1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



401 



\ r- B Y f 



The heaviest losses seem to have been in the 

 Northwest. In New York the bees have win- 

 tered quite well. 



Those of you who have not done so will do 

 well to try, this coming season, shallow ex- 

 tracting-supers to start the bees up above ; 

 then after the bees have got nicely going, sub- 

 stitute the super for comb honey. 



WE are rearing queens a la Doolittle — yes, 

 going one step further. We are raising cells 

 in the lower story of the hive with a laying 

 queen. How this is done will be explained a 

 little later as soon as we can determine wheth- 

 er the method is an entire success. 



This has proved to be an almost ideal spring 

 for bees. The winter in most localities turned 

 abruptly into beautiful balmy weather ; and 

 had it not done so just at the time it did, the 

 loss of bees throughout the country would 

 have been enormous. 



There seems to be a great scarcity of bees 

 and queens this year. We have difficulty in 

 supplying the demand at the Home of the 

 Honey-bees, notwithstanding that we have 

 orders, and have had, with all the best breed- 

 ers in the country. Their own trade seems to 

 take up all they can supply themselves. No 

 doubt, ere another issue is out, there will 

 be queens in abundance. 



There seems to be much interest manifest- 

 ed in that Dadant-Langstroth (or what might 

 be called jumbo) hive proposed by A. N. 

 Draper, in our last issue, and spoken of again 

 in this number. So much has been said in 

 favor of these hives that it seems to me time 

 thai a few of as should be trying them on a 

 small scale. It would be folly for any one to 

 adopt them largely until he knows whether 

 his locality is adapted to them. 



BEE-PARALYSIS. 



WE have just heard from one of our corre- 

 spondents who has bee-paralysis in his apiary, 

 the same having started from a queen that he 

 says he purchased from a prominent queen- 

 breeder. As our friend lives in Alabama, the 

 disease is making a good deal of trouble. He 

 has not told us who the queen-breeder is. 

 Two years ago all the leading queen-breeders 

 of the country, with perhaps one or two ex- 

 ceptions, agreed to destroy an}' colony they 

 found in their apiaries, affected with bee- 

 paralysis. Some objected to such a radical 

 procedure ; but I firmly believe it is the only 

 safe thing to do. Foul brood in a queen- 

 rearing apiary, if nothing but queens were 

 sold, would probably do no harm ; but bee- 

 paralysis might and probably would do consid- 

 erable damage in the apiaries of the South. 



LAWN-MOWERS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM 

 CUT. 



AT this time of the year there is a good deal 

 of lawn -mowing to be done around the hives, 

 and the query arises, How many know how to 

 set or adjust the knives so as to make them 

 cut? In general I may say the cutter-bars 

 should be adjusted so that they will scrape or 

 shear the whole length. You will find screws 

 or adjusting-bolts whereby the bar can be 

 raised or lowered. Even if the knives do rub 

 a little hard, better so than to have them touch 

 too lightly. 



Another thing, do not be afraid to use oil 

 frequently. I find it an advantage to pour in 

 a little oil on the bearings that hold the re- 

 volving blades, at least every half-hour while 

 working. Indeed, I have thought that a 

 machine runs easier when oiled every fifteen 

 minutes. Oil is cheap, but man power is ex- 

 pensive. 



NO INSURANCE — A BEE-KEEPER 'S LOSS. 

 The following letter from one of our con- 

 tributors, and one w 7 ho was proposing to write 

 us a series of articles, is at hand : 



I must write you to-day telling you of my misfor- 

 tune, as I know I shall have your sympathy and that 

 of the whole bee-keeping fraternity. Day before yes- 

 terday my house burned down with most of the con- 

 tents. M~y loss is about $1500. No insurance. I am 

 ruined. I have nothing to build^with, and nothing 

 with which to purchase furniture My little girl's 

 clothing all burned except one dress, which she had 

 on. My family consists of my wife, a boy, and girl. 

 My wife is an invalid. I am nearly fiftv years of age, 

 and not in good health, so you will see that I am in a 

 bad condition. I always trv to see some good in all 

 things, but it is difficult to find a bright side in this 

 case. A. J. Wright. 



Bradford, N. Y., Apr. 29. 



This is indeed serious, and I am wondering 

 why a bright, intelligent man of forethought 

 like our friend Wright did not carry insurance. 

 It carries its own lesson, and a terrible one it 

 is. We would enter an appeal for aid but for 

 the fact that there are so many calls of a sim- 

 ilar nature that it would be hardly right to 

 call upon our readers for assistance. There is 

 a silver lining to every dark cloud, and I be- 

 lieve friend Wright will see one, even if it 

 does not appear just yet. Some of the great- 

 est calamities end in the greatest blessings. 



WAX FROM FOUL-BROODY COMBS NOT SAFE. 



One of our patrons recently sent us a lot of 

 wax that he had rendered out from a lot of 

 foul-broody combs, and he was honest enough 

 to tell us of the fact at the time of making the 

 shipment. As soon as I knew of it I told our 

 freight-man to be on the lookout for it, and 

 the foreman of the wax- room to be prepared 

 to receive it and give it special treatment. 

 While I believe there would not be much dan- 

 ger, I feel sure it is wise to err on the safe 

 side. We have, accordingly, taken this wax 

 and brought it to the boiling-point, or as near- 

 ly so as we could, in a barrel by itself, using a 

 jet of steam. After it was boiled for an hour 

 or so, and was allowed to stand, the next day 

 it was treated as before, and still again it was 

 heated, after which it will be mingled with 

 the general supply, and then heated once 



