350 



GLEANINGS m BEE CULTURE. 



May 



reared but few queens as compared Avith former 

 years. But I am at home now, and will be in the 

 apiary all the time, and will be in the bee-business" 

 in all its branches the cominj? season. Pome of the 

 ])lea8antcst and happiest days in years gone l)y 

 were spent in watching- and working in the apiary 

 and vegetable-garden. Work (not too hard) gives a 

 relish for one's meals and sound sleep. And you 

 have but little idea what a pleasure and satisfaction 

 it gave me when I used to send you by mail, one, 

 two, or three dozen queens, and receive a postal 

 acknowledging the same, with the remark, "The 

 queens were lively as crickets,"—" line, "or " good " 

 or "satisfactory," or something of the sort, and 

 "not a dead bee in the cages." 



When you again come within one hour's ride of 

 my home, as you did on your trip to New Orleans, 

 I will just say the latch-string hangs on the outside; 

 andalthough you might find things loose around, 

 as though a widow lived here, nevertheless you'd 

 be welcome, and we should like to see you. 



W. P. Henderson. 



Murfrcesboro, Tenn., Jan. 18, 1886. 



Several have reported queens hatched in 

 eight days from the time of the starting of 

 the cell. If I remember correctly, I think 

 we have had such cases in nine days. Is it 

 not possible, under some circumstances, that 

 a worker-larva of just the proper age might be 

 changed into a queen in eight days from the 

 time orood was given to a queenless colony? 

 — Yon are right, friend II. Many of these 

 things have been discussed for years ; but a 

 new generation has sprung up since Glean- 

 ings was first started, and the matter is 

 new to them, if not to the veterans. The 

 matter has been very fully discussed as to 

 whether clipping queens' wings could result 

 in wing-deformed workers. I think those 

 most capable of judging decided that the 

 matter would have to be carried on for ages, 

 and even then might not affect the wings of 

 the workers at all. —I am very much obliged 

 for the additional light you give us in regard 

 to the black-jug bumble-bee trap. If they 

 go into the hole because they hear their 

 comrades buzzing inside, and if the color of 

 the jug has notliing to do with it, it puts 

 quite a different phase on the matter, and I 

 have no doubt but that you are right. — In 

 regard to the queen-business, almost any 

 business will enlarge and increase if the 

 manager keeps himself in readiness to fill 

 orders promptly every day in the year. We 

 don't quite do that, but we come pretty near 

 it on queens and bees — at least, so near it 

 that people have got into the habit of saying, 

 "•If you send to Eoot you will get your 

 queen by return mail ;" and a good many of 

 the brethren know by experience, that, when 

 they send to some others, and those, too, 

 who advertise pretty extensively, they may 

 have to wait not only days but sometimes 

 weeks. Friend II., it gives us pleasure to 

 receive queens with not a bee dead ; and as 

 I have told you before, there is another 

 thing I greatly enjoy; that is, handing over 

 the cash to those who are helping us to be 

 prompt to our customers. — I am sure I was 

 not aware that I was within one hour's ride 

 of one of our old friends and patrons. Had 

 I been, I fear I should have been a trifle un- 

 easy about passing you by, 



A COLONY THAT WOULD NOT ACCEPT 

 OF A QUEEN. 



ALSO A COLONY THAT WAS QUEENLESS FROM THE 



10th op august TILL THE 14TH OF APRIL, 



AND STILL WINTERED ALL RIGHT. 



fHE 10th of Aug., 1885, I removed a queen from 

 a colony of bees. They at once started cells. 

 On the 10th day from the time of removing 

 the queen, or on the 30th of Aug., I destroy- 

 ed all cells and caged a laying queen over 

 the frames. After being c-"ged 21 hours the bees 

 acted well disposed to her, and I liberated her. In a 

 few hours, I looked and saw that she was there all 

 right unmolested. Next morning she lay in front 

 of the hive dead. 1 then examined thoroughly for 

 a cell or a hatched queen, thinking I might have 

 missed one, but I could find none, and so I caged 

 another queen over the frames. They acted kind- 

 ly toward her, and in 48 hours I liberated her. The 

 bees seemed to receive her well. In a few hours 

 I examined the colony, and she was walking lei- 

 surely over the combs, the bees seeming to take no 

 notice of her. Next day I looked carefully in front 

 of the hive, but could see nothing. The ne.xt day I 

 examined, expecting to see eggs, and found the 

 queen on the bottom-board dead. Then I went over 

 them thoroughly, but could find nothing that had 

 any signs of a queen, but I decided there must be 

 one and so I waited two weeks. 



At the expiration of thattimeevery thing remain- 

 ed the same. 1 then put in a frame of hatching 

 eggs, but they started no cells. Then I went over 

 them again, then tried another queen, with the same 

 result. Fairly disgusted with them, Iletthem alone. 

 When I put my bees into the cellar there was 

 about a quart of them, perhaps three pints. I set 

 them in, and, to my surprise, this spring, the 14th 

 of April I found nearly as many, apparently, as last 

 fall. I set them out, gave them a thorough looking- 

 over, but could find no queen or eggs. I then gave 

 them a frame of hatching eggs, but they started no 

 cells; and as I had some surplus queens on hand I 

 tried it again. They accepted the queen, and she 

 is all right. 



Now, what should have caused that colony to be 

 so obstinate? Has any one had a case like it? 



HOW I WINTERED MY BEES. 



I put into a room 10 feet square, made of matched 

 boards, without any ventilation, 75 colonies — 30 

 strong, 20 fair, and 35 rather light; temperature 

 ranged from 45 to 55°. I removed them. Apr. 14 and 

 15, with the following result: 18 extra strong, 35 

 good, 14 light, 4 too weak to recover, and 6 dead 

 outright. J. B. Mason. 



Mechanic Falls, Me., Apr. 17, 1886. 



Friend M., the case you mention is rather 

 unusual. I should still be inclined to think 

 there was some sort of a bee in the hive, 

 which the bees recognized and treated as 

 a queen. This would account for their re- 

 fusal to accept queens, or to build queen- 

 cells ; but I may be mistaken in the matter. 

 The most important fact brought out by the 

 above report is, that this quart or three pints 

 of bees lived from August till April. As 

 these were all old bees, and quite old at that, 

 we should like to have you tell us if there 

 was any difficulty about their feeding their 

 larvae and taking up the general work of 

 bi'ood-iearing. 



