266 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aprii, 1. 



out bees. In Calaveras Co. few bees are kept. 

 "There is a small strip along the rivers, in the 

 lower end of the county, that would support 

 several small apiaries. Amador Co. is better, 

 especially in the valley — more alfalfa. Eldo- 

 rado Co. has a few good openings in the 

 mountains. Apiaries lower down have not 

 been a success. Nevada Co. has but few bees, 

 but an excellent local market. Several small 

 apiaries could be run to a profit in it. Sierra 

 Co. is mostly mountains. What few apiaries 

 are located in the county do very well. Plu- 

 mas Co. (the Switzerland of America) is a 

 paradise in summer. Bees will do well there. 

 Lassen Co. is similar to lower California, ow- 

 ing to its being partly covered by the desert of 

 Nevada. Sage and clover grow in great abun- 

 dance. In the San Joaquin and Sacramento 

 Valleys you are right on the line of the main 

 railroads. Mariposa Co. is away from the 

 railroad. Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El- 

 dorado, and Nevada Cos. have branch lines 

 extending into them. Sierra and Plumas Cos. 

 are off the line Lassen Co. has a branch 

 Toad, now being extended. 



During the summer months it is as hot in 

 one part of the State as another. In winter 

 the mountain counties have more or less snow, 

 especially Lassen, Plumas, and Sierra. You 

 can go " from snow to roses" in an hour's 

 travel in any of the counties bordering the 

 mountains. The flora is varied, with an alti- 

 tude of from 200 feet above sea-level in the 

 foot-hills to 4000 feet but a few miles above. 

 All climates and flowers can be found. 



California is a very poor market for honey. 

 The bulk of it must be shipped. Since the 

 California bee-keeper must pay freight on his 

 supplies from the East, and on his honey to 

 the East, it is evident that a location east, near 

 the base of supplies and market, will yield a 

 greater profit than can be realized here. 



If we could have a " good " year every year 

 it might be possible to produce an excess suf- 

 ficient to more than counterbalance the freight 

 charges ; but with only one good year in five 

 the East has the best of the situation. Why 

 doesn't some one go north, say to Montana, 

 where people eat honey, have the money to, 

 and do, pay good prices for it ? 



Murphy's, Cal. E. H. SchaEFFI^E. 



STUNG TO DEATH ; A CORRECTION. 



On page 89, Feb. 1, you published an article 

 headed " Stung to Death by Bees," which is 

 far from the actual facts in the case. The 

 facts as told me by a brother-in-law of Mr. 

 Carson are these. Mr. Carson went to his api- 

 ary before breakfast, to do some work with his 

 bees. He was stung four times — once on the 

 temple, ear, wrist, and thigh. He went to the 

 house and requested his wife to get a veil, as 

 the bees were cross. In a few moments he 

 said he would go outside, as he felt faint. He 

 went out and sat down on the porch and died 

 there. There was no sulphur burned. Mr. 

 Carson had heart trouble, which, combined 

 with the stings, upon an empty stomach, the 

 doctor says, was the cause of his death. 



Alliance, O., Feb. 17. G. E. Martin. 



SALABII^ITY OF SECTIONS ; NOT HOW GOOD, 



BUT HOW CHEAP ; DEAD BEES IN CEI.- 



LAR-WINTERING. 



A good deal has been said of late on the 

 subject of square vs. tall sections, and some 

 very good arguments in favor of both kinds 

 have been put forward. I have kept bees for 

 over 35 years : have produced tons of honey 

 made in all sorts and sizes of boxes, from the 

 one holding 10 to 15 pounds down to the 4^ 

 X4^ section. The first single-comb box I 

 ever saw I made and used myself. Most of 

 my honey has been peddled, very little ever 

 going to commission men, and none in later 

 years. 



I have yet to find a customer who will pay 

 any more for a section of honey on account of 

 its "good looks;" but I recall many who 

 would take a " homlies " lot if they could get 

 it a little cheaper. Given a tall and a square 

 section of the same quality, the customer 

 may take the tall one if he can get it at the 

 same price ; and the wholesale purchaser, if 

 offered a lot of each, will take the one he can 

 buy at the lowest figure, and will take both 

 lots at the price of the cheapest. 



When you find a man who will pay me a bet- 

 ter price for a section of a certain shape, he 

 can have all of my custom if he wants it. The 

 fact is, in my experience consumers do not 

 care so much for the looks of the article, pro- 

 vided the quality is the same, as they do for 

 the price. 



The question is asked by some one, "How 

 many dead bees will be carried from a cellar 

 in which, say, 100 colonies of bees have been 

 wintered ? " My experience is, there will be 

 from 60 to 90 quarts for that number of colo- 

 nies, and I might give you a long dissertation 

 in words and figures as to how I arrive at that 

 conclusion. I now have 83 colonies in the 

 cellar, and I have never seen as few bees on 

 the cellar bottom at this time of year as there 

 are to-day, and they were put there the last 

 day of November ; but outside it is the storm- 

 iest day we have had during the present win- 

 ter, and we all know that, from this time out, 

 they will die off much faster than in the past. 



Lawrence, 111., Mar. 6.° J. L. Anderson. 



[It would appear from the figures above giv- 

 en regarding dead bees that my estimate of 

 the number that might be found on the cellar 

 bottom, as given on page 804, for 1899, and 

 page 179 for this year, was not very far out. — 

 Ed.] 



1. What is a good way to introduce virgin 

 queens to nuclei, and about how many will be 

 accepted ? 



2. What is the depth of the Langstroth 

 frames you make — I mean from top of top- 

 bar to bottom of bottom-bar? J. C. C. 



[1. I would introduce virgin queens just the 

 same as I would ordinary laying ones ; but 

 virgins are always harder to introduce, and a 

 larger proportion of them will be lost as com- 

 pared with those that are fertile. 



2. The standard Langstroth frame is 9}i 

 inches deep, outside measure. — Ed.] 



