1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



409 



see how it works. I am glad now that yon 

 came over and gave me these points. Now, 

 what about the caging business?" 



•'Yes; and let me add that. bjM'unning the 

 bees by this caging method, they might as well 

 be on the second flooi' as on the first; for there 

 will be no hiving of swarms. Now. my way of 

 caging is this. I take a partly tilled section 

 and put on each side of it some pieces of perfor- 

 ated zinc, and fasten the zinc in place with tin 

 points, the f-ame as I would glass. This serves 

 as the cage. I now put in the queen and I'i'turn 

 the section-cage to its place in the clamp(case). 

 which, of course, is on the hive. You see, the 

 bees are not queenless, and yet they can not 

 swarm — or. at least, they won't go away when 



am not there. It will be necessary to look the 

 coml)s over in eight days to cut out any queen- 

 cells that may liave been started, and then in 

 fourortive days later look them over and cut 

 out queen-cells again, and liberate the queen 

 and remove the section-cage, for that will con- 

 tain eggs. I>y using the zinc the bees can have 

 direct communication with the queen; and by 

 having a queen thus continually in the hive 

 the colony will, I think, work better than if the 

 queen were removed entirely, and there is no 

 fussing to introduce qneens, as she is already 

 introduced, and we have simply to liberate her. 

 I tried sevi^-al colonies on this plan last season, 

 and I like it better than caging the queen in 

 the brood-chamber, for the nuison that the 

 queen is so far I'emoved from the brood that it 

 seems to have a greater tendency to prevent 

 the swarming impulse later on, as none of those 

 run in this way offered to swarm at all last 

 year, while some of those where the queen was 

 caged in the brood - chamber did. However, 

 one year's trial does not always prove a thing 

 free from failure." 



■• Thanks for the explanation, and I shall try 

 it with a few hives this season. liut, supjjose 

 the tiueen should get out through the perfora- 

 tions; wouldn't it cause trouble in an apiary 

 that you visit only once a week?" 



•' Yes. it would; hence it is necessary to procure 

 zinc that is just right. The zinc I had last year 

 did not always hold the qneens, therefore I 

 shall try another make this year." 



'•There, Henry. I notice i\Ir. Warner is get- 

 ting uneasy, and I think we shall have 

 to go; but first, I want to take a view of 

 this apiary and your chicken-house, so let's go 

 out and see whether T can find a good position. 

 Tlierc, I think the best place is from this cor- 

 ner of the yard, and you may stand down there 

 by a hive, and Mr. Warner out here, and I will 

 soon have you both. There, all done. We will- 

 now go. Good-by. Oh! by the way, Henry, 

 have you heard that Gleanintis has a new edit- 

 or ?•• 



"No; who can it be?" 



•• I believe his name is Leland Ives Hoot, 

 bor'n Mar. -.Id, 18U1. to Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Root." 



"Ha, ha, ha 1 Good! lam glad to lieai- the 

 good news. The more Roots, the better. It is 

 said, you know, that the small fibrous roots 

 are the feeders." 



" Yes. that is true; but. after all, the old ma- 

 tured Roots are the ones which support the 

 trunk and keep it erect through all storms and 

 tempests while the small ones are growing up." 



Bristol, Vt., Apr. 13. A. E. Manum. 



[Friend M., a good many of us will thank you 

 for the address of the firm that makes the little 

 heater that does the work you mention, and 

 takes only 'A'~> lbs. of coal for 24 hours. Your 

 building for the bees, if you let them fly out 

 through the waUs, is really a long house-apia- 

 ry, and, if you remember. I have made extensive 

 experiments in the way of warming a house- 



apiary; so yon will excuse me if I am a little 

 incredulous. Those that were warmed did not 

 do as well as those that uuirmed themselves. 

 So I rather d(^cided that a good strong colony, 

 with food enough so it could geuei'ate its own 

 heat, was the cheapi^st way of doing it. Such 

 a heater, however, with hot-water pipes, so as 

 to give a regular, even temperature, may be 

 quite in advance of the coal-oil stove used by 

 myself and friend Uoolittle.— Thanks for your 

 kind woixls in regai-d to the Roots.l 



NUBBINS. 



I'KOF. COOK HKVIEWS MATTERS. 



I am glad that (Jlkanings is deaf to those 

 criticisms that lu'ge an editorial eye single to 

 exclusive apicultural discussion. ' Without a 

 doubt, the large majority of bee-keepers would 

 vote to sustain your present course. To the 

 few who criticise, you give more apiculture 

 than they can get anywhere else for the money. 

 The rest is clear gain; or. if chaff in their mind's 

 eye, they can cast it to the winds and still be 

 ahead. It is grand to have twice ten thousand 

 ears senli-monthly. The man who would not 

 be inspired by such an occasion to go beyond a 

 narrow line of discourse would show a lack of 

 appreciation of his rare opportunity, and the 

 lack of aspiration, that I should not admire. 

 To broaden out and say helpful things, and 

 speak words that make the reader wiser and 

 stronger and happier is good. The very suc- 

 cess of your course Ix'speaks its wisdom; a:id so, 

 I say. go on, though I am sure I do not need to 

 say it. This nubbin grew out of an editorial 

 sucker in a late bee-paper. 



Chilled brood can no moi'e give rise to foul 

 brood than can la grippe to whooping-cough. 

 La grippe might leave an enfeebled condition 

 that could ill bear the shaking-up of whoop- 

 ing-cough, or luccfc/'sa. So, chilled brood may 

 imply a weakened state that would find it im- 

 possible to resist an attack of foul-brood mi- 

 crobes. Chilled brood, then, may open the door 

 foi' foul brood, but can never cause it. 



The spring has opened very auspiciously. 

 Three days of fine weather during soft-maple 

 bloom, even more time given for the bees to ex- 

 tract sweets from hai'd maple, and now the 

 early fruit-bloom is well out. Last night gave 

 us a severe frost. The thermometer registered 

 18° F. We fear this may play havoc with the 

 fruit crop as well as bloom, and we also dread 

 its effect on tlie white clover, which is very 

 abundant, and big with promise. Yet we hope 

 somi> hidden power will make them proof 

 against even such frigidity. 



I fully believe that bees are v(M'y necessary to 

 a full fruit crop. I hope all will notice, and see 

 whethei' trees are in l)loom only during a time 

 when, from cold oi' storm, no bees are flying, 

 and note the result. If no fruit sets, while on 

 other trees which bloomed a little earlier or 

 later, and whicli were freely visited by boes, a 

 full crop of fruit is borne, we shall have an ar- 

 gument ihat will even reach oui' present legis- 

 latoi-s. Ou)' intelligent fi-uit-meu are already 

 convinced. You speak of bees getting honey 

 from peas not in blooin. The partridge pea, as 

 stated in my book, yields much nectar from ex- 

 ti'a floral glands. That the culivated pea may do 

 the same is not strange. Such glands doubtless 

 seci'ete nectar to attract bees and wasps, which 

 serve the plants in frighteniug away insect 

 pests, that might desti'oy the plant.s. This 

 makes me bold to say that my book contains 

 much that is found in no other oue. It contains 

 the latest science — all that is found in Cowan — 



