292 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



to be without brood. I tried stimulating by feed- 

 ing and increase and brood for 4 or 5 weeks without 

 success; removed her, and found she could not fly. 

 Row was this? how was this colony kept up from 

 July till March, if she never laid? Perhaps I had 

 better state, that last fall I Inst a worthless queen I 

 intended to destroy, near this hive. Could this 

 queen have got in and superseded the natural 

 queen in the fall? W. R. Whitman. 



New Market, Ala., April 5, ]83J. 



Very likely your colony was ruined m just 

 the way you mention. A poor or worthless 

 queen is almost as likely to sting a good one, 

 when allowed to crawl into the hive by ac- 

 cident, as to have it the other way. It mav 

 be, friend W., that the young queen laid 

 worker eggs all right for a few montlis, and 

 ttien failed, and her wing may have been in- 

 jured on her return from her bridal flight ; 

 but the former explanation is far the more 

 probable. When you know a queen is worth- 

 less, be sure to make sure work of her ; do 

 not leave any chance for her to get into some 

 other hive and kill its queen. 



LOOK OUT FOR ROBBING. 



My bees are not more than half as good as they 

 were a week ago. I was busy plowing for corn, and 

 did not notice them for two or three days, when my 

 wife called my attention, saying, "The bees are rob- 

 bing." I wcat to their assistance, and found that 

 my father's bees had almost all the honey that my 

 bees (9 colonics in all) had. I am feeding my bees 

 now, for I don't want to go into Blasted Hopes yet. 



Columbus, Kan., May 3, 1881. Wji. Kirk. 



While robbing is not very apt to get start- 

 ed where all are fair strong colonies with 

 queens and brood, it is sometimes the case, 

 especially early in the spring, and on this 

 account it is always well to take a little look 

 at the bees, once or twice a day, no matter 

 how busy you may be. A stitch in time, 

 certainly saves nine at such a time. 



FRIEND HILL'S APIARY, AND THE SECRET OF SUCCESS. 



I see a little note in May Gleanings In reference 

 to Mr. Hill, of Mt. Healthy, Ohio, not having lost a 

 stock of bees in the winter for years, and suggesting 

 that bee-keepers hold a convention at his house 

 next fall and learn his secret. As I was a member 

 of an impromptu convention at his place last fall, I 

 will tell you what I think is his secret. It is simply, 

 the doing of every thing needed to be done, thoroughly 

 and iveU, having no poorly made hives and implem ents 

 about him, and aJioicing no slipsht>d management. I 

 think this is without doubt the secret of his success; 

 and if you visit him at any time, I don't think you 

 will find any of his hives so poorly made that you 

 can stick a finger through joints that ought to be 

 tight, nor will you find the chaff he uses in packing 

 them to be only straw. I think all of us can learn 

 some valuable lessons in Mr. Hill's apiary; at least, 

 I know my visit there was one of the most profita- 

 ble as well as pleasant ones I ever made anywhere. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



Williamstown, Iowa, May 5, 1881. 



UNTHANKFULNESS. 



On looking over Gleanings I noticed that some 

 people murmur because they lost 5 or 6 colonies. I 

 have often thought, if it would rain mush and milk 

 some people would run around and murmur be- 



cause it did not rain spoons to eat it with. Two men 

 here had 500, and lost all. I don't think we have 

 over 24 in the township. We had 26, and lost all; 

 but "don't you forget it," we have lots of honey. I 

 guess Mother Shipton's prophecy came true after 

 all, for some people made or thought the world of 

 their bees, and it has come to an end. With a swing 

 of my hat I'll go to Blasted Hopes. 

 Locust Point, O., May 5, 1881. F. G. Windisch. 



Why, friend W., I do not believe you be- 

 long in Blasted Ilopes at all. That is ex- 

 pressly for unthankful folks who listen to 

 such foolishness as Mother Shipton's proph- 

 ecy and the like, and sit down with folded 

 hands and give up. I do not know how I 

 am going to winter our bees next winter; 

 but for all that, I am going to have an apia- 

 ry in full blast again this season as usual, 

 and if I can not do any better, I am going to 

 buy more every spring'of neighbors Rice and 

 Dean. Losing bees makes us neighborly ; 

 did you never think of it ? I do not believe 

 the world will end with me, if I lose all the 

 bees 1 ever try to winter. The bees may pass 

 away, but our trust in God, never. 



swarming in MICHIGAN MAY 12TH, ETC. 



Well, I must say, "Hurrah for chaff packing! " I 

 hived my first swarm to-day— a rouser. How does 

 that compare with Mrs. L. Harrison's "bully" col- 

 onies? I have 7 more clustering outside, and cherry 

 fairly in blossom. I have put hives on top of 2 to 

 keep them back from swarming, and filled the top 

 hive with my nice comb of last fall. I saved 18 out of 

 my 20; one had a drone-laying queen. I divided 

 that colony to find the queen on "Good Friday," 

 and one part has a young queen, and the other has 

 queen-cells. I have only 2 that are weak, as I call 

 them; others call them fair swarms. Now I am go- 

 ing to sec what I can make out of my Good-Friday 

 nuclei. 



Just tell the bee-keepers not to be discouraged, 

 but be a little more careful not to disturb bees in 

 winter. I gave this that swarmed to-day, 2 frames 

 of coffee Aon the 2d of Feb.; one on the 2.")th ult. ; 

 one March 10th, and some of the rest near the same, 

 and disturbing did not hurt any of mine. 



I want to tell you that my bees made comb in the 

 feed-boxes on top, that had nice sealed soft-maple 

 and elm honey in it, and I got a good taste of it. It 

 is very good, but as dark as maple syrup. 



St. John's, Mich., May 12, 1881. H. L. Warstler. 



Why, friend W., has not that swarm got 

 you excited a little'? You say, do not dis- 

 turb the bees in winter, yet go right on to 

 tell how you disturbed them with frames of 

 candy in February ! I am very glad to hear 

 you report so well in regard to the chaff 

 hives. 



SWARMING IN ILLINOIS, BEFORE THE IOtH OF MAY. 



Hoping to eucoiu-age others, and glad to report 

 encouragingly, we ask, "Who is ahead of us, in this 

 latitude?" This morning at 10 o'clock, "Bees are 

 swarming!" came from the little wife, who keeps 

 an eye on things about our place. A fine swarm it 

 is too. The queen is two years old. Last season we 

 had but two natural swarms. This queen was first, 

 and from red clover at that, as we had no white- 

 clover honey last season. It was the 14th of June, 

 and they filled their hive, and gave us 50 lbs. of bass- 

 wood honey, in sectiona. They were wintered out- 



