1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUL1 URE. 



985 



HOW OLD MUST BEES BE TO GO TO THE 

 FIELDS? 



I think, with Dr. Miller, that the notion 

 that bees must be at least 17 days old to be 

 of any value during a honey-flow is a mis- 

 take. ' When a colony has been queenless 

 for some time, there is always a rapid in- 

 ci-ease in the number of field-bees as soon 

 as the new brood begins to hatch, long be- 

 fore any of the young bees can appear as 

 outdoor workers. I requeened several colo- 

 nies under just those conditions this year, 

 and watched them closely after the twenty- 

 first day. I confess I was rather surprised 

 to see the field force just about double in 

 the next ten days. The explanation is, of 

 course, that some of the older bees are kept 

 at home to do the housewoi'k, and are re- 

 leased for field duty as soon as young ones 

 hatch to take their places. 



Mr. Phillips' contention, that young bees 

 stay at home because they can not see to go 

 to the field, may be all right. But why is 

 it that bees five days old will gather pollen 

 when there are none older in the colony? 

 Thev will do that, I am pretty sure. 



Newman, Ills. C. F. Bender. 



A RAGING FIRE IN A BEE-YARD. 



I write you these few lines to let you know 

 how well a good stock of your red-clover 

 queen I got of you behaved during a fierce 

 fire that almost wiped out my apiary Sept. 

 10. It broke out in an adjoining storage- 

 shed of a paper-mill, which bui'ned with such 

 rapidity that I could not remove the bees, 

 as it was about noon when the fire broke 

 out. In a few minutes some of my strong- 

 est colonies were on fire, the covers burnt 

 ofl", and the combs in the top stories were 

 melted and the bees suffocated. There were 

 thousands in the air when the firemen 

 arrived; but I went with them and instruct- 

 ed them not to upset with the stream the 

 hives, which they did not, and none of the 

 firemen were stung, nor spectators. I am 

 sorry I could not get you a photo; but the 

 next day the remaining bees cleaned up the 

 honey that was left, and this week I have 

 got them in shape to try bee-keeping again, 

 as I have had experience with flood in my 

 apiary; but I would rather have six floods 

 than one fire. It is surprising what heat 

 some colonies can stand, and survive. Your 

 queen survived the fire. I harvested my 

 crop in July, which was very good. The 

 bees were not insured. 



Bridgeport, Pa. Wm. H. Earnshaw. 



A TRICK WORTH KNOWING ABOUT KEEPING 

 BOTTLED HONEY FROM LEAKING. 



In keeping extracted honey in Mason or 

 other self -sealing glass jars there is always 

 some trouble from leakage or "creeping" 

 of the honey over the edge of the jar. This 

 soon spoils the neat clean appearance of the 

 jar, besides making the handling of it dis- 

 agreeable. I think I have discovered a cure 

 for the trouble— at least one that works sat- 

 isfactorily with me. I have not given it 



publicity, mainly because it may not work 

 well in careless hands. Here is the remedy: 

 1 take paper of suitable kind and thickness, 

 and coat one side with beeswax. Cut it in 

 disks to fit in the jar-covers without falling 

 out. I put the waxed side out, or so as to 

 be next the jar. Put a rubber on the jar in 

 the usual way ; put this cover on, and screw 

 down fairly tight. This disk seals the jar 

 at the top, preventing any honey from run- 

 ning over the edge when tipped. This is the 

 honey that creeps out, as it can not get back 

 into the jar when once over the edge; and 

 any thing that will seal the jar at the top is 

 a cure. 



The object of this letter is this: If you 

 think the matter is of sufficient general in- 

 terest or benefit for you to make these pa- 

 per disks as an article of bee-supplies, do so. 

 The greatest trouble is the coating of the 

 paper and the cutting of the disks by hand. 

 N. P. Selden. 



Belle Plaine, Iowa, March 21. 



[We should be glad to make them if there 

 should be a call for them; but the variety 

 of styles of jars, as well as of sizes, would 

 make it difficult to keep an assortment. — 

 Ed.] 



HONEY-DEW ; APHIDES AT THE VERY TOP OF 

 THE TREE. 



• I have been reading what you say in the 

 ABC book in regard to honey-dew; but we 

 have a kind here that put me at a loss, and 

 have had it for about ten days. What puz- 

 zles me the most is, we have had three of 

 the hardest rains we have had for years, 

 and the honey-dew comes just the same. 

 This morning the trees were just soaking 

 wet, but the bees were working as if on 

 basswood. It is mostly on the red oak. It 

 is of a very high color, but has the flavor of 

 all honey-dew. It is an impossibility for one 

 to find an insect of the kind you say always 

 appears when there is honey-dew. I have 

 been talking with three other bee-men, and 

 they are having the same experience. 

 Now, what I should like to know is, will 

 this honey be fit to winter bees on? 



E. EVELAND. 



Barneveld, Wis., Sept. 18. 



[The fact that you do not see the aphides 

 or insects that secrete this honey-dew does 

 not prove that they are not somewhere pres- 

 ent in the tree, probably at the extreme 

 top. By reading over the item on ' * Honey- 

 dew" in the A B C of Bee Culture you will 

 see that these insects are often at the very 

 top of the trees. The saccharine exudation 

 is thrown off in a spray, drops on the lower 

 limbs, dries up, and, after a rain, is moist- 

 ened up so that the bees can gather it. If 

 you make a further investigation you will 

 probably find the aphides at the very top of 

 the trees. Generally honey-dew is an unfit 

 winter food. Still, bees very often, yes, 

 generally, winter on it well. 



Later. —Since writing the foregoing, Mr. 

 Eveland says he has been to the tops of the 

 trees, and that there are no aphides there; 



