1900 



GLEANINGS. IN BEE CULTURE. 



481 



double what we have to pay for either potash 

 or phosphoric acid. Thus we understand why 

 green manuring with leguminous plants is so 

 immensely beneficial It always pa}s well to 

 plow under a large amount of clover, peas, or 

 lupins. (Prof.) A. J. Cook. 



Claremont. Cal,, Mar. 6. 



HOW TO CURE A BAD CASE OF ROBBING. 



Prevention Better than Cure; Entrance-closers; 

 a Practical Article. 



BY S. T. PETTIT. 



Several parties have written me for direc- 

 tions how to stop robbing and how to prevent 

 it. These are important questions to the be- 

 ginner, and the answers may also be helpful 

 to some others. It is better all round to an- 

 swer through the papers. It is a burden to re- 

 ply in a private way. 



There are various ways of stopping robbing. 

 The condition of the hive being robbed should 

 always be considered. In any case the first 

 thing to be done is to close the hive so nearly 

 that a single bee can with difficulty squeeze 

 through, then treat the robbers the same way. 

 There may be several hives taking a hand in 

 the fracas. If so, look them up and punish 

 them also. When the bees have quit flying 

 toward night, open all up and let the robbers 

 all go home ; but watch, or in a few minutes 

 they may go to robbing. 



Again, at nightfall put the hive being robbed 

 in a dark cellar, and leave them there for two 

 days. In the mean time set an empty hive in 

 its place. The hive in the cellar should be re- 

 placed on the stand in the evening when all is 

 quiet, and place on entrance-blocks such as 

 are described below. If the hive being robbed 

 is a strong one, leave the entrance 3 or 4 in. 

 wide, and cover the entrance with a small 

 armful of hay or straw, and sprinkle liberally 

 and often with cold water, and take it also to 

 the dark cellar for two days. But to prevent 

 robbing is better, and generally easier, than to 

 break it up after it once gets started. 



Less robbing will occur if the hives face to 

 the south or west, or anywhere between these 

 points, for the simple reason that the prevail- 

 ing winds from these quarters will favor the 

 guards in several ways ; but the west winds 

 are too strong for best results when the hives 

 face in that direction, so I prefer facing them 

 to the south. Then in the evening of the first 

 day out of the cellar give each hive whose 

 bottom-board is at all loaded with dead bees, 

 or is soiled, a clean, sweet, warm floor. To 

 warm it, it should be kept for an hour or more 

 in a warm room. The change should be care- 

 fully and quickly made. Let one lift the hive 

 straight up, and another remove one floor and 

 adjust the other ; then adjust the entrance- 

 block. Take a walk around next morning, 

 and see how bright and thankful the little 

 creatures look. Their home floor is so sweet 

 and clean ! and their courage will be strong 

 enough to defend it. A dirty hive is more 

 likely to be robbed than a clean one. 



The entrance and entrace-blocks are factors 



that demand our careful consideration in this 

 undertaking. The entrance .should be about 

 y% inch high, and no higher. To-day I send 

 you a sample of what I consider the best en- 

 trance-blocks that I have tried. I do not say 

 that they will in all cases prevent robbing, 

 but they will materially lessen the nuisance. 



If any one has much black blood in his 

 yard I believe it will pay him to try these — 

 that is, provided he has not something as good 

 or better. I have a better in the shape of an 

 addition to these blocks for very weak or 

 queenless colonies, but there is not room for a 

 description of it here. To make the blocks, 

 cut a piece of lath an inch longer than the en- 

 trance. Cut this in two in the middle, then 

 cut the corners back a little so as to form a V 



next to the hive when placed in position. Now 

 cut another piece one inch shorter than the 

 first. Next, nail this on top of one of the first 

 pieces. Have the outer ends even when nail- 

 ing. Now place all in position, and the top 

 piece will cover the V space next to the hive. 

 Close the entrance, and draw a mark across 

 the loose piece at the end of the piece above 

 it, by means of which you can tell just how 

 far you open the entrance when standing be- 

 hind the hive. 



As a rule, bees should have an entrance big 

 enough to satisfy them. A generous entrance 

 encourages them to defend their honey. With 

 it they are more comfortable, and drier and 

 warmer than with one that is too small. How 

 can bees warm and dry themselves in a hive 

 filled with a polluted atmosphere that can not 

 escape ? You might as well expect a Jersey to 

 yield lots of good milk from poor hay and 

 sawdust. 



Aylmer West, Ont., Can. 



[I believe you are entirely orthodox, friend 

 Pettit, on the matter of robbing ; but, as you 

 say, preventive means should always be used 

 where possible. A bad case of robbing is de- 

 moralizing to the whole apary. After the 

 bees have once gotten a taste of stolen sweets 

 they are ever on the alert for more. It does 

 not take very long to train bees to follow the 

 apiarist about for hours at a time. I am sorry 

 to say that we have had ours trained so they 

 would follow the smoker ; whole clouds of 

 them, in fact, would follow it, for they seemed 

 to know that, as soon as the smoker was 

 picked up, it would be used over a hive, giv- 

 ing them a chance to get at the colony pell- 

 mell. Our apiary is now so managed that 

 there is never a case of robbing ; and when 

 the bees get to smelling around a little too 

 much, work over the hives is suspended for 

 the time being, or at least transferred to an- 

 other portion of the yard. — Ed.] 



