274 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 1. 



about the size of a barrel, and no snow close 

 to the entrance at all. 



I always tip my hives forward so the snow 

 melting at the entrance may not run into them. 

 I always welcome lots of snow. I feel just 

 like that neighbor bee-keeper of yours who 

 said, " There is nothing I like to see better 

 than my hives buried up in snow, because then 

 I know they are going to winter well." But I 

 would add thereto, " The deeper the better." 



ITALIAN BEES NOT ALWAYS BETTER THAN 

 BLACKS FOR GATHERING HONEY. 



The season of 1897 the Italians were decid- 

 edly better, especially when the fall blossoms 

 began to wane; but in the season of 1898 there 

 was very little difference; in fact, the blacks 

 and hybrids were a little in the lead as to 

 amount stored. I. S. Tilt. 



Filion, Mich., Jan. 14. 



BEES CARRYING AND STORING EARTH. 



I saw somelhing the other day I never did 

 before since I have been in the bee business. 

 That was, the bees packing the ground on 

 their legs as they do pollen, and carrying it 

 into their, hives. They had a great hole car- 

 ried away. The cause, I suppose, was a can 

 of cylinder oil that stood there, and a gallon 

 or so leaked out. What made them work on 

 the oil and ground, for they have no use for 

 them separate ? Wm. O. Heivly. 



Raymore, Mo. 



[At certain seasons of the year, especially 

 in the spring, bees will carry away meal, or 

 even fine particles of sawdust. Thtir attrac- 

 tion to the latter is doubtless due to the resin- 

 ous properties of pine ; and their carrying 

 away the earth, as you describe, was no doubt 

 due to the oil itself, as you suggest. — Ed.] 



THE MORE EVEN FILLING OF PLAIN SECTIONS. 



I used to sell honey by the section here at 

 12>^ cents each, and they generally held out — 

 that is, 1 lb. to the section or over. They 

 were the 1% without separators. I am now 

 using 1 X sections without separators ; and if 

 well filled they hold a pound ; but if the 

 season is not good I find the sections are light- 

 er. I tried a few of the no-beeway. I found 

 them more even in weight than the others, 

 and less bother to clean. I had fears, after I 

 had ordered them, that, when filled, they 

 would be more difficult to clean without mar- 

 ring the comb; but I was agreeably surprised. 

 I would rather handle them than the old- 

 style sections. Jas. S. Willard. 



Bedford, Iowa. 



DRAWN FOUNDATION NO ADVANTAGE. 



I sent to you and got $1.00 worth of drawn 

 foundation; put it on the 16th of August. We 

 had a splendid flow for about six weeks. Bees 

 worked it no better or quicker than they did 

 your thin foundation. I thought you would 

 like to know. L. P. Billings. 



Bloomington, 111., Nov. 18, 1898. 



J. R. M. A., Lid. — If you have dark honey 

 we know of no way by which you can improve 

 its color. The only thing to do is to sell it to 

 bakers, or feed it back to bees in the spring to 

 stimulate brood-rearing. 



L.J. E., hid. — You can transfer by placing 

 a box hive on top of a frame hive, closing all 

 entrance to box hive except through frame 

 hive; but a better way, and more satisfactory, 

 and certainly much more rapid, is the Heddon 

 short method described in our catalog. 



M. F., I\'y. — I can not understand why the 

 bees should rush out of the hive in mid-win- 

 ter and die on the snow unless they were dis- 

 eised. If they had dysentery, the snow in 

 front of the hive would be badly spotted, with 

 a good many dead bees around and near the 

 entrance. 



J. F. O., Out. — You can place your hives 

 containing sheets of foundation on their 

 stands, all ready to receive the first swarm. It 

 will not be necessary to close the entrance, for 

 robbers will never attempt to carry away mere 

 wax or foundation Yes, you can use wired 

 frames with y 2 or even % sheets of founda- 

 tion. Bees will build new comb on the end of 

 the sheets right over a wire, just as if it were 

 not there ; but it is an advantage to use full 

 sheets, as there are times when the bees will 

 build that portion just below the foundation 

 into store or drone comb. 



J. W. Ct C, III. — I would set the combs 

 from the hives in which the bees died, in a 

 tight box or in a hive that is bee-proof. If 

 there is any dead or chilled brood, perhaps it 

 had better be cut out and buried or burned. 

 While there is no such thing as spontaneous 

 generation, yet matter like dead brood is a 

 favorable medium for the growth of foul- 

 brood germs if they are present in the apiary 

 or, possibly, in the hive. But we have set 

 away ccmbs containing dead brood hundreds 

 of times, and, so far as we know, no trouble 

 ever followed. 



A. K. B., Kan. — It will do no harm to let 

 the bees get a little of the meal from the bin ; 

 in fact, some years ago we used to make a 

 regular practice, in early spring, of spreading 

 meal in sunny spots protected from the wind, 

 for the bees to gather as a substitute for pol- 

 len; but in later years we have discontinued 

 the practice, as it seemed to stimulate brood- 

 rearing too early in the season. Ordinarily 

 speaking, the first pollen from natural sources 

 is quite early enough for the bees ; for when 

 there is real pollen to be had, then there is 

 likely to be settled warm weather, and then 

 there is no difficulty. Feeding this meal re- 

 sulted sometimes in having combs filled full 

 of it, sometimes almost solid — so solid, in 

 fact, that it was of little use, as natural pollen 

 later on seemed to be preferred. 



