250 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aprii, 1. 



not lay prematurely in winter or early spring. 

 [It has been our practice for a number of years 

 to give our colonies enough feed in the fall so 

 they do not have room enough for even a win- 

 ter nest. In other words, we compel them to 

 have solid slabs of sealed stores. Although 

 this policy has been questioned somewhat, yet 

 certainly the proof of the pudding is in the 

 eating ; for if any one can show better results 

 in wintering outdoors (and I do not mean to 

 brag), I wish he would show his hand. — Ed.] 



No, Mr. Editor, I'm not sure that the 

 preference for the one-swarm plan has mainly 

 died away ; but there seem to be few advocat- 

 ing it, and there seems to be a general yearn- 

 ing after a non-swarming plan. And I do 

 know that here, and I think wherever there is 

 no heavy late flow, a colony and its swarm do 

 not store as much as the colony that doesn't 

 swarm. [But it does not seem to me that the 

 one-swarm plan has died away at all. If I 

 am not mistaken, there are more bee-books 

 and more writers advocating it than there 

 were a few years ago. What are the books or 

 who are the writers who have gone back on 

 the plan ? I do not throw this out as a chal- 

 lenge to you, doctor, but I simply desire in- 

 formation. — Ed.] 



" It cost me several years of close applica- 

 tion to spell the old way," says Rambler, page 

 210. That's about as strong an argument as I 

 ever saw against the old way. A man with 

 Rambler's heart ought to be willing to suffer 

 a little inconvenience rather than have all 

 future generations work as he and I did to 

 learn to spell. We may just as well own up 

 that the objection to Bro. York's spelling is 

 prejudice pure and simple. His way of spell- 

 ing "through" sends a chill thru me. But 

 an Englishman has the same chill when he 

 meets "honor" without a "u" in it, and 

 will not read a book, much less buy it, if that 

 " u " is omitted, according to a writer in Sun- 

 day School Times. [Now look here, doctor. 

 I have promised our readers that we would 

 not say any thing more about reformed spell- 

 ing, and now you have just " gone and done 

 it." If this stirs up a hornet's, nest I will 

 turn the " hornets " loose on you. — Ed.] 



Now it's Heise that's raslling with Doolit- 

 tle's conundrum about the colonies that gave 

 an extra $1.20 because of burr-comb ladders, 

 and he begs Doolittle to eive the answer (Gzw- 

 adian Bee Journal, 20S). A practial bee- 

 keeper has said to me, " The burr- combs don't 

 make any difference ; but the strong colonies 

 that pile in the honey are the ones that make 

 the burr-combs, and those too weak to store 

 much will be iree from them. [Say, doctor, 

 why don't you give your own opinion ? From 

 the fact that you quote ' ' Practical Bee-keeper' ' 

 I take it that you indorse his sentiments. It 

 strikes me that he is about right. I have nev- 

 er felt that burr-combs were at all necessary 

 for the production of honey ; but it is true 

 that conditions favoring the building of them 

 also favor storing of honey in the sections. 

 With thick and wide top-bars we have very 

 little trouble, comparatively, with burr-combs, 

 and yet with some colonies, and especially if 



they are strong, there will be a few of them 

 stuck in ; but so few, comparatively, that it 

 will make but very little trouble. — Ed.] 



Twice in last Gleanings, Mr. Editor, you 

 speak of putting partly worked sections over 

 a newly hived swarm. Of course you would 

 put a queen-excluder under the sections, but 

 you don't say so, and some novice will omit 

 the excluder and have the queen laying in sec- 

 tions. [Honey-board? I stopped and scratch- 

 ed my head, and began to think. Neither in 

 the catalog nor in our A B C is there any thing^ 

 said in this connection regarding the need of 

 a queen-excluding honey- board. Perhaps one 

 is needed when empty frames with only start- 

 ers are given ; but I should hardly think one 

 would be required when empty combs were 

 used to fill the new hive on the old stand, and 

 I incline to the belief none would be absolute- 

 ly necessary when full sheets of foundation 

 were used, because, in shallow cells on foun- 

 dation, queens like to lay. As a matter of 

 precaution it might be well to put one on in 

 all cases except when drawn combs were used. 

 I have marked the ABC for the next edition 

 for a little change, for in any case it would be 

 better to err on the safe side. — Ed.] 



The American Bee Journal, quoting the 

 Tulare Advance, says John F. Crowder, from 

 2.5 colonies 6 years ago, has increased to 3000' 

 colonies in ten apiaries of 300 each, making 

 him perhaps the most extensive bee-keeper in 

 Central California. Why haven't we heard 

 more about him ? [If this statement had come 

 originally from the Americati Bee Journal 

 from a reliable correspondent, I should have 

 believed it. As it is, I can scarcely credit it. 

 While I know California does in some loca- 

 tions support a large number of colonies per 

 apiary, yet I do not believe there is a spot in 

 the world where 10 apiaries, each having ^oo- 

 colonics, can be profitably managed. Capt. 

 Hetherington enjoys the distinction of han- 

 dling the largest number of colonies of any bee- 

 keeper in the world, and his number has been 

 in the neighborhood of 3000 for the last 15 or 

 20 years. If there is another man who can 

 rival him, let us by all means make his ac- 

 quaintance. I would write John F. Crowder, 

 but can not find his name on our lists. Per- 

 haps some one in California can give us some 

 information. — Ed.] 



You're right, Mr. Editor ; indoor bees 

 wintered under favorable conditions consume 

 less than those outdoors. But the question 

 that always troubles me a little is this : Are 

 not the outdoor colonies in some way enough 

 better to pay for their extra grub? [Yes, that 

 is just the feeling I have ; otherwise we would 

 have constructed the most elaborate wintering- 

 cellar that could be made to hold our bees, 

 rather than winter outdoors, entailing a larger 

 consumption of stores. There is no denying 

 the fact that our bees come out strong and 

 healthy, and they scarcely ever show signs of 

 dysentery ; and in our locality, at least, the 

 outdoor-wintered colonies were considerably 

 ahead of those wintered indoors, both in point 

 of strength and general vigor of the bees. I 

 say our locality. I am quite willing to con- 



