850 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



war in that family very shortly. Two queens 

 in one hive, under average conditions, do not 

 get along any better than two bosses in a shop 

 or two cooks in a kitchen. 



7. Yes, but it is not advisable. The best 

 practice is to let combs containing brood en- 

 tirely alone so far as extracting is concerned. 



8. Yes and no. If a narrow starter is used 

 it would do without wires It would also 

 answer in full sheets providing the wires were 

 put close enough together, say about one inch 

 apart; but as a general rule it is cheaper and 

 more practicable to use ordinary brood foun- 

 dation, such as is made for the purpose ; and 

 then the combs, when drawn out will be none 

 too strong, even when built over wires. 



9 Some bee-keepers think not; but, so far 

 as I am able to judge, those bee-keepers who 

 use frames crosswise produce just as much 

 honey as those who use frames the other way 

 of the brood nest. It is only a question of 

 convenience. The frames that are used cross- 

 wise are shorter, smaller, and, consequently, 

 there are more of them to handle. — Ed.] 



WAX production; is it profitable? wing- 

 cupping ; HOW TO FIND QUEENS 



in large colonies. 



1. How is an apiary run to secure a large 

 amount of wax ? 



2. Does this pay better than honey ? 



3. Is spring or fall the best time to clip 

 queens' wings? 



4. What is the easiest way of finding the 

 queen in hives that are just running over with 

 bees? E. O. H. 



Philadelphia, Nov. 10. 



[1, 2. The production of wax alone is not 

 profitable except in localities where the honey- 

 flow is continuous alaio.st the whole year 

 round, and the honey is cheap and wax ex-, 

 pensive, as for instance in Mexico or the West 

 Indies. I should not know exactly how to 

 proceed in running for wax alone; but my no- 

 tion would be to cut out the combs every few 

 days, and put them in a solar wax-extractor. 

 The honey settling to the bottom could be 

 drawn off and given to the bees again ; and 

 the wax forming at the top could be set aside 

 in irregular chunks until enough were secured 

 to cake thtm in pieces suitable for market. 



?>. There is not much difference. Wing- 

 clipping should usually be avoided when col- 

 onies are strong; and that operation should 

 usually be performed either in ihe spring or 

 fall — generally in the spring, for then the api- 

 arist is sure of having the wing clipped before 

 the swarming season comes on. At our out- 

 yard last summer, in the case of some of 

 our strong colonies with undipped queens, 

 I simply put on entrance-guards. 



4. There is no easy way that I know of. 

 Many a time have I hunted through populous 

 colonies to find a queen whose wings were not 

 clipped, and whose bees were pretty nearly 

 ready to swarm. In some instances these col- 

 onies were some we purchased, and, of course, 

 the queens' wings had not been clipped. In 

 any case it is my practice, if I do not find the 

 queen the first two times in looking over the 



frames, to i-hut the hive up, then in two hours 

 more I take another look. If I still fail to 

 find her, I remove the whole stand and put 

 another hive in its place. At the entrance of 

 the new hive I place perforated ?inc ; after 

 which 1 shake the bees out in front of the hive 

 on the ground, compelling them all to pass 

 through the zinc. If there is a queen in that 

 hive, and she is not too small, she is sure to be 

 caught. I have had to do this in a few in- 

 stances with black bees. It is a characteristic 

 of these bees that they will buil over, and run 

 like a flock of sheep from one frame to an- 

 other; and the queens hiding — why, they are 

 adepts at it. When I take the time to try to 

 find a black queen, I want two pairs of eyes 

 so that both sides of the comb can be seen at 

 once. — Ed.] 



L-A.RGE entrances. 



I had two new ten-frame L. hives with every 

 frame filled with foundation. A large double 

 swarm was hived in each of these hives the 

 last week of June. The D. bottom-boards 

 were turned over, giving the winter entrance. 

 Then the hives were raised y% inch by small 

 blocks under the front corners and a strip un- 

 der the back, giving y% inch each side, and 1^ 

 inches in front. Results — no lying outside, 

 and busy work every day when possible. The 

 bees were packed down solid to the bottom- 

 board, and at no time could I look from one 

 side of the hive to the other side under the 

 frames. There was always a bridge for them 

 to climb on to the frames, but no comb was 

 built in this space. When the hot weather 

 was over, the board was inverted, giving them 

 an entrance only in front. The season proved 

 to be a poor one; but these two '^ warms gave 

 me over 70 lbs. surplus, of which about half 

 was extracted. Each hive was supplied with 

 two supers. Give me large swarms and large 

 entrances, with shade. J. L. Hubbard. 



Henderson ville, N. C, Nov. 11. 



L.\RGE entrances ; GOOD RESULTS SECUR ■ 

 ED BY THEIR USE. 



I have thought for years that a hive-entrance 

 ^ X 6 or 8 inches was too small, both summer 

 and winter ; and after studying a long time I 

 changed a lot of my chaff-hive entrances last 

 winter for use this past season. With keyhole- 

 saw I cut a strip IX i». wide the whole width 

 of inside, 14^ ; and as my old entrance had a 

 slide held in place with metal springs I have 

 the two combined, so, if need be, I can use the 

 small one and regulate it down to one bee or 

 none. 



I fitted in stays between the two thicknesses 

 (outside and inside) to make even work. A 

 full entrance of this large size is too much 

 some of the seasons, sa\- in dearth of honey, 

 as the robbers would take advantage. But if 

 no small entrance is provided, one end of the 

 block can be inserted, and regulate the size in 

 that way. 



I never did a thing that seems so useful. 

 There isn't that lot of bees fanning to keep 

 cool, and great clusters of bees on the outside 

 of the hives as before ; and I never had bees 

 work as these have through the large entrance. 



