GLEANINGS IN IJEE CULTURE. 



an 



now TO PUKSKRVK MKAT WITH IIONKY. 



Aft('r ihe pork is proporly smokod, take pure 

 hoiH'y (fall lioiiey will do) and litiiiofy It if can- 

 died, and stir in enough finely ground black 

 pepper to make it pretty thick; then with a 

 cloth or a cheap new paint-brush rub this noix- 

 ture ail over and well into the meat; then hang 

 in some cool dry place until wanted for use. 

 A wheat-granery is a good place. Try this and 

 see how sweet and nice the meat will be. 



Nye. Ind. C. A. Bunch. 



J. T. £., W. T'a.— You can remove the outside 

 frame, as you suggest, and put an empty comb 

 in the center of the brood-nest profitably now. 



J. B., Minn. — Bees sometimes gather maple 

 sap; but as tne conditions favorable to the flow 

 of sap are not generally favorable to the flight 

 of bees, very little sap is gathered in this way. 

 The bees may gather honey from flax-blossoms. 

 They will gathor nectar from almost any flow- 

 ers in some seasons. 



L. T., Out. — If your neighbors' bees rob yours 

 it indicates that your colonies are weak or your 

 entrances are too large. Contract the entranc- 

 es down so that only one bee can pass at a time; 

 and as the colony increases in strength, en- 

 large the entrance. For particulars, see '• Rob- 

 bing," in our ABC book. 



J. M. S., Cal.— To get rid of ants, flud the 

 nest; and, with a crowbar, or stout pick, make 

 a hole in the center of the nest aoout a foot 

 deep. Then pour into it about five cents' worth 

 of bisulphide of carbon, and stop the hole up 

 tight at the top. This will kill all the ants. 

 For further particulars, see "Ants," in our A B 

 C of Bee Culture. 



M. E. S.. Fla.—H is very seldom ttiat the 

 bees show a disinclination to go through a bee- 

 escape. Sometimes it may be advisable to give 

 them a little start with smoke. After they get 

 started going through they will pass into the 

 brood-nest below with a rush. Of course, if the 

 queen or brood should happen to be above In 

 the sections, that of itself would have a tenden- 

 cy to hold the bees above. 



JR. L. S., K(in. — The idea that bees will injure 

 alfalfa is perfectly ridiculous. It is well known 

 by all those who know any thing about the fer- 

 tilization of flowers that bees, .so far from doing 

 any damage, are a positive benefit. We send 

 you a pamphlet on "Bees and Fruit" that 

 ought to settle the matter. If you hand it to 

 your neighbor we think it will convince him— 

 that is, if he is open to conviction. 



A. R. D,()rc{}(>n.—\n your climate you can 

 probably introduce (jiieens at any time now. 

 The royal jelly referred to is a milky food that 

 is found in queen-cells. It is usually dipped out 

 by moans of a tiny wooden spoon, so to speak, 

 and deposited in cell -cups along with the egg 

 from which the queen is to be reared. 



W. TI. W., Ky.— The, first thing to do is to 

 determine whether your hive is queenless. In 

 ord(M- to do ihis. put in a frame of unsealed lar- 

 vn> or eggs from one of your other colonies; and 

 if the bees build queen-cells then you may know 

 absolutely that they are queenless. If you have 

 no other colony from which yon can get eggs or 

 larvte, then look thiungli the hive two or three 

 times very carefully, and see if you can see the 

 queen. If you do not find her, it might pay you 

 to send and get a queen. 



J. D. W., Md.— It is true that we speak of 

 sending larvie by mail for the purpose of rear- 

 ing queens; but it is not practicable to have 

 them go any great distance— -in fact, out of our 

 own State; Rnd even when sent to points with- 

 in the State, it has so often proved to be a fail- 

 ure that we have abandoned the practice. The 

 price at which untested queens are sold makes 

 it entirely unnecessary to send for larvic and 

 run the risk of raising queens. When you get 

 an untested queen you get entirely new stock, 

 and probably a queen that is fertilized by a pure 

 drone. 



D. L. P., W. Va. — We would advise you to put 

 a frau:e of unsealed larvte or eggs from one of 

 your other colonies into the hive which you 

 think is queenless. You can not always be pos- 

 itive, at this time of year, whether a colony is 

 queenless or not; but by putting in the eggs or 

 larvci? you can determine the point by noting 

 whether they build queen-cells. Some drones 

 will doubtless be flying by the time your young 

 queen is ready to mate. If there is already a 

 queen in the colony which you think is queen- 

 less, putting in the larvie will do no harm, but 

 good. If no cells are built you will know there 

 is a queen in the colony. 



W. O., Okla. — In answer to your question as 

 to whether bees will clear their own hives of 

 drones themselves, I would state that they will 

 not do so until after the honey season. Just as 

 soon as the honey-flow is stopped they will be- 

 gin killing off their drones. The modern bee- 

 keeper does not care to raise any drones unnec- 

 essarily, as they are consumers during the 

 honey-flow. By the use of comb foundation 

 there is nothing but worker-cells in the ordi- 

 nary comb; and the consequence is, there are 

 very few if any drones reared. It does not pay 

 to keep drone comb in the hive. If there is 

 any it should be cut out and replaced by work- 

 er. If the drones are already raised and in the 

 hive you can catch them in the Alley drone- trap 

 illustrated in our catalog. 



