576 



GI.EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



nice well-filled and well-sealed sections of hon- 

 ey as I ever saw, weighing about 1)4. pounds 

 each. L. O. Westcott. 



Swanton, Neb. 



[A section 3X5X2^ thick would give a 

 very nice chunk of honey under the right con- 

 ditions. But one of the objections to thick 

 combs is that in many places, or where the 

 season is very short, the bees do not have time 

 enough to fill them. As a consequence, 34; 

 and possibly ^^^ of all such combs would be 

 uncapped — that is to say, unfinished, at the 

 close of the season. It has bten our expe- 

 rience that the thinner combs, while possibly 

 containing more wax to the pound of honey, 

 will be filled sooner, aud be more likely to be 

 capped over, than the thicker ones ; and then 

 the argunnrnt has been advanced that honey 

 ripens better in shallow cells, and ripens soon- 

 er. In any of these things it is not wise to go 

 to either extreme ; but where the golden mean 

 is, we do not exactly know ; but I agree with 

 you that a comb from a section 2% inches 

 thick will be very fine eating — that is, provid- 

 ing the honey is thoroughly ripened. — Ed.] 



HOW FAR WILL BEES FLY TO GATHER 



STORES? A QUEEN FROM YOUNG OR 



OLD LARV.^ ; FLORIDA NOT THE 



MECCA FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



As I am a subscriber to your journal I wish 

 to ask a few questions in regard to bees. 1. 

 How far will bees fly to gather stores .-" 2 Is 

 a queen raised from larv^ over three days old 

 as prolific as one from younger larvae, or eggs 

 under three days > Please give me your opin- 

 ion in regard to shade for a bee-yard, whether 

 too much is detrimental to their prosperity or 

 not. 



By reading the article in June 1st issue, 

 from Marchant, Fla. (the 3000 hives, etc.), it 

 prompts me to make a few remarks. I have 

 lived in this State since 1874, and have camp- 

 ed, hunted, and cut a great many bee-trees, 

 and in a great many different countries, 

 but have never thought Florida a bee Mecca 

 yet. On the whole, in my humble opinion it 

 is a poor bee country, and nothing to compare 

 to one where white clover grows. There is a 

 profusion of wild flowers here, but they are 

 not nectar producing. For instance, basswood 

 is plentiful here (wah-hoo is the native name), 

 but I have nt ver seen a bee on the bloom. 

 Another instance, I have now and have had 

 Japanese buckwheat before growing here, 

 which blooms and makes fine grain, but I have 

 never seen a bee work on it. There are mil- 

 lions of aquatic flowers and lilies here in my 

 immediate viciniij', but no good for bees. 

 Five years ago, vhen we had plent}' of orange 

 bloom the honey flow was good for about three 

 weeks or a month ; but since then, frosts have 

 cut all citrus growth to the ground every year 

 but one, and oange groves here seem to be a 

 thing of thf past. B. B. KEEP. 



Biardman, Fla., June 10. 



[On the question of the age of larvae for 

 queen-rearing, I hardly know my own mind. 

 Dr. Miller's experiments have thrown new 



light on the matter. I refer to what he says 

 on page 521, July 1, and also to one of his 

 Straws in this issue. As to the amount of 

 shade, a good deal will depend on the locality. 

 In Florida I should suppose one could hardly 

 have too much. In the North a colony ought 

 not to have shade before nine o'clock nor after 

 three o'clock in the day. — Ed.] 



GREASY SECTIONS IN THE CENTER OF THE 

 SUPER THE CAUSE. 



Mr. Editor: — On page 427 is a quotation 

 horn \.\\Q Australian Bee-keeper ; viz., "Have 

 you ever noticed that sections over the center 

 of the brood have a more greasy appearance 

 than those to one side? " intimating that such 

 is the fact, and then asks, "What is the 

 cause?" On page 482, same issue, Mr E. H. 

 SchaeiBe gives an answer to the question, 

 which to me is cogent and clear. It seems to 

 be universally admitted that colonies referred 

 to are very populous during the season of hon- 

 ey-flow, and are wonderful honey-gatherers. 

 Now, it would seem that this fact ought to 

 arrest the attention of every investigator, and 

 cause him to readjust his mental microscope 

 for a closer observation ; to make a more thor- 

 ough examination into the causes which bring 

 about results so desirable in one aspect, and 

 so tijidesirable in another. Many of the at- 

 tempts to prove the queen at fault prove too 

 much for Lhe tenability of the position taken, 

 and which it would please me to review ; but 

 perhaps enough has been said already, pro 

 and con, to set on foot further investigation 

 into this most interesting subject connected 

 with bee-keeping. What I desire to say and 

 emphasize is, that I've not yet received a sin- 

 gle intimation from any one that he has a 

 queen for me. You can scarcely imagine how 

 disappointed I am. Allow me to say again, 

 to any one who has a three-banded Italian 

 queen which fills her hive with greasy-section- 

 producing bees : Don't pinch her head, but 

 properly cage and mail her to me. Twenty- 

 five cents in stamps will be returned for every 

 such worthless queen. 



Wm. M. Whitney. 



Kankakee, 111., June 7. 



[I am iticlined to think that E. H. Schaeffle 

 is very nearly right — that a contracted entrance 

 on a hot day will do much toward softening 

 the cappings, causing them to fall on the sur- 

 face of the honey. — Ed.] 



Could cell-bottoms with eggs be used for 

 transferring by the Doolittle method, instead 

 of larvae ? W. R. L. Dwyer. 



[Probably, but I should prefer the larvae 

 just hatched. — Ed ] 



Where can we people in the East get Bel- 

 gian hares to breed from? WinTON Ball. 

 Rugby, Va., June 16. 



[I do not know where Belgian hares can be 

 purchased ; but you doubtless could get particu- 

 lars by writing to F. Greiner, Naples, N. Y. 

 —Ed.] 



