I 



1804 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



497 



truly sees things from afar ofif. Yes, the thing 

 is ail ready foi' a perfect syrup-factory, without 

 a cent of expense or a moment's delay. The 

 flannel filter is the only thing needed. The 

 can is 20 inches in diameter, and a circle was 

 struck on a piece of stiff paper 23 inches in 

 diameter, 2 inches larger than the can. This is 

 to turn up one inch all around against the edge 

 of the can, so the sugar can be pressed tightly 

 against it, and a leak be prevented, and the 

 syrup be compelled to leach through the cloth, 

 for in this lies the secret of perfect syrup. 



The paper was laid upon a sound piece of 

 clean old bed-blanket, and three pieces cut out; 

 and as we were quite certain that we had 

 found the " promised land," and that the thing 

 was not an experiment, we located the can 

 under the shop stairs, upon a neat platform 

 high enough to set a suitable vessel under the 

 honey-gate, to catch the syrup. The flannels 

 were spread upon the wire bottom, and careful- 

 ly adjusted around the edge. Then 70 lbs. of 

 sugar was scooped from the barrel of granulat- 

 ed, setting alongside. Two pails of water was 

 poured on, and I lay down for a night of happy 

 dreams. Was I disappointed in the quality of 

 the syrup? I should say not; and I am happy. 

 Thousands have these uncapping - cans, or 

 others similar, and I need not add another 

 word to this rather long story. 



Forestville, Minn., April 25. 



[There is no doubt that the syrup from a 

 percolator is of superior quality. Dr. Miller 

 seems to think the process slow; but perhaps 

 his machine was not large enough. We should 

 like to know about how many gallons you 

 could make with the uncapping-can as you 

 have arranged it, per day of ten hours. — Ed.] 



RAISING QUEENS FROM DRONE-CELL CUPS. 



KOYAL JELLY NOT NECKSSAKY IN PROVISION- 

 ING CELLS. 



By J. D. Fooshe. 



Mr. Root:— I have been thinking for some 

 days that I would write you a short article on 

 queen-rearing by the method I have last adopt- 

 ed, which is the drone-comb plan which I gave 

 you last fall, too late, perhaps, for most persons 

 in the North to try it; but I will call attention 

 to it again in connection with some other ex- 

 periments and observations along that line. I 

 notice a gentleman from Australia says he has 

 raised several hundred queens by using drone 

 comb for cups. I guess that bees are the same 

 in habit all over the world, and ray observation 

 and experience are, that bees, when queenless 

 and broodless (especially colonies or good strong 

 nuclei contracted so as to be compact), will 

 rear queens in any kind of wax receptacle that 

 you will transfer young larvn? into. I have 

 never known any thing but a queen to be made 

 out of larvae transferred to wax cups from drone 

 comb, or worker comb, and for convenience it 



is best to place the cups or strips of comb on 

 parallel bars. If we cut strips of comb contain- 

 ing young larvaj the right age for rearing 

 queens, and place them upon parallel bars, as 

 the Alley plan, the bees will select several and 

 convert them into queen -cells, and the rest of 

 the larviB they will feed and cap, and this latter 

 hatches out worker bees; but where we trans- 

 fer a larva into a cell, I have never known any 

 thing made out of it but a queen. If we trans- 

 fer fifty or a hundr.'d larv;B into that many 

 cells, the bees will probably reject 50 percent, 

 but still all they do accept will be fed for 

 queens. This being the case, it makes but little 

 difference as to what the cups are made of, 

 whether wax or comb. The drone comb has 

 larger cells, and is better adaptrd to our purpose; 

 but 1 think I am safe in saying that bees will 

 use worker comb in the same way. It matters 

 somewhat, and I think considerably, as to the 

 quality of the comb used. Glean nice new 

 drone comb, or comparatively new (not blacU 

 tough comb), will be accepted by the bees as 

 often for cells as any thing that I have ever 

 tried. As for using royal jelly, that is a matter 

 entirely as to taste with the breeder. You 

 know that I have always contended it only 

 facilitates the operation inasmuch as the larva 

 would stick to the jelly, placed in the bottom 

 of the cell. That being the case, it is always 

 easy to clear the larva from the instrument 

 used for transferring. I am satisfied that the 

 bees take all out that is put in (that is, the 

 jelly). As a rule, bees will accept a larva for a 

 queen in two hours after giving it to them. If 

 one will go to the trouble of watching this 

 closely he will find, in the course of two hours, 

 the small larvaj will have a milky fluid deposit- 

 ed near it, and is soon floating in royal jellv, 

 whether any was used or not. All the royal 

 jelly that we deposit in cups is only an induce- 

 ment for the bees, or, rather, a suggesticm to 

 them, for it can't possibly be used to feed tiny 

 larvae, as It is too old, and not adapted to feed 

 young larvje for queens. I guess none of us se- 

 cure jelly much under two days old, so I giye it 

 as my opinion that, if cups are not handy, there 

 is nearly always drone comb convenient, if 

 selected and placed away; and in the absence 

 of royal jelly we can proceed, provided one has 

 a steady hand, and can pick up the larva and 

 transfer it into a drone-cell without punching a 

 hole in the bottom of the drone-cell. 

 Coronaca, S. C. J. D. Fooshe. 



RAMBLE 110. 



PACKING AND MOVING HARBISON HIVES, ETC. 

 By Rambler. 



The McCombes ranch is a tract of several 

 thousand acres in a fertile valley on the head- 

 waters of the San Luis Rey River. The region 

 abounds in springs and magnificent oak groves. 



