1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



375 



seems to be the theme of late that nearly all 

 wish to know about." 



"No, I came to talk with you a little re- 

 yarding' what 3'ou wrote in Gleanings for 

 Sept. 15, 1902, where you saj', on pag^e 756, 

 'Open the hives and take out some frames 

 to make the bees go into the section.' " 



" Verj' well; what would j'ou like to know 

 further about this matter?" 



"I want to ask when is the proper time 

 to put the frames back into the hives?" 



"I was there speaking- of ways of compel- 

 ling, as it were, bees to build worker comb, 

 and we took away live of the frames, after 

 the bees had got started to building- worker 

 comb nicely in the other five. As soon as 

 the five left are filled down to the bottom- 

 bar, and clear out to the corners, then it is 

 time to fill out the hive with frames filled 

 with foundation; for, if we use frames at 

 this time having only starters in them, we 

 shall most surel}' g-et them filled with drone 

 comb. If it is preferred to get all the hon- 

 ey possible in the sections, and feed for win- 

 ter, if necessarj', then these last five frames 

 need not be put in till near the close of the 

 honey harvest. " 



"I understand now. But another ques- 

 tion:" 



"Very well; I will do the best I can to 

 help 3'ou. What is it? ' 



"In the Oct. 15th number, same year, 

 you speak of the bees building- brace-comb, 

 .tnd give reasons, but none of them describe 

 m\' trouble." 



"Wherein is your trouble different from 

 those I spoke of in that conversation?" 



"In one of my hives the bees made some 

 f incy comb hunej'. After they got a few 

 ]> )unds in the center of the super all nicely 

 c ipped. thej' built brace-comb in the center 

 of nearlj' every pound, bracing- the comb to 

 the fences. I should like to know the cause, 

 ;<nd a way to prevent it, if there is any 

 way, for they spoil nearlj' everj^ pound so 

 ihej' are not salable." 



"From the waj' 3'ou tell this, I judge that 

 there was only one colou}'^ which worked 

 thus. This being the case, and all other 

 things being perfect, I would say that the 

 trouble might lie with that particular vari- 

 ety of bees; for some varieties of bees show 

 characteristics diflerent from others which 

 are distinctly their own. This being- the 

 case, I should kill such a queen and intro- 

 duce one from a strain of bees which show 

 no disposition to build brace-combs thus. 

 That some colonies and varieties do brace 

 heavier than others, I am well aware, and 

 I have superseded several queens just on 

 account of their bees being given to this 

 habit of putting in bits of comb all about 

 the hive, and attached to the combs in a dis- 

 agreeable manner." 



"But suppose that several or all of my 

 colonies should show or give the same re- 

 sults as did this one the past year, then 

 what would you advise?" 



" I would advise j'ou to examine carefully 

 the attachments where the .comb came in 

 contact with the fences, for it is possible 



that from some imperfection of the material 

 used in making- the fences that the slats, or 

 little fence-boards used, warp slightly, after 

 the combs are built, so that the edges of a 

 few come nearer the honej' than when it 

 was sealed over. In which case the bees 

 would either gnaw the sealing oft" the comb 

 so as to give them room to pass at that point, 

 or else, if comb-building was still going- on, 

 put out braces of wax to hold that portion 

 of the fence in place, and steady the comb. 

 I have had one or two complaints that the 

 bees built brace-combs so as to injure sec- 

 tion honey, very much more largely where 

 the fences were used than they did with 

 the old-style separator; but I hardly think 

 that such would be the tendency. Will the 

 readers of Gleanings tell us what they 

 know in this matter?" 



Bees appear to have wintered well; and 

 if they get through the month of April with- 

 out too much setback, all will be well. 



There seems to be an abundance of 

 white clover. The frequent and copious 

 rains during March and April have given 

 the plants a good growth. 



MARCH AND APRIL. 



The month of April has not been cold 

 but cool. The exceptionallj' warm weather 

 during the middle of March has had its oft- 

 set in April. In our locality, the buds on 

 the trees are just about where thej^ were a 

 month ago. Bees have not suft'ered from 

 spring dwindling, probably for the reason 

 that a large amount of brood was reared 

 and hatched in March. This force of young 

 vigorous life keeps up the strength of the 

 colonies undoubtedly; but for this we would 

 expect the usual spring dwindling. 



ALFALFA HONEY; ITS QUALITY, ETC. 



Mr. M. S. Kramer, a neighbor of ours, a 

 bee-keeper, sells honey in the great city of 

 Cleveland bj^ house-to-house canvass. He 

 has, this past winter, disposed of a good 

 man}' tons. He carries it on the electric 

 cars, in fruit-cans, taking as much as he 

 can manage in two baskets. When he sells 

 out he comes back for another load, etc. 

 In answer to the question as to what kind 

 of honey suits most people best, he replied 

 that there was nothing that suited general- 

 ly' like pure white clover; but as he was un- 

 able to get enough of this he found the next 

 best thing was alfalfa. I presume others 

 have already learned that the ekctric cars 



