GLEANINGS IN BEE CtJLTtJRE. 



Feb. 



SHIPPING BEES BY THE POUND. 



Will not some of the friends give us the benefit of 

 their cxperijnee In shipping bees by the pound' 

 What kind of food, boxes, etc., have been found to 

 be the best? 1 sent bees last season from Maine to 

 Utah. As a rule, I was successful, but in two or 

 three instances I met with very annoying losses. 



MO«E ABOUT QUEENS ACKO!-S THE OCEAN BY MAIL. 



Possibly some of the friends may be glad to know 

 more particulars of the queens sent to me by mail, 

 last summer, from Munich, Germany, by Frank 

 Benton. The first one came through in excellent 

 order; only one dead bee in the cage. I never re- 

 ceived a package from any one in which every thing 

 was in better order. The second one was just the 

 reverse of that. All the bees but one were dead. 

 The queen was immediately Introduced to a colony, 

 and when I last examined it, just before the winter 

 commenced, she was alive and doing well. After 

 this he shipped me three packages; but when they 

 arrived, all Ihe bees and queens were dead. As 

 nearly as I could make out, they starved because 

 the candy hardened to such a degree that they could 

 not eat it. So the venture finally ended by giving me 

 two queens, while three died on the way. All were 

 packed in the same way, and the tin bottles con- 

 tained plenty of water when the boxes were re- 

 ceived. E. A. Gastman. 



Decatur, 111., Jan. 19, 1884. 



WIDTH OF sections. 



What are we going to do about this difference in 

 the width of sections, all the way from li4 to )l in.? 

 Can we not have a standard width? If an inch and a 

 half is decidedly the best, why not adopt that, as 

 soon as we can? I can not see that there can be very 

 much ditference between sections l?_i: and I'g wide, 

 as we now have them. 



• • strange such a difference there should be, 

 'Twixt tweedledum and tweedledee." 

 Many thanks to Mr. Doolittlefor his valuable paper 

 on keeping bees strong during the honey-flow. 



wired frames — are there any OBJECTIONS TO 

 THEIR USE ? 



How many of those who have used wired frames 

 for extracting from, like them better than the un- 

 wired? What are the objections to them, if any, 

 besides the extra cost? Mrs. M. A. Shepherd. 



Barry, 111., Jan. 1, 1884. 



My friend, a great part of our time at Co- 

 lumbus was devoted to this matter of narrow 

 sections. The result seemed to indicate, 

 that sections I i to It can be used very well 

 without separators ; and if made the stan- 

 dard size, 41x41, they will hold a pound of 

 honey. These narrow sections will go into 

 our regular cases without any trouble, giv- 

 ing 32 to the case, instead of 28. Of course, 

 we should have to make narrow bottom- 

 boards to support them. 



There is no objection to the wired frames, 

 that I know of, except their extra cost ; in 

 fact, it would seem that everybody was 

 adopting them almost unanimously, by the 

 amount of wire we are selling for the pur- 

 pose. When first made there was an ob- 

 jection urged, because the bees sometimes 

 tore away the combs around the wires ; but 

 this happens only when they are first put in, 

 during a "dearth of honey. After one good 

 flow, so the comb is built out completely, the 

 bees never bother that way afterward ; and 



after a set of brood has been reared in the 

 cells, the cocoons cover the wires, and make 

 the whole fabric strong and substantial. 



THE SPEED OF BEES. 



Our friend Ewing, of North Carolina, settles the 

 question to his own satisfaction, by declaring that 

 the bee was created a beast of burden, and, there- 

 fore, is not endowed with speed. But this inference 

 is not conclusive. The horse is a burden-bearer, 

 and it is also prized for its speed; and the carpenter- 

 bee is a clumsy-looking fellow, but he can dash 

 away at a rate that prevents the eye from retaining 

 his image. Last summer, while watching a swarm 

 in the air, I noticed that the bees appeared to be 

 lines about three feet long. This suggested to me 

 the following plan to determine their speed. Mount 

 an object the size of a bee so it can be revolved in a 

 circle. Move it at a rate of speed that will make it 

 present to the eye the same linear appearance that 

 the bee does in the swarm. Then time its revolu- 

 tions and make the necessary calculations, and you 

 have the speed of the object, and, approximate- 

 ly, that of the bee. Second swarms are the best for 

 tests of this kind. And the afternoon, with the bees 

 lower than the observer, and between him and the 

 sun, gives the best view. J. M. Beatty. 



Shaw's Landing, Pa. 



Your suggestion is a very ingenious one, 

 friend 15., and will give the rate at which 

 bees fly in curves pretty definitely, without 

 question. 



report of THE N. E. OHIO AND N. W. PENN. BEE- 

 KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION, HELD AT JEFFERSON, O. 



The subjects discussed were ably handled by Mr. 

 D. Vidette, of North East, Pa., M. A. Mason, of An- 

 dover, Ashtabula county, O., and I. McGonnell, of 

 Waterford, Erie county. Pa., and many others, all 

 good men. 



IS MODERN BEE-KEEPING A SUCCESS FINANCIALLY? 



Was answered in the alHrmative by nearly all pres- 

 ent. 



IS IT BEST TO CONNECT OTHER BUSINESS WITH BEE- 

 KEEPING? 



Affirmative generally for all beginners; but if one 

 has 100 stands, not, and the best business with bees 

 was farming. 



THE BEST METHOD FOB INCREASING COLONIES. 



The raising of queens from cells left by the first 

 natural swarm, by placing in nuclei, and then build- 

 ing up. 



WHICH IS THE BEST HIVE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF 

 COMB HONEY? 



Did not cause much discussion; let every man use 

 the hive he had, if he liked it; a half-story surplus 

 on the L. frame was the favorite for one-pound sec- 

 tions. 



BEST METHOD OF PRODUCING COMB HONEY. 



Mr. M. A. Mason deserves the thanks of all bee- 

 keepers for the plain and simple explanation of his 

 method, which consists nf hiving the first swarm of 

 the season in a new hive, then taking cells and two 

 frames of brood from the old hive, and placing an 

 empty section case under the one already on, then 

 hiving the next swarm in hive No. 1, and so on, giv- 

 ing the best results. 



HOW BEST TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



Giving young queens, and removing brood, and 

 giving room in hive. etc. 



HOW MAY WE WINTER OUR BEES SUCCESSFULLY? 



Chaff packing on summer stands is the best. 



