234 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



have left the covering off two inches from 

 ends of frames, and raised the hives a little 

 off the bottom- board in front. Is there any 

 other remedy you can suggest? 

 Franklinville, N. Y. W. A. Hill. 



[The mold described is like what many 

 have observed on the combs of bees winter- 

 ed both in and out of doors, except that 

 what I have seen is of a bluish rather than 

 of a greenish tint. It is generally believed 

 that this does no harm, so I think you may 

 look elsewhere for the cause of your bees 

 dying. I would give plenty of ventilation in 

 any case, and should naturally suppose that 

 the mold was due to too much dampness 

 rather than to a lack of ventilation. The 

 mold is only an incident or a consequence of 

 the dampness, and not the source of the 

 trouble, I should say.— Ed.] * 



GREAT SUPERIORITY OF ITALIANS OVER 

 BLACKS. 



This has been the worst year for bees 

 that we have ever had. Nearly all the 

 black bees will die this winter; but the Ital- 

 ians v; ill be all right, as they made honey 

 from red clover, white clover, and Spanish 

 needle. Last fall I sent to Ohio and got 

 four red -clover queens. I did not get them 

 until Oct. 18. I introduced them to black 

 colonies, and they are all right. One queen 

 laid after I got them, and hatched some fine 

 bees. What I want to ask is this: I have 

 nine colonies of black bees. How can I keep 

 them from mixing? Can I put queen or 

 drone traps on all of the black colonies, and 

 keep the drones from flying until I can re- 

 queen with Italian queens? Can I raise 

 queens early enough in spring to requeen 

 these hives in time for white clover, or would 

 it be best to send and get tested queens? 



Moran, Kan. , Jan. 8. J.N.Thompson. 



[Yes, you can put drone-guards or Alley 

 traps over the entrances of all hives con- 

 taining black bees; but 1 would advise kill- 

 ing the black queens first and introducing 

 Italians. If this is done early enough in the 

 spring you will not be troubled with drones, 

 and there will be no need of your using the 

 perforated metal. 



You would not be able to raise queens 

 early enough in the spring to requeen. 

 These you would have to get of some queen- 

 breeder in the South. If you buy of som.e 

 established queen breeder who has reared 

 nothing but Italians for many years, there 

 would be no very great advantage in buying 

 tested, for the reason that practically few 

 of the untested will prove to be impurely 

 mated. — Ed.] 



DEAD BEES IN NOVEMBER. 



Is it something natural to see dead bees 

 lying on the bottom and in front ff the hive 

 in November? C. & E. Trachsel. 



Helena, Mo., Dec. 4. 



[I should say it is quite a normal condition 

 to find dead bees on the bottom- board of a 



hive and in front of the same early in No- 

 vember. The bees that have stood the brunt 

 of the toil on a late fall flow or clover flow 

 in July would begin to be giving out. We 

 must remember that there is a constant de- 

 pletion of old bees, and there should be a 

 constant renewal of young bees so that the 

 colony may retain its normal strength. You 

 will notice that, immediately following a 

 heavy honey-flow, the queen will stop laying 

 to some extent, and for a while there will 

 be a limited amount of brood hatching. You 

 will note that, even during the summer, the 

 colony as a consequence loses strength.— 

 Ed.] 



what rent should be paid for unused 



LAND? 



What should I pay for the privilege of set- 

 ting some of my bees on another man's land 

 through the summer? I tend them myself, 

 and the land they occupy is not in use. The 

 bees would not inconvenience him in any 

 way. Wm. Senff. 



Bremen, Ind., Dec. 22. 



[We pay at our yards at the rate of 10 

 cents per colony, with a minimum of |5.00. 

 Some pay as high as $5.00 without reference 

 to the size of the apiary.— Ed.] 



NUMBER OF COLONIES NEEDED TO POLLENIZE 

 AN ORCHARD OF TEN ACRES. 



The Central New York Farmers' Club is 

 to take up the question, ' ' How many colonies 

 of bees does it require to polfenize an orchard 

 of ten acres?" 1 have never setn any thing 

 in regard to this in any of the books on api- 

 culture or in the bee journals. I shall es- 

 teem it a great favor if you will give me 

 your opinion. B. W. Wood, 



Deerfield, N. Y., Jan. 8. 



[This is a hard question to answer, as there 

 are no data on which to base an estimate. 

 Ten colonies might do the work, but probably 

 fifty or a hundred would be much better. — 

 Ed.] 



beeway over the frames in winter. 



As I am much interested in your paper, I 

 should like to ask you a question. Is it nec- 

 essary to have a beeway between cushion 

 and frames for winter? 



Helena, Mo. E. Trachsel. 



[Yes, by all means there should be a pas- 

 sageway over the tops of the frames.— Ed.] 



A CORRECTION. 



I notice a typographical error in my de- 

 scription of a Cuban honey- house, page 93. 

 "The bee-escape strips and openings should 

 be i\ instead of j\. Some fellow might 

 pitch into me about a r\ beeway. 



C. F. HOCHSTEIN. 



Punta Brava, Cuba. 



