1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



395 



run night and day for a while, it may not 

 mean any thing abnormally large in the honey 

 crop. 



I am by no means alone in my opinion on 

 these matters, for last fall I traveled to some 

 extent in this and two adjoining States, and 

 found some (one party in particular) who felt 

 very bitter against Gleanings. ^J^e said it 

 was doing what it could to lower tile price of 

 honey, so they could buy it cheaper. I con- 

 vinced him that he was entirely mistaken in 

 this by explaining that the firm that Glean- 

 ings represents handles honey on a very close 

 margin, and wuuld not make any more on an 

 amount bought cheap than they would if a 

 fair price had been paid, and that the honey 

 they buy is a mere bagatelle compared with 

 their other interests ; and, laying aside all 

 considerations except mercenary ones. Glean- 

 ings and those connected with it would have 

 no desire to lower the price of honey, as their 

 own success depended upon the same, for 

 bee-keepers as a whole. I beUeve, and so do 

 a number of others with whom I have discuss- 

 ed the matter, that The A. 1. Root Co. is doing 

 a great deal of good to producers as a whole 

 by buying honey; for, owing to reasons which 

 it is not necessary for me to take space to 

 explain, they have a larger or more generally 

 known reputation for square dealing than (I 

 think I am safe in saying) any other firm in 

 the United States that handles honey in a 

 large way, and undoubtedly many buy of 

 them who would hesitate to order from a less 

 well-known firm. 



Southern Minn., April 27. 



[Yes, indeed. Gleanings has tried to earn 

 a reputation for fair play for both sides. 

 "While its editor has certain opinions, he is 

 always desirous of having the opinions of 

 others in his columns, even though those 

 opinions are diametrically opposite his own. 

 But he does not invite discussion for the sake 

 of it, nor that sort of discussion where one 

 side delights in inserting stings into the epi- 

 dermis of the other side. Some of my best 

 friends are those who differ with me politically 

 and religiously as well as on certain issues 

 relating to our pursuit. I love them more 

 because of their honest differences, and be- 

 cause they are fair and honest enough to give 

 me credit for holding an equally honest 

 opinion. 



Now with regard to forecasts of the season. 

 Last year I plead guilty to the mild insinua- 

 tion ; but this year I made a resolve that I 

 should not be guilty of prematurely forecast- 

 ing the season. I can not imagine to what 

 our friend is referring unless it is notices from 

 our business manager to the effect that we are 

 running night and day, and can not keep vip 

 with orders. Indirectly this would imply 

 that bee-keepers all over the United States 

 are expecting a tremendous honey-flow. But 

 this is not the case ; for the fact is, last year 

 used up the supplies that were on hand ; and 

 as bee-keepers had cleaned out their stock, 

 which they had not done for several years 

 preceding, they wanted more. Now, to offset 

 the possible implication that this year was 

 going to be a tremendous honey year, in our 



issue for April 1 I gave expression to these 

 words : 



What's the matter with bee-keeper.s this year, that 

 tliey are going in so heavily for supplies? Beyond 

 the fact that bees have wintered well, there is no indi- 

 cation that the season will prove to be any thing 

 remarkable. 



I think now exactly as I thought then ; and 

 I will say further, that, one or two seasons 

 when there has been a great rush for supplies, 

 there has been subsequently an indifferent 

 honey-flow. In consideration of the fact that 

 all the factories have been running full time, 

 and some night and day, like ourselves, it 

 would seem as if supplies enough had been 

 made to last all the bee-keepers of the United 

 States two good seasons. — Ed.] 



r^"* ^>t ^>> §^ §"■ 



^^ %^ov^/ y^ -So- S^ ^ 



BEES KILLING A QUEEN. 



Question. — As I was handling a colony of 

 bees the other day the queen fell off the comb 

 down on the enameled cloth, when I picked 

 her up and put her on top of the frames in 

 the hive. The bees immediately rushed on 

 her and killed her. How is this to be ac- 

 counted for? 



Afis7ver. — Bees will sometimes attack a 

 queen that they have cherished for months as 

 their mother, if she, for any reason, becomes 

 frightened, thus running around and acting 

 like a stranger. Especially is this true in 

 early spring, as the bees seem to "guard their 

 queen with a jealous eye " to a greater extent 

 when colonies arc just set out of the cellar, or 

 are having their first flight in spring, than at 

 any other time of the year. For this reason I 

 handle bees as little as possible till brood-rear- 

 ing becomes well established, when the bees 

 rarely pay any special attention to their queen 

 while the combs are being looked over. When 

 it was necessary to handle frames on account 

 of light stores, dead bees having accumulated 

 on the bottom-board, or to find out whether 

 the colony has any queen at all, I have often 

 found the queen balled as soon as I came to 

 where she was on the comb ; and if not, then 

 the bees would form a knot over her immedi- 

 ately on the light striking the comb when it 

 was turned up so as to see her majesty. But it 

 is not often that any queen is killed, as was 

 the one the questioner tells about, unless she 

 is handled, or robber bees come hovering 

 around while the combs are being handled. 

 When robber bees so hover around as to an- 

 noy the colony, the bees become jealous at 

 once regarding their queen, and when in such 

 a state they are very apt to place on her the 

 blame for the disagreeableness caused by the 

 opening of the hive, when they will ball and 

 sling her, though the cases where they mete 

 out so severe a punishment are rare. They will 

 more often hug her till the robber nuisance is 

 past, when they will let her go about her 

 work again. 



