1W3 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



105 



such a bountiful crop iu 1901, did nut yield 

 a bit this time; and those in this locality 

 who do not feed their bees will lose most of 

 them. There are no very extensive bee- 

 keepers in this immediate locality; but I 

 believe half the bees I know of are already 

 dead. D. B. Thomas. 



Odin, Wright Co., Mo., Dec. 12. 



[Friend T., I have been well aware that 

 not only white clover, but nearly if not 

 quite all the clovers, blossom and yield hon- 

 ey the first year if every thing is favorable. 

 Even alsike has at times made a beautiful 

 show of heads, the ver3' 3'ear it is sown. 

 In connection with this I should like to 

 mention that we sowed some lawn grass 

 with a prett}' good sprinkling of white clo- 

 ver around our cabin in the woods in Aug- 

 ust, 1901. It came up strong, thrifty, and 

 wintered without the loss of a single plant 

 so far as I could see. Nothing ever heaves 

 out by the frost in that locality. During 

 the past summer this lawn gave the largest 

 yield of white-clover blossoms I ever saw. 

 The ground was almost as white as snow 

 with the clover blossoms; and, by some 

 hook or crook that I can not explain, there 

 is quite a dotting of alsike. As fast as the 

 blossoms dried up, other blossoms took their 

 place. Our two colonies of bees were just 

 roaring over it all the while. While I am 

 about it I may mention that, after all our 

 white honey was gone, the best one of my 

 two colonies stored 25 well- filled sections of 

 buckwheat, besides quite a number of sec- 

 tions that were not quite filled. I mention 

 this because it is something new to me to 

 get 15 lbs. of nicely sealed comb honey from 

 one colony workingon buckwheat. — A. I. R.] 



OLD AND NEW COMB; DO NOT QUEENS SOME- 

 TIMES PREFER THE OLD AND SOME- 

 TIMES THE NEW? 



For several issues I have been noticing 

 your discussions with Dr. Miller as to 

 whether new or old comb is preferred by 

 the queen. There are times when a queen 

 will prefer drawn or partly drawn combs 

 of foundation to old black combs, and there 

 are other times when the reverse is true. 

 This matter is regulated entirely by the con- 

 dition of the honey-flow. When there is a 

 fairly good flow of honey, the colony storing 

 above a living, secreting wax, and pulling 

 foundation, it is then a queen is doing her 

 best, and seems to prefer freshly drawn 

 combs, and at such times (with the more 

 prolific races) I have seen the queen occupy 

 the entire sheet of new comb from wood to 

 wood, even depositing eggs in the short cells 

 against the molded bead on the under side 

 of the top-bar. While the queen now seem- 

 ingly prefers foundation freshly drawn, 

 old combs will not be deserted, but the 

 brood will have a scattered appearance, and 

 pollen will all be stored in the old combs 

 exclusively, sometimes one or more c>f the 

 old combs being solid pollen; but let the 

 honey-flow slacken or cease, and the queen 



will at once return to the old combs, and 

 nothing but a flow of honey, or feeding un- 

 til waxsecretion begins, will induce the 

 queen to use again newly drawn combs or 

 partly drawn foundation. This I have 

 proven over and often in the past few years. 

 When partly and full drawn combs have 

 been brought over from the previous seasons, 

 these combs have been put in the brood- 

 nest in spring in place of frames of brood 

 removed; and unless a honey-flow was on, 

 these combs would remain untouched by the 

 queen, even passing over and laying in the 

 black combs beyond. 



Then, again, it is the custom in the South, 

 where much honey is put on the market in 

 the shape of "bulk comb," to carry over as 

 many drawn combs of foundation as possi- 

 ble. I have seen these supersof new combs 

 stacked on the hives fully covered with bees, 

 but not an egg would be laid in them un- 

 til the honey- flow began; then it is that the 

 queen will occupy these new combs at once. 

 Why the queen will prefer and use new 

 comb during a honey-flow and will not use 

 any thing but old combs at other times, I 

 c;ui not explain. In the case of Mr. Hutch- 

 inson (Stray Straw, p. 971), searching an 

 old black comb in a nucleus for first-laid 

 eggs, I would account for it in this way: It 

 is seldom that a nucleus run for queens be- 

 comes prosperous enough to store much 

 honey or build new comb; and there being 

 a vacancy prepared in the old comb, right 

 among the brood, from eggs of the previous 

 queen, it is natural that the queen would 

 occupy this first. If the nucleus is strong 

 with a good field force of honey coming in, 

 I should expect eggs in newly made comb 

 as quickly as in the old black combs. 



Beeville, Texas. W. H. Laws. 



[Dr. C. C. Miller's attention is respectful- 

 ly called to this. It is no little source of 

 gratification to know that a practical queen- 

 breeder — one of many years' experience — 

 has given me no little aid and comfort. 

 Mr. L., I think, explains just the conditions 

 when queens will favor new comb and 

 when not; and it appears to me that his ex- 

 planation quite dissolves the bitter wrangle 

 between Dr. Miller and myself. Come, doc- 

 tor, let's shake. — Ed.] 



SEALED COVERS ENDORSED. 



I notice on page 907 Mr. Gill condemns the 

 sealed covers in rather strong terms. I 

 have had splendid success in wintering 

 bees under sealed covers, both in Northern 

 Iowa, where the thermometer registers 30 

 below zero, and in Ohio, where it seldom 

 went as low as 20, and did not stay at zero 

 long at a time, and the sealed cover has 

 been a success with me in both places 

 (rive me a good strong cluster of bees with 

 plent}' of good stores of honey, and I 

 would not give any one ten cents to warrant 

 them to winter perfectly under sealed covers 

 if properly packed. There should be a 

 good warm quilt and several inches of good 



