Gleanings in Bee Culture 



The Foul-brood Law in California All Right as it 

 Stands. 



Mr. P. C. Chadwick has made a very unwarrant- 

 ed attack on our foul-brood law, p. 552, Sept. 15. We 

 who framed It and had It passed know what we 

 have, and consider that it ranks well among those 

 of other States. .1. F. Mclntyre, of Ventura Co., 

 was chairman of the committee, and others of vast 

 experience were on the committee. 



If Mr. Chadwick will post himself on the law he 

 will find that all of his points are embraced in the 

 law, and that the inspector has the right to ex- 

 amine any and all ai)iaries In his county, and to 

 oppose him is resisting an officer. Five counties 

 have passed an ordinance prohibiting the Importa- 

 tion of bees or fixtures from any point within twen- 

 ty miles of where any disease is known to exist. 

 The counties are N'entura, Los Angeles. Orange, 

 Riverside, and San Hernardino. 



One man. in attempting to evade the law, paid a 

 fine of 850.00 in ( trange Co., and moved out of the 

 State. Now, if the inspector of his county is neg- 

 lecting his duties it is no fault of the law. 



In Riverside Co. the supervisors allow a number 

 of deputies, and reconiraend men of experience for 

 the position; and I have latel.v made a tour of the 

 county (partially), and have found satisfactory re- 

 sult.s, and every one Is well pleased. We do not 

 destroy any colonies that can be saved reasonably, 

 and I think that by another year we shall have dis- 

 ease well In hand, as our supervisors have made a 

 liberal appropiiation for the work. European foul 

 brood has not appeared in this county to my knowl- 

 edge. I think one case in I>os Angeles Co. has been 

 reported at Asusa, and the inspector is looking 

 after it sharply. 



Corona, Cal. T. O. Andkews. 



better to leave the covers on as they are now, and 

 simply remove the bottom-board? Then, later, if 

 the bees should get uneasy you could take the cov- 

 ers off any time, and substitute the burlap. — Ed.] 



Nine Combs in an Eight-frame Hive. 



I notice that (). B. Metcalfe, p. .586, Oct. 1, wishes 

 information on the use of narrower frames, or, 

 rather, nine frames in an eight-frame hive. I have 

 about 300 hives the same width as the eight-frame 

 Langstroth, but shorter and deeper, In which nine 

 unspaced frames were used for years, and which 

 gave excellent satisfaction as breeding-hives. 

 There seemed to be no objection on the part of the 

 bees to this narrow width of frame, as the brood 

 was more nearly perfect, if any thing, than In the 

 regular width. There was not the projecting ridge 

 of honey above the brood, as is the ca.se with the 

 regular width. In the spring, these hives were 

 noted for having a greater quantity of brood for the 

 amount of bees than the wider frames. I believe 

 nine frames would be preferable to eight in an 

 eight-frame hive: but I would not want a fixed or 

 spaced frame for that purpose, as it would then 

 have the same objection as ten frames In a 10-frarae 

 hive, which is that they soon become too close a fit. 

 I would use an unspaced frame. I doubt whether 

 the brood gained would offset the disadvantage of 

 using unspaced frames. As the 300 hives above 

 mentioned are an odd size, I now use extracting- 

 bodles over regular Langstroth combs. 



East Syracuse, N. Y., Oct. 23. F. W. Lesser. 



Substituting Burlap Mats for Hive-covers in Cellars. 



I have a cellar under my residence. 13 x 13, 8 feet 

 high, with double frost-proof walls on the west and 

 south sides, a lath-and-plaster partition on the east 

 side, next to my furnace-room, and a matched- 

 board partition on the north side next to my vege- 

 table-cellar. I have 25 colonies to put in this cel- 

 lar. The chimney to which my furnace is attached 

 starts from the floor in one corner of the cellar. 

 The floor Is of cement, and the cellar is always dry, 

 with a temperature about 45: but my bees have al- 

 ways suffered from a lack of ventilation, so I am 

 going to try the following plan: 



I will cut a hole in the chimney, which Is on the 

 ea.st side of the cellar, and put in a small outside 

 ventilator through the boarded-up window on the 

 west side: and when I put my bees in, raise the 

 hives from the bottom-boards, remove the enam- 

 eled cloth and covers, and put in their place bur- 

 lap mats doubled. Do you think this plan will 

 give the desired results? 



