1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



831 



on to show that the queens do not need to 

 take a flight. He says, "The queen is an 

 exception, so far as her capability of remov- 

 ing the intestinal residua is concerned, as 

 her ovaries occupy the space taken by a pair 

 of large air- sacs in the worker and drone, so 

 that she on foot, and for an obvious reason, 

 possesses the power the others acquire only 

 when on the wing." 



We are unable to say why your queen 

 should have been found on the alighting- 

 board, but the probabilities are that she had 

 not been flying. —Ed.] 



CROCUS-BLOSSOMS; THEIR VALUE IN THE 

 SPRING. 



I have ten colonies of Italian and hybrid 

 bees in eight-frame and jumbo hives. The 

 hives are located on land sloping to the 

 south, with higher land, wooded, to the north. 

 About 200 yards to the south of the apiary 

 is a small plat of land in front of a green- 

 house, which, some years ago, was planted 

 with about 300 • crocus -bulbs. These have 

 multiplied, until to-day there are probably 

 10,000— a beautiful sight when in full flower, 

 which they have been for the past two 

 or three weeks. April 5 I examined my 

 bees and found in every hive more or less 

 unsealed honey. One very strong colony 

 had built comb on top of the frames under 

 a home-made Hill device, and had, I should 

 •think, at least 3 lbs. of unsealed honey in 

 the hive. As there are absolutely no other 

 flowers open in this vicinity, and as I have 

 noticed the bees working very freely on the 

 crocus flowers, I am quite sure that they 

 gather the honey from those flowers. I 

 have noticed the same thing to a less extent 

 in previous years. 



The question that arises in my mind is, 

 will it not pay bee-keepers to plant some of 

 these bulbs for making early pasturage to 

 induce early brood- rearing? The bulbs are 

 very cheap, increase each year, once planted 

 need no further care, and for giving the 

 bees early feed for stimulating brood- rear- 

 ing, would, I believe, prove much cheaper 

 than feeding sugar syrup. Of course, my 

 location and conditions may be exceptional. 



Millbrook, N. Y. I. L. Powell. 



CHANGING HIVES WHILE A SWARM WITHOUT 

 A QUEEN IS IN THE AIR. 



I had a swarm come out twice. It flew 

 around, and, not finding the queen, it went 

 back to the old hive. The third time they 

 came out as before. * As soon as they all got 

 out I looked around the old hive, and then I 

 found the queen walking around on the 

 ground, but she could not fly with the swarm. 

 I removed the old hive from the stand and 

 covered it up with a sheet. I took an empty 

 hive and put it on the old stand, placing the 

 crippled queen in the empty hive. After the 

 bees had flown around awhile, not flnding 

 the queen they came back, as they supposed, 

 to the old hive, but instead they found an 

 empty hive with their queen in it, and they 

 were contented. After they settled I took 



the new swarm and put them on a new 

 stand; then I took the old swarm and put it 

 back on the old stand and uncovered it. 

 Business was then resumed as before. 

 Delhi, N. Y. J. DeWitt Smith. 



HOW TO GET RID OP LAYING WORKERS. 



If laying workers appear in one of my 

 hives I move the old hive to one side and 

 face it the opposite direction; then place a 

 new hive on the old stand, and gve a frame 

 partly filled with honey and also two frames 

 containing full sheets of foundation. When 

 enough bees return to cover at least one 

 frame I give them a frame of sealed brood, 

 and two days later introduce a queen. Four 

 or five days later, I shake the remainder of 

 the bees in the old hive in front of the new 

 hive, putting on an Alley drone-trap to pre- 

 vent the drones entering the hive. 



Dodge City, Kan. P. R. Hobble. 



A GRAPE-BASKET ON A POLE FOR A SWARM- 

 CATCHER. 



One of the handiest devices for taking 

 swarms out of tall trees (or short ones ei- 

 ther) I have never seen mentioned; viz., a 

 common grape-basket. I have taken swarms 

 from trees 60 to 75 feet tall. Take a light 

 pole with the basket on the end, and shake 

 the bees into the basket, and they will clus- 

 ter in it. Let it down with a rope from tall 

 trees. It can be carried in a basket very 

 easily. W. H. Pratt. 



Sugar Grove, Pa. 



OUTDOOR FEEDING; A FLOAT IN THE TROUGH 

 TO KEEP BEES FROM DROWNING. 



In reading Gleanings, p. 494, on outdoor 

 feeding, I thought I would tell you about the 

 feeder that I have found very satisfactory 

 for outside feeding. A box or trough simi- 

 lar to that described on page 494 can be 

 used. I do not like to give oees a chance to 

 tumble each other into the syrup or honey, 

 which I find they do on not covering the syr- 

 up. Inside of a box I fit a half-inch stock 

 and bore it full of auger-holes, about g-inch, 

 and cover the board with wire screening; 



Eour honey or syrup on the box, and put the 

 oard with screen on, right in the syrup- 

 board. If the screen is tacked on well it 

 floats on top of the sjrrup. If it does not 

 settle down low enough in the syrup for the 

 bees to reach, put a weight on the board so 

 it will settle low enough for bees to reach. 



W. G. ASBELL, 



Sussex, Can., April 29. 



THE PLAN OF HIVING ON STARTERS OF FOUN- 

 DATION UNSUCCESSFUL. 



I should like to hear from some bee-keep- 

 er who practices hiving on strips of founda- 

 tion. I use one-inch strips, and usually flnd 

 them gTiawed down by bees, and combs built 

 crosswise. I also find altogether too much 

 drone comb. B. J. Holden. 



Dorset, Ohio. 



