1S92 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



451 



ed in qiuHMiloss oolonios, as tlu> two friends say 

 t hoy do it; but I never )n(( ttic ccll-cui)s into 

 (/i/('c/i/('.s,s cohuih's to havo tiuMn startrd. and. 

 taking the year Ihiongh, liavc fully So per cent 

 of all started, ai-oepted. and completed. I>o the 

 friends that fail put the amount of No. 1 shot. 

 as to hulk of royal h'lly. into each cell-cup he- 

 fore transferrintr tii(> larva to the cup? 1 see 

 neither speaks of this. A (lueenless colony 

 having its comhs of hroo<l taktMi away from it 

 will woik the cups without the royal jelly, hut 

 the hees in an upper story will not. Again, so 

 far as I can see. the hees in an upi)er story will 

 work the cell cups just as well uh; re the royal 

 jelly is put in hy a person as they will where it 

 IS put into these cups by a queenless colony. 

 One of the objects of my jllan of queen-rearing 

 was to do away with all iiueenless colonies. 

 Again. 1 see both of the friends say that they 

 find that colonies get tired of cell-huilding in 

 the upper stories. This is contrary to my ex- 



fierience. for I keep colonies building cells 

 rom the time they are strong enough in the 

 spring till I get through in the fall. To do this 

 I se(> that the upper story is supplied with two 

 frames of larva? all the while, the frame of cell- 

 cups being between these frames of laivie. each 

 lime. I have been wondering if this might not 

 be the •• missing link." This larva is not only 

 supplied so the bees will accept the cell-cups 

 better, but also that the proper amount of jelly 

 may be supplied to the larva; for where bees 

 are feeding plenty of larv;e they have an abun- 

 dance of chyme for the cell-cup.s. Every week 

 I take the two frames of sealed brood and 

 change them or two frames of eggs and small 

 larv;e. Again, if honey is not coming in I /cerZ 

 liberdlly. Is not the missing link in some of 

 the above ? G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., May 20. 



[Your experience with narrow bottom-bars is 

 quite in line with what we have observed in va- 

 rious apiaries as well as with what we have 

 picked up from various sources. For this rea- 

 son all our brood-frames of the later types have 

 the new style of bottom-bar. 



We are having better success this season in 

 having the be(!s complete the cell-cups ; but 

 you have supplied in your article above two 

 possibly missing links. While we have given 

 all our cell-building colonies unsealed larvie, we 

 have, perhaps, neglected to give them eggs or 

 very younfj unse(tlcd larvaj ; and, again, we 

 have not ffd them " liberally" when no honey 

 was coming in. It is attention to these very 

 small details tliat brings success, and we will 

 report results later.] 



STJEPLITS CASES AND SEALED COVERS. 



SOMKTHIXG Kf'.O.M .JAMKS HEDI)(»N KEGAKDING 

 TIFEM. 



The good qualities of the surplus storing- 

 cases we use in our apiaries is a matter of great 

 importance to the success of bee-keepers. The 

 requisites, as I view them, are as follows: The 

 case should be light, not deeper than sufficient 

 for one tier of sections, and free from any thing 

 like complications. If thf l)ee-kt'eper issatisfi- 

 ed to raise section honey without separators of 

 any kind. 1 believe my old-style case, known as 

 the '• Heddon case." has never been improved 

 upon nor equaled by any other. It is light, very 

 strong and durable; most simple with which 

 to quickly remove the sections or to get the hees 

 out of the case before carrying it to the honey- 

 house ; it is also a cheap case, which is a great 

 consideration with the large honey-producer. 

 But if separators are to be used, and the apia- 



rist is producing on a small scale, the wide- 

 frame case, witli its one-story wide frames and 

 tin separators, is my choice; but these arc more 

 costly, heavier, and require more time for their 

 manipulation. For the large apiarist who pre- 

 fers to use separators, the tin 1 case, witli the 

 wood separatois, is certainly the best of any 

 extant. The first I ever saw or made was before 

 they were described to the public (so far as I 

 know). Vandervort, of Pennsylvania, of foun- 

 dation mill fame, visited m<' and showed me 

 how to make the tin T surplus case, as then 

 used, and, if I remember correctly, invented by 

 liim. In his ca.se, Mr. Vandervort used the 

 " follower " with si)ring pressnre at one side of 

 the case. Now, I object to followers, springs, 

 wedges, or any thing of the kind, in tin T cases. 

 I have used a great many liundred of these 

 cases for many years, and I have experim<^nted 

 with them with followers, etc.. but I find that 

 our sections are made accurately enough so that 

 they can be diopped into the case with separa- 

 tors, and fitted there snugly, if necessary, by 

 pushing in an extra wood separator. I prefer 

 to have my tin T stationary; that is, solidly 

 nailed into a saw-kerf let into the sides of the 

 case. There are not enough advantages to be 

 found in movable tin T's to offset the disadvan- 

 tages and extra cost, in my experience. 



SEALED COVERS. 



On page .34.'^ you ask for reports from keepers 

 experienced in the u.se of absorbents over large 

 numbers of colonies, in winter. Up to about 15 

 years ago I never wintered without absorbents; 

 but at that time, in an out-apiary containing 

 207 colonies, packed outdoors. I placed the ab- 

 sorbents over about half, and left the cover 

 tightly sealed over the other half. I could not 

 detect any difference in the result. During the 

 many years since. I have packed in both ways ; 

 and until the last few years I have left all tight- 

 ly sealid, both in the cellar and out-doors, be- 

 cause it is less trouble and expense; and, during 

 all the years, I think it is a little the safest. If 

 this experience is of any value to you, I am 

 pleased to give it. James Heddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., May 7. 



SEALED COVERS OR ABSORBENTS. 



THE liAMlU^EH DISCUSSES THE MATTER. 



I have been quite interested in the discussion 

 of upward ventilation vs. sealed covers, and my 

 interest is emphasized somewhat by learning 

 that my old apiary in Eastern New York has 

 wintered in the cellar with sealed covers, and 

 not a swarm lost; and it is needless to say, that, 

 were I to keep bees again in the East, sealed 

 covers would be used; but, mind you, that two 

 and a half inches of ventilation would also be 

 used under the brood-chain l)('r. The diversity 

 of expi'rience, as recorded of late in Gleanings, 

 lathink. arises from difference in climate and 

 also in methods of packing. It is more difficult 

 to winter bees in ('(mtral New York than it is 

 further north down the Champlain Valley; and 

 the method of packing that would answer in 

 one area might not answer in another; and so 

 it goes all over the northern country, and cellar 

 vs. outdoors, absorbents vs. sealed covers, have 

 their advocates. 



Siiould I winter bees outdoors with sealed 

 covers I should certainly u.se a generous pack- 

 ing over them; for, in whatever position they 

 may be. if cold air strikes its upper surface the 

 under surface becomes a good condenser of 

 moisture; while if protected with packing 

 above, and a good swarm of bees below, the 

 condensation takes place in the generous air- 



