234 



low a percentage of swarms, but do know that ven- 

 tilating in this way goes a long ■wa.y toward over- 

 coming that difficulty. I go him one better by rais- 

 ing one end of the lid on the supers about Vz inch 

 when the weather is very warm. Contrary to the 

 usual belief, I have never had the slightest trouble 

 in getting the bees to fill out the end or corner sec- 

 tions when the lid was up, and many an evening 

 and morning I have found the oees crowded out and 

 hanging down the side of the supers. 



I had three colonies this summer having queens 

 that were so vigorous that they went up into the 

 supers and laid in the sections. The only way I 

 could stop it was to raise the lower super V2 inch 

 at one end. They were ten-frame hives too. 



I have never been troubled by the bees building 

 spur comb down to the bottom-board when using the 

 blocks- — not even with a hive where I put bricks 

 under the brood-nest to give enough ventilation. 



Philipsburg, Pa., Sept. 13. "Willis N. Zeitler. 



An Easy Way to Hive a Swarm Clustered on a 

 Fence 



In the Nov. 15th issue, page 790, the editor says, 

 . . but in many cases they seemed to take a 

 paxticular delight in settling on one of the posts of 

 the wire fence where it was a slow and tedious 

 operation to get them." I would rather remove two 

 swarms from posts than one from a bush At the 

 beginning of the swarming season, take some old 

 pieces of rope and wind around the posts about 

 three feet from the ground. Pour some melted bees- 

 wax on this rope. (Old comb is better, but may 

 spread disease). I use a light skeleton stand about 

 2 % feet high to set a hive on ; and when a swarm 

 settles on a post I place an empty hive on the stand 

 and carry it to the post. To be successful the bol 

 tom-board must come in contact with the post. 

 Scrape a handful of bees on to the bottom-bo?,rd, 

 and the rest will soon follow. Or, give the post a 

 sharp blow with an ax. A man may then return to 

 his work, and in nine cases out of ten the swarm 

 will enter the hive in a few minutes. It requires 

 only two or three minutes to place the hive, and it 

 saves time and stings. 



If I could have my choice in hiving swarms I 

 would surely take the fence-post. 



Pinckney, Mich., Feb. 6. N. P. Mortenson. 



To Make Increase and Prevent Swarming 



The following I find a handy way to make in- 

 crease, and also to prevent swarming, and get two 

 strong colonies in place of one. 



In the swarming season, in the home or outyards 

 I go to colonies that are strong, find the queen and 

 place her and all of the combs with brood and eggs, 

 but one, in an extra super. 



Then I take the one frame with brood and eggs, 

 and place it in the old brood-nest ; fill it with combs, 

 put in a queen-excluder, set the super with the queen 

 and brood on top. Put in a honey-board; also some 

 warm covering; cover, and let it alone for 12 to 14 

 days. Then I look for queen-cells ; cut them out, 

 and put them into nursery cages, all but two, and 

 then wait until I think they ought to be hatched 

 out. If the two I left are hatched, or show signs of 

 one being hatched and the other destroyed, I again 

 put back the upper super and let it alone for about 

 two weeks. 



Then I look for the old queen in the upper super; 

 and if I find her all right I look for eggs and brood 

 in the old brood-nest; and if I find them I set the 

 old queen on to a new stand, and have two good 

 colonies, and always get some surplus and no swarm- 

 ing. 



If I do not care for increase I take a frame from 

 my best queen and put it into the brood-nest, and 

 then proceed as described, with the exception of 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



destroying the old queen and letting the super stay 

 on the old brood-nest. 



Vernon, Ct. J. G. French. 



[Your plan is similar to the Alexander plan for 

 making increase in that you conserve the heat of 

 both lots of bees, and thus save all the brood. How- 

 ever, Mr. Alexander gets the old queen in the new 

 hive below on the old stand. — Ed.] 



1913 Freeze Killed Half the Sage 



The indications are good for sage honey but for 

 the freeze of last winter, leaving only half a stand 

 of sage. What there is will probably be good. 



Redlands, Cal., Feb. 1. E. D. Bullock, 



Feeding Candy in the Ozarks 



We are having a warm winter after a very dry 

 summer. Bees in this vicinity went into winter 

 light in stores. I am wintering out of doors in 

 eight-frame dovetailed hives, situated on southern 

 slope, feeding hard candy. Bees are doing well. 

 The prospect for clover is very poor at present. 



Morrisville, Mo., Feb. 18. H. Clay Day. 



Cellar Breeding Not Desired 



You call for reports in regard to supplying the 

 bees with artificial pollen so they will breed up in 

 the cellar. The scheme may be feasible, but I should 

 not want to see my bees breed up to such an extent 

 that they get the swarming fever while in their 

 winter repositories. 



Mancelona, Mich., Feb. 23. S. D. Chapman. 



Aster Honey for Winter Stores all Right so Far 



I reported in the fall that my bees had nothing 

 but aster honey to winter on this winter. They had 

 a fine flight yesterday, the 22d, and I never saw a 

 healthier lot of bees. There were but very few dead 

 ones. We have another snowfall this morning — 

 very cold. R. Thompson. 



Underwood, Ind., Feb. 23. 



Cottonseed Meal a Good Substitute for Pollen 



Replying to your editorial, page 121, Feb. 15, I 

 have found cottonseed meal a fine substitute for 

 pollen. If the weather is inclement I put it in an 

 empty comb which I insert in the hive at one side of 

 the brood-nest. If the bees can fly, I put it outside 

 in some place where rain will not fall on it. I put 

 it in a box and place a hive-cover over it, so ar- 

 ranged that the bees can have free access to it. 



Mathis, Texas, Feb. 27. H. D. Murry. 



Sweet Clover Easily Grown in Florida 



We have continued planting sweet-clover seed (a 

 few rows in our garden) and it never fails to grow. 

 This is a small effort, yet under some conditions 

 larger quantities could be grown. It grows well 

 here upon saw-palmetto or flat-woods land. We 

 have grown it from seed. We transplanted it, and 

 at this writing it can be found growing spontaneous- 

 ly. 



Taft, Fla., Jan. 30. T. A. Worley 



Variations in the Same Kind of Honey 



I have kept bees in two places. At the first the 

 honey from persimmons was very light in color, with 

 a peculiar flavor which was noticeable as soon as 

 persimmons began to bloom. At the second location, 

 not more than seven or eight miles distant in a bee- 

 line, but in a very different soil, there is none of 

 this honey, although the bees work freely on per- 

 simmon. 



Areola, N. C. R. B. Hunter. 



