760 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



spring' and g^reater amount of stores con- 

 sumed in winter, many more starved; 

 queenless colonies perished for want of 

 queens unobtainable from the South this 

 year, where queen-breeders were battling' 

 with adverse weather. Poorly wintered col- 

 onies which, under favorable conditions, 

 might have pulled through, perished. Our 

 own bees came through pretty well, but 

 g^athered the first pollen April 30, over a 

 month later than usual. From Nova Sco- 

 tia, and New Brunswick to Ontario, come 

 reports of small apiaries wiped out — yes, 

 one with 165 colonies set out has only 4 liv- 

 ing. In the Anapalis Valley a leading- 

 bee-keeper in New Brunswick writes me, 

 " There is scarcely a bee left." Fully 70 

 per cent of the bees in Canada perished, 

 and four- fifths of these are not in shape for 

 the honey-flow, which, owing to weather, 

 has so far been of such a nature that only 

 strong colonies hav^ done any thing. 



. Basswood promises well — lots of buds; 

 there has not been much swarming; and 

 at present writing, July 6, and clover near- 

 ly over, there is not likely to be much in- 

 crease, so that, after counting winter loss- 

 es, there are likely to be no more but fewer 

 bees in the country when the honey season 

 begins, 1905, than at the same time in 1904. 

 Commission houses houses are already 

 writing- out to secure honey before the true 

 condition of things is known. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



Brrntford, Ont., July 6. 



MAKING SWARMS DESTROY CELLS. 



I see your request in Gleanings for June 

 15, for further information in regard to the 

 claim made by Chas. Dadant, as quoted by 

 Mr. Hand, that swarms returned to the 

 parent hive after 48 hours would destroy 

 queen-cells and swarm no more. I am 

 sorry to say that it can not be relied upon 

 here; but in your northern latitude I think 

 it might. However, I have been using a 

 method that accomplishes the same result, 

 but with a trifle more labor. Briefly stat- 

 ed it is this: I use shallow hives tiered up 

 three and four stories high; and when a 

 swarm comes oft' I hive it in one shallow 

 body, and place an empty body under it, 

 on the old stand. In six daj^s I separate 

 the brood chamber through the center and 

 kill all the cells but one. At the same 

 time I kill the old queen and return the 

 swarm, placing the extra super of newly 

 drawn combs on top if needed; but if not 

 needed I use it on a weaker colonj', or to 

 make increase. With a young queen and 

 plenty of room, very few colonies will ever 

 think about swarming again that season. 



WHEN TO MAKE BRUSHED SWARMS. 



I indorse what Mr. Hand says about 

 Dcolittle's advice to make brushed swarms 

 two weeks before the honej'-flow begins. 

 Such advice may do for mere dividing-, as 

 Mr. Doolittle practices; but for true brush- 

 ed swarming, never. The flow must be at 

 hand, and wax secretion already started. 



I repeat that, in this locality, it is entirely 

 immaterial whether or not cells are started. 

 The thing of most importance is to have a 

 powerful force of bees and a good strong- 

 flow on hand, with no waiting. Given 

 these, and brushed swarming will be a full 

 success. Without them it must be a fail- 

 ure, and no amount of other coddling will 

 prevent it. I make these brushed swarms 

 at any time when there is a honey- flow 

 on, and for section honey they are un- 

 equaled by any other preparation of a colo- 

 ny for that purpose. 



IN FAVOR OF THIN TOP-BARS. 



Mr. Pettit's conclusions are identical with 

 my own respecting thin top bars. As you 

 know, I use }i, and have never wanted 

 them thicker. Burr or brace combs are 

 very unusual in my yards, and I think 

 there are other advantages. The queens 

 pass them more readily in three and four 

 story hives; and as I never try to confine 

 them to a certain part of the hive, this is 

 of much importance to me. 



Vig-o, Tex. J. E. Chambers. 



ALFALFA IN CUBA; SOMETHING ABOUT 

 TURKEYS. 



You say you would be glad to know if 

 alfalfa succeeds in Cuba. Last year I 

 sowed a small patch — a peck of seed, I be- 

 lieve. In three weeks from the sowing it 

 was just 6 inches high, and as fine a stand 

 as could be asked for. Then the turkeys 

 fell on it and it went out of sight. We 

 raised 500, but I am selling them all off as 

 fast as I can, as I will close them all out 

 before sowing- more alfalfa. Next time a ou 

 come to Cuba I hope to show you a patch of 

 alfalfa. I read s jmewhere that it would do 

 well in any soil that contains lime. In that 

 case Cuba fills the bill. 



As you know, our honey season this year 

 has been a failure; with the loss of bees in 

 Cuba and the United States, and the rise 

 in price of sugar, honey ought to bring 

 better prices next year. 



C. F. HOCHSTEIN. 



Punta Brava, Cuba, May 20. 



[Why, friend H., you have set me in the 

 fever to go to Cuba and raise turkeys. If I 

 understand you, the turkej-s will do all the 

 ha3'ing and harvesting themselves; and as 

 alfalfa would grow every day in the year 

 in Cuba, and keep on doing so indefinitely, 

 all you need to do is to make a plantation 

 big enough so your flock of turkeys would 

 not eat it too close. The alfalfa would 

 grow, you see, and the turkeys would grow 

 too, and the owner would have nothing to 

 do with the matter of feedintr his flock. If 

 I am correct, there is a big market for every 

 thing in the poultry line in Cuba. Now, 

 with that nice little girl of yours to help 

 (or some other v\oman equally smart), it 

 seems to me growing- turkeys in Cuba would 

 be about the nicest business in the world. 

 But what is the reason that, in all these 

 years it has been settled, nobody has dis- 



