1886 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



30o 



stiuate colonies I I'ound that all of them were such 

 as had much empty comb-space in the broodcham. 

 ber at the time the boney - harvest commenced, 

 Avhich space the bees filled with honey, when they 

 began crowding: the queen, rather than taking to 

 the sections. 



I have often noticed, that, if the bees start to 

 storing- in the brood-chamber to any great extent 

 before entering the sections, such colonies will 

 generally be unprofitable as far as section honey is 

 concerned. For this reason 1 take away all combs. 

 not occupied with brood, from the colony I nm to 

 put sections upon. Dummies, or division-boards, 

 are used to take the place of the broodless combs 

 taken away; and thus when the bees get a surplus 

 of honey it must go into the sections, as they have 

 nowhere else to put it. 



Another thing, when I put on sections I put on 

 only a few to start with, for a large amount of 

 room given at the commencement of the season 

 tends to discourage the bees. I generally give 

 room to the capacity of from 1.5 to 30 lbs. to start with, 

 and in a week add room for 10 to 1.5 lbs. more, and so 

 on till the full capacity of the hive is reached. In this 

 way the bees are led along so as to accomplish the 

 best results. When hiving new swarms, they are 

 allowed only from 4 to 7 brood-frames, according to 

 the size of the swarm, which plan always gets them 

 in the sections at once. They are allowed no more 

 room below until 25 days after hiving, at which time 

 their numbers are largely augmented by the rap- 

 idly hatching brood. At this time the hive is 

 tilled out (9 Gallup frames), and, if needed, more 

 surplus room is added, so as to prevent what are 

 called " virgin swarms " issuing. As soon as all the 

 brood is hatched out of the combs in the parent col- 

 ony, and the young queen gets to laying, this brood- 

 chamber also is contracted to from 5 to 7 combs, 

 and thus all are at work in the sections during the 

 best of the honey-flow, to the best possible advan- 

 tage. When the white-honey harvest is over, the 

 sections are taken off and all hives filled out with 

 combs to their full capacity, so that, as a rule, I 

 have plenty of honey and plenty of bees for winter. 



In the above, Wm. G. Norton (page 170) will find 

 an answer to his queries. I will further state, for 

 his benefit, that I use " duck " and enameled cloth 

 on my hives In place of a honey-board, and these 

 quilts are rolled back as more sections are put on, 

 so that the top of the hive is kept covered. In this 

 way I can put on few or many sections, as I desire. 



Borodino, N. Y., Mar., 1886. G. M. Doolittle. 



Friend I)., I congratulate you on havinjj 

 brought out a very valuable point indeed. 

 Since you call attention to it, it seems very 

 plain and clear, and I have no doubt you are 

 right, although the whole thing is to me a 

 new thought. I have often noticed that 

 bees prefer to commence building comb as 

 near to the brood-nest as they can get it — 

 often building fins at the ends of the frames, 

 rather than go a little higher up and Avork 

 in section boxes. I have also noticed that 

 they commence building new comb much 

 quicker after the brood-apartment is closed 

 up so as to make the l)ees fill it pretty close- 

 ly. "When they begin to feel the need of 

 more room, and begin to crowd out some- 

 where, if we can make them crowd up into 

 the sections it is just what we are after. 

 The idea comes very seasonably; and let 

 our friends all look to the matter of prevent- 



ing honey-storing in any empty space in the 

 brood-chamber as much as possible wlien 

 honey begins to come in. I am sure, also, 

 that it is much better to give more room to 

 a colony gradually. A wiiole upper story at 

 once is, as a rule, too much. Some may ob- 

 ject to tlie time and extra manipulation, but 

 I do not see how the best results can be se- 

 cured without some pains and some work. 



-^ 



DO BEESS HEAR? 



AND DO THEY H.WE ANY VISIBLE OUOANS KOK 

 THIS PURPOSE? AN EPISODE OF A SPIDEK. 



Tp N. TONGUE, of Hillsborough, Wis., asks me 

 K&j the following question: "Do bees hear? 

 >*^r Let Ernest examine and report. It is dis- 

 '^^ * puted by some, but I claim they can." Mrs. 

 Chaddock, a short time ago, asked the £ame 

 question, and 1 will now proceed to answer it as 

 well as I can. I do not think we shall ever be able 

 to render a decision that will be final to all parties. 

 This question has remained in uncertainty for cen- 

 turies. As long ago as 7.50 B. C, Isaiah seemed to 

 believe that the bee possesses the power of hearing 

 (Isa. 7: 18). Ai-istotle, who lived in the year 380 B. C, 

 something over a hundred years after the time of 

 Esther, of whom we have been studying lately, said, 

 " Iiiceitum est an audiant"—it is uncertain whether 

 they (the bees) hear. Ruber, to whom we are in- 

 debted for so many valuable observations, express- 

 es ills doubt as to whether the bee hears, and yet is 

 inclined to think that they have something analo- 

 gous to the power of hearing. Our own Prof. Cook, 

 if I am correct, though I may be mistaken in the 

 person, says that bees probably can hear, though 

 there aie no distinct visible organs which can be 

 found, answering this purpose. Naturalists arc 

 not agreed as to the exact location of the bee's ear; 

 but the majority are of the opinion that the power 

 of hearing resides in the antennie, or " feelers," as 

 they are commonly termed, basing their arguments 

 from the number and the analogous location of 

 these organs. Others ascribe to the antenna' only 

 the power cf delicate touch, and not a compound 

 organ of both hearing and feeling. They further 

 assert, that bees are sensible to sound only as vi- 

 brations affect the organs of touch. It seems to me, 

 in the light of present facts, that this position 

 can hardly be tenable. 



Let us glance for a moment at a few facts and ob- 

 servations. We are all familiar with the peculiar 

 piping " zecp, zeep," emitted by the queen on cer- 

 tain occasions, as at introducing and at swarming 

 time. Why does she do this? Certainly not for ber 

 own individual pleasure, nor that we, as human be- 

 ings, may listen to her tiny voice. We must agree 

 that this is manifestly a signal to the workers, and 

 that the workers understand it. Many a time, in in- 

 troducing queens, I have heard this sharp note. 

 The workers would then show considerable signs of 

 excitement. It is true, that scent may have pro- 

 duced this cfTcct, but I think not in such a marked 

 degree. 



Once, while standing in front of a hive, I heard 

 this peculiar piping of the queen. It was sharp 

 and prolonged, and I then began to suspect some- 

 thing. Before I had time to form any opinion, out 

 poured the bees from this hive by the hundred, un- 

 til the air Avas filled >vith a large swarm. I natural- 



