1906 



GLEANIXflS IX BEE CULTUIJE. 



.-.G'.t 



C. M. CHURCH S QUEEN-FERTILIZING TENT. 



pole to pole. The walls were boarded up (3 

 ft. from the ground all around, and in these 

 side boards holes were cut to admit hives, 

 and six full colonies of bees were so placed 

 that the rear of the hive opened into the large 

 tent or dome. The outer entrance at the 

 front was covered with queen-excluding zinc 

 so that only the workers could pass out. In 

 those six hives 



I placed all the 

 drone brood I 

 could spare 

 from the yard. 

 The inside en- 

 trances — that 

 is, those open- 

 ing into the tent 

 — were closed 

 evenings, and 

 opened about 10 

 o'clock on sun- 

 shiny days, to 

 allow dx'ones to 



II y . I made 

 some small 

 three - frame 

 mating - boxes, 

 and cut holes 

 similar to those 

 for the hives, 

 and inserted 

 them in the side 

 of the tent. 

 These, like the 

 large hives, had 

 excluding zinc 



over the outside en- 

 trances, and the inside 

 entrances were opened 

 about 10 o'clock each 

 bright day. 



EXPENSE OF THE TENT. 



To build this tent or 

 dome, the wire screen 

 cost me $39; the lumber 

 and nails, $41: the guy 

 wire, $3. It took my 

 son and me ten days 

 to build it. 



RESULTS. 



In this tent I lost, 

 during live weeks' time, 

 about four colonies of 

 bees, all the drones I 

 could spare, and about 

 fifteen queens. I suc- 

 ceeded in getting one 

 queen fertilized. 



THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. 



Here is my theory as 

 to why Mr. Davitt suc- 

 ceeded while I failed. 

 He used mosquito- net- 

 ting made of cotton 

 while I used wire cloth. 

 The drones would tiy 

 against the wire cloth, 

 and, after a few times, 

 their wings would be 

 torn so they would fall to the ground and 

 crawl helplessly around. The queens suf- 

 fered the same fate. I do not believe that 

 one per cent of the drones succeeded in fly- 

 ing in the tent two days in succession. 



MOSQUITO- NETTING PREFERABLE TO THE 

 WaRE CLOTH. 



I believe the scheme will work with netting 



A QLEEN-FEKTILIZING TK.NT FOR CONTROLLING THE ilALE I'AREMACiE. 



