62 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



eliminates the bad taste of a good many 

 different brands of honey. For example, 

 the nectar from the flower of onions is very 

 offensive; but after it has been thoroughly 

 ripened by the bees the offensive odor is 

 practically gone, and the honey is not un- 

 pleasant. — Ed.] 



NORTHERN ILLINOIS AS A HONEV LOCATION; 

 WOULD IT PAY TO MOVE BEES THKRE? 



How does Northern Illinois rank as a 

 honey- producing section? Do you think it 

 a better place for producing honey than 

 here in Vermont? I do not suspect it is a 

 very good place; but would it pay to move 

 about twenty colonies out there if I were 

 going any wa3^? The bees are in Simplic- 

 ity hives, and in very good order. I am 

 wintering there on their suinmer stands. 



How early in the spring could they be 

 moved? How should they be prepared for 

 shipping? I suppose they w^ould go by ex- 

 press. About what would be the rates 

 from here to Chicago, and would I be allow- 

 ed to go with them provided I pay mj^ fare? 

 Leon E. Hall. 



North Springfield, Vt., Nov. 29. 



[Northern Illinois is no better for honey 

 than your locality in Vermont, probably; 

 but if you are going for other reasons we 

 would advise you to sell your bees where 

 they are, rather than pay express charges 



to move them to Illinois, for the charges 

 will probably be as much as the bees are 

 worth. A cheaper way would be to take 

 the express charges and buy bees and put 

 them in new hives after you get to j'our new 

 location. 



You can move bees at any time in the 

 spring; in fact, they can be moved in the 

 dead of winter; but when the air is very cold, 

 combs are liable to be brittle. If the bees 

 are to be moved it should be done when the 

 temperature is above freezing. — Ed.] 



painting hives a warm color. 



In wintering bees with telescope covers 

 why would it not be a good plan to paint 

 the covers black? They would, if black, 

 keep the hives warmer, during the day at 

 least. C. G. Dickson. 



Kensington, Md., Sept. 17. 



[We have made it a rule to paint our 

 winter cases with common Venetian red. A 

 warm color may have the advantage of 

 drawing enough heat from the sun at times 

 to warm up the cluster in the hive, thus 

 causing it to turn over and move on to more 

 honey, and thus be prepared for the long 

 cold snap. I have observed this: that some- 

 times colonies outdoors have starved to death 

 because the cluster has consumed all the 

 honey within three or four inches of it. If 



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;^fe'i 



FIG. 5. — A fine field OF H ICARTSEASE. 



