88 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUliE. 



Feb. 



pit, or clamp, sitting on the bottom-board of their 

 hives; two auger-holes in front end of hive; very 

 little opening on top. Fhed Timmerman, 75. 



Fayette, Payette Co., la., Jan. 10, 1883. 



I presume, friend T., you object to put- 

 ting each hive at once iiito its permanent 

 phice only because of the time it talies. If 

 they can be handled so quietly that none are 

 determined to lly out, I think I should pre- 

 fer to have every one in place i>s fast as set 

 out. I don't likehives sitting around " pro- 

 miscuous like." 



BEES IN SOUTH C.VROIilNA. 



As I see so little in Gleanings about bees or hon- 

 ey in South Cai'olina, 1 thought perhaps a few lineB 

 from one who has had a few years' experience in 

 modern bee culture in iliis State might be of Inter- 

 est to your readers. The first thing is, the bees of 

 this part of the State, with few exceptions, are kept 

 in box hives. It was just fun to see the lool<s of as- 

 tonishment and wonder on the faces of the old "box- 

 hive " men when I tirst placed your one-pound sec- 

 tions on the market. Well, I was not surprised at 

 their looks, for they were nice enough to make an 

 old veteran wonder; that is, a veteran in the bee 

 business. A great many were surprised to know 

 that each hive contained a queen. They knew there 

 was a "king bee," but few had ever heard of a queen. 



I have seen the opinions of many in your invalua- 

 ble journal, on the color of Italians. Let me say, 

 right hei'e, that, for honey-gatherers, I will hold up 

 my hand every time for the dark ones, although I in- 

 variably raise other than light ones for the market. 



My apiary of Italians is situated about two miles 

 from the basin of the Wateree lliver, which is about 

 four miles wide on this side, and grown up in a 

 dense swamp. This supplies our bees with honey of 

 the choicest kind during the months of April and 

 May, and in great abundance. We do not plant any 

 thing for the bees as yet, not having advanced that 

 far. Some years they get considerable honey fi'om 

 cotton, which is grown extensiv.ely here. Our 

 main honey-crop is gathered before the middle of 

 June, after which, until the cotton blossoms, our 

 bees are idle. I wonder if any of your readers ever 

 saw a swarm of bright yellow Italians in the air, 

 just about sunrise. I don't think there is any sight 

 about bees more beautiful. The scarlet rays of the 

 just risen sun shining on the yellow bodies of the 

 little chaps gives them the appearance of so many 

 golden beada sailing about in mid air. 



CABINO FOR QUEENS PUHCHASED IN SPRING. 



There is one thing I wish you would do; that is, 

 direct your ABC class how to manage early queens 

 when they first take them from the mails, as some- 

 times they get them a little chilled in April or May 

 from the South, and, without giving them even a 

 warming, ship them right back to the more genial 

 clime of the sunny South. W. J. Ellison. 



Stateburg, Sumter Co., S. C, Dec. 3,?, 1882. 



Your concluding remark is a good one, 

 friend E. We know by our own experience 

 that new hands at the business do some- 

 times call a queen dead, when received in 

 the spring months, when she is really only 

 dormant, and stiffened by the cold. Hold- 

 ing them in the hand, and breathing on 

 them, will often bring them to life ; but we 

 have had cages of bees that had to be kept 

 in a warm room 8 or 10 hours before they 

 revived ; but they seemed all right after the 



awakening. Never decide a queen to be 

 dead, until you have given them a chance to 

 revive, as I have stated. As soon as able to 

 move, a little warm honey on the tongue of 

 the queen will often give her strength to get 

 up and make her toilet. 



WIDE FRAMES OF SECTIONS; HOW TO GET THE FIRST 

 ONE OUT OF THE HIVE. 



I have just read your reply to C. W. Young, page 

 40, Jan. Gleanings, to his question how to get wide 

 frames and sections out of the hives. Let me give 

 you my method. My supers are 16'a wide, inside 

 measure, but I put in only 7 wide frames filled with 

 sections, and either a frame Hi inches wide filled 

 with fdn., or one tilled with comb. I usually put 

 the frame of fdn. or comb in the center of the 

 frames in the super, and, being narrower than the 

 frame containing sections, it does not touch them 

 on either side, and can easily be removed at any 

 time, and the frames of sections taken out without 

 trouble. As often as the narrow frame is filled with 

 honey I extract it and put it back again. If a frame 

 filled or partly filled with honey is used it will gen- 

 erally set the bees at work in the sections at once, 

 if they are in proper condition. 



BIG REPORTS IN THE JOURNALS. 



Now a few words about some of the big reports 

 that we occasionally read in the bee papers. What 

 puzzles me is the fact that the largest reports are 

 usually made bj' those that are just beginning, and 

 have the least experience in the business. A ten- 

 fold increase of bees, and 100 lbs. of surplus honey 

 per swarm, spring count, is something that has nev- 

 er been reported bj' such specialists as Doolittle, 

 Heddon, Given, Dadant, and others of their expe- 

 rience. I sometimes think that those making such 

 large reports must have a very favorable location, 

 or else they have got a strain of bees unknown to 

 other bee-keepers, or else they are— well, no; I 

 won't say romancing, when they make their big re- 

 ports, but they are at least very fortunate. A bee- 

 keeper living near me reported in Gleanings a few 

 years ago, 115 lbs. of surplus comb honey per swarm; 

 but to my personal knowledge, half of the amount 

 reported was not taken from the best hive. I have 

 had 13 yeai's' experience in the business, but I don't 

 know half as much about it as I did (or thought I 

 did) 11 years ago. I have had over 100 swarms some 

 of the time, and the longer I keep them the more I 

 find 1 have to learn. O. E. Cooley. 



Kidgeway, la., Jan. 11, 188:3. 



The plan you give, friend C, is the old one 

 of getting out the hrst frame of sections. 

 As given in Gleanings some time ago, we 

 set this single comb into the center, and put 

 three wide frames each side of it. Of course, 

 they were arranged so the separators were 

 facing this central comb, which might have 

 a little brood in it, to induce the bees to go to 

 work at once in the sections. After it was 

 used extensively, it was found the bees 

 would till the comb so often that we got a 

 great deal of extracted honey, while we 

 might have had comb honey. It was also 

 inconvenient to wedge up the wide frames 

 with their sections, and we can not well get 

 real nice straight honey, unless the sections 

 are wedged up so as to' keep the separators 

 straight, and not leave interstices for the 

 bees to fill with propolis. — The fact you 

 mention, in regard to large reports from new 



