492 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



years; but nothing like this ever happened. 

 To you old bee-keepers this may be no mys- 

 tery. Can you tell us? S. R. Ferguson. 

 Sumner, la., Feb. 22. 



[I am unable to account for this peculiar 

 trouble. It may be some sort of disease 

 with which we are not yet famihar. If the 

 other colonies were affected, I should lay it 

 to poison administered by some enemy of 

 the owner of the bees. Sometimes a snake 

 will cause a whole colony to vacate because 

 it can crawl into the hive. —Ed.] 



HOFFMAN AND STAPLE-SPACED FRAMES. 



On p. 2V*8 Mr. Phillips enters into a detail- 

 ed defense of the Hoffman frame. I have 

 used that frame two years, and will cut off 

 the spacers and substitute either staples or 

 nails driven in the top-bar half an inch from 

 the shoulder. The trouble that I come in 

 contact with is that I kill many bees that 

 would be saved by the use of the staple or 

 nail spaced frame; and here in Central Kan- 

 sas the bees carry in quite a quantity of 

 propolis, and almost fill up the space on 

 each side of the V, making it next to impos- 

 sible to separate the frames, especially if 

 the weather is cool, in which case the pro- 

 polis is hardened to such an extent that the 

 spacers will split off instead of separating, 

 as they no doubt do in the warm climate of 

 Jamaica, where propolis very seldom if ever 

 becomes hard. 



Aside from the spacer, I very much like 

 the Hoffman frame In the matter of frames 

 crowding together in the absence of spacers, 

 in case the hive is to be moved, I fully con- 

 cur with Mr. Phillips; but if a nail or staple 

 be driven into the top-bar it answers the 

 purpose of the V on the sides of the end- 

 bar, and will seldom kill any bees. 



Mr. Phillips states that a little smoke at 

 the right place will drive the bees out of the 

 way of the spacers, which is probably true; 

 but by the use of the staple spacer this 

 trouble is avoided, and in my apiary it would 

 be quite troublesome to use smoke when I 

 have all the frames of a hive separated, in 

 looking for a queen or queen-cells, or when 

 I go to put back the frames after extract- 

 ing the honey. I was personally acquainted 

 with Mr. Langstroth, who invented the 

 movable comb; and in talking with him re- 

 garding the best and most satisfactory frame 

 for all purposes and all localities he stated 

 that the least possible space of contact in 

 the matter of frames touching each other or 

 the walls of the hive he had found to be the 

 best. When I began the use of the Hoff- 

 man frame I tried to think it superior to any 

 other; but my experience has compelled me 

 to fall back upon the Langstroth. as above 

 given. G. Bohrer. 



Lyons, Kan., April 1. 



over them by a little watching to make them 

 build them straight? 



What color are the red-clover bees? I or- 

 dered two of an advertiser in Gleanings, 

 and they were nearly if not quite as black 

 as my hybrids. W. P. Haight. 



Nora Springs, la., Feb. 3. 



[You can wire your brood-frames and use 

 only starters of foundation. Bees will build 

 over the wires so as to make good perfect 

 combs. 



The red-clover bees are what are ordina- 

 rily called three-banded yellow Italians. 

 The bands are a dark yellow, not a bright- 

 more like the regular imported stock. The 

 black red-clover bees you refer to may have 

 come from untested mothers, the progeny 

 favoring very strongly the drones with 

 which the queens were mated. — Ed.] 



COMBS BUILT TOGETHER; HOW TO SEPARATE. 



I should like to ask now to manipulate 

 frames whose combs are built from one 

 frame to the other. I am going to clip the 

 queen's wings, but can not get out the 

 frames. John Brandt. 



Erskine, Minn., Feb. 25. 



[Where combs are built together as de- 

 scribed, the only way to do is to blow smoke 

 down between the combs pretty liberally, 

 then with a long-bladed knife, preferably 

 dipped in hot water, cut through the fasten- 

 ings until the frames are clear and sepa- 

 rate. —Ed.] 



A ventilating - FRAME FOR USE BETWEEN 



HIVE-BODY AND BOTTOM-BOARD, FOR 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



For wintering bees in cellar I have a 

 frame the size of a hive, about 3J inches 

 wide, that will fit the bottom-board tight. 

 On the lengthwise sides there is a piece cut 

 out which is covered with screen so as to 

 give them all the air they want; when ready 

 to take into the cellar I just lift them on 

 the frame with bottom-board under. I have 

 no trouble with bees coming out, and no 

 dead bees on the floor. H. B. Hanson. 



Christian, N. D., Feb. 2. 



[This would make a very good arrange- 

 ment; and I am not sure but it would pay 

 every bee-keeper who winters in the cellar 

 to provide such ventilating-rims, which he 

 can put in between the hive and the bottom- 

 board. The entrances should then all be 

 closed, confining any bees that may die to 

 the bottom. —Ed.] 



STARTERS FOR WIRED BROOD-FRAMES. 



If I use only starters can I wire the brood- 

 frames the same as if I intended to use full 

 sheets, and have the bees build the combs 



HIVES SET ON SLACKED LIME. 



The best way to keep ants away from 

 the hivas is to set them on half a bushel of 

 air - slacked lime spread around on the 

 ground. That also keeps weeds down. 



Nick Schnettler. 



Valders, Wis., Mar. 7. 



