1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



643 



we have been so much in the habit of subdu- 

 ing tliem while on their combs, with honey 

 right before them, that it has never before 

 occurred to me the same thing might be 

 done without any lioney at all. By the way, 

 after you get the bees out of your cases of 

 sections, how do you seiul your honey to 

 market v You may have told us about it ; 

 but if so, I have overlooked the fact. Tell 

 us a little just how these one-pound sections 

 shall be handled after we get the bees out. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDl 



now AN A B C SCHOLAR HAS SUCCEEDED, AND RE- 

 SULTS. 



"Up S I SCO in Gleanings you notice even the 

 9ll^ least of bee-keepers, I thought I would tell 

 1^' you my experience. I live in an excellent 

 ■*^^ farming section, with lots of basswood. In 

 the spring of l^'S-t I bought a swarm of bees 

 of Mr. Harrison. Thej' were in an old-fashioned 

 box hive, fair hybrids, and very strong. They 

 "hung out" all summer, but did not swarm. I got 

 very little white honey; but in August they were 

 transferred into a Quinby hive, and made about 10 

 lbs. from the buckwheat How. Last year they 

 swarmed twice— the first, July 13th; the second, 

 July 23d. I had them packed in the most careful 

 manner possible, six inches of chaff on each side, 

 except the front, and the upper story filled. The 

 first swarm filled their hive (every frame was fllied 

 with empty comb), and made al)out 3,5 lbs. of as 

 nice basswood honey as you ever saw packed in 

 llj-lb. sections. 



The second was hived in an old box hive, and 

 wintered well, though only half full of comb. I fed 

 them .5 lbs. of granulated sugar. All three were 

 packed as well as I know how. This spring, while 

 two had wintered finely, the first swarm of last 

 year was dwindling to a pint of bees, with a patch 

 of brood as large as the palm of your hand. I put 

 them in a nucleus hive to hold two frames. The 

 next day they swarmed out till there were not 

 three bees left in the hive. In a few minutes they 

 came back. I think they lost their queen in this 

 sally. 



On opening the old hive, in the latter part of April, 

 I found solid sheets of brood and drones capped 

 over. Last week, with the help of Mr. Harrison 

 (my confldentia! friend in bee-keeping) I trans- 

 feired the box swarni. We had poor success. The 

 combs fell down, but I threw away all but the 

 brood, and put in sheets of comb built on founda- 

 tion. It was his second attempt, and I had acted 

 as an assistant at one other. I can't tell how it will 

 get along now. I am a great enthusiast on the sub- 

 ject of bees. 



In my limited experience I have found bees to 

 store pollen in the side lioxes, but not in the upper 

 story. I am reading jour A U C book. My account 

 in the bee-bu.-,iness would be as follows: Expenses 

 for hives and bees, $0.50 ; value of honey, *0.00. 

 Value of bees, fflO.OO. Profit, ♦O.iiO. 



Jared Van Waoenen, age U. 



Lawj-ersville, Scho. Co., N. Y., May 3, WHQ. 



shall wk permit misleading or fraudulent 

 advertisements in our columns? 



I inclose a clipping from a paper. Can you put it 

 in labels, and also put your mime below it V I admire 

 such a stand as this by any editor, and only wish 

 that more of them would do as this one has done. 



Duarte, Los Angeles Co., Cal. W. W. Hliss. 



Below is the clipping referred to above : 



We will not publish, for any price, any patent- 

 medicine or lottery advertisements, or humbugs or 

 " sells" of any kind. 



Our advertisers are all reliable men; and if sub- 

 scribers, in opening a correspondence with them, 

 and also in any order they nuiy afterward give, will 

 state that they saw the advertisement in The Balti- 

 miire List, we will guarantee that they will receive 

 fair dealing in every instance. 



F'riend B., we have, as you mfiy know, for 

 several years insisted thtitour advertisers be 

 responsible men. As we once suffered con- 

 siderable loss, however, because one of our 

 bee-men, who had hitherto been considered 

 good, failed in business, we have thought 

 best to change the wording of our guarantee 

 a little. It is not always an easy matter to 

 draw the line between advertisers who ad- 

 vertise with a deliberate purpose of fraud, 

 and those who lack judgment, and make a 

 failure. The former, we can readily guard 

 against ; and we always shut down on the 

 latter when we think the circumstances 

 warrant. 



WHAT CAUSES WAX TO CRUMBLE ? 



I have been trying to make a little foundation, 

 and find, after working my wax a short time, that 

 it gets tender, and crumbles. Thinking perhaps 

 you would be kind enough to tell me what the 

 trouble is, I come to you for information. Would 

 a little paratline help the matter any ? Bees are do- 

 ing finely. D. J. Spencer. 



Hartford, O., June 3, 188C. 



Wax becomes brittle by working, in con- 

 sequence of being heated hotter than is nec- 

 essary ; also, after being melted many times 

 over, it becomes crumbly, as you mention. 

 There is no remedy that! know of, unless it 

 be adding a considerable quantity of fresh 

 wax. We have had specimens of wax that 

 seemed about like Indian meal ; and, failing 

 entirely to get it to run together, we sold it 

 to the wax-bleachers, to be used for making 

 wax candles. By no manner of means add 

 paraffine. See our caution in regard to its 

 use, in the A B C book. 



WHY DO MY llEES BUILD DRONE COMB? 



I should like to know how it comes that the bees 

 build nearly all drone combs, or why they do so in 

 this locality. All the new frames that ] added to 

 the brood-nest in parent hives had worker founda- 

 tion. Every time the bees start drone combs, they 

 are storing surplus fast, as there is a great How of 

 honey here at the present time. 



Jacob S. Weibley. 



Kisller, Perry Co., Pa., June 5, 1880. 



Bees naturally build drone or store comb 

 during a heavy yield of honey, because the 

 same amount of wax and the same amount 

 of labor will contain a greater (luantity. 

 Drone combs in the surplus-receptacles will 

 do no liarin unless tliey injure the looks of the 

 comb honey. The remedy is to use founda- 

 tion, instead of letting the bees build their 

 own comb. 



