1903 



GLEANINGS IN REE CUL'IURE. 



A SUGGESTION KOR A BEE-FEEDER; HOW TO 

 PUT STARTERS IN HOME-MADE BROOD- 

 FRAMES. 



I have never seen a feeder that was just 

 what I thought it ought to be. I should 

 like to have one that fastens on to the back 

 end of the hive, and feeding through an 

 auger-hole. Then it would not be in the 

 way in examining bees, and could remain 

 in place all the time. When it needs refill- 

 ing, raise a tin cover and pour the syrup 

 through a wire cloth into the pan. 



I will give my way of putting starters in 

 brood-frames, as I never saw it in print. 

 Take a strip of wood '2 inch thick by 1 inch 

 wide, and long enough to go easilj'^ inside 

 of the frame under the top-bar. Now place 

 one edge of this strip to the center of the 

 bottom side of the top-bar, and drive two 

 tacks in the top side of the strip at the edge 

 of the top-bar so that there will be no more 

 trouble in getting the strip to the right 

 place. Now melt some wax, and make 

 some strong soapsuds to wet thoroughly the 

 edge of the strip before placing in position 

 in the frame. Turn the frame bottom up- 

 ward, and let the bottom-bar lie across the 

 arm, holding the end next to j'^ou a little 

 higher than the other. After placing the 

 starter in the frame, pour the wax over the 

 end next to you, and let it run to the other 

 end. With a little practice one can put 

 starters in that answer every requirement. 



Cave Citjs Ky., Nov. 6. A. P. Young. 



[Bee-feeders such as you describe have 

 been made, but they have never become very 

 popular. Besides necessitating the mutila- 

 tion of the hive, they require an expensive 

 feeder. A cheap simple feeder, one that 

 can be used at the entrance or inside of the 

 hive, is better than a complicated trap on 

 the outside. Your method of fastening foun- 

 dation will do very well when the bottom 

 side of the top-bar is not grooved. — Ed.] 



BEE PARALYSIS. 



I have sent you a few dead bees along 

 with this letter, to see if 3'ou can give me 

 any information as to the cause of their 

 death. This colony has a two-year-old 

 queen, and was my best one this spring, 

 until the trouble began, six weeks ago. 

 They die faster than the bees can carry 

 them oflf, as there are many on the bottom- 

 board. I have examined the comb, and find 

 no sign of foul brood. They have the ap- 

 pearance of being swollen. I have 30 hives 

 and this is the only one that is troubled. 



Rockland, Mass., Nov. 11. F. Ames. 



[The sample of dead bees you send, and 

 the symptoms you describe, point to bee par- 

 alysis. In the Northern States the disease 

 rarely if ever does any great damage. I 

 think I would advise, however, removing 

 the queen and substituting another. If the 

 disease reappears again next season on 

 those combs, and in those same hives, burn 

 the combs and scorch out the inside of the 

 hive. Such proceedure is hardlj' ever nec- 



essary, and is resorted to only in extreme 

 cases. — Ed.] 



FOUL BROOD IN MICHIGAN. 



Is there any cure for foul brood, or any 

 law in regard to people keeping infected 

 bees? There are two apiaries near me 

 that have foul brood. B. M. Wing. 



Sheridan, Mich., Nov. 11. 



[Most certainly there is a cure — a law, 

 and an inspector to see that such law is 

 carried into effect. I commend your case 

 to Foul-brood Inspector W. Z. Hutchinson, 

 Flint, Mich.— Ed.] 



ITALIAN BEES IN PLACE OF ROBBER-TRAPS. 



There is much being written just now on 

 robber-traps. Much valuable reading-space 

 is taken up illustrating them, etc. The 

 best robber-trap I have ever used or seen 

 is a good colony of Italian bees. There is 

 more profit in one colony of Italians than 

 in all the bee-traps ever invented. If a col- 

 ony becomes queenless, and is being robbed, 

 place a sack over the hive and pour water 

 on the sack. The water will run down on 

 to the entrance, which makes the robbers 

 soon give up the undertaking. 



C. E. Woodward. 



Matanzas, Cuba, Oct. 10. 



[Much of what you say is true, and I 

 would have pure Italians if for no other 

 reason. But Italian bees, if good workers, 

 will rob fearfully if the bee-keeper is in any 

 way careless. The best preventive of rob- 

 bing is skill and extreme care, coupled 

 with a knowledge of the general robbing 

 propensities of bees. — Ed.] 



Do queens stop laying eggs at this time 

 of the year or sooner? I opened one of my 

 hives to-day, and couldn't see an egg or 

 larva, all the brood being capped. Let me 

 know if this happens each year, or whether 

 it shows that the hive has no queen. 



E. H. Kilian. 



Mascoutah, 111., Oct. 14. 



[Queens almost invariably stop laying, 

 in normal colonies, in the fall of the year. 

 The fact that you saw no eggs or larvae 

 would not be an indication that the queen 

 was absent; but, on the contrary, that the 

 conditions were normal. — Ed.] 



Do you know if any one has ever tried 

 feeding sugar-cane juice to bees in order to 

 have them complete sections? Do you think 

 it would be successful after the honey- flow 

 has ceased? G. W. Weingart. 



Picayune, Miss., Oct. 13. 



[Cane-sugar juice can be fed to bees, and 

 they would make a sort of syrup honey of it; 

 but under no circumstances would we think 

 of using it to fill out sections, unless the 

 customer who bought such sections was told 

 plainly that it was cane-sugar hone3^ The 

 general experience is, when the public is 

 told that a section is iilled with sugar syrup 

 it will have none of it.— Ed.] 



