606 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



great success. The queen wouldn't hold still, 

 and it didn't seem possible to control the 

 amount of wing removed as when the queen 

 was firmly held. 



No, I never had a case of playing 'possum 

 such as I have read about ; and yet I have had 

 what might be the same. In several cases a 

 queen has caught a foot in her abdominal ex- 

 tremity, and seemed motionless while it was 

 caught, but it never lasted any considerable 

 time, and I'm not sure but I always pulled the 

 foot loose. 



A single instance such as you relate about 

 the queen caged on a whole comb would not 

 materially change my answer to " British Co- 

 lumbia." The plan of caging a queen on 4 

 square inches or more of comb has been suc- 

 cessfully tried by numbers in a great many 

 cases. It might happen in any such case that 

 the bees would fasten upon a queen's legs and 

 injure her, but such cases have not been re- 

 ported as common, so that it need not be con- 

 sidered as a thing likely to occur in the plan 

 so thoroughly tried. The only question is, 

 would the bees treat a queen less kindly if 

 caged on a whole comb ? It seems to me that, 

 the more room she has, the less danger of 

 rough treatment. Still, there may be some- 

 thing about it that I don't understand, mak- 

 ing the larger room more dangerous. Possi- 

 bly I may have a chance to try it. 



As to your questions about paralysis, I can 

 give nothing more than a guess except to the 

 one question about the queen perpetuating 

 the disease. It seems pretty clearly shown 

 that the queen does not always stand respon- 

 sible for the disease, although I believe there 

 is a general conviction that the removal of the 

 queen is a step toward the removal of the dis- 

 ease. Whether a fresh queen will clear out 

 the disease may be an unsettled question. I 

 don't know how much good that fumigation 

 did, but it may be worth further trial. It is 

 an interesting item, that sulphuring did not 

 destroy sealed brood. It is in line with the 

 fact that full-grown wax-worms in brood-combs 

 are not affected by very severe fumigation. 



C. C. Mii.i,ER. 



[Although Dr. Miller has covered the ground 

 prelty thoroughly, as I am asked to give my 

 comments I do so with pleasure. I have tried 

 clipping queens by all the various methods 

 recommended, including that described for 

 holding the queen by the legs. I have suc- 

 ceeded in doing it by this plan, but have al- 

 ways been fearful that by a sudden nervous 

 twitch I might let go, or might release one leg 

 or two, so that the queen in her efforts to free 

 herself would twist off those remaining. Tak- 

 ing it all in all, I greatly prefer this plan : As 

 soon as I see the queen I grasp her by the 

 wings with the right hand. While holding 

 her securely I then grasp her between the 

 thumb and fore finger of the left hand, by the 

 shoulders. The thorax of a bee has a chitin- 

 ous hardened covering, and there is no danger 

 in handling the queen in that manner. While 

 she is between the thumb and fore finger of 

 the left hand I then, with a pair of scissors, 

 clip her. It is true she may throw up a stray 



leg, and a bungler might catch that leg with 

 the scissors ; but by passing the point care- 

 fully over the wings, and awaiting a favorable 

 opportunity, the blades are brought together. 



We have had queens get the cramps many 

 and many a time, especially in caging for 

 mailing. We put her in the cage, even though 

 apparently nearly dead, and put in the attend- 

 ants. Very shortly the "dead" queen will 

 have come to life again, and be as lively as 

 ever. 



As to bee-paralysis, there has been proof 

 advanced to show that the disease is consti- 

 tutional, and resides in the queen. There has 

 also been proof to show that even when the 

 queen is removed the disease would go on just 

 the same. The only rational way of treating 

 bee-paralysis is to take all the colonies so af- 

 fected and remove them to a new location a 

 mile and a half from any other bees, and then 

 remove the queen and give them another. But 

 before doing so, shake all the bees in front of 

 the entrance, in the grass. The sick ones will 

 remain outside while the healthy ones will 

 crawl in. After the queen is introduced, go 

 over the combs ever so often, and hand-pick 

 the sleek shiny bees off the combs. Once in 

 a while give the colony a frame of hatching 

 brood from a healthy colony. We have found 

 this, that removing the queen and also remov- 

 ing the sick bees as fast as they show symp- 

 toms of the disease, at the same time giving 

 hatching brood, will very often cure the worst 

 cases. One writer recommends putting a 

 healthy colony on the stand of the weak one, 

 and the weak one on the stand of the healthy 

 one. The result is that the healthy bees carry 

 out the dead ones and the sick ones, and, ac- 

 cording to the statement of the one who recom- 

 mends this treatment, it effects a cure. — Ed.] 



BEE-LITERATURE. 



An Experience in Canvassing; the Somerford 

 Method of Forming Nuclei; Belgian Hares; 

 other Side Issues in Connection with Bee- 

 keeping. 



BY W. A. H. GILSTRAP. 



Some time ago I had some business to at- 

 tend to in a locality where several bee-keepers 

 reside, and concluded to try to supply them 

 with some good literature. Armed with the 

 latest ABC, and sample copies of Glean- 

 ings, I started out. Bee-keeper No. 1 will 

 not buy reading-matter, so I could not do any 

 thing with him. 



No. 2 has no use ( ? ) for bee-books and papers, 

 for he has known a long time that those who 

 farm in books can't farm in the ground. He 

 accuses me of believing all I read, and he is 

 determined not to be caught that way. He is 

 a good neighbor, reads the San Francisco Ex- 

 aminer, and is happy. 



No. 3 had lately bought a bee book. I ask- 

 ed him the name of it, and he said it was 

 Root's A B C of Bee Culture. When asked if 

 he did not want a good paper published by 

 the same firm he said he thought not, as his 



