GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apk. 1. 



In my home market as readily as do the full 

 ones. 



If we turn to the honey column for Feb. 1, 

 the fancy whites are only from 11 to 14 cents; 

 so I think I am doing well in my home market 

 by selling my unfinished sections from 10 to 12>^ 

 cents. My full sections I sell at 15 cents per sec- 

 tion without regard to color or kind of honey. 



As soon as you can give us drawn comb, then 

 we can do away with giving the bees so many 

 more sections that they finish just in order to 

 get a big lot of drawn comb by the bees for the 

 year to come. 



But how about your drawn comb in the gnaw- 

 ing-down process? The comb drawn out by the 

 bees is never gnawed down by the bees, though 

 not a drop of honey is coming in, while they will 

 tear down foundation that is not drawn out. If 

 you can give bee-keepers drawn comb, both for 

 sections and brood- chamber, I think it would 

 add tons of honey to the bee-keeping fraternity. 



Eglon, VV. Va., Feb. 13. 



[The drawn comb referred to in the foregoing 

 article is that which had been previously drawn 

 out from foundation. In answer to the last 

 question, would say that so far the bees have 

 not gnawed down the new drawn or deep-cell 

 flat-bottom foundation. See result of an exper- 

 iment in the month of March, reported in the 

 editorial columns.— Ed.] 



DEEP SPACE UNDER THE FRAMES. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF A WARM BROOD - NEST 

 FOB COMB HONEY. 



By F. Damenbaker. 



Mr. Editor: — As you refer to my advocacy of a 

 deep space under brood-frames, in your foot- 

 note after Mr. S. T. Pettii's valuable article on 

 page 51, I wish to say that heat and ventilation 

 are two prime factors in the production of fan- 

 cy comb honey, of vital importance. He says, 

 " Bees generally commence at or near the cen- 

 ter of the super." They always cluster to- 

 gether and begin in the center of the cluster. 

 If the swarm is small and hive large, they will 

 cluster in the warmest end or even in a corner, 

 that the walls of the hive may help to retain 

 the heat on two sides while they form a living 

 wall of bees on the open side. They must gen- 

 erate and maintain 80 to JOo degrees of heat 

 continuously, even if it takes nine-tenths of 

 the bees to do it, and they need no more. In 

 warm weather three or four colonies may be 

 hived in a barrel, and fill it; but half a peck 

 of bees may be hived in a half -peck, if 

 carefully wrapped up to help retain the bee- 

 heat, and they will fill it too. But if half peck 

 of bees are put in a large hive they must clus- 

 ter in a corner of it, and have but few bees to 

 spare for gathering; and the little they collect 

 is stored within the cluster, to ripen. If a gal- 

 lon of raw nectar were placed in the bottom of 

 the hive they will not take up into the cells 



more than they can cluster on to ripen, any 

 more than a horse will drink water when it 

 doesn't need it. Two hives may be standing 

 side by side when there is plenty of honey to be 

 had. One may be rushing, and the other doing 

 nothing. The one has the heat to cure the 

 honey, the other has not, and the thermometer 

 will prove it every time. The idle colony is 

 doing the best thing possible in staying in, to 

 hatch the bees needed to get the heat up to the 

 working pitch, which may be in a week, and 

 they are rushing too. 



Many times I have found colonies with emp- 

 ty comb, only a few cells of uncapped honey 

 stored right around the brood, with the queen 

 cramped to laying several eggs in each cell. 

 Such a colony can be set to work at once by 

 supplying with young bees until the required 

 heat is supplied. The super is only so much 

 more hive space; it is of no use to a colony of 

 bees until they have bees enough to maintain a 

 working heat in it; but it is a drawback if it is 

 taking heat from the colony. Bees may be 

 working vigorously in one set of sections, and 

 when given another will almost stop and be ac- 

 cused of pouting, when they are doing the only 

 sensible thing by clustering at home until they 

 have the bees to keep up the heat to the ripen- 

 ing-pitch, not for a few hours in the middle of 

 the day, but for all the time, day and night 

 alike. A super that gets so cool at night that 

 the bees can noc stay in it, or so hot from 10 to 

 3 o'clock in the day that they are obliged to 

 leave it or suffocate, will not do— thus losing 

 half the day and two-thirds of the night. Bees 

 make honey by brooding on it, and they can 

 not succeed unless they are there all the time, 

 any more than a hen can hatch chickens and 

 leave the nest half the time. The fact that 

 bees do invariably begin in the super directly 

 over the center of the brood-nest, and finish 

 the honey there first, and best where the heat 

 is sure and steady, is proof enough, and they 

 are sure of the sides for the opposite reason. 

 A good cook can brown cakes with enough 

 heat; but with too little they will have a 

 scared-to-death look; and the cook caring for 

 reputation will wait until the heat is right, 

 that the food may be fit to eat. 



Bees gather honey^to feed young bees; and 

 unless there is heat enough in the super to ripen 

 it there it will sour; so they store it in the 

 broodnest until they have it solid on all sides 

 and over the brood at the top of the deep 

 brood-frames. When Mr. Pettit says, "Bees 

 pass slowly and reluctantly over well filled 

 combs or capped honey in search of storeroom," 

 and they will not at all— in fact, can not— until 

 the super is warm, he gives half ihe remedy 

 when he says, "Give an entrance Ifg inches by 

 the width of the hive," by supplying lots of 

 air, as it comforts the bees and retards swarm- 

 ing." This enables them to stay in the super 



