1446 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



had considerable difficulty in being able to pro- 

 cure them. They consisted of a dozen bees in 

 the last stage of that dread disease paralysis. 

 Two years ago in this district and in many other 

 districts it was almost impossible to find an apia- 

 ry which had no signs of it. To-day it was just 

 as impossible to find an apiary which has any 

 affected bees, which, in his opinion, proved that 

 severe winters have a deal to do with causing the 

 disease, and the only cure he knew of was a good 

 honey-flow and a little patience. Mr. Beuhne 

 said that what was classed by apiarists as paraly- 

 sis was, in his opinion, three distinct diseases, 

 and until they can be identified separately they 

 can not expect to effect a cure. He believed in 

 purchasing his breeders from an apiary in which 

 the disease had visited previously to his purchase, 

 as reliable queen-breeders would be certain to 

 breed their stock from such colonies as were 

 proof against it. Mr. Pender said he discovered 

 the presence of bacilli in the intestinal tubes of 

 the bee by aid of the glass, but was not sure 

 whether they were propagated by the disease or 

 whether they were directly or indirectly the cause. 

 No definite results were obtained, and they ad- 

 journed till some future occasion. 



J. A. Hutchison. 

 West Maitland, Australia, Sept. 14. 



VERTICAL WIRING. 



Some of your readers may be interested in a 

 plan of upright wiring of frames, which I am 

 now practicing, and which seems to me not only 

 simple but effective, in supplying much more re- 

 sistance to the sagging of foundation. 



Where there is no groove in the top-bar the 

 plan is both easy and inexpensive. Simply bore 

 four small brad holes in the center of the bottom- 

 bar at suitable distances; run a gauge along the 

 under side of the top. Mark this to correspond 

 with the bottom holes, and hammer home as 

 many small blind-staples. Thread the wire from 

 right to left, which first fasten with the usual 

 tack on the edge of the bar; provide a small strip 

 of wood to place temporarily in the center of the 

 frame while tightening to stop the bottom-bar 

 from being pulled up unduly. Even where combs 

 have to be cut out occasionally, the staples, being 

 almost out of sight, need never be disturbed. 



New Zealand. Thomas Sutherland. 



[The plan here spoken of is feasible, but it in- 

 volves a great amount of work; but the result in 

 the end might be more satisfactory than the pres- 

 ent horizontal plan. — Ed.] 



HOW TO TEACH CHICKENS TO CATCH DRONES. 



I wish to tell you how I teach my chickens to 

 catch drones. First I shave cappings of sealed 

 drone brood (if they are just hatching, so much 

 the better), and I throw a few of them on the 

 ground, then I hold the frame and let the hens 

 take the larvae out. The chickens can beat me 

 for getting them out fast. Repeat this a few 

 times. They learn quick. I went out this sum- 

 mer at 2 o'clock one day, and saw not less than 

 six broilers stationed at as many hives. I watch- 

 ed one in particular. He caught 16 drones in a 

 few minutes, always dodging behind some foliage 

 to eat them; but after he caught the sixteenth 



one a bee took him under the beak. Then he 

 jumped up and down. I saw them day after day 

 station themselves at the hives as soon as they 

 heard drones flying. They beat all other means I 

 have tried, for it is only a short time before drones 

 are scarce where the hens tend a hive. I then sold 

 my broilers. It is very amusing to watch them. 

 Fremont, Mo. Mrs. Almeda Ellis. 



[Many thanks, my good friend, for the facts 

 you have given us. I presume drone brood or 

 live drones would be excellent food for growing 

 chickens; but we can hardly as yet afford to ad- 

 vertise them at " ten cents a bushel. " As I have 

 remarked before, it is a rather expensive kind of 

 chicken food — that is, if we should undertake to 

 rear drones on purpose for chickens; but after 

 they are started, the sooner they are given to the 

 chickens the better for the bee-keeper. Every 

 effort possible should be made to stop the pro- 

 duction of useless drones; but after they are once 

 hatched out in the hive, by all means teach the 

 chickens to catch them. — A. I. R.] 



HONEY SPOILED FOR TABLE USE BY BOILING. 



I bought some honey (?) from a dealer, repre- 

 sented as " very nice-flavored honey, dark-color- 

 ed," etc. I put some on to boil; and as soon as 

 it was hot a very thick brown scum formed on 

 top. The scum was removed, but it kept form- 

 ing. After boiling 30 minutes there was a thick 

 dark substance, about like jelly, commenced to 

 form in the liquid. What substance could the 

 bees gather tiiat would do this? Should I ask 

 the dealer to exchange this, or will it be all right 

 to put this out under a " pure honey " label? I 

 can not help doubting its purity. 



Randolph, Nebraska. B. F. Smith, Jr. 



[There is no evidence to show that the fioney 

 was not pure. No honey should be boiled in the 

 manner that you have explained; in fact, almost 

 any pure honey, after that kind of treatment, will 

 have a scum form upon it; and if the honey be 

 dark, such scum will be brown in color. The 

 only time bee-keepers ever boil their honey is 

 when it is suspected that it may contain the germs 

 of disease. Such boiling, however, always spoils 

 it for table use; and, really, it is fit only for man- 

 ufacturers' use or to feed back to the bees. — Ed.] 



SOME OBSERVATIONS AFTER 20 YEARS OF EXPE- 

 RIENCE. 



1 have run my apiary for extracted honey some 

 years, and for comb honey in others. Some sea- 

 sons I have produced both. To produce comb 

 honey the bees work in an abnormal condition. 

 With large hives, and plenty of room, little or no 

 swarming results. This is a natural result — a 

 normal condition. Bee-keepers are up against 

 the side of a mountain in trying to combine 

 comb-honey production and no increase. Comb 

 honey and extracted in the same super is a failure 

 as regards comb-honey quality, in my experience. 



I find Yi hive-bottoms a nuisance. They soon 

 get as shaky as an old politician. Mice avill 

 gnaw through them. 



Every colony I lost this winter was caused by 

 a warped or cracked cover. A first-class cover 

 means, nine times out of ten, a first-class colony. 

 Water always freezes at the top. Look at a tub 



