348 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



tual effect it was found that the average 

 commissioner could not see any need of hay- 

 ing an inspector; that he would complain 

 that the funds were low; and because he 

 was not compelled to make such appointment 

 he would vote to do nothing. As a result 

 the law was a farce. A number of the bee- 

 keepers of the State, especially those in the 

 vicinity of Cincinnati, went before the leg- 

 islature this year and complained that the 

 law was ineffective, and submitted an 

 amendment substituting the word shall in 

 place of may. I am glad to report that, 

 during the past week, this amendment pass- 

 ed both Houses; and if Gov. Pattison signs 

 the bill it will become a law. 



I might explain that in the amended bill 

 that was presented was a further provision 

 providing for a tax of ten cents per colony 

 in the State. As the last census showed 

 there were 150,000 colonies, this would pro- 

 vide an annual revenue of $15,000. Evident- 

 ly the person or persons who framed the bill 

 did not know the number of bees in the 

 State. We put in a vigorous protest from 

 this office, knowing the bee-keepers over 

 the State would make a big kick, and we ac- 

 cordingly suggested that the tax be made 

 five mills, or at most not to exceed one cent 

 per colony. This would provide a fund of 

 $750 on the smaller amount, or $1500 on 

 the larger. 



But it appears that m the bill as it passed 

 both Houses this tax on the colonies was 

 stricken out entirely. The amended law 

 now stands, therefore, that the commission- 

 ers shall appoint, when a properly signed 

 petition is presented, and shall draw from 

 the county funds to pay the expense of such 

 work. Considering that foul brood is bad 

 only in spots in the State, it would seem as 

 if it were hardly necessary to tax all the 

 bee-keepers just for the bad spots. 



A SCHEME FOR REARING EARLY QUEENS IN 

 THE NORTH. 



The problem of rearing early queens in 

 the North has always been a difficult one to 

 solve, and possibly the plan I am about to 

 propose may be a foolish one — something, 

 perhaps, that has been exploited before; but 

 whether new or old, we are going to try it 

 and give our readers the benefit of it so that 

 they may test it and send in their report. 

 If there is any value in it, it will result in 

 early young queens, and this will mean hon- 

 ey later in the season. To describe it I will 

 tell what we are doing: 



We are selecting four or five of our best 

 colonies from the cellar, and stationing them 

 in front of available windows of some of our 

 warmed-up factory rooms that are kept 

 warm days and nights and Sundays. These 

 vt^ll be given an entrance through a slotted 

 board under the window-sash, said entrance 

 being provided with a slide or shutter, so to 

 speak, that can be closed off at will. 



From this time on we shall be having nice 

 warm fly days, at least one a week, and 

 probably one to two days a week. On un- 



favorable days we will shut the bees in. 

 The colonies will be rendered queenless, and 

 after they start building cells so as to give 

 a supply of royal jelly we shall graft artifi- 

 cial cups and start them in real earnest to 

 building out cells, for these colonies will be 

 the strongest and best we have. The laying 

 queens removed will be put in baby nuclei 

 before some other windows. If we can get 

 the cell work going then, we will distribute 

 some baby nuclei, each with a cell, around 

 some of the factory windows — perhaps two 

 at a window. All of these will have en- 

 trances of the kind already described. On 

 warm fly days all the bees will be permitted 

 to fly. On other days they will be shut in. 

 There, now, don't you see the conditions 

 are practically the same as they might be 

 in a cold May or June, when there might be 

 only one or two fly days in a week, the oth- 

 er days being too chilly for the bees to go 

 out? 



The factory rooms are maintained at a 

 temperature of about 70 degrees, so that 

 there will not be the least trouble about 

 keeping the bees and brood warm. 



But how about the drones? We have about 

 150 colonies outdoors, and, like all outdoor- 

 wintered bees, they will have a scattering 

 of drones. If we can find a drone- laying 

 queen among the cellared bees, we will give 

 her and her colony a window. 



This whole scheme is on paper only, save 

 that we have a few colonies that have al- 

 ready been dequeened that are now starting 

 cells. It remains to be shown yet how far 

 the plan can be made a success. But our 

 readers can test it on a small scale in one of 

 their living-rooms. With a hard-coal stove 

 the heat could be maintained at a practical- 

 ly uniform temperature night and day. In 

 localities where there are no fly days during 

 March or April the plan could not be made 

 a success, of course; but I do not see how it 

 can fail, if we have now and then a fly day. 

 Now, then, you see if we can make it work 

 we shall have cells and virgins galore dur- 

 ing April, when there will be a good many 

 nice fly days; and when May finally arrives 

 we shall have steady weather, and queen- 

 rearing will be at full blast. Heretofore it 

 has taken nearly a month after the first of 

 May to get started. We propose, if possi- 

 ble, to steal a march on old Father Time by 

 at least 60 days. 



There, now, friends, do not poke fun at 

 the idea, but let us try it together, then 

 compare notes later on. If it does not seem 

 feasible, just remember that we are supply- 

 ing all the conditions of a rainy or chilly 

 spring, when we know we can raise queens, 

 with the additional advantage that the hives 

 will never be subjected to a chilly atmos- 

 phere of 50 or 60 degrees every day or night. 

 An always warm brood- nest and an occasion- 

 al fly day, it seems, ought to enable us to 

 gain practically two months of time. If we 

 Northern chaps should get ahead of A. 1. R. 

 away down in Florida, it would be a good 

 joke; but may be he will have the laugh on 

 us about next May. We'll see. 



