GLEAi^riJjGS ilm Bt:t] cULtuiiE. 



8?9 



in almost every case these separatored sections 

 were finished before the others, and sometimes long 

 before. He who says that separators are any hin- 

 drance to the bees, certainly does not know what 

 he is talking about. James A. Gheen. 



Dayton, J 11., Oct. 5, 1888. 



Friend G., the results you speak of are 

 just about as I expected. There is, however, 

 one point that I had not thought of for at 

 least several years. It is, that, during a 

 poor season like the last, where the surplus 

 chamber is divided off into smallapartments, 

 and these small apartments are pretty well 

 separated from each other, the bees from the 

 held fill these small apartments when they 

 would do comparatively nothing in one large 

 apartment. 



UNITING. 



MHS. AXTELL TELLS HlJW SHE DOES IT. 



'E thought we had got all weak colonies built 

 upduringthe summer; but I)y taking away 

 old or hybrid queens tas we wanted to im- 

 prove our bees, if we could not get honey), 

 and giving them pure queen cells we caus- 

 ed weak colonies to dwindle. These, unless kept 

 supplied with hatching brood, are apt to dwindle 

 fast. Such was the case with some of our colonies 

 not supplied with l)rood. A colony may look to be 

 of fair size during a honey dearth, as all the bees 

 cluster in or around the hive and in the top part of 

 the combs; but when they get to gathering honey 

 thej' go down among the combs and out among the 

 flowers. Accordingly, on examining each hive in 

 the apiary separately, to determine the exact con- 

 dition of each one, we found we had several colo- 

 nies which it would be better to unite and use the 

 extra queens to give to queenless ones. When the 

 honey got to coming in fast, at the rate of 400 lbs. or 

 more per day, we united several such colonies by 

 sprinkling the bees on the combs with a little 

 sweetened peppermint water, with the loss of hard- 

 ly a bee or of one of the ten queens. We caged the 

 queens and put a small chunk of honey over the 

 mouth of the cage and laid it on top of the brood- 

 frames, and let the bees remove the combs and lib- 

 erate her. Since uniting, how those strong colonies 

 do bring in honey I 



We had one weak colony standing by itself. When 

 bees were flying hard, bringing in honey, we drew 

 the weak colony back and let the bees that came in 

 heavily laden go into a weak colony that stood by 

 its side. The latter was drawn a little closer to the 

 stand of the one I had pulled back. The queen, we 

 gave to a colony that did not succeed in raisingone. 

 Some colonies seem unfortunate, and remain for 

 weeks without getting a queen, while others get a 

 laying queen in a short time. Well, to i-eturn to the 

 weak colony : 



When the old bees had about all got out, we car- 

 ried the combs to another hive that would be the 

 better for a few bees, and brushed off all the re- 

 maining bees in front of the hive. As they were 

 young Itees they went in and were received all 

 right. The four combs were then used to strength- 

 en up other weak colonies. In that way one weak 

 colony successfully helped five other weak ones. 

 When bees are gathering honey very fast, we find 

 we can double them up almost any way, provided 

 we do it just right. When they were not getting 



honey I have sometimes thought it was about as 

 well to let the bees alone as to try to unite. 



FERTILE WOHKERS. 



In making a thorough inspection of each hive, we 

 found, at Timber Apiary, a colony not working in 

 boxes, which is good evidence that something was 

 wrong, when nearly all others were doing something 

 in sections. On going into the body of the hive we 

 found only drone brood and many drones, the work 

 of fertile workers. We accordingly took the combs 

 to the furthest part of the apiary, and brushed the 

 bees all off upon the ground. The worker liees re- 

 turned to their hive. W^e gave them two combs of 

 brood. They went to work, seemingly encouraged. 

 Only a few drones returned. Ne.xt day, when the 

 bees were working hai'd, we drew that colony back 

 and let its bees, as they came in laden, go into a col- 

 ony by its side. They were received all right. The 

 remaining few we brushed off from the combs in 

 front of the hive, and we used the brood elsewhere. 



Roseville, 111., Nov. 1, 1888. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



BEE-FERTILIZATION NECESSARY FOR THE PROPER 

 FILLING OF BUCKWHEAT SEED. 



TKrOT long since the question was asked you, if 

 |lJr bees injured buckwheat. You told him to 

 TrI t'ompare his with those that had buckwheat, 

 ■^'^T out of the range of bees. That suggestion 

 was very good, if he could find such a place. 

 I think I will venture the assertion, that, without 

 the aid of bees or some other insect to fertilize the 

 plants, he could not raise one single grain of buck- 

 wheat. I had a test of it in 1881, the year of the 

 drouth. I sowed my buckwheat at the usual time, 

 but it was so dry it did not come up till the first 

 week in September. The fall was uncommonly 

 warm and seasonable. The growth was good, and 

 there was no frost till the l.")th of November. It 

 was the most favorable weather for buckwheat to 

 fill I have ever seen, but not one grain could I find 

 on it, nor could I see a bee on it, notwithstanding it 

 was within 100 yards of my apiary. I suppose there 

 was no honey in the bloom. 



.lAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 



I bought of you last summer half a bushel, and 

 sowed it on the 16th day of July. I got ;!0 bushels, 

 machine measure. I am selling it at $3.00 per t)ush- 

 el. It was the best investment I ever made. On 

 the same lot of land, at the same time, I sowed 

 three pecks of the common variety, and got 39 

 bushels. K. HoBiNSON. 



LaClede, 111., Oct. 33, 1888. 



Friend 11., the facts you give seem to in- 

 dicate what has so often been stated before, 

 that a good flow of honey from buckwheat 

 is followed by a good yield of grain, and vice 

 versa. I have known crops of buckwheat 

 that looked promising and fair, and yet yield- 

 ed no grain. The explanation has been 

 given, that the seed will not set unless we 

 h;ive cool nights. If it can be proven that a 

 crop of grain can not be raised where there 

 are no bees to visit the blossoms, it will be a 

 tremendous argument in favor of bee cul- 

 ture ; but I hardly believe this is always the 

 case. Can any of the rest of the friends tell 

 us more in regard to the matter? 



