1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



949 



ed in licjuefying- honey, which was very thickly 

 candied, in a very few minutes, using only mod- 

 erate heat. In fact, as Mrs. Levens says, " It 

 worlied finely." There is a tight-fitting cover to 

 the can. 



The same principle could be made use of in 

 constructing a can on a larger scale. 



Maiden, Mass. Jos. B. Levens. 



LACK OF ENERGY DUE TO TOO MUCH HONEY IN 

 THE HIVE. 



Mr. Editor: — Noticing your editorial on page 

 742, on "diagnosing colonies by the bee-flight at 

 the entrance," I am constrained to make a sug- 

 gestion. In making a comparison of two colo- 

 nies, you speak of one with a moderate amount 

 of brood and a large amount of honey; but the 

 bees, though a good force, are not flying much — 

 but -ivhy, you do not know. Please allow me to 

 ask why they should fly in the case you mention. 

 There is no place to put stores if they brought 

 them. Now, you just enlarge the brood-cham- 

 ber by putting in empty comb; or put a surplus 

 body on top, and scratch a few of the combs that 

 have hard cappings that have gone over the win- 

 ter, then notice the dii^erence in the conduct of 

 those bees. It is not the fault of the bees, but of 

 the manipulation of the hive in the case mention- 

 ed. Wm. M. Whitney. 



Evanston, 111. 



[In the case under consideration, of the colony 

 with a large amount of stores and little activity 

 at the entrance, we see, on looking up the refer- 

 ence, that we gave a wrong impression. The 

 colonies in question had plenty of storage room; 

 but relatively they had much more than those 

 that were busily at work. The lack of energy, 

 while it might have been due in part to the cause 

 you ascribe, was more due to the queens. 

 There were only three in all, and they did not do 

 any thing all the season, and we have since re- 

 queened them. — Ed.] 



MORE EXPERIENCE WITH BEE PARALYSIS. 



On page 1568, Dec. 15, 1907, you asked to 

 hear from other subscribers about the trouble 

 mentioned by Mr. Youngman. Ten years or so 

 ago I noticed a few shiny bees in one of my hives, 

 which the other bees seemed to be worrying. 

 Afterward this hive cast a big swarm, and the 

 trouble seemed to vanish. Next season, in the 

 early part, this swarm developed just about as 

 Mr. Youngman says his did. There were plenty 

 of shiny trembly bees as well as those not shiny, 

 but which were greatly swollen on the inside and 

 outside, and out on the rock in front. The col- 

 ony was depopulated so fast that the bees were 

 unable to store honey except for themselves. I 

 examined their brood, and it appeared to be per- 

 fectly healthy. The other bees nosed around the 

 affected bees, and it spread to other hives, though 

 not to any great extent, so far as I could see, 

 only a few bees among other hives being shiny. 

 I sulphured this badly affected hive and burned 

 the frames, brood, and honey. I was afterward 

 told the trouble was paralysis. I have not had 

 any as badly affected since, though there is rhore 

 or less of it among my bees, and it does not seem 

 to prevent them from building up strong for 

 honey or to swarm, as they may be inclined. 



In a few other colonies I have noticed some of 

 the bees were swollen, and in one of these I found 

 the queen outside, apparently paralyzed. I 

 warmed her up, and she seemed to be about 

 right. I then put her back, but afterward found 

 her outside dead, if I remember right. After- 

 ward I put the frames and bees into a super over 

 another hive without any harm to the other bees, 

 so far as I could see. The stronger a hive gets, 

 the less noticeable the paralysis becomes. 



Alpine, Cal. C. E. Foss. 



[It is generally believed that bee paralysis is a 

 constitutional disease — that is, that it comes from 

 the queen. Certain it is, in many cases at least, 

 the removal of the queen effects a cure, but not 

 always. In advanced stages the disease may be 

 transmitted through the bees after the queen has 

 been taken away. The brood or the comb does 

 not, apparently, carry bee paralysis, providing 

 all the bees are shaken or brushed ofl^. All such 

 combs can be given to healthy colonies. 



Mr. O. O. Poppleton, of Florida, who has had 

 a very large experience, advises, after the brood 

 has been given to other bees, to brimstone the 

 affected colony, as he thinks it a waste of time 

 to try to cure the sick bees. — Ed.] 



dents in the THORAX OF THE QUEEN NOT DETRI- 

 MENTAL. 



Referring to the May 15th issue, page 621, I 

 would say that we have had a few queens with 

 dents on top of the thorax, and have not noticed 

 any incapacity in laying. By chance the queen 

 that we chose to breed from has been marked 

 with a large dent since the spring of 1907. If 

 you think such a mark a defect, or a detriment 

 in the effect on the daughters, then we would not 

 breed from her. We selected her because her 

 color is an attractive dark leather (not yellow); 

 the workers are three-banded, and the most gentle 

 we have in our apiary. They also build comb 

 with white cappings. 



Hemlock, O., May 20. P.Biesemax. 



[If the dent in the thorax of the queen does not 

 interfere with her egg-laying she would, of course, 

 be all right for any purpose. 



According to our experience, the leather- 

 colored strains are much superior to the bright, 

 yellow stock. Nearly always more gentle, they 

 are hardy, and good workers; but, unfortunately, 

 the trade seems to prefer the extra-yellow stock. 

 We are discovering that many are going back to 

 the darker yellow. It is the original type of 

 Italian before it had been tampered with by 

 man. — Ed.] 



HOW TO add empty SUPERS ON A COLONY STOR- 

 ING HONEY. 



Do you leave the supers on after the cells are 

 capped .'' I put one on this spring ; and when it 

 was about half full I put one under it and then 

 the third, but they seemed to be very long about 

 capping it, so I took the two top supers off and 

 took what was well capped, and the others I put 

 into one super and set it back. Was that right.? 



Mineral Ridge, Ohio. Jno. Waggoner. 



[Comb-honey supers should be taken off as 

 soon as filled. Your plan of handling supers as 

 outlined in your letter was nearly correct. Dur- 



