2TO 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



that we pay very little attention to it. But what vou 

 describe is evidently of a different character. It 

 would indicate that it was starved or chilled brood. 

 Sometimes there is a scarcity of pollen, and the 

 young nurse bees are not able to feed the young 

 larvEe properly. The result is that some of them die. 

 It is removed, and then the queen lays again in 

 these same cells. 



A sudden cold spell coming on may cause the 

 brood at the outer edges of the cluster of bees to 

 become chilled and die. This will be subsequently 

 removed by the bees ; and, sortly after, other young 

 larva? may be found in their places. 



The condition described does not indicate any dis- 

 ease ; for if there were any thing of that character 

 you would find it spreading to other hives ; and not 

 only other hives, but all through the colony where 

 the first cells were found. 



It might be possible, however, that it is a case of 

 saebrood, as recently described in Gleanings. — 

 Ed.] 



Cube Sugar for Winter Stores 



This is my fourth winter's experience with bee- 

 keeping far enough south to winter bees in the 

 open, in single-walled hives, in Missouri, North 

 Carolina, and now in Alabama. Until this winter, I 

 just laid the cubes of sugar on top of the brood 

 frames in a pyramid with a burlap sack over it, with 

 burlap e.xtending out over all four sides of the hive. 

 I then put on a super which surrounded the sugar 

 pyramid, then I filled in the vacant spaces in the 

 super with dry leaves, and put on the cover. 



The last two winters in Alabama my plan has 

 been more simple. I removed two combs from the 

 side of the hive, and filled the vacancy with cube 

 sugar, as we had some' warm weather late in Jan- 

 uary. I examined all the colonies thus fed and 

 found the bees piled all over the sugar, eating away 

 at it as busy as hogs in a pit of corn. 



Both you and Mr. Miller agree, p. 816, Dec. 15, 

 that there is moisture in the hive. What about the 

 bees having saliva to moisten their dry food? And 

 how do they feed on hard candy? and I think even 

 rock candy has been recommended for winter feed. 

 The cube sugar will not melt nor run down on the 

 bees if used above. And the bees will use it for 

 brood-rearing in the spring. And, oh how nice and 

 clean it is to feed, and how simple the problem I 

 My experience covers territory only where it is warm 

 enough to permit the bees to take a flight every few 

 days. It is ?. boon for the South. 



Later. — My weak colonies that were fed loaf su- 

 gar came through the winter safely. They not only 

 wintered on it all right, but reared brood. Of 

 course, when the bees could work outside I began 

 feeding syrup. 



Letohatchie. Ala. W. N. Randolph. 



[While it is true that bees have a saliva, it should 

 not be forgotten that, if they are to be confined for 

 a period of three months on dry comb and dry cubes 

 of sugar, without any means of getting water, there 

 will not be very much saliva, for saliva is mainly 

 water. But a colony in an ordinary winter repository 

 will give off enough moisture so that the bees will 

 have enough to make their " mouths water " when 

 they approach a cube of dry sugar — Ed.] 



Early Spring Honey Saved for Winter Stores 



In my locality we have a considerable early flow 

 from fruit-bloom, dandelion, and willow, so that 

 most colonies will nearly fill a shallow extracting- 

 super from it. This early dark honey is a positive 

 detriment when it becomes mixed with the clover, 

 as generally happens. I have considered the plan 

 of taking off this shallow super of earily honey just 

 before the clover flow, and reserving it for wint«r 

 stores. The super could be set bodily on the hive 



and left so for winter. Most of our wintering hero- 

 is done on buckwheat honey, and I should like to 

 know whether this fruit-bloom, dandelion, and wil- 

 low honey, if well ripened and sealed, and finished 

 off with buckwheat, would be safe for wintering. 

 Buckwheat gives good results here for winter stores. 



Stouffville, Ont., Feb. 15. F. L. Pollock. 



[We feel quite sure that the dark honey which 

 you mention will be safe for winter stores. Wheth- 

 er it will be as satisfactory as stores made of sugar 

 syrup is another question ; but we rather doubt it. 

 — Ed.] 



A Package Wanted for Sending Honey by Parcel 

 Post 



We have watched Gleanings to see if any plan 

 had been devised for sending honey by parcel post; 

 but up to date, we have seen none mentioned. It 

 would seem to us a package holding from one to 10 

 lbs. of honey, extracted or chunk, with a covering 

 making it safe in the mail, could be produced prof- 

 itably. We are told that honey is thus carried by 

 post in Germany, and possibly ideas could be gotten 

 from there. 



In case of chunk honey the difficulty would be to 

 secure an opening large enough to admit the honey, 

 and that could be quickly and safely closed. The 

 package ought also to be inexpensive; for while & 

 few people will pay fancy prices they are the ones 

 who use but little honey. The real consumers who 

 take the bulk of the product are those who buy it as 

 a food and not as a treat. So the price must be 

 kept so as to be but little above what people are in 

 the habit of paying for honey delivered. Of course, 

 comb honey, as such, can hardly be sent in this way 

 — at least unless the Postoffice Department handles 

 it more carefully than the express companies do, 

 which could hardly be expected. 



The Rockv Mountain Bee Co. 



Forsyth, Mont., Jan. 26. 



[ See answer to this question in the editorial de- 

 partment, this issue — Ed.] 



Growing Alfalfa at High Altitudes 



Is it possible that bees do not work on alfalfa in 

 high altitudes? I failed to see one bee visiting it at 

 this point. This town of Portales is in a wide valley, 

 and the altitude is nearly 4000 feet. If any readers 

 of Gleanings have had experience in this I should 

 like to hear from them. I fear this is a poor place 

 for beekeepinii. 



Portales, N. Mex., March 2. J. W^ HOUTZ. 



[We know that alfafa grows readily in altitudes 

 of five and six thousand feet high. We are not posi- 

 tive of its being grown in altitudes of seven and 

 eight thousand, although perhaps some of our sub- 

 scribers might be able to give us information on this 

 point. But alfalfa grows very luxuriantly around 

 Denver, and Denver is supposed to be about a mile 

 above the level of the sea, so we see no reason why 

 it could not be grown at an elevation of 4000 feet. 

 Of course, alfalfa requires water ; and at that eleva- 

 tion it might require irrigation to do well. — Ed. ] 



Cottonseed Meal as a Substitute for Pollen 



Mrs. H. Millard, Feb. 15, page 131, recommends 

 feeding albuminized sugar when pollen is scarce, in 

 an experimental way. Let me suggest to her to try 

 first feeding cottonseed meal. I have never read of 

 any one trying the use of cottonseed meal as a sub- 

 stitute for pollen ; but the editor suggests the use of 

 rye meal as being more practical. It appears to me 

 that, if rye meal were rich enough, cottonseed meal 

 (which is much richer) would be better. By baiting 

 your pan of cottonseed meal to attract the bees' at- 

 tention, they will find it sooner. 



Rocky, Okla. Kos HuKST. 



