1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



.547 



HOW SHALL AVE KEEP POLI-EN OUT OB' SECTIONS ? 



My bees want to put pollen into sections all tlio 

 time when they work on white clover. They will 

 put it in nearly every one when making- worker 

 comb, and some in drone comb. I yse a honey- 

 board over the frames. I wish C. C. Miller would 

 tell us how he lieeps it out, as he lives in a white- 

 clover section. I believe the bees g-ather so much 

 that they don't know what to do with it. I have 

 known them to store it VZ inches above the brood. 

 Bees are swarminy, and work in the boxes quite 

 well. The weather is very dry, and has been lor 

 sometime. Henhy Willson. 



Clinton, III, May 0, 188G. 



As a rule, the use of separators discourag- 

 es the queen from going into the sections, 

 and, as a consequence, little if any brood is 

 stored in them. 1 think your experience is 

 a little unusual. 



HOW TO CONSTliUCT A HONEV-IiOOM IN THE GAR- 

 HET, FOIl BEES. 



We have just had a Hood, and T had to take my 

 bees up stairs. I set them at the windows, and 

 they did all right. I have your ABC book, and 

 have looked through it thoroughly, and have tailed 

 to find out how to make a larg-o bee-hive or a small 

 room to put a hive of bees in, and take off the sides 

 of the hive, and let them build comb to the sides of 

 the room, hive, etc. You speak of something of 

 the kind under the head of " Bees in Garrets," but 

 how do you get into the room to cut the honey out? 

 1 should also feel obliged if you would give me a 

 description of the hexagonal bee-hive on page 225, 

 in A B C book. Harry L. Cook. 



Chattanooga, Tenn., May, 1886. 



I do not know how to direct the making 

 of a bee-garret. The results of investiga- 

 tions, wherever I have found such garrets, 

 have been so unfavorable that I do'not be- 

 lieve it is best to spend much time or money 

 on the matter. The Hexagonal bee-hive 

 you allude to was the project of a friend 

 who wanted to see what he could do. The 

 hive cost him something like $50.00, and I 

 believe it gave him several good yields of 

 honey. We had an engraving of it made, 

 and it was described in Gleanings for 

 Feb., 1882, page 02. It is interesting as a 

 curiosity, but I don't believe any one wants 

 many hives of that kind. 



DO BEES GATHER HONEY FROM HARD MAPLE.'' 



On page 0.")8, October No., last year, friend Doo- 

 little says that, according to his observations, bees 

 gather very little honey from hard maple, but plen- 

 ty of pollen. Now, according to my experience the 

 hard maple yields honey abundantly; in fact, I 

 think it is equal to fruit-bloom for honey, and the 

 honey is of better quality. But, of course, as the 

 weather is usually unfavorable during the maple 

 bloom there is comparatively little saved by the 

 bees. I have never experimented as carefully as 

 friend Doolittle; but this T know: We have no 

 willow ill bluom when the sugar-tree is in bloom, 

 nor is there any other source where bees gather 

 honey at that time, except dandelion, which did not 

 bloom this year. So w hile the sugar-trees were in 

 bloom the bees worked with a vim e(iual to fruit- 

 bloom, and stored considerable honey, although the 

 weather was very unfavorable most of the time 

 during the two weeks they were in bloom, and the 

 honey was of excellent quality. 



We can not always compare our localities with 

 others; as, for instance, I see reports from some 

 localities that l)ces make considerable honey from 

 the goldenrod. Now, two years ago I had a field of 

 eight acres covered with it, and I never saw a bee 

 on a goldeiu'od blossom in my life. 



The season in this locality was a very poor one 

 for honey last year. A great many of our bee- 

 keepers did not get any honey at all. My report is 

 as follows: :iO lbs. of comb honey per colony and 

 two swarms. My best colony gave .50 lbs. 



Farmington, W. Va. L. II. Wi[.cox. 



I am inclined to agree with you, friend 

 W.. that the hard maple does attimes yield 

 considerable honey. Two or three years ago 

 we had a seas(m when the bees were hlling 

 the hives with new honey. So much of it 

 was brought in, that, when we turned the 

 combs over to look at the brood, the honey 

 would run out on our clothing. It had the 

 taste, somewhat, of maple syrup ; and as the 

 hard maples were just roaring with bees for 

 many days, I decided the honey-flow came 

 from them. Did you taste the honey, and 

 see what it was like ? 



MRS. AXTELL ON FORMING NUCLEI. 



The w.iy I like best to make nuclei is this: Go 

 to my blackest, or poorest and smallest colonies; 

 take out all the combs and adhering bees, and car- 

 ry to a new hive on a new location, two of which 

 combs I set in the hive; then brush off the 

 bees from the remaining combs into the hive. 

 Now we know we have the queen, and enough of 

 the bees will remain to care for the queen and 

 brood well (as only a strong nucleus pays). Now 

 carry back the other two or three combs to the old 

 stand, and enough bees will return to care for 

 them. ]f a colony is strong enough, three or more 

 nuclei may be made of the one weak colony. I 

 like to pick out my darkest hybrids or poorest- 

 queened colonies, because I do not wish to raise 

 drones from them. It is the easiest way to get 

 them rcqueened. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



Roseville, 111., May 26, 1880. 



HOW TO COOK CARP. 



My husband has been getting some carp from a 

 neighbor's pond, and they are almost as bonj' as the 

 eastern " red horse," or suckers, and taste very 

 much like them. A good many object to buying 

 them, on account of the bones. As I like the flavor 

 of them, I have tried various ways of cooking them. 

 The best way for us is to bake them. We kill, and 

 clean them thoroughly the day they are caught. 

 They sometimes need washing si.x or seven times 

 in clear water. Then let them stand in clear water 

 all night. Wash them once again in tho morning, 

 and then cut off tails and fins, and pack them heads 

 and tails; that is, as close as I can get them, and 

 about two deep, in a l)aking-dish of some kind. I 

 use a long dripper. As I jiack I sprinkle a little 

 salt and pejipir inside them, then put in water un- 

 til just even with the to]) of the fish; and if liked, a 

 little nice meat-drippings or butter is added; then 

 bake for two hours, or longer if desired. I do not 

 add any more water, preferring to let them l)e about 

 dry when done. When so prepared, the bones are 

 nearly all as soft as those are in canned salmon, 

 and they are much i-elished. If any are loft I warm 

 them up in hot lanl and a little extra salt. 



Los Alamos, Cal. Mrs. .1. Hilton. 



