Juir 1. 1911 



409 



cold and rainy, the queen soon died. The bees did 

 not touch the frames in the new hive. 



The one case that was successful was where some 

 comb with brood was put In the new hive, and in 

 that case the bees did not desert. 



I know of another case last summer where bees 

 were transferred along in August after the plan sug- 

 gested on page 283, and it was successful too. 



So it would seem that the plan suggested on page 

 283 will not work unless some brood is also put in 

 the new hive, or unless the weather is very warm. 

 I offer these suggestions so that some other begin- 

 ner like myself may possibly be spared a very dis- 

 heartening experience. 



Louisville, Ky. R. P. Dietzm.\n. 



Weight of a Jelly-tumbler of Honey. 



How much honey will an ordinary jelly-tumbler 

 hold? What will it weigh, and what should it sell 

 lor? I should also like the same Information con- 

 cerning the Xo. 25 jar. 



Hartford, Ct, L. W. Adams. 



[There seems to be no stated amount of honey in 

 an ordinary jelly-tumbler. We have seen a great 

 many which ran from six to eight ounces, although 

 we believe the average package holds about seven 

 ounces. The Xo. 2-5 jar is supposed to hold practi- 

 cally 16 ounces. — Ed.] 



Queen Found Wingless in the Spring. 



The best-working queen in my apiary this sum- 

 mer is wingless, ^^'hen she went Into winter quar- 

 ters last fall she had wings. On my first examina- 

 tion this spring I found that they were gone. Will 

 you explain the probable cause of her losing them? 



Xew Haven, Ct. Elmer A. Dent. 



[When queens are balled they are often crippled, 

 and it is not strange to find them with their wings 

 partly gone. We presume that the queen men- 

 tioned in your letter of June 5 was balled, but it 

 seems strange that the bees should have thus 

 attacked the best queen in your apiary. It is pos- 

 sible that you will find that they will supersede her 

 this season. — Ed.] 



Drones: what Becomes of them in an Alley Trap. 



Should drones be destroyed by the use of the Al- 

 ley trap? When? Is there danger of destroying the 

 queen in doing so? 



Suffolk, ^■a., .May 29. W. T. Bailey. 



[Undesirable drones, when caught in the upper 

 chamber of the Alley trap, will starve to death very 

 shortly. 



There is no likelihood that the queen will go up 

 into the upper chamber of the trap with the drones 

 unless she attempts to emerge with a swarm. In 

 that case sufficient bees will cluster around her 

 and feed her. We have known queens to be kept in 

 this way for days at a time. — Ed.] 



Capacity of the Gravity Strainer. 



Mr. E. D. Townsend: — I should like to inquire if 

 you consider one of your new settling-tanks, of the 

 size you describe, sufficient for a large apiary, where 

 an eight-frame extractor run by power Is used. Al- 

 so, would it not be more desirable to construct the 

 same of heavs' tin instead of using galvanized ma- 

 terial? I think this tank must be a great advance 

 over the old style. 



Altamont, X. Y. W. D. Wright. 



[Mr. Townsend replies:] 



We have never tested this tank for more than 3000 

 lbs. per day, and this by hand power. I have no 

 doubt, however, but that this size of tank would 

 handle considerably more than this amount. The 

 impurities in honey will separate very readily at a 

 temperature of 85 or 90: and as the temperature 

 falls, separation is slower. 



Knowing something about extracting with power, 

 I think honey could be extracted quite clean from 

 the combs, at such a low temperature that separa- 

 tion would be very slow. With our hand-power ex- 

 tractors we have always had good success with the 

 separator at any time when the weather was suit- 

 able to extract. In other words, this tank will do 

 its work at any temperature when the cheese-cloth 

 strainer will work. 



We empty our honey from the extractor into the 

 tank in large palls. Were this honey pumped, or 

 the tank arranged below, so the honey would run 

 direct from the extractor into the tank, the separa- 

 tor would work faster. 



