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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



get there. When we get into the thick wood, 

 it's woods! But how about the pancakes! 

 Yes, we have eaten pancakes made of yeast, 

 such as the "hghtning," but never can they 

 compare with such as are made with good 

 thick rich sour buttermilk, a httle salt, and 

 buckwheat flour, and then made light with 

 soda. We do not want the batter too thick; 

 it must spread out easily upon the hot grid- 

 dle. There must also be no soda odor per- 

 ceptible when or after the cakes are baked. 

 Experience alone is tlje guide as to how much 

 soda is needed to neutralize the acid in the 

 buttermilk. Of course, the older it is the 

 more soda is required. We start the batter 

 the evening before it is wanted, then stir in 

 the soda just before baking. The batter left 

 over is saved for the next meal, replenished 

 with the same kind of buttermilk, and flour 

 and soda added as already stated. We want 

 no water. It is not necessary to stir up the 

 batter the evening before. It may be done 

 just before it is wanted if the buttermilk is 

 right. Of course, if one does not live in the 

 country he may be unable to obtain the gen- 

 uine buttermilk, and he will have to put up 

 with what he can get. We here have real 

 cows — can eat real butter, and have the real 

 stuff for making pancakes, which will touch 

 the spot that no yeast pancakes can. We 

 also have the real cream and the real honey 

 to go with the real buttermilk pancakes — in- 

 separable if you want a real treat. 



I am aware that a great many people eat 

 yeast-raised milk pancakes and pretend to 

 enjoy them; but when such have once eaten 

 breakfast with me they always regret that 

 they can not live the time over again they 

 think theyhave wasted in eating yeast-raised 

 pancakes. F. Greiner. 



Naples, N. Y. 



BEES IN POSSESSION OF A BARN; NO BROOD 

 IN HIVE EXCEPT QUEEN-CELLS. 



Page 221, April 15, Gleanings, I saw the 

 editorial on "bees and neighbors." I had a 

 similar case at about the same date. Mr. 

 Ansbaugh, whose barn is about 40 rods from 

 my apiary, called to me and said, "Say, your 

 bees are over here in my barn — I guess about 

 two bushels of them; and they won't let me 

 in." He was good-natured about it, and at 

 sundown his barn was again in his own pos- 

 session. 



Another peculiar case which I had was a 

 colony which died of starvation during last 

 winter. On opening the hive I found one 

 queen-cell where the queen had hatched and 

 gone. On another comb I found three 

 queens in sealed cells which would have 

 hatched, or, rather, emerged, in two or three 

 days. This was all the brood there was in 

 the hive. Is this unusual, or does it often 

 happen? 



I believe my bees have foul brood. How 

 can I tell for mvself? G. W. JoiCE. 



Montpelier, 0., April 29. 



[It seems very evident that the presence 

 of the queen-cells in the hive that died indi- 

 cated queenlessness some time before the 



colony succumbed. Before the queen died 

 she probably left a few eggs, and over two 

 or three of these the surviving bees con- 

 structed cells; but the spring being back- 

 ward, the little colony was not strong enough 

 to weather it through. The bees were get- 

 ting old; and as they went out in quest of 

 stores they possibly perished. Spring dwin- 

 dling is probably nothing more nor less than 

 old bees flying out and never returning. 

 Unless there are young bees coming on m 

 rapid succession the colony will dwindle 

 down to nothing. 



It is evident that the bees in the barn were 

 after artificial pollen. This is the first year 

 we have had reports of any thing like this, 

 so far as we can remember. Natural pollen 

 was very late in coming in, and the poor bees 

 had to get something. If a single bee should 

 find a little bran in the barn it would bring 

 dozens of others just the same as if it had 

 found a little sweet. 



You will find a full discussion of foul brood 

 on page 340, last issue. — Ed.] 



KEEPING SUGAR STORES AND HONEY SEPA- 

 RATE; IS IT PRACTICABLE? 



The following rather puzzling problem has 

 arisen. Last fall I fed a liberal amount of 

 syrup to each colony. They wintered very 

 nicely, but some of the weaker colonies were 

 killed by the severe spring weather after be- 

 ing placed upon their stands. A letter from 

 home advises me that we now have on hand 

 a larger amount of sealed stores than the 

 bees can consume before the honey-flow. 

 We need all of our combs in building up the 

 colonies. Again, we wish to prevent the 

 mixing of these stores with the honey. What 

 would you advise me to do? 



The clover around home is looking fine. 

 A neighbor says that he has never had a fin- 

 er catch of alsike clover. 



Carl H. Hanson. 



Madison, Wis., May 14. 



[It will do no harm to let honey and sugar 

 syrup mix in the same combs, providing that 

 such honey is not later carried up into the 

 supers containing sections; and providing, 

 of course, that it is not extracted and sold as 

 pure honey. There is no way you can sepa- 

 rate this honey from the syrup, nor is there 

 any way by which you can prevent the bees 

 from storing honey along with the sugar 

 syrup unless you use entirely separate coniDs, 

 or extract those you have containing stores. 

 — Ed.] 



BAIT-SECTIONS PLACED IN THE COLDEST PART 



OF THE super; IS THE PRACTICE TO BE 



ADVISED? 



My experience is that, if full sheets of foun- 

 dation are used in the brood-nest, and bait 

 sections are put in the center of the super 

 above, the queen is sure to fill these bait 

 sections with drone brood, as she has no 

 room for it below. I get my supers filled 

 more solidly by putting bait sections in the 

 coldest part. Of course, if the queen had 

 plenty of drone comb below, the results 

 might be different. The only baits that I 



