1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



711 



558. 1 will take this opportunity to state that in the 

 future, in case I find a colony infected with foul brood, 

 I will, before treating as described, shut the hive up at 

 nifrht, when all the bees are at home, and remove it 

 beyond the range of the bees of the apiary, and treat 

 them. By this means none of the bees, either old or 

 yountr, can crawl into another hive and carry the dis- 

 ease with them, which I have had them do when 

 treated in the apiary. Too much caution can not be 

 exercised when stamping out this ruinous ailment. 

 Lyons, Kan., Oct. 6. G. Bohrer. 



A TIGHT BOX INSIDE A SUPER FOR EXTENSIVE WIN- 

 TER FEEDING. 



The feedpr which I am now using is just the thing 

 for providing winter stores on a large scale, as 25 

 pounds of syrup can be given at one time by simply 

 putting a super under the brood-chamber, the super to 

 hold the feeder. The illustration shows the construc- 

 tion of this feeder without further explanation. The 

 float and the inside of the feeder a recoated with paraf- 

 fine to prevent leakage. There should be 2 inches 

 space in the front of the feeder, ^4 inch at the back, K 

 of an inch on each side, giving plenty of room for the 

 bees to get around it from the brood-chamber above. 



It takes 48 hours in some cases for the bees to take 

 all the syrup. When it is time to remove the feeders, 

 the bees may sometimes be found hanging in a cluster 

 under the brood-frames; but if the brood-chamber is 

 raised and the bees smoked a little they will go up be- 

 tween the combs so that the feeder can be removed 

 and the brood-chamber set back on the bottom-board. 



Ardsley-on-Hudson, N. Y. Thomas J. Johnston. 



HOW TO REMOVE OLD COMBS FROM FRAMES WITHOUT 

 SPOILING THE FRAMES. 



I make use of a No. 9 boiler, which is just right for 

 Langstroth frames, two-thirds full of water. When 

 the water is boiling, I put in from four to eight frames, 

 or as many as can be covered with the water. I press 

 these down to the bottom of the boiler with ajouncer 

 made from a board nearly as wide as the boiler and 

 from 15 to 20 inches long. I hold the combs under the 

 boiling water for a few seconds, and the old tough 

 combs will be loosened. I jounce them up and down 

 with this wide board until they are melted. Then with 

 a wire hook I fish out the frames and dump them into 

 a pot. If care is used, the frames will be nearly clean, 

 but they can be very quickly scraped with a case-knife 

 before they cool. This process can be repeated until 

 there is enough melted comb in the boiler to press. 



By the above plan I can do the work of two men and 

 a boy cutting the combs out in the old way, and do 

 better work besides. Then if the combs are diseased 

 the boiling renders the frames safe again. 



Colo, Iowa. D. E. Lhommedieu. 



HONEY FROM HICKORY LIGHT-COLORED AND OF GOOD 

 QUALITY. 



By looking over my article of Sept. 1 you will see 

 that the part of it referring to honey-dew was omitted, 

 although you commented upon it. In reply to this I 

 will gay I am not mistaken, as I made too many obser- 

 vations, and ate the crystal drops off the hickory leaves, 

 and saw thousands of bees gathering It, and even stick- 

 ing fast to the leaves along about 10 A.M., when the sun 

 had it well boiled down, and the bees would have to 

 take a recess until about 3 p.m. when it would begin to 



soften up again, and they would work onit until dark. 

 I only wish that we might have a flow of hickory hon- 

 ey-dew at the close of each basswood flow in this lo- 

 cality. It is good enough for me and the bees also. 



A SURE CURE FOR BEE-STINGS. 



