1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



39 



miles of me. My! what a rush they made every 

 morDing! and it continued until dark. They soon 

 filled all the emptj' corners in the brood-nest, and 

 went to work in boxes. The result was, that I soon 

 had some nice button-wood honey. I think this was 

 the whitest honey that I ever saw. As soon as that 

 failed they went to work on red clover, and from 

 that to buckwheat and blackheart. The honey 

 season closed about the 15th of September. Increas- 

 ed from 19 to 26; got 50 lbs. honey per colony, spring 

 count; half comb and half extracted; not a very 

 good report, but I am thankful all the same. 



SWARMING; CAN IT BE STOPPED? 



Friend Hasty wished to heave a brick at some one 

 for something that was not all O. K. I felt, last 

 August, as though I should love to heave a whole 

 hod full at the man who says you can control swarm- 

 ing by giving room in boxes, by extracting, or any 

 other way that I ever tried, and I have tried every 

 plan that I have heard of (except confining them in 

 a dungeon), and some that I have not heard of, and 

 failed; yes, failed won't express it. When the bat- 

 tle was over, and I had looked over the field,! found 

 that I had lost three of my best queens; three colo- 

 nies with virgin queens had gone to the woods. 

 Next season I will try another plan, and report the 

 result. 



HONEY FROM WHEAT ONCE MORE. 



I can not think that we need to have a frost to kill 

 the wheat before it will produce honey; for three 

 j'cars past I have noticed bees working on wheat- 

 stubble that was cut early. Some of our farmers 

 think that wheat cut before it is thoroughly ripe, 

 and stacked, will make nicer flour than if allowed 

 to stand till ripe. (I am one of them.) In the early- 

 cut fields is where I find the bees at work on a sweet 

 sap that oozes out of the straw where it is cut otf. 

 It will last about two days. The bees will usually 

 desert basswood to work on this sap, or honey. 1 can 

 rot tell what kind of honey it makes; the sap is as 

 clear as water, and very sweet. I think it is the up- 

 ward flow of sap to finish the starch of the grain, 

 and is changed to glucose by the sun and air. 



Whitestown, Ind., Dec. 20, 1882. S. H. Lane. 



BEES COMING OUT OF THEIR HIVES IN WINTER. 



I have 9 colonies of bees, and I am being troubled 

 with their coming out. They are facing the south, 

 and at the north end of them I have corn fodder 

 stacked all along, and between them I have straw. 

 I have a covering of old carpet, and that runs over 

 in front, below the entrance. I also have the second 

 story of the hives, which are the Langstroth, filled 

 with chaff; and every warm day they come out. 

 To-day, which is tolerably warm, I see some bees out 

 of every hive. What I want to know is, how I shall 

 manage to keep them in. I want toknowif it would 

 do to cover the entrance with a wire screen. Those 

 that are out to-day are around the hives, and seem 

 chilled, and can't get back. Geo. W. Cree. 



Covington, Ky., Dec. 21, 1882. 



I don't think it will do any harm, friend 

 C. A few bees will always come out, and 

 not get back, probably of old age. Perhaps 

 you may have packed them too closely, and 

 they are too warm. Never fasten bees in 

 their hives when wintered out doors. 



would appear from the report of the Michigan State 

 Bee-keepers' Convention, that you now think the 

 Given fdn. better. (See p. 793, A. B. J.) If the Giv- 

 en is best, I would rather have one of his presses, 

 even if it cost a little more. A. G. Willows. 



Carlingford, Ont., Can., Dec. 16, 1882. 



E did say, in substance, what was report- 

 ed; but it was not all I said on the matter. 

 All things taken into account, I would ad- 

 vise the fdn. made on our mills. 



SECTIONS HOLDING ONLY I/2 LB. 



Do you intend to make 54-lb. sections for next 

 season's trade? I intend to try the 4J4X'1J4 sections 

 about 1 inch deep; and I like your one-piece sec- 

 tions the best of any I have seen. If you make them 

 of the size mentioned above, I shall be glad to buy 

 of you. W. H. Francis. 



Frankfort, Mich., Dec. 20, 1882. 



Friend F., I hardly know yet, what we 

 shall make for a i-lb. section ; but we will 

 make the kind you mention, for S4.00 per M., 

 until further notice. 



SHALL FRIEND E. GO OFF SOMEWHERE TO LEARN 

 HOW? 



I am obliged ti request you to stop sending Glean- 

 ings. I have given up keeping bees in this locality, 

 as it does not admit of a large apiary. It is with re- 

 gret I have to make this request. I feel now just 

 as though I should like to come over and work for 

 you or almost any bee-keeper. I have had four 

 years' experience. As soon as I can hear of any one 

 who wants such a man, I think I shall be off, as I 

 delight to work in the apiary. 



A. L. Etherington. 



Milton, Queens Co., Nova Scotia, Dec. 13, 1882. 



Don't go anywhere, friend E., but just 

 keep right on where you are, and you will 

 succeed in due time. When you do, we shall 

 be glad to have your subscription again. I 

 have had experience, and I know. Read 

 the report from beginners in the back num- 

 bers of your old journals. 



WHAT FRIEND STRINGER DID WITH TWO HIVES. 



I commenced the spring with two hives; I went 

 into winter quarters with 12; got 200 lbs. of honey; 

 sold 3 hives; put back 4 swarms, and 2 got away. 

 How is that for an A B C? I made all the hives I 

 used, except 2. Last spring my health got so poor 



1 had to stop work at my trade, and do light work at 

 the mill, and I put in ten hours every day. Well, 

 my bees began swarming on the 8th day of May, and 

 kept swarming; so you see it was not long until my 



2 hives were gone. I made the boxes mornings and 

 evenings, and nailed the frames together after 

 night. Flora helped me some. I do not say this 

 boastingly; but as I see others telling how hard 

 they have to work to keep things in shape, I thought 

 it would not bo amiss. I see some had to get up as 

 early as 3 in the morning to be ready to ship bees. 



D. C. STRINGER. 



Clinton Falls, Ind., Dec. 15, 1882. 



WHAT. MAKE OF FOUNDATION IS BEST? 



By the way, have you changed your mind about 

 fdn.? I thought you considered that made on your 

 own mills as good, or better, than any other; but it 



BEVELING PLATFORMS FOR BUZZ-SAW TABLE. 



Please tell me how you cut bevels or miters on 

 your saw-table, described in last Gleanings. I 

 should think it would have to be hinged the other 

 way. It will not make Simplicity bee-hives, unless 

 it saws miters or bevels. Henry F. Dolson. 



New Paltz, Ulster Co., N. Y., Deo. 8, 1882. 



Why, my friend, if the saw-table were 



