1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



397 



under the last one that winters perfectly. 

 I have produced tons of honey in these house- 

 apiar es. It you come up in this part of 

 the State, I shall be g"lad to have you come 

 and see these houses in operation, and will 

 give you the minagement whereby I have 

 been able to succeed. I have three apiaries 

 containing- 2S0 colonies. Fred H. LouCKS. 

 Lowville, N. Y., Mar. 26. 



[I did drop the Salisbury house-apiary, 

 but if I had received your letter sooner I 

 would have kept it in. I shall be pleased 

 to look yours over if I am in your vicinity. 

 —Ed.] 



that boardman honey that candifd. 



I note what you say on page 120, 

 "the Boardman honey candying at last." 

 I was much surprised, I assure you, and 

 went at once to examine some samples of 

 several dozen jelly-tumblers from which the 

 one you have had exposed on the window- 

 sill was taken, which you say was grained 

 solid. I am pleased to say I fjund them 

 as I expected — -in perfect condition, with- 

 out the least perceptible change, and 

 they have been subjected to a severe test in 

 a winter temperature for two winters — a 

 test which I had thought entirely satisfac- 

 tory for all practical purposes. 



But how shall we account for this sample 

 which you have reported acting so radical- 

 ly different from the rest? It acts like a 

 different honey; and are you quite sure 

 that some medd.er has not been helping 

 you, and has been tampering with the sam- 

 ple on the window sill? I should be pleased 

 to have you investigate further, and report. 



East Townsend, O. H. R. Boardman. 



[I am positive it is the same honey. It 

 has not been touched by any one but my- 

 self.- Ed. J 



TRANSFERRING FROM OLD BOX HIVES WITH 

 FAST BOTTOMS. 



I cm buy ten or twelve colonies of bees in 

 box hives. The boxes are m ide with b attorns 

 nailed fast, and up in the hive a few inch- 

 es. How would you transfer from such 

 hives? and at what time in the spring would 

 you do it? 



I understand how you would do it if that 

 bottom was not there; but you can not get 

 the bottom out without tearing the hive all 

 to pieces. In that way, would it be better 

 to use what c mb and brood I could, or 

 would it be better to get bees out and put 

 them on frames with full sheets of founda- 

 tion? B. S. Adkins. 



Huntington, W. Va., Feb. 26. 



[I would suggest that you blow quite a 

 quantity of smoke into the entrances of these 

 hives, enouofh to subdue the bees thorough- 

 ly; then with a cold chisel and hammer pry 

 the bottom off. I hardly think you would 

 find it attached to the combs; and, even if 

 they are, a long-bladed knife will sever 

 them. After removing the bottom, put a 



box or another hive on top of the old {hive, 

 now icverteJ, with bottom off; drum on the 

 sides until the bees go up into the box pn 

 top. Now tear the hives apart; cut out the 

 brood-combs and insert them into the regu- 

 lar frames of the new hive. I would use 

 nothing but good cards of c^mb. The pieces 

 had better be melted up, except where they 

 contain brood. These can be fitted into the 

 brood frames and secured in position by 

 winding string (the ordinary grocer's 

 twine) around the frames, and tying. The 

 ordinary sticks and transferring clasps I 

 would not use. Strings are far better, be- 

 cause the bees will gnaw them off if you 

 should forget to do it later on. 



I would use full sheets of foundation next 

 to the combs of brood. It would pay you 

 not to use any of the old empty comb unless 

 it contained brood. Natural-built comb i& 

 apt to contain drone crmb, have irregular 

 surfaces, and holes. — Ed.] 



CAN hives and combs IN WHICH BEES HAVE 

 DIED BE USED AGAIN? 



My neighbor has 50 hives of honey in 

 which the bees have died from exposure to 

 the severe winter, being left on the stands. 

 I can buy them cheap, but am uncertain 

 what they are worth. What shall I do in 

 order to feed them to my bees? They will 

 most likely be candied, will they not? 

 What can I do with them in that case? 

 MvRON Pickering. 



Nevins, Wis., Feb. 23. 



[The hives from which the bees have died 

 can be used by you this coming spring. 

 We would not advise yoa to weaken your 

 present colonies by dividing until settled 

 warm \^eather comes on. Then shake a 

 few bees with a queen on to the cnibs in 

 which bees have died. If it is warm weath- 

 er the bees will clean things up cheaper 

 than j'ou can. — Ed ] 



ADULTERATED HONEY THAT DTDN'T SELL a 

 SECOND TIME TO A CUSTOMER. 



On page 187 you ask for reports from dif- 

 ferent localities about bogus honey or glu- 

 cose sold as honey. I know three grocers 

 who tried adulterated honey in nice glass 

 jars. They said it was very slow sale. 

 They finally sold it at cost, and then han- 

 dled my honey in bottles. I see a great 

 many of them have corn syrup and honey 

 drips, etc., in tin cans. Of course, they 

 sell some; but I don't think many people 

 will buy a second can. J. M. Cutts. 



Montfi ornery, Ala., Feb. 26. 



[Yes, and the corn syrup will fail to sell 

 after a time when consumers come to know 

 its real character. — Ed.] 



sweet CLOVER FOR CATTLE AND BEES. 



I have twenty acres of the white sweet 

 clover growing. It is all right for bees, and 

 is good cattle pasture in early spring. 



Onawa, la. S. R. Fletcher. 