The descriptions in the journals were Intended for 

 the 98 per cent of bee-keepers who, like ourselves, 

 use hand power. Some little experimenting will 

 be necessary where power is used and larger quan- 

 tities put through this tank in a given time. Try 

 two tanks of this size, and fill them both before bs- 

 ginning to can. Then draw off three cans from the 

 first-filled tank, allowing the other to stand while 

 refilling this first tank. Now draw three from the 

 other, and so on through the day, and I am quite 

 sure you will have your honey in good shape, and 

 no fussing with strainers. 



Tin would be better than galvanized steel. While 

 all of our tanks are made of the latter, we shall use 

 tin hereafter. Tin is easier to keep clean: but the 

 main point is, honey is not Injured, if allowed to 

 .stand in tin, as it is in galvanized steel. 



When through extracting at a yard, all the gates 

 of our galvanized steel tanks are left wide open, and 

 the honey allowed to run out into other receptacles. 

 But everything that we order in the future will be 

 of tin. 



Remus, Mich. E. D. Townsend. 



Bees Sting Orange-grower's Horses to Death. 



The enclosed clipping from our county paper may 

 interest Eastern bee-keepers contemplating the ex- 

 ploiting of orange nectar In the San Joaquin Valley. 

 The temptation to secure a crop of orange honey is 

 indeed strong. It is the only bloom which can give 

 a good yield of table honey until late in the season. 

 On the eastern side of the hills, and fast extending 

 beyond, are numerous groves of bearing trees, while 

 hundreds of acres newly set out join them on the 

 west. The writer, a tenderfoot of six months' resi- 

 dence, found this temptation irresistible, and is lo- 

 cated about 80 rods from the scene of the accident. 

 An apiary of about 300 colonies is about 40 or 50 rods 

 from a young grove where the trouble occurred. 



Here Is the clipping: 



" A most peculiar occurrence took place near the 

 Bonnie Brae orchards last Tuesday forenoon when 

 an angry swarm of bees lit on and stung a span of 

 horses belonging to Cliff Dungan so badly that both 

 of them died a short time afterward. 



" Xot only were the horses stung, but the driver, a 

 man named Hardin, was set upon by the bees and 

 badly Injured, Dr. Dungan being called to care for 



him .Some of the bees lit on the man 



and team and began to sting. This caused the 

 horses to rear and paw, and this attracted many 

 more of the Insects until the poor animals were cov- 

 ered with stingers. The man ran away and saved 

 himself, but the horses did not try to run. and could 

 do nothing to save themselves. . . . Theorange- 

 growers in the past have been troubled consider- 

 ably by mauraudlng bees: and should a few more 

 occurrences of this kind take place they will prob- 

 ably take some drastic action against them." 



As nearly as I can find out, those working there, 

 and some further, had been annoyed for some time 

 by flying bees but no swarms. One of the number 

 wore a bee-hat while 80 rods away. Smaller annoy- 

 ances are the gathering of bees around pumping- 

 plants for house and irrigating purposes, frighten- 

 ing and sometimes stinging people. 



The facts in regard to the stinging of the man and 

 horses can not be positively stated. The man with 

 the team, I am told by one interested, saw nothing 

 resembling a swarm, but simply flying bees going 

 to the groves near by. After the fracas they settled 

 in a bunch near liy, something like a swarm. The 

 constant handling of frames in looking for disease, 

 shaking for extracting, etc., keep bees in bad tem- 

 per: but perhaps this accident was entirely owing 

 to the fact that the bees in great multitudes flew In 

 one direction right over the grove to a ninety-acre 

 grove of large trees In full bloom. The scene of the 

 accident was a young grove lately set out, and bees 

 not working on it to any great extent. 



Exeter, Cal., May 24. J. B. Colton. 



[This whole affair is a most unfortunate one, of 

 course, and one to be greatly regretted: but the cir- 

 cumstances, not the bees, should have the blame. 

 It Is safe to say that an accident of this kind Is not 

 likely to occur again in many years: but at the 

 same time bee-keepers should do all In their power 

 to prevent rol)bing or any thing else to get the bees 

 badly stirred up. 



The orange-growers can not afford to get along 

 without the bees. Any " drastic action " would in- 

 jure the orange industry more than the bee indus- 

 try.— Ed.] 



