1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



I will iiil'q^-m you on other points in regard to bees 

 in FJorida at s®me future time. 1 wish to get the 

 facts solid before doing so. T. fi. Ashmead. 



Williamson, N. Y., Sept. 31, 18S4. 



^EjaiNDE^. 



NO BUOOD NOR EGG.S; DOES IT INDICATE ANY 

 THING WRONG? 



ILL you please give your advice or opin- 

 ion on the following case? I have 40 colonies 

 of bees all in the same predicament — no 

 brood, no eggs, very little pollen, plenty of 

 honey. In talking with another bee-man 

 to-»lay who has 30 colonies, he stated the same con- 

 dition of his — no brood, no eggs. Now, what is the 

 »ause? How can it be remedied? If no brood can 

 be started this fall, are not the bees on hand too old 

 to winter? Now, I give my idea: We have had such 

 a drought since the tlrstor 10th of August, that there 

 is not a blosscjm of any kind for the bees to gather 

 honey or pollen; also a scarcity of water. Now, 

 would feeding some sugar syrup, rye flour, and wa- 

 ter, help the matter? Youropiuion will be appreci- 

 ated. James Hess. 

 Freysbush, N. Y., Sept. 34, 1884. 



Friend H., I have for many years noticed 

 bees in just this predicament ; and I believe 

 tliat. as a rule, queens <]:eneially stop laying 

 toward the lirst of October, unless honey is 

 coming in largely, which is not the case in 

 most localities. At lirst I feared, as you say, 

 that the old bees could not hold out unless 

 some young ones were reared. These brood- 

 less colonies were marked ; l)ut, contrary to 

 my expectations, they wintered just as well 

 as the others ; in fact, some that had a rath- 

 er small cluster of bees had about that same 

 clustei- in the spring, although no eggs were 

 laid for a period of perhaps four to six 

 months. It is true, they were not strong col- 

 onies, and it took some time to build up in 

 Irhe spring ; but when they got at it they 

 seemed to come right up surely and safely.— 

 Of late, a good many have " thought that 

 colonies A^ithout any pollen wintered 

 best, because brood-rearing is seldom started 

 unless there is pollen in the hive, and tliere- 

 fore there was no brood until pollen came. 

 I thhik I would a litWe rather have some 

 brood hatched out this month ; and feeding 

 a little regularly every day \\'ill usually in- 

 duce this ; but after they have reared this 

 lot of brood in October, 1 should prefer to 

 have them nearly destitute of pollen, and 

 not epmmence brood-rearing, or, at least, not 

 much of it, until March or April.— For years 

 we have had complaints from beginners dur- 

 ing tjie last of September and October, that 

 their queens would not lay, and some of 

 them have even ordered new queens, replac- 

 ing the old ones when there was iiothing 

 wrong at all, only they had never noticed 

 tliat (jueens mostly stop laying during this 

 month, so they imaghied something nimt be 

 wrong. Young queens just fertilized will 

 often raise cfuite a lot of brood during Octo- 

 ber, using up their stores of both lioney and 

 pollen. Of com-se, it is not nuich nialter 

 about the pollen. If their winter stores are 

 thus made low Ave should look to it and lill 

 the hives with sugar syrup. Sugar is so low 



now there can be little excuse for letting 

 bees starve. Sonu'liiucs it is (piite difficult 

 to get (luceiis to lay, even by feeding during 

 Oclober and Noveinber, and but a few years 

 ago 1 niarkcd several of these queens to see 

 if they l)egau laying all right in the spring. 

 They did in every case. One of them was a 

 queen so old that I feared she had passed 

 the period of egg-laying. Altliough I fed 

 the colowy for a couple of weeks daily, she 

 would not lay a 1 lit. She raised a good lot 

 of brood in the spiiiig, however, without any 

 trouble. A great many beginners iironounce 

 their hives queenless, and order another at 

 this season, Avheii the only tionliie is, that 

 tlie queens Iiave closed Imsiiiess for the sea- 

 son, and have got so small and insignilicant 

 looking inconse(iucnce,tlKU the novjce over- 

 looks tiiem as they skulk about among the 

 bees. Now, do not )»' in a hurry to decide 

 tJiat tlie hive is (|ueeidess at this season of 

 the year, and do not l)e inahurrvto imagine 

 soinetliing wrong with your (jneens, sh()uld 

 they b(4iave just as frieiid II. savs liis do, in 

 tlie letter above. If there is plenty of sealed 

 honey or sugar syiupin the hive, the absence 

 of eggs, brood, and pollen, would not do any 

 harm ; in fact, Avhere there is a tendency to 

 bee-cholera, I am inclined to think they will 

 winter all the siifer. Tlie great losses in the 

 spring usually come with hives that have be- 

 gun rearing brood largely in the fore part of 

 winter. 



l^EPei^Tjs Di^scea^^GiNd. 



{SEE by Gleanings that there are some very 

 good reports; but if the bee-men of this county 

 are not in Blasted Hopes, I can not tell what 

 it takes to put one there. It has not rained 

 enough here from the 30th of May to wet the 

 ground 3 inches deeji. I dug a hole in the ground 

 about 3 ft. deep, and it was as dry at the bottom as 

 at the top. Bees have done no good ; 9 colonies gave 

 30 lbs. of surplus honey, and not one new swarm. I 

 know two men who have 45 or 48 colonies, and did 

 not get 100 lbs. of honey, and are compelled to feed, 

 so that their bees will have enough to winter on; 

 and I am in the same boat. Oh how blue! If it had 

 not been for the aphides, there wouSi not have been 

 any thing scarcely. But we all hope that next year 

 will be a good one. J. A. Heichekt. 



Newcastle, Ind., Sept. i:j, 1884. 



We have had no rain that amounted to any thing 

 in about three months; but the bees have tilled 

 their combs with beautiful white honey; some has a 

 rank, weedy taste, and some other is so strong and 

 peppery it will burn in the mouth for hours. We havi' 

 a big white milkweed and a Spanish needle, yellow 

 blossoms, from Avhioh I suijpose the honey is gath- 

 ered. Mrs. R. S. Hounu. 



Mastersville, Te.vas, Aug. 30, 1881. 



Bees have done nothing to speak ot, in this sec- 

 tion of the country, this summer. They did well in 

 the spring until .Tune, when it was very hot and dry. 

 Basswood bloom lasted only 3 days; no second crop 

 of white clover; buckwheat and goldenrod a fail- 

 ure; from 44 eolonirs we shall not get 44 lbs. honey. 

 A. It. Saunders. 



Battle Creek, Mich,, S(^pt. 33, ;88.1. 



