5/2 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



There is another thinjr that might account for it, 

 and that would be the presence of the moth-miller. 

 But inasmuch as your bees are Italians we hardly 

 think that pest would be tolerated by them. 



The fact that the bees swarmed out so often is an- 

 other indication that there is a lack of ventilation. 

 One of our best authorities believes that overheat- 

 ed brood is the principal cavise of swarining. — Ed.] 



How to Keep Bees Away from Cider-mills. 



I should like to have you tell me liow I can keep 

 my bees away from a cider-mill which stands out 

 in the open, only a quarter of a mile away. One 

 man who worked there said they had killed seven 

 bushels. The bees get on to the ground apples as 

 they shovel them into the press. 



Juda, Wis., Aug. 21. F. E. Matzke. 



[There are three possible ways to keep bees out of 

 cider-mills. One Is, to screen the mill In with mos- 

 auito-netting — a procedure that will involve con- 

 siderable expense. Another way is. to feed the 

 bees in the vicinity of the apiary outdoors. To do 

 thi.s, shallow pans containing numerous corncobs 

 or strips of wood, or, better still, trough feeders, of 

 the Simplicity or Alexander type, should be used. 

 These feeders should be placed close together on 

 level ground, or boards that have been properly 

 leveled up. There should be anywhere from ten to 

 fifteen square feet of feeding surface, the amount 

 depending on the number of bees In the apiary. In 

 the feeders so placed, nour a mixture of sugar and 

 water — nine parts of water to one of sugar by mea- 

 sure. The sugar, of course, should be thoroughly 

 stirred until all is dissolved. It may be necessary 

 to keep up this outside feeding while the cider-mill 

 is in operation, covering a part of a month or even 

 more. 



The third method, perhaps the most practical, is 

 to move the whole apiar.v to an outside location, 

 say two miles away. If the bees do not need feed- 

 ing for winter, the last plan wovild be the most fea- 

 sible.— Ei>. J 



Pollen from Milkweed Killing Bees. 



I have noticed for some time that some of my 

 bees seem to have yellowish appendages to their 

 feet. Then 1 noticed that good healthy bees were 

 carrying oflf those afflicted. I supposed that the 

 affliction must be obnoxious to the colony. How- 

 ever, in the limited literature that I now have I 

 can find nothing about the trouble. 



Granville, O., .July 14. A. M. Brumback. 



[From the general facts presented, it would ap- 

 pear that the bees were gathering pollen from the 

 milkweed. These pollen masses that the bees gath- 

 er stick to their feet and soon harden, and are the 

 means of killing some of the older bees. It is prob- 

 ably true that the younger bees free themselves 

 from these peculiar appendages. There is no rem- 

 edy that you can find — in fact, none is needed, as 

 you will find there are but comparatively few of 

 the bees thus handicapped in their flight. See un- 

 der the head " Milkweed," in the ABC and X Y Z 

 of Bee Culture.— Ed.] 



Renewing Bees and Queen in an Observatory Hive 

 Located in a Show Window. 



Please give me a little more information on 

 Heads of Grain as contained on page 472. I want to 

 place one or two colonies in the rear of my store, 

 and get a frame of bees out for an observatory hive: 

 but as I am very green about bees I should like to 

 know how to do it. If I take a frame out of a full 

 colony with the queen in it to be put in the observ- 

 atory hive, what will become of the colony without 

 a queen? I will change combs every week, as you 

 say; but when I put the frame and queen back to 

 stay, what will the bees do to the queen? Would 

 it be best to take a frame of bees and queen alter- 

 nately each week out of the second hive? Should I 

 clip the queen? Should I put full sections of honey 

 in the super of the observatory hive, or one or two 

 empties with starters? Should I take one of the 

 middle frames out of the colony? Please tell how 

 to go about It. We have three large school build- 

 ings in town, and I wish to make a display In them. 



Monongahela, Pa., Aug. 9. Ben Forsyth. 



[In relation to the Item that appeared on page 472, 

 we may say that, if the ciueen belonging to a colony 

 has been away from it long enough for said colony 

 to start cells, the cells would have to be destroyed, 

 and the queen would probably have to be intro- 



duced on her return to the hive. The probabilities 

 are that confined bees in the observatory hive 

 would accept a queen without introducing. 



