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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



MOVING TO A BETTER LOCATION. 



Would it pay one who is just beginning' 

 in bee-keeping in a poor place for bees to 

 move to a locality where basswood, white- 

 wood, and sourwood abound? Don't you 

 think the above-named trees, in addition to 

 persimmon, red-bud, locust, etc., would be 

 a very desirable place? I know of such a 

 place ten miles from me. 



J. H. Prillaman. 



Simpsons, Va., Feb. 18. 



[If 3'ou can easily move to abetter locality, 

 we would advise you to make the change. 

 Dr. Miller has said that he would not rec- 

 ommend any one to go into bee-keeping very 

 largely, and depend on white clover as his 

 main and almost only supply of nectar. 

 Some seasons basswood will yield heavily 

 while clover will be almost a failure, and 

 again the reverse may be true. 



If j'ou have a good business aside from 

 bee-keeping in the locality where you re- 

 side, I would not advise you to give it up 

 for bees by going into another locality that 

 may be more favorable. The bee business 

 is rather uncertain as a means of livelihood; 

 and the average person had better have 

 something else to tie to. — Ed.] 



THE subject-matter OF GLEANINGS; A 

 GOOD WORD FOR DOOLITTLE'S ARTICLES. 



I am glad you are going to let your read- 

 ers tell you what they like in Gleanings; 

 I read a bee paper or book for what I can 

 get out of it of practical use. Of course, I 

 can devote only part of my time to bees. 

 The world has too much of interest and 

 business for me to devote much time on sen- 

 timent or pleasure. I can not spend time 

 to read long articles for what little practi- 

 cle use I get out of them. Along this line 

 I enjoy Mr. Doolittle's talks best of all. 

 He, every time, clears up a point of interest 

 to me. Next I like the questions and ans- 

 wers. They are in the same line. And I 

 have received enough of value in the dis- 

 cussions of forced ssvarms to pa}' ine for 

 five years' subscription to Gleanings. 



M. G. T. Johnson. 



Binghamton, N. Y., Feb. 5. 



FEEDING outdoors NEAR THE APIARY ; IS 

 IT PRACTICABLE? 



Can I, just before wintering colonies, 

 place sugar syrup or honey in an adjoining 

 garden, about 120 yards away, separated 

 from my apiary by a belt of maples 25 feet 

 high? Would this unsettle the apiary and in- 

 cite robbing,or can I place food in the apiary 

 itself? All feeders seem to induce robbing. 

 I intend having buckwheat in another gar- 

 deu, and thought to place feed-stands there. 

 I don't sell sugar stuff, but use it only in 

 brood- work, and have all frames marked so 

 as to distinguish. R. Muckle. 



Clandelborge, Manitoba, Feb. 25. 



[It is usually not practicable to feed any 

 syrup of good quality outdoors in open 

 feeders. If syrup of granulated sugar is 



fed at all it should be almost as thin as 

 water. Years ago we used to feed water 

 sweetened with lumps of grape sugar, with- 

 out inducing robbing ; but let me tell you 

 if 3'ou feed the ordinary syrup, two parts of 

 sugar to one of water, you will have trou- 

 ble. You might be able to feed such syrup 

 if you inclosed the feeder in a box, and al- 

 lowed an opening so that only one bee 

 could get through at a time. But I would 

 hardly advise this. It makes a disturb- 

 ance, even worse than feeding inside of the 

 hive. If 3-ou ieed in Boardman, Miller, or 

 Doolittle feeders, at night, giving the bees 

 most of the syrup before morning, it will 

 cause very little disturbance next day. 

 Feeding alwaj's stimulates, and has a ten- 

 dency to cause the field bees to hunt around, 

 nosing into every thing to see where that 

 big- supply came from; and woe betide the 

 nucleus with too large an entrance. — Ed.] 



KILLING OFF WEAK COLONIES INSTEAD OF 

 WINTEKING. 



I am a new bee-keeper — that is, I have 

 five swarms. Last fall one of my neigh- 

 bors who keeps bees advised me to kill my 

 weak colonies that would not winter. I did 

 so, and have four hives with brood-frames 

 partly filled with honey, and partly with 

 pollen, or some such stuff. Part of the hon- 

 ey is ver}^ dark. Would it do to put new 

 swarms in the same hives? If not, what 

 can I do with it? In last Gleanings I see 

 advised the saving of old comb. 



John Walsh. 



Stanstead Plains, Quebec, Can. 



[Your neighbor gave j'ou bad advice. 

 Where there are only a few nuclei they can 

 usually be wintered quite well in a good 

 cellar, providing they have sufficient stores 

 and the cellar be kept dark. We have win- 

 tered many nuclei that way, and consiUt-r 

 it is throwing awaj'^ property needlessly to 

 kill off the bees of such. 



Yes, 3^ou can use the combs next spring, 

 even if the honey is dark. — Ed.] 



WHEN to give full SHEETS OF FOU>DA- 

 TION. 



Last fall I took all of the drone combs 

 away from my bees, and now I wish to put 

 whole sheets of foundation in, and do nuc 

 know when is the best time to do it next 

 spring. Had I better put it where the drone 

 comb was taken out, or put them in the cen- 

 ter of the brood-nest. Some of them had one 

 whole comb; some had two combs. 



R. H. Ellsworth. 



Homets Ferrj', Pa., Mar. 2. 



[I would not give the bees any foundation 

 until they are crowded for room. If you de- 

 sire to spread the brood for the purpose cf 

 increasing the strength of the colony, insert 

 now and then a full sheet of foundation be- 

 tween the frames of brood; but be careful 

 not to carry this too far in cool weather. — 

 Ed.] 