I have discovered a sure cure for bee-stings, and it 

 is simply alcohol. Get the best proof alcohol, and car- 

 ry a little vial of it in the vest or shirt pocket; and 

 when a sting is received, simply remove the cork from 

 the bottle and place the mouth of it over the wound 

 after removing the sting, and reverse the bottle and 

 hold it over the wound for about one minute, and keep 

 moving it slightly over the wound; then remove and 

 rub the alcohol into the skin; then apply the bottle 

 again, and do this three or four times, and the pain is 

 gone, and it will be but a few minutes before the swell- 

 ing will also be gone. I have never had any swelling 

 left after 15 minutes, and the pain is gone almost in- 

 stantly. Don't be afraid to make a thorough applica- 

 tion. I will guarantee it in every instance; and aside 

 from this, there is nothing better for fresh cuts, barb- 

 wire cuts, or gun-shot wounds. 



Hillsboro, Wis., Oct. 10. Elias Fox. 



[We don't know how the item concerning honey-dew 

 was left out of the article when the reference in the 

 footnote was left in. We are still of the opinion that 

 honey-dew from hickory trees is dark. We base this 

 opinion on the numerous reports that have come in. — 

 ED.] 



A SWARM ISSUES 151 HOURS BEFORE THE FIRST CELL 

 IS SEALED. 



I notice the interesting account, page 547, Sept. 1, in 

 reference to the occasional issue of a top swarm before 

 the sealing of any queen-cells. I have a single-frame 

 observation hive in my bedroom window, which 

 swarmed July 13. At the time of swarming, there were 

 only two queen-cells in the hive, and neither of them 

 was nearly complete. At midnight, July 19, 20, neither 

 of these cells was sealed; but at 10:30 A.M., July 20, the 

 more advanced one was sealed. At 10 A.M., July 28, 

 this cell was still sealed; but at 9 p.m. the same day, the 

 queen had hatched out. As the swarm issued between 

 12, noon, and 1 p.m., July 13, you will see that the more 

 advanced queen-cell was not sealed till at least 151 

 hours after the departure of the swarm. This is the 

 longest time that I have ever known (or read) to elapse 

 between the departure of the swarm and the sealing of 

 the first queen-cell. I should like to know if any one 

 else has known of a longer time. 



Another curious point in connection with this hive 

 was that not a single drone had emerged from his cell 

 up to 10:30 A.M., July 20. The bees are ordinary blacks. 



Skibbereen, Ireland, Sept. 20. W. F. WOLFE. 



THE FLOUR METHOD OF INTRODUCING A SUCCESS. 



I have tried the flour method of introducing queens 

 a few times without the loss of one. This is my way: 

 I go to a hive that I wish to requeen, and kill the old 

 queen. Then I throw flour over all the bees on two or 

 three frames and on the new queen to be introduced, 

 and place her at once between the frames that were 

 floured, and close the hive for at least four days. So 

 far I have not lost a queen by this method. 



At my home yard I have the golden Italians, and at 

 my out-yard I had the three-banded bees through the 

 honey season, but I have put some goldens there since. 

 I find that the goldens do just as well as the three- 

 banded, at least the strain of goldens I have now. 



So far I have been requeening every other year, and 

 I find it pays well. I have been breeding my own 

 queens for the last four years, for I find that they are 

 better than those that come through the mail. 



Golden, N. Y., Sept. 28. Emil W. Gutekunst. 



CLOTH mittens AS A PROTECTION AGAINST STINGS. 



I extract my honey four or five weeks after the hon- 

 ey-flow, when there is absolutely nothing for the bees 

 to work on; therefore they are terrible to sting. After 

 trying several things to protect my hands I use now 

 the common cloth mittens (not gloves), costing 10 cts. 

 I get them a little too large for common use. They 

 are a perfect protection. Being loose they do not 

 touch the skin; and though at times they have been 

 literally covered with crazy bees I have not averaged 

 one sting per hive, and I take off my honey without 

 escapes. GUSTAVE GROSS. 



Hillsboro, Wis., Sept. 20. 



[Care must be taken to have the gloves very loose. 

 Several times we have been severely stung by wear- 

 ing cotton gloves that were too tight a fit. — ED. J 



