210 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 7, 



I know some of you men who read this will smile at this 

 description, but J don't care puch if you do. I made the box 

 all myself, and if it isn't a thing of beauty I am sure it will be 

 a Joy for a long time. 



And now about my aprons. There isn't much to be said 

 about them which is commendable, except the pockets, and 

 they are, I am sure, superior to any man's pocket, for I can 

 carry my dishcloth in them if I want to. Thai's more than a 

 man can do with his pocket, especially if he uses tobacco ! 

 [Oh, no, Mrs. Brown. Unless you mean the dishcloth would 

 be the sufferer. Surely, a dishcloth is far cleaner than any 

 tobacco we ever saw. — Editor.] 



I used a common butcher's apron for a pattern, and cut a 

 slit in each side to put the pockets in. These were made of 

 good oilcloth, and when sewed up each was 8 inches wide and 

 10 inches deep. I did not set them on the outside, but put 

 them in like a trouser's pocket. May be you think you would 

 not like to carry a wet dishcloth in your pocket, but I do. I 

 take a nice new one that never has washt any dishes yet, and 

 wet it, then wring it out and put into my pocket. When 

 working extracting I often feel quite "stuck up," and if I 

 happen to be out among the bees in the hot sun, the damp 

 "dishcloth" becomes very acceptable. 



The only other things I need In my pockets are a screw- 

 driver and a cheap jack-knife. If these do get wet and rust 

 they are not a great loss. If the pockets become sticky, I 

 turn them inside out, and wipe them off. The aprons should 

 be made of good dark cloth, and soakt more than rubbed in 

 washing. 



And now if the men cannot understand the uncapping- 

 box, I hope they will tell the women about the apron. 



Eau Claire Co., Wis. 



Cabbage Palmetto Houey— Buckwheat Bloom. 



BY O. O. POrPLETON. 



On page 749 of the Bee Journal for 1897, Mr. Harris 

 asks me some questions about proper handling of cabbage 

 palmetto honey when it shows fermentation under the cap- 

 pings. I have never had the trouble Mr. Harris speaks of 

 with that kind of honey, but have twice seen the trouble 

 with a very dark, strong grade of honey that was gathered in 

 May. This honey was full of air-bubbles under the cappings, 

 and, after being extracted a little while, it had to be handled 

 very carefully or it would blow bungs out of barrels, etc. I 

 have seen it so bad that it was impossible to get more than a 

 half gallon of honey in a gallon jug, without its foaming so as 

 to run out of jug and waste. It makes no difference with this 

 kind whether it Is extracted before or after being sealed. 

 The fault seems to be inherent with this kind of honey, and 

 not because of lack of ripening. I know of no method of 

 handling this honey that will correct the trouble, unless it 

 might be by use of the sun evaporator. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. 

 Hart (of Volusia Co., Fla.) have both had much experience 

 with evaporators, and I presume have had enough of this 

 kind of honey to test their value in such cases. 



No, I don't think that extracting before being sealed over 

 will remedy this evil. Handling honey in deep cans as I de- 

 scribed, is an advantage with all kinds of honey, and should 

 always be practiced, but that Is not thorough enough to en- 

 tirely cure the evil when honey is bad enough to ferment un- 

 der the cappings. Fortunately, that kind of honey is not very 

 common. I have had to contend with it only twice, and not 

 In large quantities then. 



BUCKWHEAT BLOOM — BEES WORKING NEAR HOME. 



On page 743 (1897) Mr. Hutchinson is quoted as fol- 

 lows : 



" Forty acres of buckwheat were once sowed early in the 



season, three miles from my little apiary It bloomed two 



or three weeks before any other buckwheat, and my bees 

 workt upon it and secured a little more than enough for their 

 immediate needs, but when the buckwheat bloomed near 

 home, the combs filled up with a rush." 



This was said as proof that bees do not work profitably 

 except near home, but it proves nothing, owing to a peculiar 

 habit of buckwheat bloom. I never knew extra-early-bloom- 

 )ng buckwheat to yield any quantity of honey, altho bees seem 

 to work on it the same as they do after the yield sets in. This 

 was probably the real reason for the facts Mr. H. quotes. 



CYPRESS LUMBER FOB HIVES. 



