92 



(JLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Fek. 



bees would suffice to do it? If it is, then we may 

 add to this Huberts theory of motion iuside the 

 cluster to make up the deficiency. It is thought by 

 some that there is a constant change of place be- 

 tween the central and outside bees, and this move- 

 ment may suffice lor the purpose. li. The creation 

 of this heat regulates the consumption of honey, 

 but does not necessarilj' conflict with the theory of 

 hibernation. Hibernation has its dcg-rees. In the 

 bear, it is profound and complete; with squirrels, 

 it is partial. Thej' rouse at intervals, and feed; so 

 do bees. How often they wake, and what quantity 

 of honey they consume during their waking spells, 

 depends, I suppose, on the degree of cold they have 

 to withstand. 



The second paragraph of the editorial notes on 

 Mr. Doolittte's letter states my idea of hibernation 

 to a dot. The naturalist Reaumer describes in a 

 similar manner what he calls " a sort of torpidity " 

 which he regards as the normal condition of bees 

 during the winter season. He says: "In winter, 

 while it freezes, one may observe without fear the 

 interior of hives that are not of glass; for we maj' 

 laj' them on their sides, and even turn them bottom 

 upward, without inittinij any hce into motion.'' He 

 i-efers, of course, to old-fashioned box hives. He 

 adds: "We see the bees crowded and closely pres.s- 

 ed one against the other: little space then suffices 

 for them." This harmonizes exactly with friend 

 Root's account of his " ball of bees about the size of 

 a large apple," which unlocked itself and expanded 

 so that "they filled the hive pretty tolerably." T 

 say with friend Root, " I should like to have my 

 bees winter in these tight little balls; at least, it 

 seems to me that is what we want." This is what I 

 intend by hibernation; and I maintain, that when 

 we find out how to bring this about every time, we 

 shall have mastered the winter problem. 



Speedside, Ont., March 33, 18i-'5. \Vm. F. Cf-arke. 



A KIND LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA. 



QUEENS TAKINO THEIU WEDDING FLIGHT WHEN 

 ONLY ~i HOURS OLD. 



TN my little mountain home, many miles away 

 |M? from church privileges, with only towering 

 ^t mountains, rushing waterfalls, and Lytic Creek 

 "*■ i-oaring in its rocky bed, to remind us of Him 

 who made them, your Home t^lks come to re- 

 new and strengthen all that is noble and right. 



The year that has passed has been the falh)w year 

 to the California bee-keepers. 1 did not take out a 

 pound of honey; but the bees are in good condition, 

 with ample natural stores. There was no rain from 

 Dec. 31st, 1884, until March Tth, 1885, and but little 

 after that, so there was a dearth of bee pasturage. 

 In March, bees did fairly; plenty of brood. Then 

 came cold weather, which stopped the honeyHdw, 

 and lack of moisture did the rest. 



I had two natural swarms. I raised some queens 

 for home use. One lot of cells was so large that I 

 watched them closely; on the Uth of June, about 

 10 A. M., I saw the first emerge. I had given the cell 

 to a queenlcss colony. The young queen was black, 

 and vei'y large. The ne.xt day, about 3 i*. m. I saw 

 her on the top of the hive, just returned from her 

 wedding flight, with a filament attached to her ab- 

 domen. I took her carefully in my hand, and exam- 

 ined her, lifted the cover, and put her on top of a 

 frame, where the bees began to caress her, and in 



two days I found plenty of eggs. I was very much 

 delighted, for I never expected to see a queen re- 

 turning from her wedding flight. I find her bees 

 are hybrids, and very industrious. • 



THE f^Vrf E.XTRACTOR, AGAIN. 



The sun extractor for rendering wa.v is in com- 

 mon use here. 1 have used it for that purpose four 

 years. It is made like the one described in Gi.e.\n- 

 INGS. If one sash will not gather the sun's rays so 

 as to have sufficient heat, put another over the first, 

 and that will be xuir- to work. 



THE MOTH WORM IN CALIFORNIA. 



As Mr. Israel says, people at the east know noth- 

 ingabout the bee moth. It takes hot dry climates to 

 show what they can do. They have never troubled 

 my swarms much, as I watch them; but if one tries 

 to save combs, then comes trouble. In less than a 

 week, five frames had seemingly a thousand co- 

 coons. The space between the frames was packed 

 solid, and I had sulphured them too. 



Mhs.W. w. Wilson. 



San Bernardino, Cal., Jan. 3, 18S6. 



Thanks for kind words for the Home Pa- 

 pers, my good friend. — Your fact, to the 

 effect tliat a queen may take lier wedding- 

 flight tlie day after she is hatched, seems 

 pretty direct f but still there is a possibility 

 for a mistake. Vour qneen may not have 

 left the hive at all, and another one 

 resembling her may liave alighted on the 

 hive. Under such circumstances she would 

 probably be well received, and commence 

 laying as you suggest. As others, however, 

 have reported that queens do sometimes 

 take their flight when one day old, it may 

 be so. though it is very rare. In such cases 

 we should suppose the queen was very fully 

 matured V)efore emerging from the cell. 

 Your California climate may have some- 

 thing to do with it.— In regard to the solar 

 extractors, I can not yet feel quite satisfled 

 that two thicknesses "of glass will give more 

 heat than one. Have the friends tried both 

 ways, enough to be sure that the second sash 

 is an advantage':*— A'ery likely the moth are 

 worse in California because you have no ze- 

 ro freezes to kill them out of combs not 

 protected by the Ijees. 



BEE-KEEPING IN KANSAS. 



SOME RE.\SONS WHY THE. BUSINE.1S CAN BE CON- 

 DUCTED SUCCESSFULLY IN THIS STATE. 



fHE season of 188.") was a very poor one, being 

 too wet until August, which, as usual, was a 

 little dry. Spanish needles began to bloom 

 Sept. 1, when a heavy rain fell, whicli de- 

 stroyed all the early blossoms. From the 

 later bloom, which lasted about ten days, the bees 

 filled their hives (which were destitute of stores), 

 and I took from four colonies 110 lbs. of nice sec- 

 tion honey in 1-11). boxes. 



I began with 8 colonies — 7 strong and one weak. 

 I increased to U, all in good condition for winter. 

 I think I have learned a valuable lesson this season, 

 which is this. If 1 had fed my bees early in the 

 season, to stimulate, I should have had ICO lbs. 

 more honey to have sold. I sold my honey atSO cts. 

 per box, at our little town of Edna. I shall try a 

 little extracted honey next season. The people 

 here think that extracted honey isn't pure ; but! 



