GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



variation: I do not run the queen in at the 

 entrance, but drop her among the bees at 

 the top of the hive. Then I am sure that 

 she is right in the thick of the bees and 

 smoke. 



I have just been thru a lot of hives that 

 had queens given them by the smoke method, 

 and the queens are all laying — ^not one fail- 

 ure. I think any failures you have had 

 were caused by not giving enough smoke. 

 Major Shallard. 



South Woodburn, N. S. W., Aus. 



Carrying Hives in a Touring Car 



I have used my five-passenger automobile 

 to carry empty hives, combs, etc. I have 

 four leather straps made with buckles, the 

 straps of the right length to fasten two 

 hives on each running-board. 



I next remove the back-seat cushion, set- 

 ting two hives crosswise on the seat. Then 

 by removing the foot-rest I set two hives 

 lengthwise on the floor, and then tier the 

 four hives as high as I think best. By run- 

 ning a rope around them it makes quite a 

 compact pile. 



If you follow this plan and want a neat- 

 looking load leave the back curtain and the 

 top on the machine. If one does not have 

 an old car on which a special body can be 

 fitted, a new car can be used in this way for 

 carrying quite a load. I can carry 22 to 28 

 hives, by using all the room except the 

 driver's seat. 



Colo, Iowa. D. E. Lhommedieu. 



Winter Protection in Virginia 



It began snowing here Dec. 11, and the 

 snow was 18 inches deep in less than fifteen 

 hours; then it cleared up and turned warm- 

 er, but not warm enough for the bees to fly. 

 On the 13th the wind blew hard and cold, 

 and I noticed a few dead bees in front of 

 one of my hives, and the next day I found 

 more dead ones, and among them was the 

 queen. I took the cover off, thinking all of 

 the bees were dead, and was surprised to 

 find a nice cluster of bees right over the 

 entrance, and they seemed to be in a normal 

 condition. The cluster was a good-sized one, 

 as it covered the ends of six frames, and 

 they had a large quantity of stores. I have 

 been noticing a restlessness about this colo- 

 ny all the fall and winter. I haven 't any 

 of my bees packed, but have sacks between 

 the double telescope cover. 



Do you think it would be profitable to 

 pack bees in winter cases in this locality? 

 What do you think was the trouble with 

 this one colony? 



Stockton, Va. Francis W. Gravely. 



[In localities similar to this it has been 

 customary to provide no extra packing ex- 

 cept what could be inserted outside the 

 combs. It is impossible to give a definite 

 answer as to tlie advisability of winter 

 cases. Tliey might prove an economical in- 



vestment one year and an expense another 

 year if the extra labor is considered. 



These bees coming out may have been old 

 ones that could not live any way. Or the 

 stores may have been to blame. This, how- 

 ever, would hardly explain the death of the. 

 queen. We are inclined to believe that the 

 death of the queen was incidental, and not 

 connected with the disturbance. — Ed.] 



Bees Dying Off by Handfuls during Mid- 

 winter 



My dear Mr. Eoot: — -My bees are dying 

 off by the handfuls. Can you tell me what 

 is the matter and what I should do? I am 

 wintering them outdoors in single hives, but 

 where the wind does not strike them. The 

 hives are new, and my bees are kept dry. 

 I left plenty of honey for them to winter 

 on, I thought. 



How do you feed bees in winter? 



Clintonville, Ohio. E. W. Mendenhall. 



[We can 't imagine what can be the trou- 

 ble unless your colonies went into winter 

 quarters too weak. In the fall there should 

 be at least eight or nine frames well covered 

 with bees, and, better, the full ten frames. 

 It is possible that last fall the queen died, 

 and the colonies got weaker and weaker, 

 and the cold wind that has been blowing has 

 possibly been too much for them, and so 

 they are dying by the handfuls. If there 

 are no young bees in the previous fall the 

 old bees would begin to die off very rapidly. 



It would do no good to feed them now, 

 and the only thing we can suggest is that 

 you take the bees as they are into your 

 cellar, making the cellar dark. This may 

 be the means of saving them. If you have 

 two or three colonies that are weak unite 

 them together after you get them into the 

 cellar.— Ed.] 



Long Cases for Wintering a Row of Hives 

 Not Practical 



Information has been requested in regard 

 to winter packing-cases; and altho you ask 

 from those -having experience with both 

 kinds I make bold to state my experience, 

 altho I have used only the two long kinds. 

 Some 35 years ago, when lumber and pack- 

 ing were cheap, I used to pack all my bees; 

 but I simply could not keep house and have 

 any more than three hives in one box. 

 When I had four, five, or more hives side by 

 side in one box the way the inside colonies 

 butchered one another in the spring was 

 simply scandalous. I even painted large 

 blotches of different-colored paint over the 

 entrances. This helped somewhat, but did 

 not cure the evil entirely. I sawed all my 

 long boxes in two, so there would be no 

 more than three hives in a box. 



I consider two hives well packed worth as 

 much as three hives wintered in the cellar. 



West de Pere, Wis. Paul Scheuring. 



[This confirms our statement made on 

 page 921, Nov. 15th issue. — Ed.] 



