706 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Carbon Bisulphide Better than Sulphur 



By putting all of the combs from dead colonies 

 into a small close room before they had been ex- 

 posed to this season's moths, and smoking them 

 thoroughly with sulphur three or four times, the 

 moths have not troubled them except in a few 

 combs. I have looked each comb over separately, 

 after smoking, and have found a number of little 

 dead worms, and from six to a dozen big live worms 

 that the sulphur fumes did not reach. So I have 

 concluded that it will be necessary to look over each 

 comb carefully, and pick out all live worms if I 

 wish to keep the combs from being destroyed. Most 

 of the combs in which I found worms I had taken 

 from hives that were used for bees this summer. 

 I had put them on top to let the bees take out the 

 honey. I believe that if no comb were exposed out- 

 side of the tight room after early spring the moths 

 would not bother the combs during the summer; 

 but I would not risk them without an occasional 

 smoking with sulphur. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



Roseville, 111., Sept. 24. 



[The wi'iter of the above is one of the older 

 beekeepers of whom there are now so few left, and 

 years ago was a frequent contributor to these col- 

 umns. 



It is probable that the fumes from carbon bisul- 

 phide, being somewuat stronger, would do rather 

 more thorough work in fumigating ; for, as a usual 

 thing, one application, if the room can be kept very 

 tight, is enough to kill all the larva? of the moth. 

 If there are not too many combs it is better to put 

 them all into a large box which can be covered up 

 air-tight, and put the liquid carbon bisulphide in a 

 shallow dish at the top under the cover. — Ed.] 



Wintering in a Cellar 



For those who winter their bees in the cellar, 

 and who do not like to have the cellar littered up 

 with dead bees, the following may be of interest: 



Make a frame four inches deep, the size of an 8 

 or 10 frame hive. The ends should be solid, and 

 inch strips should join the ends, leaving a space on 

 each side 2 inches wide and 18 inches long, to be 

 covered with wire cloth. This allows plenty of air, 

 and prevents the bees from scattering all over the 

 floor, and still there is plenty of room at the bottom 

 for dead bees without any danger of stopping up 

 the opening. The frame should be set on a flat 

 board without any entrance. This, of course, would 

 call for considerable work where the hives are stack- 

 ed ; but in the spring the hives are placed on the 

 regular bottom-boards, and all dead bees are left in 

 the frame. 



Dr. Miller, p. 313 of his book. "Fifty Years 

 Ainong the Bees," speaks of the odor of dead bees. 

 This is something I have never noticed. 



INCREASE FROM TWO TO NINE COLONIES. 



The past year has been a very good one in St. 

 Paul and vicinity. White clover yielded plentifully, 

 and the fall flow was very good. All beekeepers 

 report good crops, and increase in some cases dou- 

 bled. Our own two colonies of last spring increased 

 to nine, with about 325 lbs. of honey from three 

 colonies. We fought successfully American foul 

 brood in three colonies. We will put the bees into 

 the cellar with plenty of stores, and hope for an- 

 other good year. 



St. Paul, Minn. Harry G. Brant. 



[Several years ago Mr. Orel L. Hershiser, of 

 Kenmore, N. Y., described a cage arrangement sim- 

 ilar to the one you mention for use under the hives 

 in the cellar. A number of others have tried it since, 

 but with not very good results. — Ed.] 



Locating Hives in Pairs 



In commenting on Mr. Fred White's article, page 

 601, Sept. 15, you say, "Old queen-breeders recog- 

 nize the importance of having each hive so distinct 

 in its location that the virgin will have no difficulty 

 in finding her own home." Will you please discuss 

 this further? I have little room o"n a back lot. 



Oklahoma City, Okla. R. S. Satterfield. 



