1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



553 



FI.OCR FEEDING IX THE FALL. 



Will you be so kind as to answer me these ques- 

 tions? I have 4 swarms of bees, weak, and little hon- 

 ey in each. Can I mix a little wheat or r3-e flour in 

 the sugar syrup for pollen? They need young bees, 

 and winter foo'l. Is the flour harmful for winter 

 food, or can the bees separate it from the syrup, and 

 put it alone in cells? I stimulate my bees, and it is 

 so dry that they can g-et no pollen, nor have they 

 any in the hive (the i swarms). H. M. Mover. 



Hill Cburch, Berks Co., Pa., Sept. 24, 1S81. 



You can build up colouies in the fall by 

 feeding wheat or rye tlour, either in candy 

 or syrup, as I have told you in the A B C ; 

 but although I have succeeded in so raising 

 brood, during every month in the winter, 

 during mild winters, we have pretty good 

 reason to think that the Hour predisposes to 

 dysentery during or after severe winters like 

 our last.' The bees have no way of separat- 

 ing the flour from the candy or syrup, but it 

 Is all stored in the cells together, giving the 

 contents a milky look. In case pollen were 

 lacking, I would, to rear bees, feed the flour 

 in August and September, but I would be a 

 little cautious about using it in October. 

 However, more experiments may demon- 

 strate that it is not necessarily deleterious. 



retailing, have been put in the market, 

 glassed sections have rather gone out. 



FDX. WITHOUT WIRES, ETC. 



The fdn. ordered came promptly to hand, and in 

 good shape. The Dunham for brood-chamber was 

 A No. 1; the thin for surplus had a good many im- 

 perfect sheets, cracked and pieces out, etc. Perhaps 

 it is as good as you can do on such thin fdn. Let us 

 know, through Gleanings, whether it is possible to 

 make perfect sheets of the thin fdn. I used the fdn. 

 in brood-chamber in August without wire, and it 

 seemed to work well. Do you think we caa use full 

 sheets for new swarms of the heavy Dunham fdn. 

 without wiriug? You are very prompt in filling or- 

 ders, which is no small item in pleasing customers. I 

 came near going with the Blasted Hopers last winter 

 and spring; final loss, 20 out of 30 swarms in fall. I 

 bought 11 to help build up again; increased to 42, and 

 shall have between 50 and CO lbs. of section honey per 

 old colony, exclusive of glass. 



SHALL GLASS BE COUNTED AS HONEY? 



In giving the weight of honey, is it weighed as 

 taken from the hive? Some glass their sections for 

 market, and others do not; some have glass on their 

 boxes on the hive; it miikes| quite a diflereuce — 

 probably about a fiflh on 5,14x614 sections. 



Fay Kennell. 



South Gates, Monroe Co., X. Y., Sept. 22, 1881. 



Many reports from the heavy thick-walled 

 fdn. seem to indicate that it may be safely 

 used without wires, so far as sagging is 

 concerned. Perhaps during very hot weath- 

 er it might not answer so well. We prefer 

 the Avires, in any case, for convenience in 

 handling and shipping bees. The thin fdn., 

 made in narrow strips, need not have holes 

 or cracks in it. ^^'hen made in very hot 

 weather, however, it is pretty diflicnlt to 

 avoid some tears. In shipping in cold weath- 

 er, it is also much more apt to break than 

 thicker fdn. — It has been customary. I be- 

 lieve, to weigh up the glass with the honey 

 in selling, and, I suppose, in reporting in re- 

 gard to the crop ; but. if I am correct, since 

 the convenient cases, with glass sides, for 



HOW THEY FIX ANTS IN FLORIDA, ETC. 



Well, I lost the swarm I spoke of in my order; but 

 very few of them were alive when I wrote to you, 

 and although I had taken the precaution to set them 

 on a stand with the legs in cans of water, one night 

 it so happened that one of the cans got moved up to 

 within ^8 of an inch of the leg, and the large red, or 

 what we call " warrior" ants, found they could 

 reach across, and by that means took possession of 

 the hive, and in the morning we found they had 

 killed every bee. But, being determined not to be 

 nonplused in that manner, I went to work and put 

 me up a shed by setting posts flrmlj* in the ground; 

 size of shed was 12x4 feet; height at front, feet, 

 with a sullicient slant to shed water. I then sus- 

 pended, by means of strong wires, two scantlings 

 2x4 inches in size, and the length of the shed on 

 which to hold the hives, so as to clear the ground 

 about inches. On each of the suspension wires I 

 soldered a tin cup made in the shape of the flaring 

 part of a tunnel, to hold about a quart of water; so 

 now, with this arrangement the ants will have to 

 climb up the posts and then down the wires, and 

 swim the water before they can by any means reach 

 the hive. Well, when I had got all completed, 1 got 

 another swarm of neighbor F. L. Dimick, and have 

 them on my above-described protection platform, 

 where I think they will be free from the ants, or 

 any other crawling insects. Our country, being all 

 the time warm and free from frost, is much infested 

 with insects, and in consequence we must be very 

 vigilant to protect our bees all the year round. I 

 expect that the winter months will be the best for 

 gathering honey, as the bees seem to refuse to go 

 out much in the heat of summer, except just at 

 night and early in the morning. I think that an 

 abundance of forage will be found hr^re for our bees, 

 as almost every tree and bush, and an endless varie- 

 ty of weeds and plants, are at all times in bloom. 



V. O. Spencer. 



Lake Worth, Dade Co., Fla., Aug. 18, 1881. 



RAPP, OR WINTER RAPE. 



Send me 4 lbs. of " rapp," or winter rape; if It will 

 stand over winter in AVisconsin, it certainly will do 

 well here. 



A poor season for me on sandy land; no rain since 

 the last day of May, and no honey since the 15th of 

 June. Neighbor Davis, ten miles away, on black, 

 sticky land, has 2500 lbs. We have had a little rain, 

 and are looking for more; the turnip-sowing is very 

 brisk, and seeds are in demand. M. S. Klum. 



Sherman, Grayson Co., Texas, Sept. 12, 1881. 



As plants to winter over (like the seven- 

 top turnip) seem quite desirable. I wrote our 

 seedsman, asking him Avhat the difference is 

 between this and seven-top turnip, if any. 

 His reply is below : — 



In reply to your postal of the 2flth Sept., we would 

 say, winter rape is the original of the ruta-baga tribe 

 of turnip, with a smooth leaf resembling cabbage. 

 Seven-top turnip is rough leaf, like white turnip. 

 The summer rape we consider more akin to the 

 white-turnip family. A. C. Kendel. 



Cleveland, O., Sept. 24, 18S1. 



As it is at least something that needs de- 

 veloping, for bee culture, we sent for a 

 pound, and had it nicely sown, just about 



