786 



GLEANII^GS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



bee, and yet a practiced eye can detect a differ- 

 ence. They both proved exceedingly prolific; bees 

 arc good workers, but make very little surplus 

 honey. They seem to consume all extra honey in 

 brood-raising, and I'or fertile workers they sur- 

 pass any thing I have ever seen. Iha\c seen as 

 many as one dozen depositing eggs at one time. 

 I, like friend Doolittlc, find home-raised Italians 

 the best. T. Guaiiam Ashmead. 



Williamson, N. Y. 



QUEENS UAISED UNDER THE SWARMING IM- 

 PULSE—ARE THEY PREFERABLE? 



I have read several times in Gleanings con- 

 cerning queens raised under the swarming im- 

 pulse, and those raised in strong nuclei. 1 have 

 experimented largely on that point, and I prefer 

 those not raised under the swarming impulse, as 

 they do not swarm so much, which is a benefit to 

 the honey-producer. Now for facts concerning 

 the matter: 



In the spring of 1884 I had a very strong colony 

 of Italians, which superseded their queen and 

 swarmed with virgins, three in number. I caged 

 the three virgin queens and returntd the swaruL 

 I then turned those three virgin queens in three 

 ditferent colonies, where there was nothing but 

 cells— no queen. They wore accepted at once, and 

 the cells torn down; and those colonies, and those 

 where I introduced those queens, swarmed more or 

 less all through the season. In ISSo I tried the 

 same with the same result; also the same result 

 this year, Mhile those raised in strong nuclei 

 swarmed but once, and then came down to solid 

 work. I received more honey from the bees raised 

 from queens reared in strong nuclei or colonics 

 after the swarming season was over than I did 

 from those raised under the swarming impulse. 



JoSIAII EA.STBUHN. 



Fallsingtou, Bucks Co., Pa., Sept. 20, 1836. 



MILKWEED HONEY. 



I mail you to-day a sample of n) llaveed honey. 

 My bees have made about a ton of it this year. I 

 do not like its flavor, but think it has a beautiful 

 color. In a larger package it has a very bright 

 golden color. It is, as you see, very thick, but I 

 allowed it to be entirely capped over befoi-e ex- 

 tracting. 1 have never seen mention made of 

 milkweed as a honey-plant, and therefore send 

 you this sample, believing it will be something 

 new to you. Now, don't say I am mistaken, and it 

 is not from milkweed, for 1 know itts. I never knew 

 bees to work faster, or store honey more rapidly, 

 even from basswcod. This ton of honey was all 

 gathered in about a week, by sixty colonics. I nev- 

 er noticed this honey until a year ago, when 1 had 

 a small quantity- two or three hutidred pounds— 

 1 thought then it was "bug-juice," but know better 

 now. Please pass your judgment on it, and report. 

 I do not think it will be generally liked, for our 

 neighbors nearly all condemn it. Willis Early. 



Sherman. Pa , Sept. 3;i, 1886. 



Thciiiks, friend E. Its color and transpar- 

 ency are beautiful, and I think the flavor is 

 beautiful, though many may not agree with 

 me. It seems to me that your neighbors 

 are hard to please, if tliey dislike honey like 

 the sample sent. I thought at lirst I had 

 seen samples of honey from the milkweed ; 

 but come to think of it, I guess it was fire- 

 weed. i3ut how about the little appendages 



that tangle the bees' feet? In reading your 

 letter, I was surprised that you did not men- 

 tion them. Didn't your bees get clogged, 

 and fall down to the bottom of the hive, as 

 so many have complained, where milkweed 

 was plentifulV The fact you furnish us is 

 another evidence of what I have often 

 said, that almost every plant that grows is 

 liable to furnish honey whenever we have a 

 year when the conditions happen to be just 

 right for its secretion. 



C.4N FOUNDATION BE SO MADE THAT THE BEES 

 WILL NOT USE IT EOll BUOOD-IiBARING? 



Ha;; the experiment ever been tried, of making 

 foundation of such shape that it will not be used 

 for brood? It seems to mo that it can be done. If 

 such could be done, it would be of great practical 

 value. If it has not been tried, it seems to me that, 

 with the means you have, and facilities for experi- 

 menting, it would be a profitable field to work in. 



Sergeant's Bluff, Iowa. L. M. Brown. 



Friend B., if you consult the back pages 

 of Gleanings you will find pages devoted 

 to the discussion of the best size of cell ; and 

 for a year c r two we even sent out fdn. with 

 the cells made between the size of worlcer 

 and drone. It answered for comb honey in 

 sections, for the bees rarely if ever tried to 

 put brood in it when used for that purpose ; 

 but when used for brood-combs, every little 

 while there would be a cell containing no 

 brood, and on this account the use of it was 

 abandoned. 



IMPORTED CARNIOLAN BEES. 



I will comply with your request in your foot-notes 

 to J. B. Mason, page 616, 18b'6, by sending in my re- 

 port, or experience, of an imported Carniolan queen 

 from last summer, a report of which was given on 

 pages 529 and .596. The queen proved a remarkably 

 good layer, so that, at the time of going into winter 

 quarters, the colony was one of my strongest ones. 

 1 fed them about half their winter stores. They 

 were wintered successfully in a Koot chaff hive 

 and came out strong. They swarmed June Tth, 

 were hived on empty combs, and soon had eight 

 frames with brood, but almost no honey. They 

 swarmed again Julj- 31st, and were hived this time 

 on frames with foundation. They were examined 

 this morning, Aug. 5, and I found them drawn out 

 about I4 of an inch, with eggs in two frames, and a 

 little honey in one frame only. Upon e.vamining 

 the hive from which they issued July ;Jlst, I found 

 brood in ten frames, and I don't believe there was a 

 cupful of honey, even if all were extracted. The 

 workers are all of a uniform color, no yellow in the 

 least, and the very gentlest nature. I can open the 

 hive during any part of the day, and remove all 

 frames, without any smoke or veil. They remain 

 quiet, and evenly divided over the combs. The 

 daughters raised from this queen prove equally 

 fertile, and the workers are much better honey- 

 gatherers. 1 did not get this queen to raise queens 

 for sale, but merely for my own satisfaction. 



1 think it a very difficult matter to keep this race 

 pure— much more so than the Italian race. 1 have 

 now in my yard about 1.5 Carniolan colonies, all 

 raised from this imported queen, and all but a few 

 have yellow bands, and some of these are the pret- 

 tiest bees I ever saw. Those that have no yellow 

 bands have more the resemblance of our common 

 UJack bees by lacking- the steel-coloied appearance, 



