152 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. is 



and in the fall I found the one that I filled 

 with half sheets of foundation had just fill- 

 ed the hive full, and nothing- in the super; 

 and the hive that I filled full of foundation, 

 I found the hive full, and the super full of 

 honey and 24 sections nicely capped over; 

 so I consider that the extra outlay of 25 cts. 

 for the extra half of the 8 sheets of foundation 

 brought me in return $3.84 worth of honey 

 at 16 cts. per lb.; and since that time I 

 have always filled the frames in the brood- 

 chambers with full sheets of foundation, no 

 matter when or what time of the year they 

 came out, and I have always considered 

 that it paid me. C. K. Carter. 



Eagle Grove, Ga., Dec. 7. 



[While one swallow does not make a sum- 

 mer, there have been quite a number of re- 

 ports to the same effect as the one g-iven. 

 One of the best bee-keepers in Ohio Mr. 

 Chalon Fowls, of Oberlin, even g^oes so far 

 as to say that he can afford to make his 

 own hives out of drygoods boxes, but he can 

 not afford to go without full sheets of 

 foundation. Circumstances and methods 

 of management alter cases; and it is pretty 

 hard to lay down a rule that will apply in 

 all cases; but with ordinary management 

 full sheets give better results than half or 

 quarter sheets. — Ed.] 



BAD-SMELLING HONEY IN THE HIVE. 



I have a hive of bees in my cellar, which 

 has started to cut the comb from the frames, 

 and it stinks badly from the honey they 

 got. The honey is white and nice, and it 

 is a new swarm and hive. There have been 

 two bee-keepers to look at it, but could not 

 tell the cause, so I thought I would write 

 and see what you think about it. 



Joseph Finstad. 



Esdaile, Wis., Dec. 15. 



[I am unable to suggest what the trouble 

 may be. To be on the safe side, it might 

 be well for you to send a sample of the 

 comb to your foul-brood inspector, N. E. 

 France, of Platteville, Wis. Even if the 

 comb is not diseased, Mr. France, being a 

 practical bee-keeper, would be able, prob- 

 ably, to suggest the cause of the odor. In 

 the mean time I might say that the bees 

 might have been gathering, from some 

 source, honey which, before it is thoroughly 

 ripened, is foul-smelling. — Ed.] 



A question of nomenclature. 

 In Europe we are called " bee-masters;" 

 in the East, "bee-keepers;" in the West, 

 "bee-herders," while here in the mines we 

 are known as ' ' bee experts. ' ' Who can coin 

 a word that will mean the man whose bees 

 keep him, and place him in a separate 

 class from those who simply " keep " bees? 

 Shake, shook, shooked, brushed, artificial, 

 forced, or suppressed swarms is not in it, 

 in comparison. We are trj'ing to frame an 

 act to stop effectually the sale of adulterat- 

 ed honey in California; and unless the act 

 is weakened by an amendment of some com- 



mission-house association we will make 

 the name "Pure California Honey" the 

 standard. E. H. Schaeffle. 



Murphys, Cal., Dec. 18. 



[You are right. We have no specific 

 term by which we may designate the spe- 

 cialist bee-keeper — the one who makes his 

 living by his bees. Mr. Hutchinson has 

 come as near to it as anybody by the use of 

 the word "specialist bee-keeper. " I do not 

 see but we shall have to use a lot of circum- 

 locutions; for it is better to be too "wordy" 

 than to be too brief and lack clearness. — 

 Ed.] 



mutilated bees in the cellar. 



I have thirty colonies of bees in my cellar, 

 apparently doing very well. However, there 

 are many bees all cut to pieces — heads, 

 wings, legs, and bodies lying on the 

 alighting-board. I can not see any signs 

 of mice in the cellar. What is the cause 

 of it? If it is mice, will they injure the 

 colonies? Several hives were affected the 

 same way last winter. Do you think it is 

 vermin that are killing the bees or eating 

 the dead ones? The hives are raised one 

 inch from the bottom-board. 



Seth Doan. 



Molesworth, Ont., Feb. 4. 



[From your description it seems very 

 plain to us that either mice or rats are 

 working among your bees. You would do 

 well to put out poison or set traps to get 

 them out, otherwise they may be the means 

 of ruining or destroying your colonies. — 

 Ed.] 



a method for killing yellow-jackets. 



Close the hive at night, and leave it clos- 

 ed till 8 in the morning. In the evening set 

 a can-lid filled about half full of powdered 

 brimstone on the alighting-board in front of 

 the hive. One yellow-jacket will take home 

 enough to kill all of his colony. 



J. Casselman. 



Peck, Idaho, Oct. 4, 1902. 



Will it do to Italianize bees at this sea- 

 son of the year? B. Grantham. 

 Morriston, Miss., Nov. 5. 



[I see no reason why, in your locality, 

 you could not Italianize very nicely at that 

 season of the year. Indeed, I should as- 

 sume that it would be the very best time. 

 But Italianizing here in the North should 

 generally be practiced in late summer or in 

 the fall, or whenever the main honey-flow 

 is past and when there is little honey com- 

 ing in from natural sources. — Ed.] 



1. Is there any way to make a queen lay 

 in the winter, and is it profitable? 



2. Would it be advantageous to have a 

 hive so constructed that the 1-lb. hone3'-box- 

 es could be set down in the hive proper? 



Edward Dubois. 

 Providence, R. I., Nov. 11. 



[No to both questions. — Ed.] 



