GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



661 



a jump, and tells the bojs to look out with 

 that big^ open-air feeder or the strong^ colo- 

 nies will get the most of it. Well, of course 

 a strong colony will get more than a weak 

 one; but what if it does? The more fed, 

 the more brood, and then take from the 

 strong to help the weak ones. Your feed 

 does far more good if fed in the open air, 

 and not a tenth of the labor or time is occu- 

 pied. It takes me about half an hour to 

 make up feed and feed 400 colonies by open- 

 air feeding; and then what a nice sight to 

 see bees coming and going from every hive 

 in the apiary! Mr. A. I. Root said to me 

 while he was at my home, " Why, Mr. 

 Woodward, your combs all seem to be fine 

 and perfect." Those same combs were all 

 built from the open-air feeder, all drawn 

 from full sheets of foundation, at a time 

 when there was no honey coming from the 

 field. 



In this country one can not afford to have 

 his combs all drawn out at the expense of 

 the honey harvest; and just think of having 

 to feed from 400 to 500 colonies of bees every 

 day for three or four months, one colony at 

 a time. But there is a right way and a 

 wrong way to do any kind of work. With 

 my system of open-air feeding I feed at any 

 time of day. When I'm running high-pres- 

 sure feeding I keep the great feeder full all 

 day long. I usually feed about 1000 lbs. a 

 day, sometimes more; and the feeder should 

 never be placed in the apiary — always a 

 few rods away. The results will be much 

 better. One can stand and see the bees 

 throw a fine spray through the air as they 

 go to their hives. This is the evaporation 

 of water from the sugar. 



C. E. Woodward. 



Guanabano, Cuba, June 14. 



[We used to practice, some years ago, 

 outdoor feeding, but with a very low grade 

 of sweet, much diluted with water. I feel 

 satisfied that a veteran like you can feed 

 diluted honey in the manner you describe; 

 but the average beginner, and perhaps ex- 

 perienced bee-keepers, too, who are located 

 in town, would do well to practice feeding 

 only with the individual hive. This is an 

 important subject, and we should be glad 

 to hear from our subscribers who have 

 made a success or a failure with the plan. 

 —Ed.] 



a swarm that became cross on being 



DUMPED. 



For the first time in hiving a swarm of 

 bees I had to run for shelter, and stay 20 

 minutes. The swarm clustered on a hori- 

 zontal limb 8 ft. from the ground. To reach 

 them I placed a low step-ladder, then with 

 a large galvanized pail held under the bees 

 I struck the limb with a club and dislodg- 

 ed half of them. Most of them fell into the 

 pail, and some dozens on to the hand hold- 

 ing the pail. They did effectual work en 

 that hand, and tried their best at my head, 

 but that was protected. The onslaught 

 was so great I had to beat a retreat. The 



bees had clustered but a few minutes when 

 I attempted to hive them. My theory is 

 that the anger of the bees was caused by 

 hunger. The mother- hive is a two-story 

 chaff. The bees covered the front of the 

 hive both night and day for nearly or quite 

 two weeks. When they swarmed, the hun- 

 gry ones from the front, and the full ones 

 from the inside, made the swarm. The 

 bees are a mixed race, black blood prevail- 

 ing. The bees I caught in the pail I put 

 on the hiving-board. All the bees entered 

 the hive at their leisure. W. Young. 



Palmyra, Neb., June 20, 1904. 



[It is not at all probable that the bees 

 were cross because of hunger. Any swarm 

 hanging on a limb may be made cross if 

 suddenly dumped. There is one thing I 

 will not do if I can possibly avoid it; and 

 that is, to get directly under a swarm so 

 that the bees may lodge on my hands or 

 clothing. Very often I find that a swarm 

 suddenly jarred from its position into a 

 hiving- box will become quite enraged — es- 

 pecially so if the bees are hybrids. To 

 avoid an onslaught I usually blow a little 

 smoke, when possible, on the outside of the 

 swarm, and then give it a jar, when all 

 will be well. — Ed.] 



DO QUEENS MATE THE SECOND TIME AFTER 

 LAYING? 



I notice some of the writers for Glean- 

 ings tell about clipping queens' wings. I 

 have done it with good success. Some say 

 queens mate just once, for life, and in one 

 of the late issues of Gleanings some one 

 told of queens mating more than once. But 

 I don't see where there is any possible 

 chance for them to mate_ more than once if 

 their wings were clipped, as that would 

 make them useless if it is common for them 

 to mate a second time. J. Stine. 



Sigourney, Iowa, June 20, 1904. 



[Queens do not mate the second time aft- 

 er layin_s; — at least there has been no good 

 evidence offered that goes to prove that such 

 mating does take place. The item you saw 

 does not refer to mating a second time after 

 laying, but mating befoi'e any eggs were 

 laid. You probably misread the item. On 

 page 602, June 15, you will find further ev- 

 idence along the same line. — Ed.] 



making the bee-smoker automatic. 



3Ir. Root: — Do you know you have the 

 hook on the wrong side of the smoker ? 

 When you hang the smoker on the edge of 

 the hive, the nozzle turns away from it, and 

 the smoker does not do you any good until 

 you pick it up, turn it around, and blow; 

 then you have to turn it around again and 

 hang it up before you can have both hands 

 free and proceed with your work. If the 

 smoker hangs on the windy side of the hive, 

 the wind blows into the nozzle, stops the 

 draft, and eventually will make the fire go 



