694 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



Covell, C, Buda. Bureau Co.-l. 3o. and have the 

 care of others; 3. Not good, very dry, and little 

 prospects of fall bloom; 3. Not any. on an average 

 enough for winter stores; 4. Is bassvvood. 



Dadant & Son, Hamilton, Hancock Co.— 1. 3,50, 'i. 

 None; 3. None; 4. V\ ill have to feed for winter. 



Dale Peter, Granville, Putnam Co. — 1. 135; 3. 

 Very slim; 3. About 50 lbs.; 4. Yes. 



England, P. J., Fancy Pi airie, Menard Co.-l. 36; 

 3 Poor; 3. 25 lbs. extraded; 4. No. 1. 



Everett, J. D., Oak Park, Cook Co.-l. 34; 3. Fair; 

 3. 168 lbs.; 4. No. 



Flanagan, E. T., Belleville, St, Clair Co.-l i50; 3. 

 Poor; 3 None; 



Hambauah, J. M., Spring, Brown Co.— 1. 130; i. 

 ExctSllngfyslim; 3. 3500 lbs.; 4. /. dark, % better, 

 but not No. 1. ri 1 0-. •> 



Hayek, Bernard W., Quincy, Adams Co.-l. 3., 3. 

 N(7t good; 3. So far not enough to winter my bees 



on; 4. Not No. 1. ^ , r. , en. •> 



Highbarger. Leroy, Leaf River, Ogle Co.-l. 80. -. 

 Very poor The worst drouth ever known; pas- 

 tures all burned up; 3. 100 lbs. clover, basswood and 

 honey-dew. Bees are doing nothing now; 4. Clover 

 and linden. No. 1. ^ or. a -c 



Little. Wm.. Marissa, St. Clair Co.-l. 60; 2. For 

 fall crops, fair if rains fall; 3. My crop ruined by 

 honey-dew; 4. Good for nothing but bee-feed. 



Miller. Dr. C. C, Marengo, McHeniy Co.-l. 303; 



2. Nil; 3. Nary a drop. ., xt . 



Phelps. Adam. Springfleld.-l. 28; 3. Poor; .3. Not 



a drop; bees on a strike. ^ .,, ^ , on., 



Poindexter. Geo.. Kenney. Dewitt Co.-l. 90. i. 



Very poor; 3. 50; 4. Not No. 1. 



Poindexter, Jas.. Bloomington.-l. 50 and 30 nu- 

 clei; 3. Think will get the bees summered safely; 6. 

 No surplus; 4. Basswood mostly. 



Bobbins, Geo. F., Mech inicsburg, Sangamon Co.— 

 1 7n- 3 Nt)ne so far; 3. No surplus, only enough to 

 fl'll brood-nest; 4. No. Chiefly honey-dew. 



Smith. J. Q., Lincoln, Logan Co.-l. 63; 3. Poor; 3. 

 200 lbs. alsike clover; 4. No. 1. „ ^ , ,,„ ., 



Snell. F. A., Milledgeville, Carroll Co.— L 112; ~. 

 Not very flattering; 3. About 600 lbs.; 4. No. 1. 



Vandenljurg. P E., Jerseyville, .Tersey Co.-l. 38; 

 2. Poor-no surplus; 3. Not any surplus; 4. Don t 



know. „, , o o XT t 



Van Meter, W. M.. Era. Cook Co , Tex. -1. 8: 2. Not 



good on account of drouth; 3. About 100; 4. Very 



good. 1 r. o ir 



Vibert F. C. Hockanum. Conn.— 1. iX 2. Veiy 

 poor— the severest drouth ever known is the cau.se; 

 3 24 s-'Ciions from two colonies taken July 1st: 4. 

 No. 1 As fine as I ever i-aw. 



Whiitlesey, E.. Pecatonica. Winnebago Co -1. .1; 

 3 Very poor; 3. None in sections; *■. M>> white hon- 

 ey—clover, linden, and honey-dew mixtd. No No. 1 

 honey in this part of the country. 



Bradfordton, III. Jas. A. Stone, &fc. 



CANDY FOR ftUEEN- CAGES. 



SOMETHING IN KKGARD TO ITS USE IN AUS 

 TKAIJA. 



BU H. L. JiitlfS. 



I have noticed several articles in Gi-eanings 

 recently, regarding the effect of dry climales on 

 queen-cage candy, and it now seems to be the 

 general belief that the loss in shipping queens 

 long distances is due mainly to the behavior of 

 the candy. I will give you a little of my expe- 

 rience in importing queens from America dur- 

 ing the present season. 



From one breeder I received 12 queens; but 

 only one came through alive, and she was the 

 only surviving inmate of the cage. With this 

 consignment I'm sure the condition of the candy 

 had little to do with the loss, as it was still 



moist and in good condition. To test the mat- 

 ter still further 1 used what remained of it to 

 provision cages in sending off a distant consign- 

 ment of queens, and it fulfilled its purpose ad- 

 mirably. I received also a number of queens 

 from other dealers; but with one exception all 

 were dead. With these, too, the candy was in 

 most if not all cases all right. The majority of 

 queens were put up in large three-hole cases, 

 and the loss in many instances was distinctly 

 traceable to the fact that some bees had got 

 stuck in the candy, and thus cut off supplies. A 

 cage of this kind is not at all adapted for suc- 

 cessful shipment. The candy (the weight) be- 

 ing all at one end, the cage will, on being tum- 

 bled into the mail-bag, in most cases settle with 

 this end down, and thus on a three-weeks' trip 

 across the ocean the bees, as they die off, will 

 drop straight into the candy, and communica- 

 tion with the food is soon cut off. A shallow 

 six or eight hole cage, one side ventilated and 

 one side not. with at least two entrances to the 

 candy, also some kind of guard to make it al- 

 most impossible for dead bees to roll into the 

 candy, will give much better success. Of course, 

 the candy could be placed at both ends of the 

 cage, but this would necessitate a double sup- 

 ply and a larger cage. 



To give you some idea of the condition of the 

 candy after passing through various climates, I 

 send you to-day a queen in a cage of my own de- 

 sign. If she comes through all right, score out 

 for the cage; but I hardly think she will at this 

 time of the year, as her vitality will be prettj 

 well exhausted by the time she reaches lh( 

 United States; and the cold weather you wil 

 still be having will probably finish her off. 



1 aho send you a sample of my Australasiai 

 mailing-cage, which is a slight modification o 

 the old-style Benton; but I can assure you it i 

 far more nearly infallible. Out of nearly .50' 

 queens sent in it to all parts of Australasia al 

 ready this season, I have not yet had a singl 

 loss. I have also sent out a number in you 

 eight-hole long-distance cages, also several oth 

 er kinds of cage-;, but not with the same sue 

 cess. You will notice that the passageway 

 connecting the larger holes are cut clean awaj 

 and not simply bored, as with your old Benton 

 and in this lies the advantage. With the sma 

 bored passageway, one bee stuck in the cand 

 is suf'ticient to block up the hole and cut o 

 communication with the food ; but with th 

 entrances cut clean away, when a bee gei 

 hurled into the candy by any sudden jerk thei 

 is still sufficient room for a bee to reach th 

 candy, and usually the bogged bee is release 

 before it dies. Now, don't say this cage is tc 

 large, as it goes anywhere for a penny (3 cents 

 and this is our lowest rate of postage. 



I make my candy of best icing sugar (It) cen 

 per lb.): warm the honey, and mix up as yc 

 have so often described. H. L. .Jones 



Goodna, Queen'd, Australia, Feb., 1894. 



