372 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



have not seen mentioned. It is simple, and 

 does the whole thing with one operation, 

 even without opening the hive under certain 

 conditions: I have flat cages {something like 

 the Miller), closed by a cork like plug. When 

 ready to introduce I remove the plug and 

 lay the cage on the bottom-board (I have not 

 found it necessary to place it up among the 

 frames), with the entrance or opening to the 

 cage close up against the side of the hive or 

 bottom-board. Provide a small wire attach- 

 ed to the other end of the cage communicat- 

 ing with hive-entrance; and when you judge 

 she has been in the hive long enough to be 

 accepted, pull the wire lightly, which will 

 drag the cage away from the side of the hive, 

 thus leaving the cage-hole open If thought 

 desirable a little candy-honey dough can be 

 inserted in the opening of the cage at the 

 time of introducing, which the bees will not 

 be able to get at until you change the posi- 

 tion of the cage. This is the only method I 

 have used, and have never lost a queen. 



I have only a few colonies and limited ex- 

 perience; but as the above plans have work- 

 ed satisfactorily with me I give them for 

 what they are worth. C. B. Loomis. 



Albany, N. Y. 



[Mr. Fr. Greiner, a short time ago, illus- 

 trated his method of clipping queens' wings, 

 which was, to clip them on the comb. The 

 method is all right if one has steady nerves, 

 and precision as well as celerity of move- 

 ment. We should suppose that the average 

 person would be as likely to cut off a leg as 

 to clip the wings while doing the act. 



The method of introducing queens as you 

 describe would be excellent during the warm 

 part of the year. It could not, of course, be 

 employed during cool weather. 



It is possible that the bees of a strong col- 

 ony might push or crowd the cage themselves, 

 especially if they should be at all hostile to- 

 ward the queen. This would let her loose 

 among the bees, where they would make 

 short work of her. — Ed.] 



CAN A VIRGIN QUEEN BE USED ON THE 

 DUAL-QUEEN SYSTEM? 



So much has been said in Gleanings the 

 past few months in regard to the double- 

 queen system that it leaves one at a loss to 

 know whether there is any merit in it or not. 

 But 1 wish some correspondent who has had 

 experience would kindly tell me if I can 

 keep, during a light honey-flow or by feed- 

 ing, a laying queen in an upper story, sepa- 

 rated from the lower story by perforated 

 zinc, and introduce a virgin queen to the 

 lower story and allow her to become fertil- 

 ized. If so, how long can I keep her there? 



Merrill, Iowa. J. R. Thompson. 



[We see no reason why the plan here pro- 

 posed would not work. Will some one who 

 is in position to know please enlighten our 

 correspondent? The only question arises as 

 to whether a virgin queen would be treated 

 on a par with a laying queen above the per- 

 forated zinc. We think she would; but if 



any correspondent thinks otherwise, we 

 should be glad to have him speak up. — Ed ] 



STORES OF HONEY FOUND BELOW THE BROOD. 



Having read with interest the discussion 

 between J. E. Hand and Dr. Miller, p. 1488, 

 I wish to state that I at one time had consid- 

 erable experience with bees putting stores 

 below the brood when "unrestricted by the 

 hand of man." A carpenter friend and my- 

 self were called upon to remove a colony of 

 bees from the side of a two-story house. The 

 bees were occupying several spaces between 

 the studding, and for a height, in part of 

 them, from the plate to the bottom of the 

 window, and two combs thick. You will see 

 from this that they were very strong. They 

 had brood, as I now remember, from near 

 the top down some two or two and a half 

 feet, and fully two feet of honey below the 

 brood. 



Girard, 111., Dec. 14. Chas. M. Gates. 



[Perhaps the entrance was at the top. 

 See page 103, Jan. 15.— Ed.] 



A modification of THE WELLS SYSTEM. 



Why not put a wire-cloth division board 

 in the center of a ten or twelve frame hive, 

 with a queen on either side; then an exclud- 

 er below the super? That would give plenty 

 of brood, stop swarming, and may be they 

 would not kill one of the queens. 



Jonesboro, Ind. C. A. Neal. 



[The plan here spoken of would be a mod- 

 ification of the Wells system, and at the same 

 time something similar to some of the schemes 

 for two queens. It would probably work so 

 long as the colony was in a prosperous con- 

 dition; but after the honey season one of the 

 queens probably would be missing. Try it, 

 and report. — Ed.] 



IN THE cellar OR OUTDOORS? 



Would it pay to winter bees in a cellar 

 when they could have flights every few 

 weeks through the winter, and sometimes 

 every day for a week at a time if wintered 

 outdoors? W. P. Harpster. 



Florence, Kan. 



[If your locality is such that the bees could 

 have a flight every few days through the 

 winter we should not think it would pay you 

 to atteinpt to winter them in a cellar, as the 

 temperature would very likely be such that 

 they would be very restless. With suitable 

 packing we should say that outdoor winter- 

 ing would be best for you. — Ed.] 



AVIRING FRAMES BY THE AID OF A L.A.KGE 

 NEEDLE. 



Perhaps the following may be of value to 

 some of the readers of Gleanings. I find 

 that, in wiring frames, by threading the end 

 of the wire about an inch through the eye of 

 a blunt-pointed needle of proper size 1 can 

 work much faster than without. 



Forksville, Pa. W. L. Norton. 



