380 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June, 1919 



HEADS OF GRAIN 



the bees. Where the combs are fairly large 

 and straight I do not disturb the bees any 

 more than necessary, but cut the combs 

 loose carefully and examine each one for 

 the queen. As soon as she is found I put 

 her in a hive containing drawn combs and 

 one frame of brood, and then shake the 

 bees off the combs into the hive. If the 

 combs are crooked and uneven, I drive the 

 bees up with smoke as I cut the combs loose. 

 As soon as I get them clustered at the top 

 I put the hive up under them and brush 

 them down into it. I usually do not try 

 to save the brood-combs unless they are fair- 

 ly large and straight. M. L. Dodson. 

 Jennings, Kan. 



DIFFERENT FIELDS 



Swarmed on I recently found a 



His Head. swarm of bees hang- 



ing on a branch of a 

 tree close to the ground. I put it into a 

 small box and took it to my cottage. They 

 began to work, and made some comb. Two 



A luilicli ijI ti 



(1 e\iilciitl\ soiiu' iin.\iet\. 



days later 1 transferred them into a hive 

 where they stayed about two hours and then 

 began coming out. I happened to see them 

 when about halfway out and took two small 

 boards and began to slap them together. 

 The bees followed me to a peach tree. As 

 they began to alight I got close up to see 

 the queen, and at once felt my hat becoming 



heavy. The whole swarm clustered on my 

 hat and hung down over my face, so I put 

 the boards over my forehead to keep the 

 bees out of my eyes. Then I walked about 

 15 rods to where an assistant had brought a 

 hive and there had several pictures taken 

 (one of which is reproduced here). I then 

 lifted my hat and shook the bees into the 

 hive, and now they are working finely and 

 have the hive nearly full of nice combs, 

 brood, and honey. I didn 't have a veil or 

 gloves on, and got nary a sting. It seemed 

 strange that they were so gentle, after be- 

 ing so long without honey and having been 

 disturbed so much. 



My home is at Yorkville, Mich., but I am 

 at present with the Nashville Agricultural 

 Normal Institute at Madison, Tenn. This 

 swarming incident occurred on the Institute 

 farm. They have 30 stands of bees thei;;^, 

 and are just starting to increase their api- 

 ary. J. C. Howell. 



Madison, Tenn. 



oc 



riO^QC 



A Californian E. R. Root is all right 



on California in his presentation of 



Conditions. the darker side of the 



wintering situation in 

 California (March and April Gleanings). 

 His picture is a needed corrective of the 

 much gilded and rosy-tinted pictures of un- 

 failing prosperity in the beekeeping business 

 here. His picture might be modified some- 

 what, however, for some locations in regard 

 to contrasts and temperature in winter. 

 When I lived at Monterey, I was not my- 

 self situated so near the pasturage as to be 

 able to do what I now instance. But my 

 friend and neighbor, C. W. Kerlin, had bees 

 in the hills of Manzanita where there is a 

 honey flow in January, and many winters 

 the bees made surplus that enabled him to 

 extract very considerable harvests in Febru- 

 ary and early March and still leave the bees 

 strong and ready later for black sage, poison 

 oak, etc. Dwindling did not bother much. 



Regarding the clever idea of H. H. Sweet 

 of the A. I. Root Co., page 210, April Glean 

 ings, will it be immodest for me to indorse 

 and say that over 20 years ago, when I used 

 to write for Gleanings from Monterey, I 

 used those paper contractors between closed- 

 end frames and thought the idea my own? 



Watsonville, Calif. A. Norton. 



A Jab Here and On page 231, April 



a Jab There. Gleanings, Dr. Miller 



speaks about blue cap- 

 pings. I had blue cappings for the first 

 time last year in 30 or 40 frames of honey 

 that must have come from cow peas, as 

 there was quite a flow (30 pounds to some 

 hives) and nothing but cow peas visible. 

 Now that I am started I should like to 



