1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



343 



POUNDS OF BEES FROM TEXAS, ETC. 



I ship this day by express 3 lbs. of black bees, and 

 1 lb. hybrids. I would ship about 20 lbs. more If I 

 knew you wanted them. I am sending- them with- 

 out an order. As I never shipped any bees, I 

 thought I would try 3 lbs. to see if they arrived O. K. 

 As you have not ordered any bees from me, please 

 just take them and allow me whatever you think is 

 right. I ship the hybrids in the sample cag-e you 

 sent me without water. Vou will see I put a wet 

 sponge in the other two. Please let me know what 

 condition they arrive in, as I did not know how to 

 make the kind of candy that was iu your cage; and 

 as mine was harder and dryer, I thought best to put 

 a little water, enough to last two or three days. 

 You may laugh at the ugly cages I made, but 1 don't 

 care if you do; you arc so far off I won't know it. 

 They are the first I ever made. E. J. ATCHLEy. 



Lancaster, Dallas Co., Tex., May 18, 1881. 



AVell, now, friend A., we did laugh, but 

 not at the cages ; it was because every bee 

 was alive and in excellent health, in both 

 cages containing the sponges. Your idea is 

 a good one, only I am afraid the water would 

 evaporate pretty fast from the sponges. The 

 express was only a little over a dollar ; and 

 if I could not get bees any nearer home, I 

 should certainly buy them from Texas. In 

 the one without water, they were all dead ; 

 but your venture turned out pretty well for 

 the first attempt. 



THE WINTERING LOSSES. 



As you, no doubt, with all the rest of those who 

 keep bees, had a surfeit of the losses and crosses of 

 bee-keeping, I will only say, in common with others, 

 I have lost heavily the past winter. But in the ret- 

 rospect, I can clearly see that a large share of these 

 losses were from the neglect of the small details 

 pertaining to the care of these useful little crea- 

 tures. And Is it not almost always the cause of 

 failure in any undertaking? for this same attention 

 to small things, so often called business, after all 

 seems the " open sesame" to abundant success. 



My report for 1880 stands thus: 25 good strong col- 

 onies, when white clover opened; but on account of 

 the general poorness of the season, I took only 1600 

 lbs. surplus, and increased to 39 fair colonies put in- 

 to winter-quarters. But more of them hereafter. 

 Am I discouraged? No, sir! Going to give it up? No, 

 sir! For I believe with— somebody,— 



' ' To earnest, patient endeavoi'. 

 Conies an utter failure never. ' ' 



Mrs. Kose Thomson. 

 Cowlesvlllc, Wyoming Co., N. Y., May 31, 1881. 



THE 60-LB. CALIFORNI.\ SHIPPING-CANS. 



It seems odd that you should describe the 60-lb. (5 

 gal.) can of California as " a 50-lb. can." They are 

 extensively used in California for all liquids, espe- 

 cially kerosene oil. That size seems to be adopted 

 because they are most economical to make and 

 pack, or case. For ecojiomy's sake, bee-keepers 

 hei'C commenced using them second hand, and now 

 they continue to use them because they are a staple 

 article, always on hand. R. Wilkin. 



Ventura, Cal., May 19, 1881. 



Thanks for correction, friend W. I pre- 

 sume it was my carelessness, in getting it 

 into my head that those large square cans 

 hold 50 lbs. I know your honey runs about 

 12 lbs. to the gallon, while the most of ours 



here only about 11. I discovered it by find- 

 ing our usual half-pint jelly-tumblers hold 

 just an even pound. Of course, they over- 

 run i pint somewhat. As you state it, very 

 likely they are the l^est packages you can 

 use. 



SECTIONS ON ALL WINTER. 



There has been a good deal said in Gleanings 

 about wintering with sections on or off. I leave my 

 brood frames on all winter, and sometimes top story 

 without any frames at all, leaving the entire top 

 empty, with no protection over the frames at all. I 

 went into winter-quarters with 61: colonies; have, up 

 to date, 02; lost only 2, and they were the only two 

 that had any protection whatever. All were on 

 summer stands. 



THE LOCCST HONEY-CROP. 



We have the largest crop of locust honey that was 

 ever known in this valley. My bees are storing in 

 surplus boxes now, a thing I never heard of before 

 so early in the season; the locust has been in bloom 

 six days, and will probably list ten days more. 

 Last winter was the most severe we have had for 40 

 years. My bees were without a fly for 42 days. The 

 snow was about 3 feet deep nearly all that time. I 

 piled snow on my bees, and left it there. 



J. Luther Bowers. 



Berr3 ville, Clarke Co., Va., May 21, 1881. 



the queen that always has a laying daugh- 

 ter WITH her. 



Good news ! The colony containing the queen 

 about which I wrote you, hatched out a young queen 

 to-day. The old queen and the young one were on 

 the same frame of brood. I at once removed her to 

 a nucleus. They have abcut 8 or 10 more queen- 

 cells started. No artificial queens have been reared 

 yet, and drones are not quite a week old. So you 

 see they are ahead of them all. I will report about 

 her again soon. M. B. Moohe. 



Morgan, Ky., May 13, 1881. 



Erom the numerous reports we have had, 

 aside from the similar cases we have found 

 in our own apiary, I am strongly convinced 

 we may get a strain of queens that will keep 

 one (or even more) laying daughters in 

 the hive with her, all the time. Has any- 

 body ever heard of three laying queens in 

 one hive at the same time? Two are com- 

 paratively common. 



GETTING RICH RIGHT OFF, WITH BEES. 



After looking over Gleanings for May I find that 

 a good many have lost bees all over, as well as 

 around here. I began keeping bees in 1878. I 

 thought, like a good many others, that I was going 

 to get rich right off, so I got six swarms, and paid a 

 big price for them. One swarm I gave $16.00 for; 

 two more I gave $25.00 for. That winter I lost all 

 but one swarm. The summer of 18T9 I increased to 

 three; wintered them all right. In 1880 I increased 

 to 8 swarms, and bought one. Last winter I lost 2 

 swarms, and have 7 left; 6 of these are working first 

 rate, and the other is not in very bad shape. I had 

 all of mine packed in straw. I am encouraged won- 

 derfully, although I have been almost discouraged 

 sometimes; but I am going to keep trying. I have 

 learned more out of your ABC book since I got it, 

 about a year ago, than I have out of all the rest of 

 the books I ever read. J. W. Fleming. 



Jackson, Mich., May 9, 1881. 



