294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



June 



A GOOD CROP IN A POOR SEASON, AND THE SECRET 



OF SUCCESS. 



My report for 1880 is this:— No. of colonies May 1, 

 65; net pi-occeds for honey sold, $500.00. Secret of 

 success, 3 pecks of Italians to the hive. Bees win- 

 tered in cellar as directed in A B C. No. lost, 5 colo- 

 nies; cause, too much cider. The rest, 60, are in 

 good shape, with brood in .l to .5 combs, and plenty 

 of honey. I have been watching your ehalT hive 

 Avith interest, and like it very much, but object to 

 cost in large apiaries. It may be I will like them 

 better when tested for summer use (by myself.) 



J. E. Wai^cher. 



Mlllersville, 111., April 7, 1881. 



Well, I declare, friend W., I believe your 

 secret is a grand one. AVliy don't you have 

 it patented, and charge $5.00 for a "family 

 right''? 



report from the tenement hive. 



You ask for reports from old bee-keepers in re- 

 gard to the wintering of our bees the past winter. 

 Here is mine. Of 6 swarms in Simplicity hives with 

 shavings banked around them, and chaff-cushion di- 

 visions, .5 are dead. Of 35 swarms in single chaff 

 hives, I have lost one. Of 104 swarms in tenement 

 hives, [ have lost 3. The chaff and tenement hives 

 have consumed less stores than did those in the Sim- 

 plicity, although they have wintered through, and 

 only one of the Simplicities died. 



D. C. Underhill. 



Seneca, Lasalle Co., 111., April 30, 1881. 



Although we lost all four in our single ten- 

 ement hive, 1 have no doubt but that they 

 will answer as well, or even better, than the 

 chaif hives, if the bees are well prepared in 

 ample time to get well waxed up before win- 

 ter comes on. 



wonders will never cea.se. 



I have a queen 3 years old that produced pm-e 

 Italian workers imtil she began breeding this spring, 

 and, to my surprise, she now produces the worst- 

 looking hybrids I ever saw. You may suggest that 

 this is a stray queen. I thought so till I examined 

 her, and knew her both by her looks and strange 

 habit of trying to hide from me when the bees are 

 being examined. A. S. Smith. 



Atlanta, Ga., April l.'j, 1881. 



Now, friend 8., as it would be the most 

 natural thing in the world for a, daughter to 

 not only look like her mother, but also to 

 have tlie very same habit you speak of, I 

 would suggest that you niay be mistaken 

 still. 



making dark comb honey light bv bleaching 



in the sun. 



I have been experimenting some in regard to 

 those nice sections of honey, the cappings of which 

 have become soiled by the bees running over them 

 with their "dirty boots" during pumijkin bloom, 

 chestnut bloom, etc., and have succeeded in making 

 them as nice and white as any. I tried sulphur, hut 

 it would not bleach it, although smoked for days; 

 but by putting a section in the window in the sun a 

 few days it will be as nice as though it had never 

 been soiled; but be Careful, and ilo not let it get too 

 warm, for the sUn shining through gla^s is apt to 

 cause them to " wilt," as I have found out. 



This year I propose to make a rack in the window 

 of my honey-room, with shelves from bottom to top, 

 on which to pUt all soiled combs, shading from the 



hot sun; bleach one side, then turn the other. This 

 plan, if practiced, will make a difference of hundreds 

 of dollars in our honey crop, tor we expect to get a 

 crop this year. W. Kugeb. 



Conklin, Broome Co., N. Y., Apr. 24, 1881. 



Friend K., you have struck on a most im- 

 portant matter; and if this succeeds, as I 

 am rather inclined to think it will, at least 

 in a measure, it is going to be of great mon- 

 ey value to us. Will those who have comb 

 honey on hand please test and report as soon 

 as they can conveniently V We have a little 

 left, and will try to get at it as soon as the 

 sun shines. 



ITALIAN QUEENS TURNING BLACK. 



The dollar queen bought of you last fall either 

 died after keeping her two or three months, and her 

 colony raised another, which was nearly black, and 

 this spring lay nothing but drone eggs, or the one I 

 got of you turned black and laid drone eggs. One 

 of the two things happened. I am at a loss to know 

 which. B. F. Payne. 



Bridgeport, Harrison Co., W. Va., Apr. 30, 1881. 



I can not quite agree Avith you, friend P. 

 I think a black queen from some stray swarm 

 got into the hive and killed your Italian 

 queen. The reports we have had in the 

 matter seem to indicate that this happens 

 much oftener than Ave are aware of. 



My bees all wintered well, and are doing flnely this 

 spring. Fruit-trees are in bloom now. 



BOX-ELDER 



I see advertised as a great honey-tree. I have one 

 growing in my yard, which blooms every year; is in 

 full bloom at this time, but I have not seen a bee on 

 the tree yet. It may be good in some localities, but 

 1 think not here. 



WINTERING BEES WITH SECTIONS, ETC. 



I Wintered the stands of bees on their summer 

 stands, with the caps on, and they are as strong 

 stands as I have had. \''ery little spring dwindling. 



Phillipstown, Ills., Apr. 37, 18S1. D. Newell. 



CELLARS, CHAFF HIVES, ETC. 



I had 30 last fall, which all came through safe. I 

 had 10 in the cellar, 10 in chaff hives on their sum- 

 mer stands. Those 10 stands were in a very bleak 

 situation, on ground sloping north-west. I had my 

 boys, as thej^ cleaned out the horse-stable, draw the 

 manure and bank the chaff hives on three sides up 

 to the lids. I think the chaff hives have come 

 through the best, although all the perceptible differ- 

 ence is, their combs and hives are dry. Some of 

 those that were in the cellar were quite damp, and 

 some of their combs were quite moldy, particularly 

 the back end of the frames, lower corner. I put 

 them in the cellar the first week in December; put 

 them out for a purifying lly March nth, for 24 hours; 

 put them out April 15. At this date they are gather- 

 ing both honey and pollen, and as many hives as I 

 have looked into have lots ot eggs and young brood. 



J. T. Beech. 



Burnt River, Out.. Can., April 31, 1881. 



No combs should ever become moldy > 

 either by chaff hives or cellar wintering ; in 

 the lattc-r case, it indicates imperfect venti- 

 lation of the cellar, and with chaff hives, im- 

 perfect ventilation above tlie chaff. ''J'he re- 

 ports of the past vv inter seem to be rather* 

 in favor of cellar wintering, es])ecially where 

 a great number of colonies are kept. 



