648 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



inclined alig-hting--board, and pour a little kerosene 

 on the legs of the l5ottom-board. Had the hive 

 been on or very near the ground, the ants would 

 not have desisted until by some means they were 

 thoroughly exterminated. 



SHAKING INSTEAD OB' BRUSHING THE BEES OFF. 



A word about my experience as to stings: The 

 veil and gloves made me feel so muffled and cramp- 

 ed that I have generally done without them, pre- 

 ferring a few stings to the cramped feelings of 

 working under cover. But about six weeks ago, in 

 taking the honey from a hive I was so unmercifully 

 stung that 1 had to walk off and get both veil and 

 gloves. Since then 1 have taken honey from hive 

 after hive without one single sting, and without 

 the use of either veil or gloves. The great differ- 

 ence in the behavior of the bees is not due to at- 

 mospheric conditions, scarcity of flowers, or any 

 thing else but my method of doing the job. When 

 I was so badly stung I used a brush to get the bees 

 off the frames of honey. I never brush them off 

 now, but shake them off' by a sudden motion of the 

 hands and arms, as recommended by you. Tell 

 your beginners that bees do mind being brushed 

 off the combs, but they do not mind being shaken 

 off. Of course, there should be an inclined path- 

 way to the hive in front, and on this or in front of 

 the hive the shaking should be done, so they can 

 readily crawl in. They behave very much as they 

 do when a swarm or a dipperful from a swarm Is 

 poured in front of the hive. This may seem a vei-y 

 small matter to experienced bee-keepers; but the 

 difference between twenty stings and no stings at 

 each hive is a considerable thing. Besides, every 

 bee is easily shaken off without any violent use of 

 the muscles. My bees did so poorly at side-storing 

 that I shut up all that part of the lower Simplicity 

 hives devoted to wide frames and section boxes. 



What do you and your correspondents think of 

 fdn. with wires molded into it? What is the ad- 

 ditional cost, and is it worth one's while to adopt 



it? • JOSEPHO. 



Tuscaloosa. Ala., June 28, 1886. 



Friend J., there is quite a difference of 

 opinion in regard to wide frames or crates. 

 Dr. C. C. Miller says, on page 35 of his 

 book, "A Year Among the Bees:" 



An objection to the use I made of wide frames 

 was the bits of comb and honey between the bot- 

 toms of these frames and the tops of the brood- 

 frames. This might be remedied by using the 

 Heddon skeleton honey-board. Another objection 

 was the great amount of labor entailed. For one 

 not over strong it made a great Beal of heavy lift- 

 ing. Yet I secured some good crops of honey by it, 

 never in more satisfactory shape, and I am not 

 sure whether I can do any better by any other sys- 

 tem, if I do not take into account the item of labor. 



This might make it a question of circum- 

 stances with the bee-keeper. Foundation 

 will surely prevent liaving your frames filled 

 with drone-comb. As to whether it pays 

 better for comb- honey to let the bees build 

 natural comb in the brood-frames or put it 

 in fdn., remains undecided. Your sug- 

 gestion in regard to having the foundation 

 go clear up against the uprights of the 

 brood-combs is an excellent one.— Kerosene 

 is probably a good remedy for ants. — More 

 than one of our new pupils have made the 

 same discovery you have when they under- 

 took to brush bees, especially if the brush 

 was a stiff one — like a stiff broom, for in- 

 stance. The brushes we advertise for the 



purpose irritate the bees little, if any. — In 

 regard to foundation with wires imbedded, 

 the way it is made by Van Deuseu & Sons, 

 it answers a good purpose without question ; 

 but I believe most of the friends prefer the 

 plan laid down in our price list and ABC 

 book. 



FEATHERING-GETTING QUILLS. 



MRS. gulp's SCHOLAR, AND HOW HE HAS PRO- 

 GRESSED. 



fS^ HE first article I ever wrote for a bee-journal 

 S)'' appeared in Gleanings, June 1.5, and was 

 % entitled, "Just Hatched." In your append- 

 ed note you say, " Don't fail to tell us more 

 about it." With hearty thanks tor your 

 kindness, I comply with your request. 



Six weeks ago ] knew nothing of apiculture nor 

 of boe-literature, having never read with care a 

 single article on the subject. Since then I have 

 gone through ABC and Cook, reading, nearly eve- 

 ry thing in both, and re-reading much of their con- 

 tents; and 1 have almost devoured several back 

 numbers of Gleanings, handed me by a friend. I 

 am greatly pleased with Gleanings in every re- 

 spect. I find in it no bitterness against other 

 journals on apiculture, and very little hatcfulncss 

 between its contributors. It does not attempt to 

 snub the Almighty, nor does it treat religion as 

 something to be shunned, if we would be safe. Al- 

 together, I feel as though I had got into good com- 

 pany. 



I have four colonies, all from Mrs. Culp's apiary, 

 two of them quite recently, and they are getting in 

 lots of good work. They have received 73 new 

 frames filled with foundation, the most of which is 

 chme lip; and they have done some work in sec- 

 tions besides. 1 have formed one nucleus, which 

 affords me great pleasure, and opportunity for ob- 

 servation and study. I hope to grow this nucleus 

 into a strong colony before fall. 



I have visited several small apiaries, and two of 

 some note, and I find this a fruitful practice for 

 gaining knowledge. How I should love to visit 

 "The Home of the Honey-Bees"! 



I have assisted in almost all kinds of apiarian 

 work. I have beheaded drones, clipped queens, 

 plucked queen-cells, have had queens hatch in my 

 hands, taken queens from hives, introduced queens, 

 hived swarms, transferred colonies, extracted hon- 

 ey, etc. 



In the last few weeks I have put together about 

 300 frames, and all these 1 have wired; and about 

 one-third of them I perforated with a brad-awl, 

 that they might be wired. I am greatly in favor of 

 wired frames. To prevent saggin^r I ordered tin 

 strips 3'/2 by f^ inch, which I nailed over the top-bar 

 and down on to the end-bars. I have put $25.00 

 worth of comb foundation into frames for myself 

 and others. Comb foundation is a great invention, 

 and its use should become universal, 1 think. It 

 pays to put it in well. I first varnish one side of 

 the comb-guide with melted wax. This wax holds 

 the foundation much better than the new wood 

 will; and after the foundation is in J drop melted 

 wax on its upper edge in four or five places, and es- 

 pecially at each upper corner. All this takes 

 tinie^iv little time; but it is the stitch that saveg 

 nine. 