[The very best plan in locating an apiary is to 

 have the hives located in pairs, and then make sure 

 that the pairs are not too close together. In a small 

 yard this practically does away with anv trouble due 

 to virgins mistaking their hives. In a" larger yard 



the hives can be located in groups of four, two pairs 

 back to back, with just enough room between to 

 walk around. This is really about all that needs 

 to be done by way of precaution, although some 

 beekeepers go so far as to have different-colored 

 hives, or have the fronts of the hives at least paint- 

 ed different colors. It is a question, however, wheth- 

 er this plan is any better than merely locating the 

 hives in pairs as stated. — Ed.] 



Will Honey Kipen in Unsealed Cells? 



The honey-flow has now ceased, and there are 

 many combs containing honey in unsealed cells. 

 Will tliis honey be ripe if left on the hive a week 

 after the honey-flow, or can it be carried into the 

 honey-house to ripen in the combs artificially ? 



Northfleld, Minn. Anderson Bros. 



[There is always some question about the condi- 

 tion of honey that is not sealed. If it can be in the 

 hive a week it is very likely that it will be suffi- 

 ciently ripened; but an exception to this would be if 

 the colonies were not quite as strong as they should 

 be, or if the weather is cold and damp, at which 

 time we should be afraid that the honey would be 

 too thin. Under such circumstances, if you can not 

 leave it in the hives any' longer, take it out and 

 leave the combs in a warm, dry room where a cur- 

 rent of air will pass over them constantly. This will 

 tend to evaporate the honey further so that it will 

 be fully ripened.- — Ed.] 



Stings Relieved a Man who Had Suffered for Years 



Like C. M. Talbot, Portland, Me., whose letter 

 appears Sept. 15, p. 601, I am a believer in bee- 

 stings for gout and rheumatism. I have attended 

 bee conventions, and invariably have I met those 

 who have been afflicted, and have had a permanent 

 cure by means of bee-stings. Several have come to 

 me for treatment. One man in particular who was 

 strong and healthy-looking,had not worked for three 

 years. He had tried numerous doctors, and had 

 then just come back from the hot springs of Arkan- 

 sas, but could not get any relief. It was three years 

 ago last June. He came to me for the bee cure. 

 To the best of my recollection he came about every 

 third day for treatment. I ar>r)lied from twelve to 

 twenty stings each time for three weeks. After that 

 time he was able to follow his old occupation as 

 coachman, and is still on the job, having taken no 

 medicine, and having felt only a light attack of 

 rheumatism since. Before the winter sets in ne in- 

 tends taking a light treatment. 



Germantown, Pa. Wm. H. Shingle. 



Bees Eaten by Chickens 



Having kept several colonies of bees in my poul- 

 try yard for the past twelve years I have noticed 

 every year that some of my chickens begin to eat 

 dead bees. Later they seem to prefer the drones, 

 and still later in the season they simply stand by 

 the hives and snatch off one bee at a time, slam it 

 on the ground, peck at it once or twice, and then 

 swallow it. Finally, both old and young chickens 

 acquired such an appetite for bees that I had to 

 fence ofl:" the chickens. I have seen the bees attack 

 them, but the chickens simply twisted their heads 

 around, looked until they found the bees, and picked 

 them off. 



Concord, N. C. W. D. York. 



Chickens that Eat Pollen-laden Bees 



During my 35 years of beekeeping I have had 

 probably 25 cases where chickens would eat bees 

 at the hive entrance when bees would come in 

 heavily laden with pollen. I think they were after 

 the pollen. I have never known chickens to eat 

 bees willfully. 



Milano, Texas, Aug. 23. G. W. Beard. 



Dead Bees in a Well 30 Feet Deep 



Bees are reported to have gone down 70 feet 

 into a well after water. Stray Straws, Oct. 1, p. 

 612. Undoubtedly bees will go anywhere they c»n 

 after honey or water ; but if they go down 70 feet 

 into a well, they are almost sure to chill and not 

 to return. This fall we cleaned a well only 30 

 feet deep, and found a large quantity of dead bees. 



Boicourt, Kan. D. C. Anderson. 



