2fi0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



A CORRECTION. 



There is a mistake in your figures, page 164, sec- 

 ond column, near the top. The winter of 1881 and 

 '2 we lost two colonies. Gleanings says, 42 lost out 

 of ].'>7. It should be 2, not 43. All the rest is right. 



Platteville, Wis. Edwin France. 



Will one of your two-horse engines run a 36-inch 

 circular saw? I suppose T should have a larger en- 

 gine, but 1 am not able to purchase it. 



Miles Coleman. 



Powell's Mills, Ry., Mar. 7, 1888. 



[A two-horse-power engine would hardly run a 

 36-inch saw and make it do any work; in fact, a 

 5 H. P. engine would have all it could do. If the 

 saw were going through. 8ay, 14 inches of hard dry 

 wood it might require a six or eight H. P. engine.] 



A QUEEN FLYING OUT IN .JANUARY. 



I had a queen come out the ."jth of January. 

 What is the cause? Does such occur often? She 

 flew in front of the hive like bees marking the lo- 

 cation. John W. Palmer. 



Marble Hill, Bolinger Co., Mo., Jan. 18, 1888. 



[As a rule, it is unusual for a queen to come out 

 in January; but in your warmer locality it may not 

 be so strange. Without knowing more of the facts 

 in regard to the case, I would suggest that the old 

 queen had been superseded, and a younger one 

 came out on her wedding-trip, supposing, of course, 

 the weather was warm enough for the bees to fly 

 freely. Her behavior in marking the location 

 would indicate this ] 



can bees be kept with profit a mile and a 



HALF above the LEVEL OF THE SEA? 



I should like to know if one could reasonably ex- 

 pect to succeed with bees at this altitude— 7-500 feet 

 above the level of the sea. I have had some ex- 

 perience. Because of the cold nights, honey was 

 not secreted in any considerable quantity. There 

 is an abundance of flowers here, but the nights are 

 always very cold and even frosty. C. E. Carroll. 



Liberty, Rio Grande Co., Colorado. 



[I am afraid, friend C, that there are not many 

 of us who have had experience in the line you men- 

 tion; but I should say, on general principles, where 

 there are flowers that secrete honey the bees would 

 prosper, no matter how high up or low down they 

 are located.] 



CAN CYPRIAN AND HOLY-LAND BLOOD BE DETECTED 

 IF PRESENT IN THE BEES? 



In testing Italian queens, can it always be detect- 

 ed if the queen mates with a drone part Cyprian or 

 Holy-Land? If so, how? B. J. Rice. 



West Fallbrook, Cal., Feb. 27, 1888. 



[If the progeny of any queen has any of the 

 blood of any Holy-Land bees, thej' will show more 

 or less disposition to build queen-cells and increase. 

 The fuzz-bands will also, perhaps, be a little whiter, 

 and the yellow bands a little lighter yellow. If the 

 bees are crossed with Cj'prians, the yellow bands 

 will also be a lighter color, and at the base of the 

 thorax you will find occasionally on the bees the 

 characteristic shield of the pui-e Cyprian.] 



HOW TO KEEP COMBS FROM BEING WORM-EATEN. 



I have 40 or .50 empty or partly filled frames that 

 I shall not need till summer. If I put them in a 

 tight box before warm weather comes, will I be 

 troubled with moth worms? Rufus Buckley. 



Hampton. Neb., Feb. 29, 1888. 



[Combs stored away as you mention will not be 

 troubled by moth worms. We keep ours in Sim- 

 plicity hives, with the entrances closed tight, often- 

 times during the entire summer. When the moth 

 miller has once got at them, shutting them up in a 

 tight box will not prevent their being worm-eaten. 

 In your case, if there were any eggs in the combs 

 tbey have doubtless been killed by freezing. 



0aR QaEgTi0N-B0^, 



With Replies from our best Autliorities on Bees. 



AU queries sent in for this department should be briefly 

 stated, and free from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions should be written upon a separate slip of paper, 

 and marked, '• For Our Question-Box." 



Question No. 43. -Js it policy to sit down a part of 

 the time when at work oi^er the hives'/ Jones thinhsit 

 IS, and is lanuhrd ot liu Brown hecause he (Jones) Wies 

 to tahe it c<i>ty. Both are energetic men, and hoth 

 make bees pay in avernqe seasons, flinch of the two. 

 in the same time, will accomplish the larger cimountof 

 work consistent with the proper economy of physical 

 strength? 



It is policy to economize our strength. 



w. Z. Hutchinson. 



1. Yes, sir'ee; It is policy for me, and I'd enjoy 

 Brown's laugh. 2. Jones. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



Yes. Place edgewise on the ground the cover of 

 the hive removed, for a stool to sit on. Jones is 

 right. H. R. Boardman. 



I can't answer for Jones or Brown, but I like it. 

 I believe a hard-worked horse will do more with an 

 occasional breathing-spell. A. J. Cook. 



If you feel like it, and more particularly if your 

 back requires it, sit down. The bow that is never 

 unstrung will lose its elasticity. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Yes, if you can work as fast while sitting as while 

 standing; and Jones can do the most work if he 

 doesn't carry his sitting-down to an extreme. 



O. O. Poppleton. 



Do as you please. When we are tired, we rest. 

 Some people take the world hard, others take it 

 easy. There is a reasonable mean between the two. 



Dadant & Son. 



1. Dr. Miller, who is good authority, says sit down. 

 I used to think otherwise; but now the more I can 

 sit down at my work in the bee-yard, the better. 

 3. Very little difference, after a person gets used to 

 either plan. G. M. Doolittle. 



I have never seen the sit - down bee - keepers 

 make the business pay. I do not think I should do 

 it, and I don't want any of that class in my employ. 

 Our hive and apiary system are based on a different 

 plan altogether. James Heddon. 



It is always wise not to go beyond one's strength. 

 I never could stop to sit down or rest, and years of 

 suffering have been the result. Older bee-keepers 

 need no advice. To the young I would say, with all 

 sincerity, " Go steady and sure." L. C. Root. 



Neighbor Brown, do you just let neighbor Jones 

 alone, and mind your own bees' (nestK Neighbor 

 Jones, don't you heed him. Adopt brother Hutch- 

 inson's invention, and have a nice convenient stool 

 strapped to your person. That will make sitting 

 down a fine art, as it were, and give Mr. Brown 

 something to laugh at. E. E. Hasty. 



With our hives some kinds of work can be done 

 to better advantage sitting than standing, and our 

 hive-caps are just the right height for a comforta- 

 ble seat. When I can find a queen more quickly by 

 sitting, why should I stand? The hired man who 

 accomplishes the most work with the least labor or 

 exertion is the best, and I suppose it is the same 

 with bee-keepers who work tor board and clothes. 



P. H. ELWOOp, 



