262 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1. 



pression ' ' average size ' ' as being the more 

 correct, as I have not beheved in a worker- 

 cell being exactly i inch. I see Mr. Weed 

 uses the term " average worker cell," which 

 is about correct. Thos. \Vm. Cowman. 



Loomis, Cal., Feb. 24. 



[I am glad to get this, even though I do 

 have to confess that I did not give your book 

 the careful scrutiny that I should have done. 

 I remember looking into it, and finding the 

 sentence that ' ' the average size of a worker- 

 cell between the parallel sides is i of an inch." 

 Why I stopped and did not go further to take 

 in a/l you said, I can not say. I shall have 

 to acknowledge — indeed, I do so most cheer- 

 fully — that you have gone into this question 

 far more thoroughly than any one else I know 

 of. With regard to Cheshire, he who was so 

 ready to point out the mistakes of others 

 made a good many himself. If any writer 

 lived in a glass house, he did. I am sorry to 

 know that some of the glass seems to have 

 been badly shattered. After all, he gave us 

 much of value, even if he did make some 

 glaring mistakes. 



If I were not talking to Mr. Cowan's face, I 

 believe I should say that, while his work is 

 smaller, no one has pointed out an error in it, 

 save the typographical one that he refers to 

 above. — Ed.] 



^^ d^ ^[^ ^'^ / 



ANSWERS TO 



SEASONABLE 



QUESTIONS 



SETTING BEES FROM THE CELLAR. 



Question. — Will you please tell us in Glean- 

 ings something about setting bees from the 

 cellar — when it should be done, and how to 

 do it? That is, give us your opinion in the 

 matter, and your way of working. 



Ansiuer. — As to time of setting out, there 

 seems to be a difference of opinion ; and the 

 only way to full}' settle which pleases me the 

 best is to commence and set a few colonies 

 out early, then set out a few at a time till 

 pollen becomes plentiful from soft maple and 

 elm, at which time all are agreed that the bees 

 should be on their summer stands. Some 

 think that, by setting the bees out early in 

 March, when the first warm daj-s come, they 

 will raise young bees in sufficient numbers to 

 take the place of the old bees that are lost 

 and worn out of old age later on, when they 

 commence to gather pollen, so that, in case of 

 early setting-out, there is little or no spring- 

 dwindling; while (<thers are equally positive 

 that bees should in no case be set from the 

 cellar till steady warm weather is likely to be 

 here, giving the time for settled warm weather 

 as commencing with the blooming of the trees 

 named above. These last argue that, with 

 the warm weather, each old bee will nurse 

 and bring on to the stage of action from two 

 to five young bees, hence there will be no 

 spring dwindling, but, instead, a hive full of 



bees prepared for an early honey harvest, 

 which could not be the case where bees are 

 set out early, and using all their vital energies 

 to nurse a little brood, which will not mature 

 nearly fast enough to supply the waste of old 

 bees which are lost in the cool weather of 

 early spring, in their vain search for water, 

 pollen, and early flowers. They do not argue 

 that there is any scarcity of water at this time 

 of year, but that the bees in going for it perish 

 by the thousands in becoming chilled and 

 benumbed by clouds passing over the sun, or 

 by falling into the water. I have tried all 

 ways, and must say that very much depends 

 upon the way the season turns. Some years 

 the bees early set out seem to do the best; 

 other years those set out late have a decided 

 advantage. 



One year I did not set out the larger part of 

 my bees till the elm and soft maple were past 

 their height of bloom, and witnessed some- 

 thing I never saw before, which was, bees by 

 the hundreds coming in loaded with bright 

 red and yellow pollen, within half an hour 

 after the colonies were placed on their sum- 

 mer stands. That it was possible for one old 

 bee to be the means of placing on the stage of 

 action five bees to take the place of itself, was 

 abundantly proven that year; for, within 30 to 

 35 days from the time of setting out, many of 

 these colonies were nearly or quite ready to 

 swarm, and not a colony showed any signs of 

 spring-dwindling. Within 21 days from the 

 time of setting out, nearly every comb in the 

 hive was filled with brood, and so perfectly 

 solid that, when the young bees began to 

 hatch, the hives were filled to overflowing in 

 a very few days. However, to tell the matter 

 just as it is, I am generally from ten days to 

 three weeks in getting my bees out of the 

 cellar, setting out from two to ten each fine 

 day till all are out, and in this way I am quite 

 sure of a full success with a part of them, no 

 matter how the season turns. Long ago I 

 came to the conclusion that it was not wise to 

 have " all of the eggs in one basket." 



Now as to how the setting-out is done. The 

 first thing to do is to fit smoothly three or 

 four thicknesses of old carpet or a horse- 

 blanket over the wheelbarrow ; and if the 

 wheelbarrow can be one of the spring pattern, 

 so much the better. The carpet or blanket is 

 put on to take off all jar that there might be 

 in wheeling the bees, for we do not wish to 

 rouse them up any more than necessary. 

 Having the wheelbarrow in readiness we next 

 light the smoker, filling it so it will give a 

 good volume of smoke as long as possible. 

 With the two, and having our bee- veil on, we 

 go to the entrance to the cellar, where we 

 leave the wheelbarrow and smoker, and go in 

 and get one of the colonies of bees, placing it 

 in the wheelbarrow. As soon as this is done, 

 puff a little smoke in at the entrance of the 

 hive, so as to keep the bees from running out 

 and stinging, which tht y are sure to do if no 

 precaution is taken. Years ago I used to get 

 stung terribly in removing my bees from the 

 cellar, as bees which get into the air when 

 being taken from the cellar are about the 

 worst to sting of any during any time of the 



