOO 



RICH IN alkali; foul BROOD IN 



STOCKTON, CAL. 



I notice in Gleanings for Sept. 1 a few 

 lines about alkali in soils, and how to get 

 it out. I would say that the farmers near 

 and around Oxnard, Ventura Co., think 

 the sugar-beet takes most of the alkali out 

 of the ground in a few years; but sugar- 

 beets are hard on land. This might not do 

 where alkali is very strong or no market 

 for the beets. 



Bee-keepers near Stockton should look 

 out for foul brood. Out of 100 hives shipped 

 from there in 1901, only 7 never developed 

 it. The foul-brood inspector of Ventura 

 Co. saw one of these diseased colonies. 

 Many bee-keepers know of this and at 

 Stockton. E. Archibald. 



Los Angeles, Cal., Sept. 8. 



wintering in CELLAR. 



How do you put hives in cellar when bot- 

 toms are nailed? F. B. Cavanagh. 

 Gait, Michigan, Nov. 5. 



[If bottom-boards are nailed fast and can- 

 not readily be separated from the hive 

 proper, of course the hives would have to 

 be put in bottom boards and all. Bees can 

 be wintered in a cellar with the old-fashion- 

 ed narrow entrance, but entrance must be 

 kept clear by cleaning out from time to 

 time with a hooked wire. Much better re- 

 sults may be secured if you arrange your 

 bottom-boards so that they can be loosened 

 from the hive about an inch. A far better 

 arrangement for fasteningthe bottom-boards 

 to hives is a double-pointed tack or staple 

 that is driven in from the side, one point 

 into the bottom edge of the hive, and the 

 other point the side rail of the bottom-board. 

 Four such staples, two on each side, will 

 secure bottom-board strong enough for all 

 practical purposes. Then if it is thought 

 necessary to take the bottom-board off, a 

 screwdriver will easily loosen and remove 



the staples so that the bottom-board can be 

 free. The principal advantage in winter- 

 ing indoors with a wide entrance or in a 

 hive without any bottom-board at all, is in 

 giving the bees plenty of ventilation and a 

 chance for the dead ones to drop away free 

 from the brood-frames without obstructing 

 that ventilation. — Ed.] 



taxes; laying in the fall, etc. 



1. Could you tell me what the taxes and 

 insurance would be on 22 hives? 



2. I notice that the majority of my queens 

 have already ceased laying, in spite of con- 

 tinual feeding. Could I arouse them once 

 more this fall, and how? 



3. I see in Gleanings, that you contem- 

 plate improving a good many things soon. 

 What would be the matter with cleated fol- 

 lowers, same size and style as ordinary fol- 

 lowers, only made with cleats like an or- 

 dinary fence. 



In preparing for a forced swarm the 

 brood-frame which has the queen is hung 

 in the new swarm to keep pollen below. 

 Between this frame and the ones with only 

 starters we must have the slotted or cleated 

 followers to prevent all new combs from 

 bulging. B. Naf. 



Cleveland, O., Oct. 24. 



1. Bees in this State (Ohio) are ordi- 

 narily listed at about $2.00 per colony. If 

 the tax rate in Cleveland is 3 cents on the 

 dollar, the amount you would have to pay 

 per colony would be 6 cents. As to in- 

 surance against fire, that would all depend 

 upon whether the insurance agent would 

 take them. The rate would be somewhere 

 about 2 per cent on the actual valuation of 

 the bees. If the hives were put in at $5.00, 

 the amount you would have to pay would be 

 somewhere about 10 cents on the basis of 2 

 per cent. It is very seldom that bees are 

 insured. We do not, neither do we advise it. 



2. Queens almost invariably in the aver- 

 age normal colony cease laying in the fall. 

 If the weather is getting cool you would not 

 be likely to induce them to begin laying, no 

 matter how much you feed them. Unless 

 bees actually need stores, better not feed. 

 It is desirable not to have brood-rearing at 

 this time of the year in the Northern States. 



3. A follower could be made on the style 

 of a general fence; that is, a sort of a slat- 

 ted separator. The only use it would have 

 would be in connection with forced swarms, 

 such as you suggest. For all other pur- 

 poses the solid board follower would be 

 preferable, as it would be warmer. 



ventilating bee cellars; size and 

 construction of ventilators. 

 I have had some experience in wintering 

 bees in a cold climate, and I thought I 

 would ask your advice on ventilation for a 

 bee-cellar. I wintered about 80 colonies 

 last winter in a new cellar made especially 

 for that purpose. If I am able to take in 



