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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



sting except to keep down the local fever by the 

 application of hot and cold water in alternation. 

 Never rub the affected part, no matter how much 

 it may itch or burn. If one has been stung for 

 the first time he should remain very quiet, keep- 

 ing himself as cool as possible. In any case, if 

 one should receive very many stings he should 

 apply the hot and cold applications, using a little 

 salt in the water to help neutralize the effects of 

 the active poison, and then keep very quiet. If 

 blotches break out on the individual, call the ser- 

 vices of a physician immediately, especially if the 

 heart should be affected. 



The foregoing advice applies only to those who 

 have not become accustomed to the effects of the 

 poison. Old beekeepers, while they feel the pain 

 of a sting as much as they ever did, have no 

 after-swelling. They do nothing except to remove 

 the sting. Further treatment is unnecessary. — Ed.] 



middleman, jobber, wholesaler, and retailer make 

 off the producer, and the tendency of each to 

 cheat the other, and all of them the producer, 

 and granting that beekeepers are better informed 

 along these lines than most other producers, I 

 doubt whether there is one that will not agree 

 that there should be some better way of handling 

 our product than the present wasteful unstandard- 

 ized means of disposing of a crop of honey. Mr. 

 Hastings says we can not do without the middle- 

 man, but I think we can. The National Associa- 

 tion has stepped out of the dark, and says it is 

 anxious and willing to be the middleman. Now 

 it is up to the producers to help. If we do not 

 sow we can not reap. Let us follow Mr. Hastings' 

 advice, and co-operate. If we do our part it will 

 be easy for the association to do its. 



James K. Hedsteom. 

 Calabasas, Cal., Aug. 1. 



Robbers Attacking a Nucleus 



In dividing a colony for the introduction of a 

 queen, about half the frames were taken to the new 

 hive and stand. The queen was put in in the usual 

 manner ; but imagine my surprise when, upon open- 

 ing the hive about a day later, I found it almost 

 solidly full of robber bees, with clouds of others 

 hovering around the hive and* striving to get in. 

 The queen was still safe within her cage. I find 

 robbers one of the greatest obstacles to the division 

 of a colony. No matter what method is used, the 

 queenless half is somewhat demoralized, and not in 

 good condition to defend itself against robbers. I 

 shall be glad to receive any suggestions as to what 

 should be done when such a problem arises. 



HONE .'-C'LOGGSD BROOD-CHAMBER OF A QU E I'lXriESS? 

 COLON i'. 



Here are the conditions : I should like to know 

 what an experienced beekeeper would advise. A 

 prosperous colony, at the height of the honey flow, 

 became queenless for some unknown reason, and 

 failed to raise another queen. All the larva? and 

 brood developed, and the very prosperous colony 

 then filled every cell in the ten frames with honey 

 and sealed it over. The bees hanging around the 

 entrance of the hive, and the ten frames of finest 

 sealed honey, made a sight to be remembered. What 

 would an experienced beekeeper do first, and what 

 would he do next? How would he treat the situa- 

 tion, especially if he had no extractor and no extra 

 frames on hand? I have seen many inquiries as 

 to what to do with a poverty-stricken hive or a 

 weak colony ; but I have never seen such a ner- 

 plexing problem of over-prosperity in the way of 

 honey. In such conditions it would be useless to 

 have introduced a new queen, because there was 

 not a cell in which she could lay. 



Edward F. Bigelow. 



Arcadia, Sound Beach, Ct. 



[After forming nuclei during the robbing season 

 it is very important to reduce the size of the en- 

 trances to about the space one bee can pass at :' 

 time or close with grass. A nucleus, when it is 

 first placed on its stand, will not recover its colony 

 spirit sometimes for 24 hours, and in this interim 

 robbers get into the hive and overpower it. If the 

 weather is not too hot or the nucleus too strong we 

 usually advise closing the entrance with grass for 

 24 hour.s. The grass will wilt, and allow the bees 

 in the hive to escape, by which time they will have 

 recovered their colony spirit enough so they will put 

 up a defense. As a rule nuclei should be put on 

 their stands the night before if the entrance is left 

 open. 



