481: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



your queens killed in introducing' In the way you 

 state? Having: tried the plan as you give it, unless 

 I examined the hive before putting in the queen- 

 cells to find it' they had started any new ones in 

 course or the last week, they were almost sure to 

 ik-stroy the one T put in. Fuanz Zschoemitzsch. 

 Monticello, N. V., April 14, 18S8. 



Friend Z., this is ;i matter that has been a 

 good deal discussed in our back volumes. 

 At times, the bees seem to destroy every 

 cell that is inserted, while, again, none of 

 the cells are molested. Season and circum- 

 stances seem to have much to do with it. 

 As a rule, we can let a (jueen that has not 

 been out of her cell more tiian a few hours, 

 loose in any hive, without danger. In nsing 

 the lamp-nursery, we have very little difti- 

 culty in introducing newly hatched queens. 



WHAT DEGREE OF COT,D WII,L THEY STAND? 



In handling frames of brood, what degree of cold 

 can they safely endure, and how long is it safe to 

 have the brood out of the hive? 



What degree of cold will plants endure (potatoes, 

 tomatoes, etc.), under the boxes which you recom- 

 mend on page 7 of your catalogue? 



What degree of cold will eggs endure without in- 

 jury, if the hen is otf the nest ten or fifteen minutes? 



Will tomato-plants and others, that grow very 

 slowly on account of the cold, be just as valuable 

 when grown as any? Miss L. Wit.liams. 



Delavan, Wis., April 24, 1888. 



I am very glad to see (inestions about this 

 very important matter. Miss W. Frames of 

 brood will stand a freezing temperature very 

 well, if they are out of the liive only a little 

 while— say live miiuites. During very warm 

 summer weather, brood will hatch after it 

 has been out of the hive over night. The 

 unsealed larva?, however, are very likely to 

 die — the greater part of them. But I have 

 often thought it was because they are fed, 

 usually, every two or tluee hours. Potatoes 

 and tomatoes will endure safely with the 

 thermometer down to 20 —that is, V2 below 

 freezing, providing the glass fits pretty close- 

 ly, andyou bank the earth arovind the lower 

 edges of the box. A sitting hen may be off 

 from the nest for 15 minutes or more, when 

 the temperature is down to zero, and the 

 eggs hatch all right. Now, I do not know 

 how much longer they would stand it ; but 

 I once knew some of the eggs to hatch after 

 a hen was kept off from her nest by accident 

 over night. During the night time the mer- 

 cury Went down pretty nearly to zero. The 

 chickens were very feeble, and hardly made 

 out to live. I am afraid that plants, espe- 

 cially tender ones, such as tomatoes, pota- 

 toes, etc.. that have been several times frost- 

 ed, are often put back so that they are not 

 as forward as other plants set out after frost 

 is past. 



WHY THAT COrjONY DID NOT DIE. 



In the fall of 1884 I had ten late swarms of bees 

 that had about 3 lbs. of honey each. Oct. 1.5th, when 

 the thermometer stood at (iO at sundown, I put 

 them in a clamp. The last one that I put in the 

 boy got stung by, and let his end fall .The boy ran, 

 and I had a time getting that colony into the clamp. 

 I could hear them roar after they were 13 inches 

 under the earth. Why didn't this colony die? 



When I took them out of the clamp, March 13th, the 

 9 others were all dead. They looked as if they had 

 been starved to death for two months, while the 

 one that T had such a time with was all lively and 

 nice; and if they had eaten any honey, I could not 

 see it. Wm. M. 



I am inclined to think that the colony 

 that got shaken up so, must have had more 

 than 8 lbs. of honey. Is it not possible that 

 they had three times that amount ? Stir- 

 ring them up in the way you mention would 

 cause them to till their sacs with stores, and 

 we have always supposed this to be a very 

 expensive operation, where bees had their 

 stores sealed up, and were ready for winter 

 quarters. If they had any such amount as 

 you mention, the case seems to point toward 

 the sort of hibernation we have so often 

 talked about. 



AN APOLOGY— GOODS ALL SENT. 



I have an acknowledgment to make to your 

 packer. I got, last winter, 10 Terry bushel-meas- 

 ures of you, and, as 1 wrote you, I was sure there 

 were no bottoms sent, but some extra side pieces. 

 This morning, before sending off my order, I de- 

 termined to put one together, as far as the pieces 

 sent would go, so I could send for exactly the right 

 number of missing pieces; and the result was, that 

 the sides and bottoms were so near alike that I 

 mistook one for the other, and found the 10 boxes 

 complete. Please let your packer know that he 

 was right and I was wrong, and tell him to accept 

 my apology for saying he had made the mistake. 



Belleville, 111., May 33, 1888. E. T. Flanagan. 



Will some of our customers please take 

 notice V We have received a good many 

 such letleis. It costs us, our clerks, and 

 packers, a good deal of unnecessary trouble 

 and expense. Friend F. meant all right, 

 but, like a good many others, did not take 

 time to make sure. 



SECTIONS OPEN ON ALL SIDEP, AND SHAVING 

 COMBS DOWN. 



It seems to me the open-all-around box is the box; 

 and I want to say the .'iO sent are just splendid, the 

 best I ever saw ; and the one-piece pleases me too. 

 One word about getting the bees into them. T gave 

 it to the Lewiston Jmirnal four years or so ago. 

 Shave the combs down to %, and close up to %, and 

 you will drive the bees above, and they can not 

 bulge the comt)S. The queen will improve them 

 far beyond your expectation. I believe I was the 

 originator of this idea, though others have talked 

 it uj) some within a year or so. T never saw or 

 heard of it till it came from a wakeful number of 

 nights. It has pleased many about here, and they 

 credit me for it. E. P. Churchill. 



Hallowell. Me., May 3. 1888. 



Very likely, friend C, you are the origi- 

 nator of this idea. It has gone through our 

 journals, and has been used to a considera- 

 ble extent. If so, we owe you a vote of 

 thanks. I believe it sometimes proves quite 

 an important lielp. 



THE SPECIAL POSTAL DELIVERY FOR MAILING 

 QUEENS. 



I wish to call the attention of bee-keepers to the 

 special-delivery system of the mail service, and 

 point out the advantages that might accrue to them 

 by its use lor sending queens, etc., with greater 