Elroy, Wis., Oct. 3. Chas. Sheldon. 



[We believe you will secure, without trouble, the 

 results you desire. It is possible that you would 

 not need to remove the covers. Would it not be 



Attention, Iowa Bee-keepers. 



It has beconae apparent that the bee-keepers of 

 Iowa can not expect much consideration from the 

 legislature, without organization. Two years ago 

 last winter a law was passed providing for Inspec- 

 tion, but no appropriation was made to cover the 

 expenses of the newly created office of bee-inspect- 

 or. The Governor declined, of course, to appoint 

 an inspector with no provision for his salary and 

 expenses, as he could accomplish nothing. Last 

 winter we expected that an appropriation would 

 be made: but though a bill was Introduced, and 

 passed one branch. It was put to sleep In the other. 

 It now seems advisable to make an attempt to or- 

 ganize the bee-keepers of the State into a society in 

 order that all matters of mutual Interest may re- 

 ceive proper attention. 



The problem now is, how to reach all the bee- 

 keepers of the State:, and it seems that there is but 

 one way, and that through the columns of the bee- 

 journals. I should be glad if all bee-keepers in fa- 

 vor of organizing, who could meet in Des Moines 

 some time during December, would write me at 

 Atlantic, Iowa. I should be glad, also, if those who 

 will prepare papers for the program would advise 

 me what subjects they will handle. Of course no 

 attempt will be made to organize unless there 

 seems to be considerable interest among the bee- 

 keepers of the State. 



Atlantic, la., .Sept. 19. Frank C. Pellett. 



Combs Not in a Hive this Summer Destroyed by 

 Moths. 



stray Straw p. 582, Oct. 1. Four combs in a super 

 in m,v workshop, which had not been on a hive 

 this summer, were destroyed by moths this fall. I 

 handled every comb singly in midsummer, and 

 they were entirely free from moths at that time. 



A SURE CASE OF BEES STEALING EGGS. 



One of m,v hives, at the end of a row, 18 Inches 

 froni the next hive, was found to be without queen, 

 brood, or eggs. It was left from ten days to two 

 weeks, waiting for some young queens which were 

 to hatch. When I opened the hive to give the new 

 queen to the bees I found three queen-cells sealed. 

 I think they must have stolen those eggs, as there 

 was no other sign of brood of any kind. 



SMOKE KILLS THE ODOR OF BEE-STING POISON. 



Regarding the article by O. B. Metcalfe, page 557, 

 Sept. 15, I find that the odor of the sting on my 

 hand is killed by smoking the spot strongly. After 

 doing so 1 can put my hand down among the bees 

 without exciting them in the least. 



Frankfort, Kan. Rev. I>. P. Holmes. 



Introducing by Giving the New Queen the Scent of 

 the Old One. 



While talking to a bee-keeping friend the other 

 day he told me of his plan of introducing queens. 

 It is as follows: Go to the colony to which the new 

 queen is to be introduced, and find the old queen. 

 Mash her on the wire cloth of the cage containing 

 the new queen: then put the cage in the hive, and 

 leave it alone for five days. He says he has never 

 lost a queen by this method. The bees recognize 

 the odor of the old queen or the cage, and accept 

 the new one without hesitation. I should like to 

 know what you think about it. 



Rapidan, ^'a., Oct. 2. G. H. Latham. 



Not Much (?) Honey in Georgia. 



I am sorry to learn that so many bee-keepers re- 

 port a failure in the 1911 honey crop. It will most 

 surely bring about a lot of discouragement, and 

 cast a gloom over our business. We dcn't get very 

 much honey in Georgia: but we always get that 

 " little." I got 31.600 lbs., which netted me 854 cts. 

 I shall get about 20.000 lbs. of section honey in Flor- 

 ida, and no feeding has been done except a few 

 barrels of chinkapin honey. 



Cordele, Ga., Sept. 29. J. .1. Wilder. 



