1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



17 



Here at the North mice are often trouble- 

 some to the apiarist in winter, inasmuch as 

 they disturb the bees by their constant motion, 

 and gnaw lioles in the combs, wlaere left unpro- 

 tected by the bees, the cluster of which is con- 

 tracted to the smallest proportions to withstand 

 our cold weather. Mice never trouble when 

 the bees are in the acive state, for the bees 

 sting them to death very quickly, and for this 

 reason I should not thiuk they would trouble in 

 the far South, for bees can fly there the most of 

 the time, I suppose. Our remedy here is to trap 

 them in our bee-cellars and fix entrances of 

 metal to the hives which are wintered out- 

 doors, so small that the mice can not get in, 

 while the bees readily pass through. Tin and 

 sheet iron are the materials generally used for 

 this purpose. 



SIZE OF SECTIONS. 



Again, he wants to know what size of hon- 

 ey-frame is best where it is desirable to sell 

 comb honey. By which is meant, I suppose, 

 what are termed " section boxes." If he means 

 what size of frame is best to use while working 

 for comb honey, then I would answer, the 

 Langstroth, for the South. But the question 

 (though not quite plain) evidently means sec- 

 tions, by the term " honey-frame," so I will ans- 

 wer on that supposition. 



There are, in quite general use, sections vary- 

 ing in size from half a pound to two pounds, 

 when filled with honey. Each size has its ad 

 vocates, but probably there are two to one of 

 what are termed the 43^ x 4^ sections (which 

 hold about a pound of honey), when taking all 

 sizes of sections into consideration. This sec- 

 tion was mainly 2 in. wide when first brought 

 before the public, but lately many use them of 

 less width, or thickness. This section was made 

 of this size because 8 of them would just fill the 

 Langstroth frame. My own preference is a 

 section 33^ x 5% x l^^-g" In., this holding a pound 

 as nearly as may be when well filled. This size 

 is used in single-tier wide frames with separa- 

 tors, so as to secure each comb built perfectly 

 in the box. My reasons for preferring them 

 are, that more in number can be set over a giv- 

 en space than can those of less depth; besides, 

 such a cake of honey is of symmetrical propor- 

 tions, and pleasing to the eye, it being just suf- 

 ficient to set on the table for an ordinary fami- 

 ly, and, covering more surface, apparently, to 

 look at, does not give a scrimped appearance or 

 pattern. Why I prefer them to the larger size 

 is that they bring from two to three cents per 

 pound more in market. If it is desired not to 

 use separators, a thinner section can be used. 

 The advocates of no separators use seven or 

 eight sections to the foot, of the 43^ x 4>4. How- 

 ever, the non-separator plan, as a rule, does not 

 give as nice and uniform combs as does the oth- 

 er. For this reason many grocers object to 

 " non-separated" honey, as the combs get more 



or less injured in transit, so that daubing and 

 leaking on counters, etc., is the result. 



LOSS OF QUEEN. 



Lastly he asks: "In case the colony should 

 lose the queen, what would be the result? I 

 find some empty cells in some of my hives, and 

 thought perhaps the queen had died." 



If a queen is lost, or dies, when there are eggs 

 or larv^ in the hive, the bees have the means at 

 hand for the rearing of another; for by feeding 

 any worker larva, under four days old, royal 

 jelly, and enlarging the cell, it is changed from 

 a worker into a queen. A colony in this condi- 

 tion is not called " queenless," but yet it is with- 

 out a " laying queen." By the time this young 

 queen hatches, all of the eggs and larvte have 

 passed into the pupa state, when it is impossi- 

 ble for the bees co rear another, should this 

 young queen become lost before she gets to lay- 

 ing, in which case the colony would be hope- 

 lessly queenless, and must perish with the death 

 of the bees by old age, unless assisted by the 

 apiarist in giving thnm a queen or larva from 

 which to rear another. The finding of empty 

 cells does not indicate queenlessness, for there 

 are nrore or less empty cells in the hive at all 

 times, and during fall and winter little or no 

 brood is found. If during the busy season of 

 the year, no brood of any kind is found, the col- 

 ony may, as a rule, be considered queenless. 



[The following, from Mr. F. A. Salisbury, an 

 other bee-keeper living in the same county with 

 Mr. Doolittle, after having tried the tall section 

 favors the square one. Here is what he says: — 

 Ed.J 



a serious ob.iection to tai.l, sections. 



Mr. RovL :—lu your editorial in Dec. 15 Gleanings, 

 in regard to oblong sections, I want to say that I 

 have used them for three or four years, and am 

 g-etting back to the square, on account of founda- 

 tion, when being drawn out by the bees, is, in too 

 many instances, fastened to the separators. The 

 sections are SiixoJ^xlVa- Now you will see that, on 

 account of thelieight and narrowness of the section, 

 the foundation, if bees work on one side a little 

 more than on the other, will be swung over so as to 

 strike the separator a great deal sooner than it the 

 section were only 4M high. On this account I am 

 changing over to the regular 45-4 section. I think 

 that honey in oblong sections looks a little better 

 than in square sections; but there is too much of 

 fastening of foundation to suit me. 



The article you publish, taken from the Progressive 

 Bee-lieeper, hits the nail. F. A. Salisbury. 



Syracuse, N. Y., Dec. 19, 1896. 



[Mr. Salisbury's difficulty, if the same should 

 be experienced by other bee-keepers, will be a 

 somewhat serious one. But it seems to me the 

 tendency of the starter to lean over to one side 

 can be overcome by side fastenings; but Capt. 

 Hetherington, and a large number of other 

 York State bee-keepers, are using tall sections 

 quite extensively. Mr. Danzenbaker never 

 spoke of any trouble in the line hinted at by 

 Mr. Salisbury, and he fastens starters at the 

 top only. And those who are using the old 

 square sections, and have thought there might 

 be an advantage in change, are very anxious 

 to know whether others have had the same 

 trouble. How many shall we hear from now, 

 both for and against tali sections? Let us have 

 the truth, cut where it may. This is an im- 

 portant matter and I hope we shall hear from 

 many.— Ed.] 