On page 745 (1897) the question is askt whether cypress 

 lumber can be used for bee-hives. Yes, I prefer cypress to 

 any other kind of lumber I have ever used. 



BROOD REABINQ IN WINTER. 



On page 70 Mr. Doolittle says that " Quinby was correct 

 in saying that bro.od-reariug would commence in all good col- 

 onies about Christmas, but that means in colonies wintered 

 outside." For some reason or othgr my bees in Iowa didn't 

 follow this rule. Fully nine-tenths of my colonies, as a rule, 

 would commence brood-rearing between March 15 and April 

 5. The only reason for this difference that I can think of is 

 that mine being in chaff hives may have caused the bees to act 

 differently. 



MOVING BEES FBOM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER. 



On page 134 the point is brought out in discussion that 

 bees that are removed from one location to another in the 

 spring will usually do better work than will those colonies 

 not moved. I noticed this fact when first beginning bee-keep- 

 ing, nearly 30 years ago, and repeated observations since then 

 haveconfirmed me in my opinion that such is a fact. I am 

 not able to give any theory why It is so — I can simply say that 

 all my experiences in moving bees seem to uphold that 

 opinion. 



PACKING FOR WINTERING BEES. 



On page 139, in answering a question about packing bees 

 for wintering, Dr. Miller says : " Dry leaves are well liked, 

 but sawdust is considered too heavy." He is correct, but my 

 experience taught me that very fine chaff — that from timothy 

 — Is best of all ; and next to that, I liked, not common saw- 

 dust, but such as is made by very fine saws while working in 

 dry pine — such. In fact, as our beehive factories make in 

 large quantities. I think this will be found better than planer- 

 shavings. But beware of coarse sawdust, that isn't thoroughly 

 dry. This last Is probably what Dr. M. referred to. 



Dade Co., Fla. 



What to Do With Queeuless Colonies in Spring. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



A correspondent wishes me to tell in the American Bee 

 Journal what to do with queeenless colonies in the spring. He 

 writes as follows : 



" I find, on this the first flight of my bees, that I have 

 several queenless colonies. What had 1 better do with them ? 

 If it is best to unite them, what is the best method of doing it ?" 



What to do with these queenless colonies will depend upon 

 two things — first, the wants of the correspondent, and, sec- 

 ond, the condition of the queenless colonies. If the colonies 

 are strong in bees, and thecorrespondent wishes more colonies 

 than he already has, then I should give them a frame of brood 

 from some colony having the same which it can spare, and 

 send South for a queen for them, or let them roiir a queen 

 for themselves, just as my means would allow. The colony 

 will become self-sustalniug sooner if a queen is procured for 

 them than they will by rearing their own queen ; for most 

 likely the first lot of cells built will have to be destroyed on 

 account of not having drones in the apiary thus early. To 

 rear a queen before there are any drones for her to meet, 

 often proves a vexatious thing, as an unfertile queen is hard 

 to find in order to be rid of her; and if not fertilized she will 

 prove to be a drone-layer, or worse than useless. 



If the colonies are to rear their own queens, brood must 

 be given them once a week till they have a laying queen, 

 which makes extra work ; still, if anxious for bees, this work is 

 not to be shunned, for such colonies with their young queens 

 often prove among the best for honey during the season. 



If the colonies are weak, or the owner does not desire 

 increase, the best thing to do is to unite these queenless colo- 

 nies with those having queens. To do this uniting, I would 

 employ one of two plans at this time of year, and, as far as 

 possible, unite the queenless colonies with the weaker ones 

 having queens. 



The first plan I would use is this-: Select a time just 

 after the bees have had a flight and become quiet, if the 

 weather is cool, or wait till near evening if the weather is 

 warm, and then carry the colony having the queen to the 

 stand of the queenless one, and shake the bees from the latter 

 off their combs and from their hive in front of the hive having 

 the queen now on their own stand. Previous to shaking the 

 queenless bees off their combs, blow some smoke in at the en- 

 trance of the one having the queen, till they set up a loud 

 humming, which shows that the guards are conquered, when 

 the hum will be interrupted as a call by the queenless bees, 

 which will run In immediately, and no fighting will result. 

 After dark take the now united colony to the stand formerly 



