1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



221 



keeping world what seemed to some but little 

 better than heresy; but time showed that the so- 

 called heresy was really one of the most practic- 

 able systems or methods ever given to the public. 

 It is true some things should be killed as soon as 

 they are born, vvhile others should be given a 

 chance in life. 



Again, what is heresy in one locality is good 

 sound gospel teaching for another. What is a 

 failure with one man may be a success with an- 

 other. We can scarcely judge a method or sys- 

 tem a failure unless we test it out under the pre- 

 cise same conditions and environment of the 

 locality of its author. 



For example, some things that the late E. W. 

 Alexander advocated would work splendidly in 

 a bucks\heat country after a moderate white-hon- 

 ey harvest, but would give very indifferent re- 

 sults where there is nothing but white honey in 

 June and July. Aagin, a non-swarming method 

 that will work splendidly in Texas may be a 

 failure in Michigan or Pennsylvania. A system 

 of queen-rearing that would give good results in 

 New Jersey would not do at all in Northern 

 Wisconsin. While "locality" is an overworked 

 word, and while it is made to cover a multitude 

 of sins, it does, nevertheless, exert a very impor- 

 tant influence on manipulation. 



MAKING COLONIES REAR BROOD IN THE CELLAR 



SO THAT WHEN PUT OUT THEY WILL BE 



AS STRONG AS OUTDOOR COLONIES. 



Our Mr. Pritchard, who has charge of our 

 north yard, and to whom reference is made else- 

 where in another column, has been conducting 

 some experiments in a small way in cellar win- 

 tering. Thinking that mid-winter flights might 

 possibly stimulate brood-rearing on the part of 

 the cellared bees he set a fe^v of his indoor colo- 

 nies out in January on the first favorable day, 

 and returned them. This he did every few weeks 

 until he set them out finally. He reports that 

 he noticed that brood-rearing commenced imme- 

 diately, and, contrary to his former experience, 

 his cellared bees were much stronger in young 

 bees and brood than they had been other winters 

 in the same cellar. His experiments were con- 

 ducted on a very small scale, and were, therefore, 

 by no means conclusive. 



At our home yard we tried the same experi- 

 ment, and apparently it did increase the brood- 

 rearing, but not to the extent it did in the Pritch- 

 ard cellar. Our Mr. Bain, who has charge of 

 the home-yard bees, tried feeding in the cellar, 

 using ordinary thin syrup. Brood-rearing was 

 immediately started up, and continued so long as 

 he kept up the feeding. When the hives were 

 pretty well filled he stopped feeding, and imme- 

 diately the brood-rearing ceased, and all eggs and 

 unsealed larv:t- disappeared. 



Both of our yard men have recognized the fact 

 that cellared bees, at the time of taking out, will 

 usually not have as much brood in the hive as 

 the bees that have been in double-walled hives 

 outdoors all winter. Mr. Pritchard believed that 

 it was the occasional flights which started up 

 brood-rearing in the outdoor hives. He reason- 

 ed, therefore, that if his cellared bees could have 

 just as many flights they ought to have just as 

 much brood — more, in fact; because, while in 



the cellar, after the flight the brood-nest would 

 be in a warmer atmosphere, where the clusters 

 could expand, and cover and take care of more 

 brood. 



Next fall we should like to have this question 

 discussed. We have simply given the results of 

 our experiment thus far with the view of having 

 it tested out more thoroughly next winter. In 

 the mean time we shall have to give our attention 

 to the subject of honey- production and swarm- 

 ing. 



BEES AND NEIGHBORS; A PECULIAR CASE. 



This spring we have had a peculiar kind of 

 complaint from two of our neighbors, one adjoin- 

 ing an outyard and the other at the home yard. 

 Some two or three days ago, after it had warmed 

 up about the 4th of April, one of our town peo- 

 ple telephoned down and said our bees had taken 

 possession of his chicken-coop, and he wished we 

 would come down and get them. We shortly 

 made an examination, and, sure enough, we found 

 the bees inside the coop; but it looked very much 

 as if there had been robbing going on, as there 

 were a lot of bees on the window, buzzing up and 

 down on the glass, and others were scattered 

 over the building. We asked the chicken man as 

 to whether he had any sweets around the build- 

 ing. He was very sure he had none, and we could 

 find no evidence of any thing of the sort. We 

 left, somevshat nonplused. 



The next day we received a complaint from 

 one of our good farmer friends located about a 

 quarter of a mile from our north yard, saying 

 that the bees had taken possession of his barn, 

 stung his cattle, and he wished we would send 

 a man down to call off the bees. When our api- 

 arist arrived, toward evening, the bees had Itft, 

 although scores of them were scattered around in 

 the stalls of the cow- stables. Our Mr. Pritchard, 

 who has charge of the north yard, made a very 

 careful survey of the premises, but he could find 

 no sweet of any kind, although the indications 

 pointed very strongly to the fact that the bees 

 were after something. In pulling over the loose 

 straw in one of the stalls he discovered a great 

 deal of rye meal, for that was what the cattle were 

 being feed; and then he was sure that they were 

 after artificial pollen. 



The month of March throughout had been very 

 cool and even chilly. There had been no natural 

 pollen of any sort; but the weather had warmed 

 up on April 5th so the temperature was about the 

 same as that of midsummer. Brood-rearing had 

 started, and the bees had got to have something. 

 In their quest for nitrogenous food it is probable 

 that one or more of them had found some of this 

 meal do^vn in the unoccupied part of that barn. 

 "News "of this "find" was communicated to 

 other bees, of course, and very shortly an uproar 

 started 



It is evident they had no malicious intent. 

 They were after baby-bee food, and when they 

 could find no more in the feed-troughs they nat- 

 urally delved down in the bedding straw in the 

 stalls. As soon as the bees appeared, the cattle 

 began to switch their tails, without doubt. When 

 milking time came, there was a general excite- 

 ment on the part of man and beast alike. 



.Mr Pritchard told our neighbor that he did 

 not think the trouble would appear again, as there 



