1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



361 



deavor to have both cells and virgin queens 

 so the bees hav« immediate touch with them 

 at all times." 



"Why, please?" 



"After twelve to fifteen years of careful 

 watching I have become satisfied that, for 

 every day queen cells or virgin queens are kept 

 away from the immediate touch of the bees, 

 especially the virgin queens, their life and use- 

 fulness are shortened at the rate of three 

 months for every day thus kept away from 

 the bees. Where just the right temperature 

 can be provided, it does not seem to make so 

 much difference with the cells ; but I am quite 

 positive about the young queens." 



" Please explain a little more regarding this 

 matter." 



Li " About fifteen years ago I had a mania for 

 introducing old virgin queens to nuclei, so 

 that I might be able to send off queens to the 

 trade much faster than by the cell plan, giv- 

 ing one of these old virgins to a nucleus at the 

 same time that I took a laying queen away. 

 Then I also sent virgin queens to other parties 

 to have them mated and returned to mc, and 

 out of scores tried for the different purposes I 

 never had one single queen thus treated live 

 two years, while very many of my other queens, 

 which were in immediate touch with the bees 

 at all times, live to be four and five years old. 

 At that time I had ' growls ' from my custom- 

 ers regarding the short lives of some of the 

 queens purchased of me ; but since I adopted 

 the motto of ' No queens but what the bees 

 cared for (?// the time,' I have had no com- 

 plaints of inferior queens in any respect." 



" How is the looking-ahead part, you spoke 

 of a little time ago, brought about? " 



" First by knowing your location, so that 

 you can be reasonably sure about when your 

 honey-harvest will commence. Five to ten 

 days before this commencing, you wish all of 

 your increase made, and then is when you 

 wish your laying queens to give the queenless 

 part of your division. Then the ripe cell from 

 which this laying queen emerged must be giv- 

 en to the nucleus twelve to fourteen days be- 

 fore she is taken out, if she is to lay enough 

 in the nucleus to keep up its population ; and 

 the colony rearing the ripe cells started at 

 queen-rearing ten or eleven days before the 

 ripe cells are taken. Thus you have 27 days, 

 previous to your expected honey-harvest, as 

 the minimum time for commencing operations, 

 and 35 days as the maximum time. I think 

 you can catch on now. If you do not, come 

 again and I will explain further ; for it is now 

 time that I go to the postoffice, so as to get an 

 article out on this mail for Gleanings. 



It would seem, in view of the awful extent 

 of adulteration being carried on in some sec- 

 tions of our country, as if more bee-keepers 

 ought to turn their attention to comb honey. 

 The general public in many localities is afraid 

 of extracted honey ; and, in fact, much that 

 they do eat is not honey, but a very poor imi- 

 tation. — Ed. 



[I solicit questions for tliis department; but tliey must be 

 put on separate slips of paper, and marked "Gleanings De- 

 partment." It you desire an immediate answer, say so at 

 the time of writing, and a private reply will lie sent yim in 

 advance before your question witli .in^wev appears ih tliese 

 columns; but questions that are mixed u|i witli business mat- 

 ters will not only be subject to considerable delay, but pos- 

 sibly will I'eceive no answer at all. — Editor.] 



BEES ON THE HIGHW^AY. 



I have some bees, and they are close to a 

 public pike, and some have told me if I had 

 any trouble with teams passing that I would 

 be good for all damage. Will you give dis- 

 tance they would be clear of the pike? 



Bradford, O., Mar. 14. H. E. Wiluams. 



[I do not believe there is any law specifying 

 distance that bees should be from public high- 

 way ; but to avoid trouble with passersby I 

 would suggest that, if you have the room, you 

 place the bees in the back yard, or as far from 

 the highway as possible. If you have not the 

 room, then leave the bees where they are ; but 

 be careful about stirring them up so they will 

 be cross. A high board fence or a hedge of 

 good height between the bees and the high- 

 way would avoid most of the trouble ; but, 

 better still, put the bees at least 100 feet from 

 the road if you can. — Ed.] 



DISPENSING WITH WIRES ; FASTENING FOUN- 

 DATION TO THE TOP AND BOTTOM BARS. 



While putting in some foundation the other 

 day I thought of a plan that might help you. 

 May be you have already' tried it. Suppose 

 you make the bottom-bar of your frames a 

 lit'le thicker, and put a groove in it as well as 

 the top-bar, leaving out one end piece, and 

 sliding the sheets of foundation in it as you 

 would a glass pane, and then nail on your end 

 piece. Don't you think that would save wir- 

 ing them ? or would they sag in the center? 

 David Taylor, Jr. 



Laurel Hill, La., Apr. 5. 



[The foundation put in as you describe 

 would sag in the center. You can not avoid 

 the use of wires, splints, or some sort of sup- 

 port if there is a bottom fastening as well as 

 at the top. If there v>. ere a wide saw-kerf 

 clear through the bottom-bar, so tlat the 1 ot- 

 toniedgeof the foundation could wc rk t! rough 

 easily, allowing for stretch, you could secure 

 a bottom and top fastening without sagging. — 

 Ed.] ■ 



black brood in michigan. 

 Having read Dr. Howard's article in Glean- 

 ings I have found out what is the matter of 

 my bees, for that is just what it is — black 

 brood. I have had it for six years, more or 

 less. I sent you specimens during this time 

 to see what the trouble was. You always said 

 not foul brood until last year when you decid- 

 ed it was ; but I was not yet satisfied, for it 

 stayed too long in the hive. I have one now. 



