1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



01 1 



long aud narrow, and they fly with exceeding' swift- 

 ness. The larvie all have either a wart, tubercle, 

 or horn, on the back at the tip of the body. It is 

 often stated that this caudal horn, which all have 

 seen on the tomato larva, is a dangerous organ— 

 that it is used as a stinging weapon, and is quickly 

 fatal. This is sheer nonsense, as nothing is more 

 harmless than this insect. Let me saj^ that all lar- 

 vae, if we except two or three species of caterpillars 

 with tufts of spinous hairs, are utterlj^ without 

 power to harm us. These two or three will irritate, 

 when handled, about as will a nettle. One of these, 

 the saddle-back caterpillar, was illustrated in 

 Gleanings of last year. These are so beautiful 

 that it is worth while to examine them, even if we 

 do perchance get stung a little. So Mrs. Crommie 

 need not fear poison from any of these so-called 

 "worms." A.J.Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



But, friend Cook, you have not told us 

 any thing about the noise like the winding 

 of a watch, that the worm makes when you 

 hit it. This question may not properly 

 come within the bounds of entomology ; but 

 many of us are Yankee enough to want to 

 know all about it. Does the insect do it to 

 frighten away his enemies, or to warn in- 

 truders, as the rattlesnake does? 



ANOTHER S-WARMING- ARRANGE- 

 MENT. 



THE SHEPAIJD DEVICE MODIFIED. 



ip FTEB seeing Mr. Pierce's I'ig in Gleanings 

 ^ for June 1st, I am moved to describe mine, 

 v/ which I think is more convenient and simple 

 ^ than his. Instead of having several poles of 

 different lengths, I have one adjustable pole. 

 You will notice there are two poles with bands of 

 strap or hoop iron around both, fastened to bottom 

 of pole D, the other fastened to the top of the lower 

 one. The upper, or box pole, can be slid up or 

 down, making any length desired to reach the 

 swarm. My iioles are 10 and 11 ft. long, and Vi in. 

 square. Pine or bass wood makes nice poles for the 

 purpose. 



WILLIAMSON'S SW AUMING-APPARATUS. 



The box is held at the desired height by simply 

 sticking a nail (B) in the holes (C) made 8 in. apart 

 in the lower pole. When the bees begin to settle I 

 slip my box up to them and give the limb a quick 

 jerk with a hook-pole (made for the purpose), which i the arrangement of the surplus apartment; but at 



lands the bees, or part of them, into the mouth of 

 the box. I then lean the rig against a neighboring 

 limb, go and prepare a hive while they are settling, 

 then return and lower my box to "half-mast." and 

 carry them and pour them in front of my hive. 



This is my invention, and I honestly believe it to 

 be the cheapest and best thing out for the purpose. 

 I have been using it for two years, and it is a suc- 

 cess, sure. A. C. Williamson. 



Friendly, W. Va., June 18, 1888. 



OPEN-SIDE SECTIONS. 



some of the objections to their use, as well 

 as things in thkik favok. 



fHE idea is cherished by a large number of 

 bee - keepers, that bees will store more 

 honey in a large box than in several small 

 ones that collectively have the same 

 capacity. When the old boxes weigh- 

 ing from five to ten pounds were replaced by 

 the two-pound " prize box," and still more when 

 this was superseded by the pound section, the cry 

 was heard that honey would be lost by compelling 

 the bees to work in such small boxes. Bee-keepers 

 of considerable experience went so far as to say 

 that they could get a half more honey in two-pound 

 sections than in those holding only a pound. 



At the present time this idea has almost gone out 

 among our largest honey-producers, and most of 

 them will be ready to affirm that they can get as 

 much comb honey in pound sections as in any oth- 

 er shape. There are many, though, who hold that 

 the sections should be so arranged as to form one 

 large bo.x, as nearly as possible, else the bees, not 

 finding things to their liking, will be loth to begin 

 work in such contracted quarters, and the advo- 

 cates of open-side sections use this as an argument 

 in their favor. 



In most supers, each lateral row of sections may 

 be looked upon as a box by itself. Your " combined 

 crate," for instance, is really composed of four 

 sectional boxes, 4i.iX4^X14, with no communi- 

 cation between. These boxes, they tell us, are 

 so small that the bees hesitate to begin work in 

 them. Now, my experience has been exactly the 

 other way. Bees would begin work sooner in su- 

 pers of this class (1 never used the combined crate) 

 than in supers like Heddon's or the T super, which 

 have a bee-space over the sections, making the su- 

 per much more like one box, so that, in getting 

 bees started in the Heddon super, 1 have sometimes 

 found it an advantage to lay a cloth over the sec- 

 tions instead of the board cover, thus doing away 

 with communication at the top, until the bees were 

 well started. 



The reason they started better in these compara- 

 ti\ ely small boxes seemed plain to me. In them 

 the heat necessary for profitable comb-building 

 could be more easily maintained, and the small 

 force of wa.x-workers was just suited with this con- 

 dition of things. Besides, the bee is a canny crea- 

 ture, and judges of the future by the present. If 

 honey is coming in but slowly she will much sooner 

 undertiiko to fill a small box than a large one. In 

 the fall, too, bees will often continue work in a 

 small super when they will desert entirely a large 

 open one. During a good honey-flow in warm 



weather, a strong colony cares little if any about 



