240 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Mat 



but one swarm, and that is a good one. I saw it yes- 

 terday. I tell him they were frozen to death, as 

 they were mostly dead the tirst of March; and in re- 

 gard to my own, I built a snug tight house or cover- 

 ing, double, and stuffed it with short straw, and dur- 

 ing mild sunshine would open it, and the 1st of 

 March my bees seemed to be all right, with no indi- 

 cation of loss. I let them out for a fly the 5th of 

 March, a beautiful sunshiny and warm day, and it 

 seems they all came out and had a fearful emptying 

 of themselves. Since that time, March Mh, they 

 have dwindled and died, and have all died but three 

 swarms. They are strong and all right. Now, then, 

 my conclusions are: my neighbor's bees ought to 

 have died, every one of them, for the want of care, 

 and they have except one; and my own, what shall 

 I say? Kot a storm of any description has touched 

 them; only the hard frosts of 20° below zero al- 

 most all winter, and that they all lived through; 

 none of either lots were short of honey. The ques- 

 tion is, why have my bees died so? I do not ask you 

 to write me, but I inclose you a shinplaster for 

 some thing tliat will tell or explain it. We live in a 

 country where white clover and basswood abound. 

 Your management of bees is certainly wonderful. 



G. A. Legc.ett. 



Schodack Landing, Reus. Co., N. Y., April, 1881. 



ilany thanks for your concluding remark, 

 friend L. I confess it is '' wonderful," even 

 to myself ; for I have " managed "' about 140 

 colonies down to about 2-5, more or less. 

 When the sun comes out again, I will try to 

 tell you exactly. I feel just now as if I 

 would rather do something with bees that 

 wasn't wonderful, if it would result in teach- 

 ing this great A 1> C class how to keep them 

 over from fall to spring without losing any. 

 I should be very glad to be "troubled" by 

 any and all of you, if I could be of any use 

 in the way of an adviser. 



MARKING QUEENS TO TELL THEIR AGE. 



One of your correspondents suggests marking 

 queens bj^ painting their backs different colors, cor- 

 i-esponding with different years, to know their age ; 

 and for the benefit of those wishing to mai-k their 

 queens so they can always tell their age, I will de- 

 scribe a plan that will do it all times without fail: 

 As soon as your queen begins to lay, clip her wings 

 on one side only, which will prevent her from ever 

 flying again, as well as to clip all; next season, as 

 you are overhauling your bees in the spring, catch 

 the queen and clip one of the remaining wings, 

 which shows this to be her second season, and the 

 next season clip the remaining wing; or, in other 

 words, clip a wing every season until all are clipped. 



It is no long job, usually, to find them at this sea- 

 son of the year; and if you do not find them readily, 

 mark the hive and try again the next time you look 

 them through. 



DRYING SWEET CORN ONCE JtOKE. 



We think we are a little ahead yet for nice dried 

 corn, which we prepare as follows: Pluck your 

 corn while in full milk; then draw a "hetchel" 

 (made by driving ,5 or 6 shari)-pointPd carpet tacks 

 through a thin piece of wood so the points stick 

 through from li to 14, in.) over it Until all kernels are 

 broken open; then with the 7jac/: of your knife you 

 can scrape out all but the hull, which will all be left 

 upon the cob. To dry, spread upon dishes thinly, 

 add set in a moderately hot oven- hot enough to 



scald. Stir occasionally until dry. The above saves 

 the trouble of boiling, of exposure to flies, and is 

 quicklj' dried and taken care of. The only fault we 

 can find is, it is uU gone weeks ago. If you wish, we 

 will tell you how to prepare corn for " corn oysters." 

 We think it is one of the best dishes to prepare from 

 corn. F. H. Cyrikius. 



Seriba, N. Y., April, 1881. 



Many thanks, friend C. Your plan of 

 marking queens is given by Langstroth, but 

 we have found it unreliable, as so many 

 queens get their wings mutilated, from dif- 

 erent causes, especially after they get to be 

 a year old or more. Your suggestions in re- 

 gard to drying corn are excellent, and I know 

 from experience they will prove valuable. 

 Our mammoth sweet corn is now such a mag- 

 niftceut dish, if I may be allowed the e.x- 

 pression, that I have desired Sue (my wife, 

 you know) to give me her recipe for cooking 

 it, and I am a going to have it printed on a 

 thousand little i>aper bags, and next fall each 

 bag is to be tilled (1 lb.) preparatory to being 

 placed on the ll)c. counter. If we can get 

 it put up equal to that we have now, I shall 

 expect it to retail for 10c per lb. about as fast 

 as Eliza can pass the packages over the 

 counter. Perhaps not (juite so fast, but I 

 shall expect every one Avho buys a package 

 to become enthusiastic on the corn business. 

 Send us your recipe, by all means, friend C. 

 Young man, raise corn. Don't '' go west," 

 but raise corn where you are, and then — 

 dry it. 



coMMirNTS ox doolittle's comments. 



1. If the bees that are robbed do not go with the 

 robbers, where do they go? 



2. The comparison between a bee and a cow is too 

 large, and proves too much. Wc kill cattle for food, 

 but not bees. They are God's " creatures as much 

 as the cattle "—not ours. I believe he notices every 

 bee that we kill by our carelessness. I do not stop 

 to think about the profit, when trying to save their 

 lives. A. A. Bradford. 



East Jeffroj-, N. H., April, 18S1. - 



EXTRACTING OLD HONEY, ETC. 



Can cards of sealed honey that have remained in 

 the hive several years be extracted so that the 

 combs can be used again? What per cent, if any, 

 will remain in the comb after extracting? At what 

 temperature must the honey be to flow freely from 

 the combs? 



I started into the winter with 61 stocks, mostly in 

 the Langstroth hive; have but 44 left; they have 

 stood on their summer stands, but in a sheltered po- 

 sition, which is one reason why I have not lost as 

 many as my neighbors have. I started five years 

 ago with one swarm; have sold and given away 4; 

 all descended from the one; they are the black bee. 



K. MEATYAltD. 



EUicott, Erie Co., N. Y., March 37, 1881. 



Some old honey is quite difficult to extract, 

 especially if it is partially candied in the 

 combs. Sometimes you may not be able to 

 get out more than half of the honey. Of 

 course, the weather should be as warm as 

 possible, without melting or softening the 

 combs, so they will be liable to break down. 

 I think I should use such old combs for 

 building up new stocks, and let them take 



