1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



'575 



the ABCof Bee Culture. I wish this word 

 '■travel stain," and the "muddy feet of the 

 hees," could he revised out of it in some way. 

 Bradford, N. Y. 



[In the new edition of the ABC book, un- 

 der Comb Honey, there is a newly written 

 article on the subject of travel-stain. 1 have 

 endeavored to cover in this the main points 

 that were brought out in the recent discussions 

 on that subject, especially the fact that, in the 

 generality of cases, the coloring or foreign 

 matter goes clear through the cappings. I do 

 not relieve the bees of all responsibility of 

 having at times dirty feet. I have seen en- 

 trances of hives that were pretty badly smear- 

 ed up with yellow, and have naturally con- 

 cluded that this yellow was the so-called 

 travel-stain that came direct from the bees' 

 feet. While I have not tried the experiment 

 with a sheet of paper, yet if left there I should 

 expect it would in time be somewhat discolor- 

 ed. We will try the experiment in our own 

 jard, and report the results later. — Ed.] 



A CASE OF BEE-FEVER. 



How to Pui Energy into a Slow Poke of a Horse; 



Closed-end Frames; Queens fiom Different 



Breeders. 



BY E. W. BROWN. 



Concluded. 



The season last year was a poor one here as 

 well as in most parts of the country ; but with 

 my 40 colonies, and 10 not mine, I produced 3 

 tons of honey, mostly comb, in plain sections, 

 and increased to 60 full colonies and 5 weak 

 ones. Of course, I had a fair fall flow. When 

 I saw all this honey coming in I began to won- 

 der how I could dispose of it. Dr. Miller says 

 there are two things that beekeepers are most 

 interested in ; 1. How to get a crop of honey ; 

 2. How to get rid of it. I soon decided how 

 I would get rid of my crop. I looked around 

 till I found the best ten-dollar horse in the 

 county. It had but a single fault — it wouldn't 

 go. It would "whoa" better than any other 

 horse I ever saw. After I bought the horse 

 the former owner said that it was just a little 

 inclined to be lazy. Perhaps electricity would 

 be indicated in this case, I thought,; and so 

 one day I proceeded to attach concealed wires 

 to the harness in such a way that I could, by 

 pressing a button in the wagon, give the horse 

 a mild electro-stimulus under its tail from a 

 medical induction-coil run by dry batteries. 

 This arrangement proved to be a great success, 

 and it increased the value of the hoise 175 per 

 cent. I can now overtake and pass any thing 

 on the road, to the great astonishment of the 

 people who know the past record of the horse. 

 One touch of the button furnishes sufficient 

 ambition for a mile journey. I now seldom 

 have occasion to touch the button, for the 

 horse is nearly cured of its loss of ambition. 

 When I speak it gives two switches of its tail 

 and away it goes. I have made good use of 



this horse in disposing of my crop ; and as I 

 now have an out-apiary four miles away it will 

 be a valuable help to me this coming season. 



So far this season I have lost three colonies 

 from diarrhea. These colonies did not have 

 the ends of their combs closed, as I have ex- 

 plained. Some experienced bee - keepers 

 (among whom I can mention James Heddon) 

 take no stock in these "bee-heat" theories; 

 some others (among whom I can mention 

 Capt. J. E. Hetherington) believe that closed- 

 end combs are of considerable importance, in 

 our latitude at least. Some of my colonies 

 which are on closed- end frames are packed in 

 chaff, and these bees show no signs of weak- 

 ness or diarrhea whatever, in spite of the fact 

 that this has been an extremely severe winter 

 for bees. I use cork-dust cushions on the 

 top-bars, with plenty of ventilation above the 

 cushions, and leave a y% entrance open the 

 full width of the hive. Other things being 

 equal, those colonies with the greatest space 

 under the frames lose the fewest bees. 



Now, there is another class of intelligent 

 apiarists (Dr. C. C. Miller among them) who 

 "know" that closed-end frames are best for 

 the bees, but " don't know " that they are best 

 for the bee keeper, all things considered. Per- 

 haps after I have had more experience I 

 "won't know" any more about it than Dr. 

 Miller ; but at present I have so much faith 

 in closed-end frames that I am going to have 

 all of mine made that way until I learn that it 

 is better not to have them thus. 



Perhaps a good cellar is the best winter 

 resort for our bees ; but not all of us have 

 access to suitable cellars ; and then there are 

 such men as C. P. Dadant, with hives weigh- 

 ing less than half a ton, who must winter 

 outside. 



Speaking of large hives reminds me of my 

 own experience. As I have had but a limited 

 experience with 8, 9, 10, and 12 frame hives, 

 and as I am afflicted with bee-fever, my advice 

 is, of course, valueless ; however, if you want 

 to know what size I think is best for comb 

 honey I will tell you. Eight combs are too 

 narrow ; ten combs are too wide ; nine combs 

 are just right. I am inclined to believe that 

 the L. frame is at least an inch too deep for a 

 9-frame hive. The depth of the frames has 

 nothing to do with the wintering problem 

 unless you go to extremes either way. What 

 appear to be the healthiest colonies I have 

 this winter are in brocd-chambers six inches 

 deep. 



I have received queens from twelve different 

 breeders. I find that there is a difference in 

 them — in the queens and in the queen-breed- 

 ers. What seems to he the best queen is from 

 a breeder for whom I have no respect. The 

 queen came hundreds of miles by mail, and 

 cost $1.00 three years ago. Her bees cap their 

 honey very white; they are exceedingly gentle; 

 they waste no time gathering propolis ; they 

 have never swarmed ; they are fair to look 

 upon ; and last, but not least, they have al- 

 ways produced a little more surplus honey 

 than the best of the other colonies. Where's 

 Doolittle ? Say, Doolittle, is this queen not 

 worth $10? I think it was 185 pounds of 



