64fi 



GLEANINGS IIS BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



I had forgotten it. Hereafter I shall try to 

 tell which are drones and which are workers 

 by the way they Ijehave— not only with bum- 

 ble-bees, but in the great hive of humanity. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



SOLITARY BKES. 



SERE are some specimens of a peculiar little 

 bee whicb is working- upon our sunflowers in 

 great numliers. That they belong to the 

 family Apid(e, is evident at first glance, as 

 they are covered with pollen, and gather it 

 very industriously, packing it upon their posterior 

 legs, much as our hive bees do. But I am unable 

 to tell just what kind of bee they are, and would 

 like to know more fully of their habits. Are they 

 comb-builders? Where do they have their nests? 

 J. Frank Parkkr. 

 Philadelphia, Pa., July 25, 1888. 

 Prof. Cook says : 



The bee is a species of Andiena. They are soli- 

 tary bees that form their cells in hollow stems, etc. 

 They sometimes steal honey from hive bees, as I 

 have reported in Gleanings. 



SETTING UP HIVES IN THE WOODS TO DECOY AH- 

 SCONDINO SWARMS. 



I should like to ask one question, and I should 

 like the opinion of as many as I can get. By setting 

 hives in the woods, does it in any way entice my 

 neighbors' bees, or does it work any injury to any 

 one? I made a few hives last winter, and had my 

 12-year-old grandson set them out in the woods. 

 Some of my neighbors complain that it entices 

 their bees, and are hunting them tip and smashing 

 them to pieces. Now, friend Root, I do not covet 

 any man's goods without giving a fair equivalent, 

 and I certainly would not do it if I thought it work- 

 ed harm to any one. I hope you will tell me all 

 about it, as T believe you love justice. 



Middlebury, Ct., July 2.3, 1888. R. B. Wheaton. 



Friend W., your question hinges, as it 

 seems to me, on the ownership of the woods. 

 You surely have a right to put as many 

 hives in your own woods as you please, and 

 your neighbors are liable for trespass if they 

 destroy them. You can also put as many 

 hives in your neighbors' woods after you 

 have gained the consent of the owner of 

 said woods. Your neighbors have no right 

 to say you did it to decoy their bees. 1 do 

 not think that these decoys would cause 

 the bees to go to the woods any more than if 

 there were no such decoys. If your neigh- 

 bors who own bees can trace them directly 

 to the trees in the woods, they could hold 

 their property. J^>ut this is so very diflicult. 

 that ordinarily swarms found in the woods 

 belong to the discoverer ; that is, the bees 

 do, but not the tree that holds them. 



to save pieces of comb, but invariably the worms 

 would eat it up. Can you tell me how to keep the 

 worms out of it? I read ABC and Gleanings, but 

 these are two i)oints I have not had light on yet. 



A ten-dollar right to use the " Golden " bee-hive 

 was sold to niunbers of persons in this and adjoin- 

 ing counties, and I am using that hive. The Sim- 

 plicity can be used on it for an upper story. 



1 noticed in Gleanings that somebody wanted a 

 honey-slinger, and did not know if it would pay for 

 him to buy one. I wanted one, and went to work 

 and made it. I made the proper framework lor 

 holding the frames of honey, and fixed it up in a 

 large tub, merely using a common crank to turn it. 

 I can turn it fast enough without any castings. 



Honey-flow almost entirely ceased here the first 

 of June. A great many bee-keepers around here 

 " rob " about the 10th of June, and don't rob every 

 year, as they want to keep strong colonies. 



Johnsonville, S. C, July 9, 1888. C. L. Eaddy. 



The manner of preserving combs is 

 very fully given under the head of " Moth 

 Worms" and "Enemies of IJees '" in the 

 A B C book. If you keep Italians you will 

 have no trouble from the work of the moth 

 worm on the combs while the bees have ac- 

 cess to them. There is not the least difficul- 

 ty in keeping them while not in use, if they 

 are kept in a close box or room where the 

 mot]) worm can not get at them. If the 

 worms get started, fumigate with sulphur, 

 as given in the A B C' book. If you want to 

 get a good many good combs, the best way 

 is to use foundation and get them built out 

 at that time of the year when honey is com- 

 ing in slowly. Put the combs away as above 

 directed and they will be safe until wanted. 



TO GET RID OF FERTILE WORKERS. 



I see in Gleanin(!S of the 1st inst., that Mr. G. O. 

 Salzman makes inquiries how to get a fertile work- 

 er out of a swarm of bees. Let him remove all 

 combs and bees out of the old hive, then move bees 

 and hive for about 50 yards, and let it stand for 

 about 24 hours. The workers will generallj' go back 

 tp their former hive, which must have some combs; 

 then after the expiration of the 24 hours, kill all 

 drones and workers remaining in the hive removed. 

 See whether fertile layers did not remain to watch 

 the brood. Introduce a queen in the other hive. I 

 think it will work every time. M. B. Bergey. 



Souderton, Pa., July .5, 1888. 



HOW TO KEEP COMBS FROM MOTHS WHEN OUT OK 

 THE HIVES. 



Tell me how to get surplus comb to give the bees 

 in extracting season, to keep from extracting the 

 honey before it ripens sufliciently. Honey extract- 

 ed this season is candying now. I have often tried 



THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN AN AVERAGE AND A 

 FAIR YIELD. 



In your statistical reports you speak of "average 

 crop." Now, what is an average crop— i. e., what is 

 the average yield per colony, spring count, for dif- 

 ferent States, and the entire country? If we knew 

 this, we could understand your valuable tables 

 better. My own honey crops for 12 years have 

 ranged from 2 to 92 lbs. per colony, spring count, 

 and averaged 47 lbs. I think it would be a good 

 thing to ask your reporters, " What is an average 

 crop?" not a good or a fair crop, but what has it 

 averaged for a term or years? 



Our white-honey crop is an entire failure, as to 

 surplus— first time in an experience of 12 years. 

 Fall prospects poor. H. D. Burrell. 



Bangor, Mich., July 27, 1888. 



Your suggestion in regard to an average 

 crop is a good one, and we certainly will try 



