GI.EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



iiig at that time. Later on I was anxious for 

 a surplus of queens in the spring, that I might 

 fill early orders therewith, instead of taking 

 queens out of my strong colonies, to the great 

 disadvantage of the same, that customers 

 might promptly get their queens. And, be- 

 ing evtremely anxious along this line, I tried 

 many plans, the one our questioner proposes 

 being among the number. 



With nearly all the plans tried I could get 

 along very well till about February, when col- 

 onies having several queens caged in their 

 hives would begin to get uneasy, and die with 

 diarrhea, or they would consume all their hon- 

 ey in and about the cluster, and move off and 

 away from the caged queens ' to pastures 

 new," leaving the queens to die in their cages. 

 Then I tried little nucleus-boxes, such as most 

 queen-breeders used in raising queens in the 

 early seventies, the same holding three or 

 four little frames six to seven inches square. 

 I would see that these little frames had three 

 or four pounds of honey, and only about bees 

 enough to consume that amount before spring 

 fairly opened, when I expected to feed them. 

 Four to six of these little boxes were placed 

 over a good strong colony, setting these little 

 boxes right on the frames, and fixing it so the 

 bees of the strong colony would, or could if 

 they were so disposed, cluster all about the 

 bottoms and partly up the sides of the boxes, 

 providing a way for the bees in the boxes to 

 get out without mixing with each other or 

 with the colony below, should those dying of 

 old age wish to do so. 



The little boxes were now covered all over 

 with woolen blankets, and a hood or cap put 

 over all, when it did really seem that they 

 might go through the winter all right, in a cel- 

 lar whose temperature never went lower than 

 45°. But with a trial of some thirty or more 

 in this way I got only two through to where 

 they could fly in the spring, while the colo- 

 nies over which they were placed were lost, or 

 became so weak that they were of liltle value 

 during the next season. From these and 

 many other experiments, which it would be 

 superfluous to describe, I was driven to the 

 conclusion that nothing could be gained in 

 trying to winter over surplus queens ; and if 

 early queens nmst be had to a greater number 

 than could be spared to advantage from full 

 colonies wintered over, the cheapest and easi- 

 est way was to purchase them from the South. 



If any reader of GlkaningS has found out 

 a practical way of wintering over queens to a 

 greater extent than one to each fairly good 

 colony, I wi.sh he would tell us how it is 

 done. If queens can be so wintered that each 

 apiarist could have one extra queen to every 

 ten colonies during the months of April and 

 May, it would be a great help to every bee- 

 keeper in the land, providing that the winter- 

 ing of such queens did not cost more than the 

 results which could be obtained from them 

 during the year. Hence the importance of 

 any reliable information on this point. Don't 

 be afraid to add any ' ' mite ' ' you may chance 

 to have along any line of our pursuit, think- 

 ing it will be of so little value that it is not 

 worth giving, for it is the little " kinks " that 



give value to apiculture, when they are 

 massed into one great whole. 



" Fine building, sir," said a poorly dressed 

 laborer to a man of fortune who was looking 

 at a just-completed stately edifice in one of 

 our large cities. ' ' It took us many a year to 

 bring it to completion; but now it is done it 

 outshines any other building in this city." 



"Tookj'o// many a year !" said the man of 

 fortune, with a sneer in his tone; " what did 

 vou have to do wiih it? " 



" I mixed the mortar, sir, " was the reply; 

 ' ' and without the mortar that stately edifice 

 could never have been completed. You may 

 think me of no consequence; but by the grace 

 of God I was able to add my mite toward the 

 completed whole." 



And just so with the structure of apiculture 

 so far as it is now completed. Some have 

 made greater "marks" than others; but we 

 should never have reached the present heights 

 had it not been for those who have ' ' mixed 

 the mortar," adding " here a little and there a 

 little," till bee-keeping, during the year 1897, 

 looms up as a stately edifice beside the small 

 foundation laid a century ago. In helping 

 each other we are giving "a cup of cold wa- 

 ter" to some struggling brother; and the 

 Master has said that the one who does this 

 "shall not lose his reward." 



PARAFFINE PAPER ; HERMETIC SEALING IM- 

 PORTANT. 



I see by Gleanings quite a controversy 

 about paraffine I had quite an experience 

 with parafiine, not quite in accord with Dan- 

 zenbaker, nor yet will it quite fit Dr. Miller's 

 Straw on page 802. Reading Mr. D.'s article 

 some time ago about paraffine it struck me as 

 being rather nice. I would use it on my hon- 

 ey-boards for the hive I make ( by the way, a 

 hive I wouldn't give for the best dovetail ever 

 made). I spread the paraffine on it hot, iising 

 a hot iron to make it penetrate the wood. 

 Some of it accunuilated in holes bored for the 

 bees to ascend. On taking the honev from 

 them I was rather surprised to find they had 

 used the little clots of wax (paraffine) as 

 though they were really beeswax, stretching 

 it out into cells, thus convincing me they have 

 no aversion to paraffine, but simplv do not 

 glue the parts together because thev are al- 

 ready air-tight with paraffine. Dr. Miller's 

 experience of finding glue on top of paraffine 

 may be that, although he used paraffine, the 

 two parts did not go together tight, therefore 

 the bees made it air-tight with propolis. 



You know, as well as any one, no doubt, 

 that bees will have every thing tight. I am 

 pretty sure that Danzenbaker is correct. Bees 

 will use no propolis, provided made tight oth- 

 erwise. Bees have no aversion to paraffine. 



