666 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



the. colon}-. In this way one new colony is 

 made from two old ones ; all desire for swarm- 

 ing is broken up, unless the season of surplus 

 honey is long drawn out, while all three are 

 in the best possible condition to store surplus, 

 after a week or so has elapsed. If I wish no 

 increase I tisually cage the queen just before 

 the bees think of swarming, leaving her caged 

 for ten days, when the hive is opened, the 

 bees shaken from every frame, so as not to 

 miss any queen-cells, when all siich cells are 

 cut off, which makes the colony hopelessly 

 queenless, except for the queen in the cage. 

 If this queen is a good one I use her ; if not, I 

 give them a young one brought with me from 

 my queen-rearing yard, or obLained elsewhere. 

 But, no matter what queen is used, I proceed 

 as follows : After removing the stopper from 

 the cage coHtaining the queen I wish the colo- 

 ny to have I insert another, this latter one 

 ha\4ng been prepared beforehand by boring a 

 ^ hole through it. Into this hole is stuffed 

 all the candy (such as is used in shipping 

 queens) that it will hold, and the hole should 

 not be less than one inch long. Having the 

 queen and cage thus fixed, the cage is placed 

 in some frame having a little vacant space 

 free from comb, near the bottom ; or if none 

 such is found, I make a place large enough, 

 when the hive is closed. To eat through this 

 candy takes about five days, or the colony is 

 without a laying queen for fifteen days, which 

 time I find amply sufficient to stop all desire 

 to swarm. While no eggs are being laid for 

 the fifteen days, still the colony has a queen 

 all the time, and, so far as I can see, w-ork 

 goes on in the sections nearly or quite as well 

 as if the queen were out at liberty. 



^■^id^^rm^§f^ 



WHY SO MUCH WHITE CLOVER THIS SEASON ? 



PAPER IN FOUNDATION ; SOWING 



SWEET CLOVER, AND WHEN. 



In Stray Straws, page 549, you speak of the 

 wonderful growth of white clover this year, 

 and as to the cause. I think it is accounted 

 for by the root growth during the dry seasons 

 when the clover scarcely appeared above 

 ground, but was gaining in strengt h und er 

 ground from its long rest. F"S" '-?'^"*®^^ 



You did well to conclude t o retain the paper 

 in the packing of foundation. ^j*^^ ■ ' *] 



If Dr. C. C INIiller will lay the material for 

 sections on the grass under a good large apple- 

 tree he will not need to use any water in the 

 grooves, and the sections will be much nicer 

 in folding. 



In regard to the sowing of sweet clover, as 

 per inquiry on page 573, you can safely sow in 

 spring as early as the ground will work well, 

 sa}- in March if possible. The ground should 

 be well plowed and harrowed before the seed 

 is sown, and once harrowed after sowing. 



Then the groimd should be well firmed, as 

 Peter Henderson would say, if living. I find 

 it a good plan to take about four or more 

 horses, and hitch them abreast and drive them 

 back and forth over the ground until it is 

 packed solid. If driven in straight lines the 

 foot-marks of the horses will cause the clover 

 to come up in rows, and will insure a good 

 crop. This wa}- of putting in clover of the 

 kind mentioned' has proven the best in the dry- 

 lands of Kansas ; and, if the ground is dry, I 

 think it will be a great help anvwhere. 

 Cuba, Kan., Aug. 11. W. H. Eagerty. 



THE OPERATION OF TUB HONEY-HOUSE POR- 

 TER BEE-ESCAPE. 

 We inclose herewith a proof of that better 

 engraving of the honey-house escape that we 



"W" f^ 



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# 



> « « « V 



c ♦ e © . 



have spoken of several times. The original 

 photo of this is, in our opinion, the most diffi- 

 cult thing ever accomplished in the line of 

 photographing live bees. If you question it, 

 we should -like to have you try your hand at 

 improving it. R. & E" C. Porter. 



Lewistown, 111., April 24. 



THAT NEW BEE - DISEASE ; HOW THE BEES 

 "EVAPORATED" IN ANOTHER CASE. 

 I see that you would like to hear from par- 

 ties in regard to the. new bee-disease. Bees 

 were in fine condition here the first of July. 

 We never had a better prospect. Hives were 

 boiling over with bees. Some had commenced 

 in the supers. I examined them again about 

 the 10th or 12th of July. Now, you no doubt 

 have examined a colony as soon as they have 

 cast a rousing swarm. That is just as near as 

 I can tell 3^ou how things looked the 10th and 



