724 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



ments. In the case of the best and largest 

 display, then the scales would have to be re- 

 arranged — 50 per cent, we will say, for the 

 general quality of the individual packages of 

 the exhibit, and 50 per cent for size, as quali- 

 ty and size are the only factors that figure in 

 such a case. Each individual judge may adopt 

 different scales. The scales above named are 

 not necessarily the ones followed by the best 

 of judges, but are merely suggestive. Where 

 possible, the name of each exhibitor should be 

 left off from his own exhibit, the exhibit being 

 designated by number. Of course, if the judge 

 is unacquainted with any of the exhibitors it 

 would make no difference whether the name 

 was on the exhibits or not ; but where a judge 

 knows the exhibitors it is a difficult matter to 

 award the premiums according to actual mer- 

 it. I heard one judge say once that Mr. A 

 had excelled in every thing in a certain exhib- 

 it. " But," said he, "we will give him two or 

 three first premiums, and then divide the oth- 

 er firsts up among the other fellows so they 

 will not feel disappointed." The matter of 

 sympathy and favoritism should have nothing 

 to do in awarding premiums ; for it is under- 

 stood that merit is the only factor to be con- 

 sidered. 



A. E. H., Mich. — It is not an uncommon 

 thing for queens to be missing in colonies dur- 

 ing the fall of the year, especially if they are 

 a year or more old. Some queens play out 

 within a year : others within two years. They 

 die ; and as eggs are not apt to be in the hive 

 in the fall, the bees can not replace her. 



J. C. B., Pa. — For particulars regarding the 

 making of sugar syrup that will not granulate, 

 see page 28 of our catalog, under directions, 

 "How to Make," etc. The chief cause of 

 granulation is feeding too late, or feeding a 

 syrup one part water to two parts sugar. It 

 should be fed early, and made in proportion 

 of one part sugar to one of water. 



W. G. A., La. — The brood you speak of is 

 probably not foul brood. It is possible that 

 it was poisoned, or that it had died as a result 

 of poisoning during the spraying season. A 

 good many farmers yet spray fruit-bloom when 

 it is in the blossom. The result is, the bees 

 carry off poisoned honey or pollen, and if this 

 is used in the food given to the young larvae it 

 causes them to die and look very much like 

 foul brood. See Gleanings for Aug. 1. If it 

 is not ropy, and does not have the characteris- 

 tic odor, then it is certainly not foul brood. 



J. T. B., Pa. — You can winter bees under an 

 open shed, but the hives should be either dou- 

 ble-walled or packed. With the shed you de- 

 scribe in your letter you could winter bees 

 very well, but you had better make it large 

 enough to take more than three hives. Dis- 

 tance between each hive may be about 2 in., 

 but packing material should be 4 or 5 in. all 

 around the hives. All things considered, you 

 had better put the money that you would in- 

 vest in a shed, in double-walled hives, or 

 place the bees in a dry cellar. 



F. IV. PI. , Iozva. — We know of no way you 

 can tell which hive the queen came from after 

 being found in one of the 15 supers taken off, 



except to go over the hives and see which one 

 is really queenless. This will consume a good 

 deal of time, and there will be no surety about 

 it until you can determine whether or not cells 

 were built. Yes, in your locality you can 

 raise queens as late as Oct. 1st, and get them 

 fertilized ; but the chances of their meeting 

 drones would be much better in July or Au- 

 gust than in the fall. It is much more diffi- 

 cult to get queens fertilized in the fall than in 

 summer. You can take partly filled sections 

 and place them in the upper story of a colony; 

 and the bees below, if you give them time 

 enough, will empty them out and store in the 

 brood-combs. 



M. S. Y., Iowa. — You can put an observato- 

 ry hive in a grocer's show-window by closing 

 the entrance ; but about once in ten days it 

 would be better to change the bees. 



How do you like the series of illustrations 

 in this number? We have "lots" more of 

 them to follow. 



PLAIN SECTIONS CONDEMNED BECAUSE TOO 

 WELL FILLED. 

 A writer in the American Bee-keeper pre- 

 fers old-style sections with insets, because the 

 new style with no insets are too well filled ; 

 that is to say, a box having honey filled clear 

 out to the wood is not as desirable as one 

 where there is a line of cells not filled with 

 honey next to the wood. There may be a 

 difference of opinion on this point. As I have 

 stated in an answer to one of Dr. Miller's Straws, 

 plain sections can have either style of filling. 

 The only difference would be the amount of 

 crowding for room that is used. 



BEES WITH DRONE HEADS. 



Mr. E. S. Snyder, of Santa Fe, Ind., sends 

 us samples of bees, extra good workers, from 

 queens whose stocks have produced 100 lbs. 

 of comb honey each. The peculiarity of these 

 bees is that they have heads like those of 

 drones ; but their tongues are quite long — ap- 

 parently longer than the tongues of ordinary 

 bees. One would almost think, to look at 

 their heads, that they were drones ; but the 

 fact that they could produce 100 lbs. of honey 

 when other colonies are not making 25 lbs., 

 seems to indicate that they are good workers. 

 Taking it all in all, they are quite a novelty. 

 We have sent for two of the queens. 



PETRIFIED HONEY COMB. 



Mr. C. Disereus, of Cliffdale, 111., sends 

 us a sample of petrified honey-comb. It looks 

 as if it might have been a chunk of wax that 

 had been crushed together, making a piece 

 about as large as one could hold comfortably 

 in the palm of his hand. One side of the 

 comb is squshed down so the base of it, or 