Very often you can arrange an entrance to a nu- 

 cleus exposed for public inspection so that exit to 

 entrance is three or four feet above the heads of 

 passers-by. This may be accomplished through a 

 piece of hose or through a wooden tube. In that 

 case it is not necessary to renew the bees. 



Perhaps the simplest plan for you would be to 

 have four or five nuclei in the rear of your business 

 place, and change the bees in your observatory 

 hive about once a week. In this case take queen, 

 bees, brood, combs, and all. After bees have been 

 confined a week, put them with the queen back in 

 the nucleus hive from which they were taken, and 

 then take the bees, queen, and brood of another 

 nucleus hive. This will eliminate all possible trou- 

 ble that might arise over the queen. We would not 

 clip the queen, as that would spoil her appearance 

 for exhibition purposes. — Ed.] 



Steam Knife Tried and Abandoned. 



Reports have been requested from those using 

 the steam-heated uncapping-knife. We have used 

 it, but find our help soon get back to the old-style 

 Bingham. I am inclined to think they did not get 

 steam enough; but if one vitist use one gallon of 

 water per hour, as Mr. Metcalfe speaks of doing, it 

 would seem as if some of this steam would con- 

 dense and get into the honey; besides, there must 

 be some heat where so much water is turned into 

 steam. 



I have noted the editor's remarks, page 414, July 

 15. about goods corresponding with their advertise- 

 ments. I buy 100 to 200 queens a year, but always 

 let the fellow who advertises the long-tongued red- 

 clover queens sell to those who will swallow the 

 bait. When such men as Prof. Gillette have shown 

 that tongue-length of bees varies but a few hun- 

 dredths of an inch, what sense is there in advertis- 

 ing a long-tongued strain when the breeder has 

 been, perhajjs, but a very few years breeding up the 

 strain? People who buy svich advertised bees re- 

 mind me of country boys on our excursion steam- 

 ers playing the slot machine, where 95 per cent goes 

 to the machine and 5 per cent to the player. 



Birmingham, Mich., July 22. A. W. Smith. 



Carbolic Acid to Stop Robbing. 



I notice your request for a report from those who 

 have used carbolic acid to stop bees from robbing. 

 I first dilute the acid with water, then dampen 

 with it a piece of muslin 4x5 inches. After con- 

 tracting the entrance to 1x3 Inches I fasten the 

 muslin to the alighting-board with four carpet- 

 tacks, one at each corner, to prevent the wind 

 blowing it off, as we have strong winds In Kansas. 

 In addition to this 1 use a force-pvimp sprayer that 

 throws a strong stream 30 feet. My hives stand in 

 rows 3 feet apart, facing the southeast. During a 

 bad case of robbing 1 have effectually stopped it in 

 15 minutes. I am confident that the application of 

 water with a force-pump is the most effectual part 

 of the treatment to stop robbing. During the past 

 four years 1 have lost heavily by neighbors' bees 

 robbing mine, but none since I have used the 

 above treatment. 



Asherville, Kan., July 24. B. F. Harford. 



The Danger of Using Too Much Sulphur in Fumi- 

 gating Honey. 



After removing my surplus honey I fumigate 

 with sulphur to prevent trouble from the capping 

 pin-worm. For the last few seasons I have had 

 trouble with the capping turning a greenish hue. 

 Is it due to the quality of the sxilphur, the amount, 

 or what? Is there a better method of fumigating ? 



Deposit, N. Y.. July 3. Chas. II. Stiles. 



[Your honey takes on a greenish color after fumi- 

 gating with sulphur because you keep it in the 

 room too long, or else use too large an amount of 

 sulphur in too small a room. A very little fumi- 

 gating will be sufficient to destroy all insect life 

 that may be on the honey. A far better plan, and 

 one that is now generally recommended, is to use 

 bisulphide of carbon, which can be obtained at an.v 

 drugstore. Place this in a small vessel above the 

 pile of honey, because the fumes of it are much 

 heavier than air, and settle at the bottom. You 

 will find directions for its use given in our A B C 

 and X Y Z of Bee Culture.— Ed.] 



