160 



G^i..VNlI\GS IN BEE CULILRE. 



Fkb. :5 



into winter quarters strong- last fall. The 

 strangest thing- in my mind about these 

 bees is that I looked for drones at different 

 times during last spring and summer, and 

 could not find any, either in the hive or 

 among the unhatched brood. 



W. W. Brockunier. 

 Sewiclcley, Pa., Jan. 5. 



[If the bees are on combs built from full 

 sheets of foundation, it is scarcely to be 

 ■wondered at that you donot find drones in the 

 hive. If there are drone-cells, and no drones 

 reared, it is a little remarkable. It has 

 been said that the presence of a large num- 

 ber of drones in ahive is conducive to swarm- 

 ing. The converse of this claim might be 

 that the very absence of them may indicate 

 that the bees have no notion of swarming-. 

 Such a queen should be used as a breeder, 

 if you have not already done so. A queen 

 whose bees are not inclined to swarm, or 

 do not swarm at all, are just the kind of 

 bees we are looking after. Dr. C. C. Mil- 

 ler, of Marengo, 111., would no doubt be 

 glad to stock up from her. May be if you 

 "work" him right you might get big mon- 

 ey out of him for a few queens. — Ed.] 



CELLULOID AS A SUBS TITIJ PE FOR WAX IN 

 FOUNDATION. 



In your replj' to A. B. Anthon}', page 987, 

 regarding a substitute for beeswax in foun- 

 dation, you make mention of several articles 

 that you have tried. Have you ever tried 

 celluloid in thin sheets with cells stamped, 

 and the whole given a thin coating of wax? 



Danbury, Conn. Frank Lacey. 



[No, I never tried the substance; but I am 

 satisfied it would be altogether too expen- 

 sive for the purpose. If I am wrong, I 

 shall be glad to be corrected. But even if 

 it is cheap, I should question very much 

 whether such an article would ever be used 

 b}^ the bees. They would not be inclined 

 to build their wax superstructure on top of 

 the celluloid foundation, and I should im- 

 agine they would "stick up their noses," 

 and leave it in disgust. Foundation made 

 of metal like pressed tin, or of wood, has 

 been used; but the bees built their wax on 

 top of the cell walls after a fashion, as they 

 evidently did not like it. — Ed.] 



YOUNG BEES BEING CARRIED OUT DURING 

 WINTER. 



My bees on the 16th of January made a 

 good flight. Some of my colonies brought 

 out young bees nearlj' full grown. Please 

 tell me the cause, as I can't find any thing 

 in Gleanings. I am wintering my bees 

 on their summer stands. 



McBrides, Mich. Wm. L. Stewart. 



[It looks very much as if your bees have 

 been rearing brood, and that this brood had 

 nearly matured, became chilled from a cold 

 spell, and died. In this case the bees, at 

 the first opportunity, would empty out these 

 cells, and dump the contents at the en- 

 trance. — Ed.] 



a model bee HOUSE AND CELLAR. 



My bee-cellar is dug out of hard lime- 

 stone, and then floored and ceiled all over 

 with matched lumber. The bees winter 

 well in it; but as I have a house built over 

 it (see photographs) the floor is wet on account 

 of the warm air from the cellar. Can j^ou 

 tell me how to keep it dry? The tempera- 

 ture does not vary more than one or two de- 

 grees from 44. I expect to put a part of my 

 bees in the house next spring, for an experi- 

 ment, as it will hold b4 hives without crowd- 

 ing. M. P. Rhoads. 



Browntown, Wis., Jan. 5, 1903. 



[There is no way you can remove the 

 excess of moisture except by some scheme 

 of ventilation. Moisture in a bee-cellar 

 does not necessarily do any harm, provid- 

 ing the temperature is kept uniform, or rea- 

 sonably so, and providing the bees have 

 fresh air occasionally. But, according to 

 Doolittle's experiments, a cellar reeking 

 with dampness, without ventilation, win- 

 ters bees successfully providing the temper- 

 ature can be kept absolutely uniform at 45. 

 —Ed.] 



sulphur as a cure for bee-paralysis. 



In July, 1902, I noticed a swarm of bees 

 in my yard that seemed to be in a state of 

 continual agitation. Bees would be run- 

 ning about the entrance, and I could count 

 from 12 to 25 or more bees at any time of 

 day in the grass about the hive, in a dying 

 condition. Some would be on their back, 

 kicking; others would be crawling about, 

 and showed a distinct trembling motion, 

 and all had a sort of greasy, shiny appear- 

 ance. I knew the queen was j'oung and 

 prolific; but the bees died off so fast they 

 could gather no surplus. I decided it was 

 bee-paralysis. A few months before. I had 

 read an article in Gleanings by Mrs. E. 

 B. Hawkins, about sulphur being a cure 

 for the disease. I procured a silt-cellar, 

 filled it with powdered sulphur, removed 

 each comb, and lightly sprinkled the brood. 

 In two or three days I examined the combs 

 to see what damage the sulphur might have 

 done, but found every thing apparently all 

 right. I then gave them another good dose 

 — larvae, eggs, bees, and all — and in about 

 two weeks the bees had entirel}^ disappear- 

 ed. Let some one else try it. I will guar- 

 antee the sulphur to do no harm. 



Kilbourn, Wis. C. H. Pierce. 



What will be the best way to handle a 

 queeuless colony next spring? They are 

 heavy in stores. L. W. Parman. 



[You had better give that colony a queen 

 as soon as you can. Queenless bees are 

 quite apt to succumb during winter, even 

 when they have all other conditions favor- 

 able. If you have not a queen that you can 

 get, better unite that colony to some nucle- 

 us. If the bees have been long queenless, 

 there will not be much likelihood that they 

 will attack the queen furnished them with 

 the nucleus. — Ed.] 



