GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



883 



I set back against a wire fence and left them 

 there all summer. Queens were reared from 

 eggs left in each, and both succeeded in get- 

 ting laying queens. During the summer the 

 middle combs were built down nearly to the 

 bottom-board; but those on the sides were 

 scarcely touched, the hives in the fall not 

 being half filled with comb, and contained 

 only small nuclei and but little honey, as the 

 season had not been a good one. I regarded 

 them simply as old empty hives for which I 

 had no use, and left them where they were all 

 winter, with no protection. 



Both wintered ; and during the summer of 

 1886 both built up to good strong colonies, 

 filling their hives with full combs well sup- 

 plied with honey. That winter I protected 

 them by packing the same as I did my other 

 stock, and the next year both were rousing 

 good colonies, and cast early swarms. 



This is a true story. The history of bee- 

 keeping is full of such stories, but they do not 

 aid us very much in solving the wintering 

 problem. Can any of the wise ones explain 

 why such small nuclei should have withstood 

 the storms of winter, and retained such vigor ? 

 Perhaps some will say it was because there 

 was plenty of room (open space) below the 

 cluster. I am inclined to think that way my- 

 self. Harry Lathrop. 



Browntown, Wis., Nov. 14. 



BEES BY THE BAGFUI.. 



I recently made a visit to Mr. D. L. Shangle, 

 of Midland Co., Mich., and during my very- 

 interesting visit with him I learned one thing 

 I thought might be interesting to some of your 

 readers. Mr. Shangle is a great bee-hunter, hav- 

 ing found as many as 52 swarms in one season. 

 The night I stayed with him he came home a 

 little after dark, having cut two bee-trees that 

 day. Nov. 2d he came into the house with a 

 bagful of something that made a great buzz- 

 ing. On inquiry I found it was a two-bushel 

 bag filled with bees, with a screen bottom to 

 give them air, and also to feed them if he kept 

 them confined any length of time. When he 

 cuts a bee-tree he runs the bees into this bag, 

 then they are in a convenient shape to carry ; 

 takes them home, and hives them on combs 

 full of honey, which he has saved for the pur- 

 pose. He has about as good luck wintering 

 this class of swarms as he does those that fill 

 their own hives. He says he can move bees 

 much safer in hot weather by driving most of 

 the bees into a bag, thus relieving the crowd- 

 ed condition of the hive, and returning them 

 to the hive they were taken from, after the 

 journey is made. N. E. Doane. 



Breckenridge, Mich. 



REPORT FROM UTAH. 



While a few of our bee-keepers have had 

 unusually large crops this season, the rule has 

 been from two-thirds to three-quarters of a 

 crop. I have just read Mr. Vaugundy's re- 

 port from Vernal, on p. 803. He is one of the 

 lucky ones that I referred to. The highest I 

 have heard of in the State is nearly 5 )^ tons 

 of honey from 31 colonies, increased to 82. 



How is this in a year when the greater portion 

 of our bee-keepers have had poor crops ? 

 vSalt Lake City, Nov. 6. E. S. LovESY. 



PLAIN SECTIONS WEIvI. FILLED. 

 I have been trying your plain sections this 

 season, A%-x.4:%, and 5x4. Both were well 

 filled. I like the looks of the tall ones. I 

 used the Danzy crate and fence. 



J. W. Spencer. 

 Atworth, Melksham, England. 



F. B., Quebec. — Any extra supers of combs 

 you may have taken off colonies prepared for 

 winter should be set out of doors on the regu- 

 lar hive-stands. Entrances should be closed 

 to keep out the mice. Freezing temperature 

 will destroy both the moths and their eggs. If 

 these hives are made bee and mouse tight you 

 will not be troubled with moth-worms during 

 the next season ; but if the hives are open to 

 moth-millers, there is danger of moth-worms. 

 It is our practice to store combs in winter in 

 hives out of doors, or in buildings bee-tight 

 and subject to freezing temperatures. The 

 combs are not disturbed until we want them 

 the following summer. 



C. W. IV., N. Y. — First. The matter to 

 which you refer, of bringing a colony from an 

 outyard or from a mile or more distant, and 

 then dividing it after it is placed in the home 

 yard, is a very good way of forming nuclei — 

 the very best, in fact, but it is not always 

 practical or convenient to do this. Second. 

 Yes, we use full sheets of brood foundation in 

 our frames for our newly hived swarms. Some 

 use merely starters, and prefer them, and in 

 some localities it may be the better practice. 

 Third. Some prefer using a single half-depth 

 brood-chamber in which to hive a swarm. 

 The plan seems to work well with some bee- 

 keepers and in some localities. The majority, 

 however, hive in full-depth brood-nest.;; 



J. P. C, A/ass. — Yours at hand in reference 

 to foul brood. There is no question that you 

 have had the disease, from the description 

 given. For full particulars regarding treat- 

 ment we would refer you to our foul-brood 

 pamphlet. If you follow the treatment you 

 will be able to wipe out the disease, without 

 any doubt. We would not advise you to brim- 

 stone any of the bees. You can save the 

 honey — every thing except the combs and the 

 frames ; but, of course, the honey should be 

 brought to a boiling-point and kept there sev- 

 eral minutes to kill the spores. As to the 

 length of time it takes for the spores to devel- 

 op into Bacillus alvei, no one knows — prob- 

 ably within two or three months, possibly 

 less. They may also lie in a dormant state for 

 years, and develop only when favorable con- 

 ditions arise. 



