1881 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



277 



I presume a smoker that would light quick- 

 ly, and not go out when it was away up on 

 the top of that pole, would be a desidera- 

 tum. Eh? 



SENDING SEEDIiING HONEY-FIiANTS BY 

 ITIAlIi. 



SEE in May Gleanings, p. 355, you speak of 

 the immense quantity of Simpson seedlings, 

 and want to know how to ship them. I have 

 sent plants to acquaintances nearly to California, 

 and can do it again. For long distances you need 

 swamp or bog moss to pack in; but for short dis- 

 tances, soft wet paper will do; if not more than two 

 or three days' transit, I prefer paper. 



Preparation : Select plants large enough to handle 

 carefully and handily. Soak the soil well, then lift 

 them with a trowel in clumps, and throw them down 

 hard enough to break up the soil; pick out your 

 plants and wash them clean from dirt on the roots, 

 being sure to wet them all over. They are now ready 

 to lay in rows, the roots all one way, and are all ready 

 to pack. Lay down a row 4 or 5 plants thick; now 

 lay another one, the roots overlapping the roots of 

 the first one (this makes one length of roots for two 

 of tops;) cut a strip of paper about an inch wider 

 than the two lengths of plants; soak it with water; 

 lay your plants on and roll them up tightly, and tie 

 three strings around them to keep them together. 

 The paper should go about three times around the 

 bunch. Now with ^a turpentine and "j linseed oil, 

 smear over some soft paper, then do up the bundle; 

 put on an outside wrapper to address; tie up, and 

 shove it on the road. They will keep fresh three or 

 four days if done up rightly. The oiled paper must 

 coverall over tight. To use swamp moss, put a thin 

 layer on the wet paper, and do up the same. When 

 unpacked, simply dip the plants in water all over, 

 and let lie an hour or two, if they are wilted any. If 

 this is not quite plain, I will try shipping you some 

 thing; or, if you are afraid, try sending me a pack- 

 age of the Simpson plants, and I will tell you where 

 you are wrong in putting them up. I have tried 

 these plans for over ten years, and I will risk either 

 of them. You may try sending me ItO or 50 if you 

 want to risk ever getting your pay. 



H. C. Jeffrey, 

 Woodbury, Conn., May 13, 1881. 



Many thanks, friend J.; and as to pay, I 

 think it will be due the other way, even aft- 

 er we send you all the plants you want. It 

 seems a little queei- to me, that you advise 

 shaking all the dirt off; we have always been 

 very careful to leave some of it adhering to 

 the roots; but as nurserymen usually adopt 

 ycur plan, I presume it must be the best one. 

 One point in its favor is, that you have to 

 pay postage only on what it actually valua- 

 ble. 



GALI.UP ON QUEEN-REARING. 



8'-' AM going to give my ideas on queen-raising for 

 _ what they are worth. In the first place, I think 

 that no one will deny that some queens are far 

 ahead of others in prolificness, and that some swarms 

 are far ahead of others in productiveness. Now, I 

 know that we can bring an entire apiary up to a 

 good standard of productiveness by careful and ju- 

 dicious selections and proper breeding; and further- 



more, any bee-keeper who breeds in and in for a ser- 

 ies of seasons will find his bees running out. Many 

 beginners think that if they get queen-cells built (no 

 matter under what circumstances or conditions), 

 that one is just as good as another. This is an er- 

 roneous notion. The late Adam Grimm became 

 fully satisfied that his stock of bees at one time were 

 running out and growing weaker, simply from breed- 

 ing in and in too long without a change; and while I 

 am about it, I will quote Mr. Grimm still further. 

 He says, "Queen-breeders, as well as other bee-keep- 

 ers, should save all the cells that are built in stocks, 

 that voluntarily swarm. In this way they will get 

 queens that are reared as such from the egg. It is 

 my experience, that queens of that kind are more 

 durable and more prolific than queens reared from 

 larvfe a number of days old. If queens have to be 

 reared under compulsion, the cells for them should 

 be built in strong colonies, and not be removed un- 

 til they have been about 6 days sealed. Such queens 

 are, with few exceptions, as good as the best." So 

 much for Mr. Grimm, and you will find that he Is 

 correct. 



Now, to raise good queens, we must have all the 

 necessary conditions; and what are those conditions? 

 A full stock of bees. They must be gathering for- 

 age abundantly, or they must be supplied daily with 

 diluted honey or sugar syrup, and they must have 

 eggs and larviB just hatched; for if they have larvae 

 several days old they will be apt. In their hurry, to 

 start queen-cells over larvte too far advanced. It is 

 an ascertained fact, that bees can change a larva to 

 a queen after it has been fed as a worker, up to the 

 fifth day; and it is another fact, that such queens 

 are short-lived, and, in one sense, worthless. A full 

 stock of bees consists of all the classes. As to age, 

 we must have young bees for the nurses, and old 

 bees for the water-carriers, honey-gatherers, and 

 pollen-gatherers. If we make up a stock and place 

 it on a new stand, all the old bees will go back to the 

 old stands, and then we must see that they have pol- 

 len and honey, and we must supply them with water 

 until they can gather for themselves. Three cards 

 of comb, bees, pollen, and honey, with a close-fitting 

 division-board, is a good stock to all Intents and pur- 

 poses; but they must be crowded with bees. Now, 

 if queens are raised under the proper conditions and 

 from good prolific stock, they are just as good if we 

 charge only one dollar for them as they would be if 

 we charged ten; and if they were not raised from 

 good stock, and under the proper conditions, our 

 charging ten dollars would not make them good 

 ones. Every bee-keeper should keep introducing 

 new stock into his apiary from year to year, so as to 

 avoid in-and-in breeding, or he can not expect to 

 keep his stock up to the standard. E. Gallup. 



Santa Paula, Cal., May 4, 1881. 



GRAPE SUGAR FOR AVINTERING. 



Tignir'AD you not too much grape sugar in your 

 J'tii'K combs for winter feed? I had one colony 

 which seemed to have died on it. I have heard 

 of disastrous results elsewhere in consequence. 

 Please examine fairly, and report without prejudice. 

 The worst aspect of the manufacture of grape sugar 

 Is, that it is not openly advertised and sold for any 

 legitimate useful purpose, unless it is for feeding 

 bees, thus making a prima-facie case of fraudulent 

 intent. My use of it has not resulted unfortunately, 