In the case of the honey-clogged brood-chamber, 

 we would have taken out three or four combs in the 

 center, put in empty combs, and introduced a queen. 

 A beekeeper can have no better capital than combs 

 ot sealed stores which he may use to supply colo- 

 nies short of stores late in the fall, mid-winter, or 

 the following spring. At such times it is not prac- 

 ticable to feed. — Ed.] 



Can Honey Producers do Without the Middleman? 



I wish to commend Mr. Hastings' article, July 

 1. 1912. He says we can not do without the 

 middleman, and in a very ingenious manner com- 

 pares what the producer pays the middleman 

 to what he would have to pay hired help to take 

 his place if he marketed his produce himself. 



Omitting a discussion of what added profit the 



Variations in Color and Disposition 



Why is it that not much is heard of the Banat 

 bee of late? I read nothing about them in any 

 journal. Are they no good ? or what is the mat- 

 ter ? I have one colony of what I suppose to be 

 Banats. The queen was bought as a tested one 

 from a well-known breeder. 



I have also a colony of goldens bought of a 

 well-knovm breeder. I notice no difference in 

 color between them and my regular three-banded 

 bees. Could these bees be called golden with only 

 three bands ? They are as gentle as the Banats. 



I have 25 colonies of regular Italians. Why 

 does their temper vary so? I have some that are 

 almost stingless, while others attack me at a dis- 

 tance. The queens are fine bright yellow ; the bees 

 all well marked with three bands, all reared by 

 myself from fine blood. Is it natural for some 

 three-banded Italians from the same breeder to 

 vary in temper this way ? 



SUBSCEIBER. 



[We do not know that we can point out to 

 you the definite objection to the Banat bees. We 

 know that they were tried quite considerably seven 

 or eight years ago, but for some reason or another 

 they have been largely dropped. We presume 

 the facts are these : On testing, they probably 

 proved to be no better in the long run than the 

 Italians or Carniolans, so that it would only be 

 multiplying races and making beekeeping more 

 complex to introduce the Banats and accomplish 

 no real good. See the report by Albin Platz just 

 below. 



There is an unfortunate lack of uniformity in 

 the ideas which different breeders have regarding 

 queens, especially as regards color. What some call 

 "golden" would be called "leather-colored," prob- 

 bly, by others. The goldens are usually supposed to 

 be four or five banded, although we do not know 

 that there would be any good reason why an extra 

 bright-yellow queen should not be called "golden," 

 even though she had only three bands. 



The question of gentleness is one concerning 

 which no definite law can be laid down. If queens 

 are reared from a queen mother whose workers 

 have always been very gentle, and introduced to 

 respective colonies, those colonies will usually be 

 quite gentle also. On the other hand, queens 

 reared from a queen mother whose bees are very 

 cross are also likely to have cross workers them- 

 selves. This is not a positive rule, however, for 

 unquestionably the drones have some effect on the 

 disposition of the workers, so that it depends some- 

 what upon the di-one with which a queen mates as 

 to whether her workers will be gentle or irritable. 

 — Ed.] 



Banats Not as Good Honey Gatherers 



During the last few years quite a little has been 

 said about Banats. They have also been advertised 

 quite extensively, and numerous merits have been 

 claimed for them. Let me give, in a few words, 

 my experience with them 



A little over two years ago I purchased a tested 

 Banat queen of a prominent queen-breeder, and 

 introduced her safely to a colony of bees. The 

 first year I had her (1911) the honey season in this 

 locality was a complete failure ; and, moreover, 

 American foul brood was rampant. They wintered 

 successfully, and started the year 1912 in good 

 condition. However, as the season advanced and 

 they started to breed rapidly, holding their own with 



