283 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



Almost any bees will give us some surplus 

 durinff a good season, but it is the well-bi-ed 

 bees tnat give a surplus every year. They 

 will find nectar though they may have to go 

 several miles for it. 



Now, don't think we have either bees or 

 queens for sale, as we have not. I write the 

 above only according to our experience in 

 keeping bees of all shades of color fi'om the 

 genuine black to the yellowest Italian. 



I might cite many more valuable traits 

 that are well developed in those yellow bees, 

 such as having \ ut little desire to swarm, and 

 breeding up fast in the spring. This is very 

 much in their favor, as 1 hey keep their brood 

 so compact that comparatively few bees are 

 required to feed and keep it warm. Then it 

 is easily proven that they cover a much larg- 

 er field in search of nectar than the darker 

 strains. I have often found them a mile or 

 more further from home than the other bees. 



With our well-bred Italian bees we now 

 have good stock to work from; so let us unite 

 in trying to improve them along the lines 

 most necessary in developing a superior all- 

 porpo'e strain of bees. This can be accom- 

 plished to a great extent in a short time; 

 then bee-keeping will become more reliable, 

 more profitable, and a much pleasanter oc- 

 cupation. It has been a long hard task to 

 free it from the rut of ignorance and super- 

 stition of past ages; but we have at last plac- 

 ed it well forward among the intellectual 

 pursuits of rural life; and now let us be care- 

 ful and take no step backward that will check 

 its forward progress along with other suc- 

 cessful agricultural pursuits. 



Delanson, N. Y. 



THE STORM DOOR FOR BEE-HIVES. 



Its Origin and Use. 



BY A. J. HALTEK. 



On page 97 you refer to storm-doors as il- 

 lustrated, patterned after suggestions of Mr. 

 Doolittle. 1 would say that I used some about 

 two years previous to Mr. Doolittle's sug- 

 gestions as stated in Gleanings in 1906. 



Last spring I purchased from Mr J. P. 

 Noland, the nurseryman at Peninsula, Ohio, 

 his entire outfit of bees and hives, among 

 which was a similar device for the Langstrotn 

 hive, made about fifteen years ago. He call- 

 ed my attention to its use in 1903; but as [ 

 had only a few colonies I did not consider 

 the value of storm-doors until I realized the 

 heavy loss of bees by having a free entrance, 

 and I made a model as illustrated on p. 321 

 of our issue for March 1, 1907. For those 

 using a reversible bottom-board placed close 

 to the ground I would suggest cutting a 

 notch in the lower side of tne ends so the 

 center will rest flush on the floor-board. 

 However, if so applied be sure to leave sev- 

 eral inches in frouc so as to leave an alight- 

 ing-board for the benefit of bees that return 

 in a chilled condition. 



The theory of storm-doors is not new; but 



its value will be more appreciated when 

 once brought into general use. 



THE ALLEY TRAP NOT THE PANACEA KOlt 

 CATCHING SWARMS. 



On page 19 you make reference to Mr. Tay- 

 lor's system of using a queen-trap in prefer- 

 ence to clipping queens to prevent swarms 

 from escaping. 



Good results can be obtained by limited 

 use from a great many devices, as also entire 

 systems; yet if applied universally, or relied 

 upon to a great extent, evil results are often 

 the reward. While there are flaws more or 

 less in almost every undei taking, there are 

 certain rules which, if carefully observed, 

 will bring belter results in accordance to re- 

 quirements. 



Mr. Taylor does not mention details as to 

 queen-trap usage; and the question arises in 

 my mind, "How can you manage a given 

 number of yards with only one or two vi-iits 

 aweek, simply relying on queen-traps?'" Sup- 

 pose all your colonics are equipped with 

 traps. After an absence, say, of five days you 

 come to examine the apiary, is it not nec- 

 essary to overhaul every trap and let out the 

 drones? and, if you find a laying queen, you 

 undoubtedly feel somewhat gratitii^d; but as 

 you go on further there is a trap containing 

 a virgin. Was it a case of swarming, or 

 have you detained her from her wedding- 

 trip? At any rate you decide to give anoth- 

 er trial; further swarming takes place; but 

 before you can make another visit heavy 

 rainstorms and chilly weather intervene and 

 you find traps full of dead drones, perhaps 

 also some dead queens. You will begin to 

 wonder where you are "at." 



For a number of years hives with a portico 

 have been deemed unfavorable, being con- 

 ducive to swarming. Is not a queen-trap a 

 select place for oees to cluster and dream of 

 the happy land which they desire to acquire 

 by swarming? 



Yes, bees, when several swarms issue at 

 the same time under the clipped-queen sys- 

 tem, will occasionally cluster together when 

 a virgin emerges; and in order to prevent es- 

 caping it is necessary to hive them; but this 

 is true in almost every instance when queens 

 are not clipped; viz . "to hive the swarm;" 

 and how disastrous when several swarms 

 with laying queens cluster together, and the 

 victorious queen destroys the others, among 

 which may be some of your choicest queens! 

 The virgin swarms are comparatively small 

 in proportion to laying- queen swarms under 

 the clipped queen system if properly conduct- 

 ed, the age of queens being a marked feature, 

 as also the foretelling of swarming by out- 

 side observation. 



Queen-ti'aps are very convenient when 

 hunting a queen by shaking bees in front of 

 the hive or catching undesirable drones or 

 minor temporary usages. The modern api- 

 arist, however, is more likely to adopt some 

 system which will give ample protection in 

 his absence, rain or shine, something that will 

 master the situation in outyards as well as 

 carefully guarded apiaries. 



Akron, O., Jan. 24. 



