1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



69 



DRONES. 



AGE OF DRONES. 



Fultz, of Muscatine, Iowa, sayp, in A. B. J. for 

 January, 1880, that drones live only 2-1: days, while I 

 claim they live to about the same age as a worker, if 

 the bees allow them to live that long. 



FEEDiya AND FEEDERS. 



FEEDING BACK. 



Ha%-en't you changed your mind on this feeding 

 back? I have again tried it this season, only at a 

 l.iss, as I have to feed '2 lbs. to get one in the boxes. 

 Betsinger and my neighbors succeeded no better. 



I agree with yoii that such is the case ex- 

 actly until the brood apartment is crammed; 

 Init after that, there are not more losses than 

 I have mentioned. 



THICKENIKG WATERY HONEY. 



If this is so, how came j'our thin honey from bass- 

 wood you told us about a little while before on these 

 pages? Why did they not thicken this in the same 

 way? I still believe all evaporating of nectar is done 

 in the hive, as I once wrote. 



I should explain it thus: The basswood 

 yielded in such quantities that they carried 

 it right to the hives. The Simpson plant 

 furnished only a limited amount compar- 

 atively. 



FOUL BROOD. 



If you don't give them any comb, they don't want 

 f.ny confining, as I repeatedly found in 1871, '2, and 

 '3. A new swarm from a diseased hive, hived in an 

 empty hive, will never have the disease, unless they 

 get honey after the larvae has hatched from a hive 

 that has the fuul brood; so your "starving part " 

 should be left out. I ought to know, as I renovated 

 my whole apiary in \S',3. 



FR UIT-BLOSSOMS. 



Betsinger says, and I agree, that if we had the 

 same number of bees in a hive in apple-bloom that 

 we do in basswood, the yield would be as great. I 

 once had 8 lbs. stored in one day, with not over one- 

 third the bees I have in basswood. Appk' is a great 

 yielder of honey, sure. 



Then we have a most excellent reason for 

 Imxing poicerf id colonies to commence the 

 season with." 



HIVE-MAKING. 



A good colony of bees nnU store almost as 

 much honey in a half-barrel or nail-keg., as in 

 the most elaborate and expensive hive made, 

 other thinQs beinQ equal. 



If I am correct, it was E. Gallup who said this; E. 

 Gallup certainly said it, and Quinby may have done 

 so: but I do not remember that he did. 



How is it, friend Root, that when you write a book 

 you give only a description of your hive? AVhen L. 

 C. Root writes a book he gives a description of the 

 Quinby hive only. Has not Prof. Cook set you both 

 a good example by giving several, and then giving 

 his reasons for adopting the one he uses? As j'ou 

 know, I do not agree with you on hives, and think 

 J'OU are prejudiced on many points; but I have gone 

 over the ground so much in the bee journals, that I 

 will not say more here, except to say that, if I used 

 the L. frame, I certainly should use side boxes as 

 well as top; and as I took out the full ones on top, 

 raise th*^ partly filled ones from the sides to the top, 

 placing the empty boxes at the side each time. This 

 is the principle to secure a large yield of box honey, 

 and we think we have proven it to you by our re- 



ports the past eight years. Still, you do not even 

 mention the matter, but drive ahead as if yours was 

 the only way. Please excuse, but so it seems to mo. 

 I know you consider the interchangeable side and 

 top boxes complicated; but can't we well afford it, 

 if from 5 to 10 lbs. extra can be secured from each 

 stock each year thereby? 



I know, friend D.,that tliis matterof hives 

 is a very important one, but if Quinby and 

 Gallup were right, as in a few sentences 

 back, does it really matter so very muchV I 

 have described minutely how to make both 

 summer and winter hives for the L. frame ; 

 but if anybody prefers any other sized frame, 

 they can vary the directions to suit, without 

 any great ditliculty. I have not described 

 the hive preferred by yourself, Prof. Cook, 

 L. C. Koot, Uadant, ilarbison, and many 

 others, because it would make the book too 

 voluminous for one thing, and because I 

 could not give directions for each operation 

 all the way through, without modifying all 

 the time, to suit the different hives, lie- 

 sides, I should perplex and confuse the be- 

 ginner beyond measure if I tried to do so. 

 Even though Prof. Cook uses your sized 

 frame, he uses a differently made hive ; and, 

 if I am correct, you would hardly agree with 

 his directions any more than you do mine. 

 Friend Cook gives a general idea of the 

 whole subject, without going into minute 

 details as I have, and his book in this respect 

 fills a need that many of the others do not. 

 In deciding to have my whole book written 

 principally for the L. frame. I did it with 

 the belief that you would do nearly if not 

 quite as well with that frame as with your 

 own, and also that by far the greater 

 part of our bee folks had that frame already 

 in use. To advise everybody to throw away 

 the hives they have, and adopt another, 

 would be a most serious matter, and I have 

 not intended so to do in any thing I have 

 written ; but I would advise all new begin- 

 ners to fall into the great beaten path as far 

 as may be, in deciding upon implements to 

 be used, I feel now as I did at first, that it 

 is best not to confuse beginners by attempt- 

 ing to describe more than one frame, and 

 the summer and winter hives for holding 

 this one frame. I indorse your idea in re- 

 gard to raising up the side boxes. 

 ITo be Continued.'] 

 ^ lai tm 



DOOLITTLE ANSU'ERS QLESTIONS. 



QUEENS REARED AT DIFFERENT SEASONS. 



^^'PON recovering from a long and severe illness, 

 HyJ I find Doolittle has many questions to answer; 

 and, to answer all within a given limit, we will 

 try to be as brief as possible. First comes W. Z. 

 Hutchinson's questions on late queen-rearing in Dec. 

 No. After reading his report in Jan. No., we were 

 almost inclined to laugh atDoolittle'sadmittiug, that 

 "we queen-breeders have greater facilities for learn- 

 ing facts in regard to any specialty, etc.," when facts 

 would show that Doolittle raised four times more 

 queens before Hutchinson ever went into the busi- 

 ness than friend H. has in all his life. Years ago we 

 rode the hobby of queen-rearing, and raised queens 



