430 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



maining queenless eleven days I divided the 

 seven colonies into 43 hives, between five and 

 seven o'clock. I began dividing at exactly 

 five o'clock; and at seven, instead of having 

 7 strong colonies I had exactly 50 divisions, 

 with from two to four combs each, and they 

 well covered with bees, and each hive had in 

 it from two to six cells, almost ready to hatch. 

 By the way, one of the seven colonies from 

 which the queens were removed had hatching 

 queens, and into a number of the divisions I 

 put Dr. Miller's "pulled queens." 



The parent colonies thus divided were in 

 two-story ten-frame Dovetailed hives, and had 

 about ten frames of brood each, being, a part 

 of it, in the upper stories, and honey too. 

 Each hive was well filled with it, so the divi- 

 sions have a chance to do pretty well, even if 

 the hone) -flow should cease at once. 



In dividing I left no brood in the hive that 

 occupies the parent location. I gave each of 

 them only a bunch of queen-cells, leaving the 

 entrances open on e ich hive that occupies the 

 parent location, and has in it the emptiest 

 combs and no brood, only queen-cells ready 

 to hatch. The brood is all given to the hives 

 thai occupy new locations ; for the hives on 

 parent stands will get plenty of bees if only a 

 few empty combs are left them with only 

 queen-cells. The dividing is done late in the 

 evening to avoid the commotion the returning 

 bees are sure to make around each parent 

 stand. The divisions, or new hives, are put 

 where they are to remain, and the entrances 

 stopped with moss or leaves. Green basswood 

 leaves are excellent where no moss is conven- 

 ient, and are sure to let the bees out by the 

 third day. If the entrances are not thus clos- 

 ed the old bees in each new hive are liable to 

 stampede during the commotion caused by 

 the returning bees around the parent colonies; 

 and i;i a stampede where the entrance of a 

 new colony is left open to begin with I have 

 seen every bee take wing that could fly, and 

 pull for the old homestead ; and I have even 

 seen the bees that were too young and weak 

 to fly crawl out of the hive and into the grass 

 by the hundred, only to perish, and thus de- 

 stroy even the prospect of a new colon) 7 , in 

 only a few minutes after being divided ; but 

 by closing the entrance with any thing that 

 the bees can gnaw through in from two to four 

 days, the probability or possibility of bees re- 

 turning to an extent sufficient to injure the 

 strength of a division is entirely removed, 

 thus insuring perfect success in making in- 

 crease by artificial means, even in an out-api- 

 ary where it can not be visited for a week. 



Quite a number ask if screening would be 

 better than moss or leaves. Screening with 

 wire cloth will do to perfection where a per- 

 son is on hand the second or third night to 

 ooen the entrance of each hive; but if divi- 

 sions are being made in out-apiaries, then 

 what ? As a bee-keeper can not afford to be 

 running extra trips to out-apiaries at sundown, 

 it is much nicer and more convenient to have 

 them liberate themselves. Besides, leaves, 

 grass, and moss cost nothing, and don't have 

 to be put away when used, and answer just 

 as well if not better. The only cases that I 



have had where bees failed to gnaw out in 

 time were when a cold wave came just after 

 dividing, and it remained very cool for a week 

 or so — so cold that the bees would remain in a 

 cluster, and not get to work to make an open- 

 ing. But as it is not safe nor advisable to try 

 to make increase too early in the spring, stuff- 

 ing the entrances is all right. 



I will say for Mr. Agie A. Young, of Little 

 Rock, whose questions I now have, through 

 the kindness of the editor, that the old queen 

 has to be caged in order to get cells built, so 

 as to have brood and cells in the combs that 

 are used in the divisions. 



The old queen can be left in the hive she 

 has alwajs occupied, but must first be put into 

 an ordinary shipping-cage ; that is, if you 

 want to save her. If old, kill her at once, as 

 the colony will build from ten to forty cells, 

 if strong enough to make divisions of, and 

 young queens are always preferable to old 

 ones. Some advocate buying queens; but un- 

 less you have plenty of money, I say don't do 

 it. If you do buy, be sure to buy of a man of 

 some years' standing, and at least some sort 

 of reputation as a queen-breeder, for I write 

 from experience. I have bought queens by 

 the dozen from Italy, as well as from various 

 home breeders of but little experience ; some 

 of the queens were all right, but the races of 

 bees — oh, my ! I have had two of Bingham's 

 smokers that did not even faze them — could 

 not be subdued. As soon as the smoke clear- 

 ed so that they could see me I'd have to 

 run; and the idea of a professional bee-man 

 running from his bees ! Blacks beat running 

 from mongrel races. 



Navasota, Texas. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 



The Importance of Some Bees in the Vicinity of 

 Anybody who Grows Fruit, Especially Cher- 

 ries: some Strong Testimony. 



BY F. I,. MORRILL. 



Mr. Root: — Of course I want my subscrip- 

 tion to Gleanings renewed, as I could not 

 well get along without it. It has been of more 

 help to me than I can tell you of since I have 

 been reading it. 



Although Suisun Valley is a very good place 

 to raise bees, what honey my bees have made 

 is of a dark color, and does not command the 

 highest market price in San Francisco. Four 

 years ago, when I rented one of the orchards 

 which I am now running, the owners had 

 about a dozen swarms of bees in box hives, 

 and took no care of them at all except to hive 

 the swarms in more box hives. He managed 

 to keep about the same number of colonies, 

 as the bee-moth, which is very bad here, clean- 

 ed out about as many colonies as he managed 

 to hive every year. He had a large cherry- 

 orchard, and told me that for eight years he 

 did not get a cherry. He was about to dig 

 the trees up when some one advised him to 

 try bees, which he did. The result was that, 

 three or four years after he got the bees, he 

 sold his cherry crop in Chicago and New York 



