882 



G1.LAN1NGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1011 



month, during which time the bees dwindled in- 

 stead of gaining strength. At this time a icind of 

 wild foxglove (Digitalis) was thick, and bloom- 

 ing all over the foothills. I thought that proba- 

 bly the honey from this or some other plant 

 caused the trouble. 



I visited Hermon Rauchfuss, near Denver, in 

 May, 1903, when his bees were dying the same 

 as mine did last year, only worse, I think. We 

 walked over the hills, looking at the honey- 

 plants; and, if I remember rightly, there was 

 much of this foxglove. I. W. Beckwith. 



Lander, Wyo. , June 12. 



SOME OPINIONS IN REGARD TO THE PROPER 

 WEIGHT OF FOUNDATION TO USE IN SUPERS. 



In answer to the request in Stray Straws of 

 June 15 I wish to say that I use thin super foun- 

 dation altogether in sections, also a half-sheet of 

 thin super in the brood-frames, this;latter with 

 wire. I prefer this way, as I find it very eco- 

 nomical. Of course I am a beginner here in the 

 Ozark. E. C. Baker. 



Sylva, Ark., June 22. 



PREFERS EXTRA THIN. 



I prefer the extra-thin, and have used nothing 

 else for several years, using last season over 75 

 lbs. I shall use as much again this season. I 

 began the use of the thin when commencing bee- 

 keeping a number of years ago, and changed to 

 extra-thin on account of the too heavy midrib. 

 However, I never had my attention called to it 

 by a customer; but I could tell it easily, and ex- 

 pected to hear from it. I got 20 lbs. of thin 

 foundation this year for frame foundation, and 

 my daughter cut up a 5-lb. box of it into section 

 starters by mistake (full sheet and bottom start- 

 ers), so I shall have a chance to test it once more, 

 and may report later my findings. 



I have used a good deal of extra-thin founda- 

 tion in shallow extracting-frames (full sheets), 

 and with a heavy colony. In hot weather the 

 foundation stretches and buckles considerably 

 between the wires unless the Miller splints are 

 put in. 



Regarding the bees gnawing foundation, no 

 doubt they will gnaw the extra thin a little worse 

 than the thin; but not enough worse, I think, to 

 counterbalance the difference in the quality of 

 the finished section honey. F. W. Hall. 



Hull, Iowa. 



I use extra-thin foundation for sections, as the 

 thin is too heavy, and bees will not draw it out 

 when working fast. Burt Slease. 



Roswell, N. Mex. 



I use extra thin in full sheets because it is al- 

 ways advised. About 2 per cent of it is torn 

 down or eaten full of holes. We find it impos- 

 sible to put in full sheets of extra-thin founda- 

 tion with a hot-plate fastener in February and have 

 it stick until given to the bees. Half of it will 

 be loose. Would thin foundation be better.' 



Diamond, Pa. A. J. Morse. 



[The thin would undoubtedly stay better. — 

 Ed.] 



I have used both the thin and extra thin, and 

 find that the thin foundation is the better. I 

 use thin altogether now, for the simple reason 

 that bees will not tear it down as readily as the 

 extra thin. I have talked with both veteran and 

 amateur bee-keepers on this subject, and they all 

 favor the thin foundation for the reason given 

 above. 



There is another reason for using thin founda- 

 tion, and that is, it is easier handled in warm 

 weather, and it will not topple over when used 

 as a bottom starter according to the Miller plan. 



Beardstown, 111. H. W. Doerr. 



good price secured for bulk comb HONEV; 

 what causes mold? 



I got 25 cts. per lb. for all my honey. How 

 is that for chunk honey? Is it possible we are 

 going to get some of the benefits the glucose- 

 factories have been enjoying for years? 



It was very warm here in January, and I thought 

 I would look in my hives. I opened one and 

 took out a brood-frame with about 6 or 8 lbs. of 

 honey, and the rest of the comb was empty, and 

 green with mold, and water or sweat was running 

 off the honey. There were no bees on this 

 comb. I should like to know what caused it to 

 turn green, and how to remedy it. 



If I take two or three brood-frames filled with 

 brood in all stages, and put them in a hive, will 

 the bees rear a queen if there is no queen-cell on 

 them when you take them from the parent hive? 



Will a colony of bees winter in a shallow ex- 

 tracting-super, or would it be better to give them 

 two supers to fill up for winter? Will bees win- 

 ter in an eight-frame observation hive in this cli- 

 mate? H. W. Crone. 



Ansted, W. Va. 



[Combs will become moldy if left in the hives 

 over winter when there are not enough bees to 

 cover them. As a rule, it is best to have no 

 more combs in the hive than the bees can occu- 

 py. The tendency to mold is greater when the 

 hives are in a damp cellar or when the weather is 

 damp and foggy. 



If there are eggs or very young brood in the 

 combs a queen could be reared by the bees on 

 the two or three brood-frames that you would se- 

 lect for your nucleus. The best way, however, 

 is to provide such a nucleus with a queen-cell 

 that is nearly ready to hatch. 



A colony of bees might possibly winter in a 

 shallow extracting-super, but we think it would 

 be much better to provide two supers or sections 

 instead of one. If an observation hive is well 

 packed, and if other conditions are normal, a col- 

 ony ought to winter well, even though the sides 

 of the hive were made of glass. Rather more 

 packing, however, will be needed. — Ed.] 



young worker bees IN queen-cells. 



In going through a colony of hybrids that had 

 swarmed, cutting out all the queen-cells but one 

 to prevent after-swarms, I found three queen- 

 cells with worker-bees capped up in them. 

 There were these three chances for the single cell 

 to leave them queenless. These cells appeared 

 as large and perfect in shape as any. 



Duluth,Ga. C. Bush. 



