1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



517 



BEES TRANSFERRING LARV^; WEAK COLO- 

 NIES. 



I gave a queenless colony a comb contain- 

 ing young larvae. Next week I found that 

 bees had built two cells in the next comb. 

 My partner says he did not change nor move 

 the combs. Do bees transfer larvae? 



While my colonies are all right, there are 

 four which are always weak, though I help 

 them with brood- combs. There is no foul 

 brood nor worms, but neither activity nor 

 honey. What can I do to get ahead with 

 such colonies? A. B. 



Manzanillo, ^Cuba. 



[I can not recall just now whether we have 

 had any reports showing that bees have ac- 

 tually moved larvx from a worker into a 

 queen cell; but I know that we have evidence 

 showing conclusively that the bees do move 

 eggs in this way; and I do not know any rea- 

 son why a young larva could not be moved 

 as well as an egg. 



In the case of the four weak colonies, if 

 they continued to be weak year after year I 

 would pinch the heads of the queens and in- 

 troduce better stock. If the queens are 

 surely all right, reduce the four down to two, 

 or even one by uniting if that be necessary 

 to give them the proper strength. A colony, 

 to do much in honey, must be fairly boiling 

 over with bees.— Ed.] 



HOW CAN COLONIES BE PREPARED FOR A 

 VERY EARLY HONEY-FLOW? 



On page 1237, 1905, Mr. Alexander tells 

 how to get the bees ready for a honey-flow 

 that comes after July 4. Will he or some 

 other man of experience tell us how to get 

 the bees in the best condition to gather the 

 honey from a flow that begins June 1 and 

 ends about July 15, little or no honey after 

 that date? and how to get queen-cells the 

 first part of May; whether to make increase 

 before, during, or after the flow, to get the 

 most honey, and leave the bees in the best 

 condition when the honey- flow stops? That 

 is what Orange Co. , N. Y. , calls for. 



Would the 60- lb. can (hanging feeder) you 

 described last fall be good to use in spring 

 as a stimulative feeder? Mr. Alexander 

 puts weak colonies on top of strong ones to 

 build them up in spring. How does he sep- 

 arate them to equalize the bees and prevent 

 loss of uncapped brood? Last summer I 

 tried his way of making increase. I like it 

 the best of any plan I have tried. How do 

 the large producers of extracted honey get 

 the honey out of the cappings in good condi- 

 tion to sell? Melting the caps with the hon- 

 ey in them, with a solar wax- extractor or 

 fire heat, darkens the honey and injures the 

 flavor, and is of no benefit to the wax 



New Hampton, N. Y. E. D. Howell. 



[In a series of articles given by Mr. Doo- 

 little he will cover the very point concerning 

 which you inquire, probably in the April 15th 

 issue, and I would, therefore, refer you to 

 that method. 



The outdoor feeder, or the hanging- square- 

 can principle, could be used provided the 

 weather were warm enough. In early sprina: 

 there will be a good many cool days, and a 

 good deal of the time the atmosphere would 

 be too chilly for the bees to do much in 

 gathering syrup from a feeder outdoors. 

 Better feed in the hives that need it. 



Mr. Alexander has already described, or 

 will soon describe, his method of dividing 

 those doubled-up colonies. 



The best way to get honey out of cappings 

 is to let them stand for several days until 

 they can drain dry. You can hasten the 

 process somewhat by putting them into a 

 German wax-press and squeezing them cold ; 

 but in so doing you will be liable to find hon- 

 ey in cavities formed by the cappings being 

 pressed tightly together.— Ed.] 



SHALL WE SPRAY WHILE THE TREES ARE IN 

 BLOOM? 



The above heading is a very important 

 subject, and especially so to the bee-keep- 

 ers in some localities where spraying is 

 practiced at that time. Bee-keepers should 

 look this matter up now before the time 

 comes for spraying, and try in some way to 

 prevent it instead of telling the editors about 

 their bees being poisoned by spraying. I 

 sent for some catalogs of sprayers and 

 spraying. One came from the William 

 Stahl Co., Quincy, 111. They advised spray- 

 ing while trees are in full bloom. Glean- 

 ings tells me to protest against such things, 

 so I wrote to them in the following language : 



Dear Sirs:—1 had intended getting me a sprayer this 

 spring, as I have quite a lot of fruit-trees; but as you 

 advise spraying while in full bloom, and as I receive 

 quite a little income from my bees, I will abandon the 

 sprayer this spring, as I don't think Paris green would 

 be good for them. 



I now quote from Mr. Stahl's catalog, p. 8: 



The second application should be made (and which I 

 consider the most necessary), when the trees are in full 

 bloom, using for this application ihe Bordeaux mixture, 

 and adding thereto Paris green in the proportion of one 

 pound to 160 gallons of Bordeaux mixture. This applica- 

 tion should not be delayed several days; and it ia well to 

 commence as soon as blossoms begin to fall. 



The above is word for word Mr. Stahl's 

 instructions. I do not desire to injure any 

 one's business, but why can't Mr. Stahl put 

 it in his catalog as he did to me in his ans- 

 wer to my inquiry about it? The following 

 is from Mr. Stahl's own pen: 



Mr. B. A. Animons:—'We have yours of the 9th; and 

 that you may have no misunderstanding with reference 

 to the bloom-spraying, we beg to advise that bloom- 

 spraying is done just as the bloom is dropping, when 

 there is not the least danger to your bees. Of course, 

 with those who have no bees it is just a little better to 

 spray when the trees are in full bloom. Possibly just 

 as good results can be obtained with this spraying done 

 a little later. You need have no fear along this line, as 

 thousands of fruit-growers have followed the above with 

 the very best results, and with no danger to bees or to 

 stock in orchard. 



If you are interested in growing fruit you can not af- 

 ford to pass spraying this season, as by this means only 

 will you succeed in raising good fruit. 



If the above was not worded by Mr. Stahl 

 it was by his manager. He seems to think 

 if I have no bees it would be better while in 



