112 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Mar. 



the cellar every few days. The snow gradually melt- 

 ed, and kept the air lairly loaded with moisture. 

 There were 350 colonies in the cellar, and I tell you 

 they were in splendid condition. By the way, I will 

 say that friend R. saves out combs of earlj--gathcr- 

 ed, well-ripened honey, to give the bees when pre- 

 paring them for their winter quarters. He numbers 

 each hive in the fall, and each stand is furnished 

 with a number con esponding to the hive that is 

 taken from it; and ho is particular, when carrying 

 the bees out in the spring, that each colony shall be 

 placed upon its old stand. He says he has had the 

 bees mix up badly, and lost many queens by setting 

 the hives out promiscuously. 



Friend R. has a Dun hum fdn. mill, but thinks se- 

 riously of discarding it for a Given press. He con- 

 siders the making of fdn. as hard, disagreeable, and 

 particular work; and were it not for the fact that 

 the work can b° done at odd spells, and that freight 

 charges and delays are avoided, he would buy his 

 fdn. Instead of making it . 



THE L. FRAME. 



He uses the Langstroth frame, and says that, even 

 if he did not like it any better than other frames, he 

 would use it simply because the majority of bee- 

 keepers use it; the bees being more salable, and 

 supplies being more readily obtained. 



A RAID AMONG THE BEES, AND HOW IT STARTED. 



He gave me a very graphic account of how the 

 exposure of an open crate of honey in front of a 

 store had so aroused his bees, that for a day or two 

 the business of the town was almost suspended; 

 every building had to be shut up "bee tight." He 

 Immediately commenced feeding his bees, and in 

 this manner drew them away from the town, and 

 finally got them under control. 



Friend R. hitched up " Johnny," and we drove out 

 about three miles to see a bee-keeper by the name 

 of Balch. Mr. B. has a bee-cellar similar to Mr. R.'s, 

 only smaller. Mr. B. shoveled the snow away from 

 the door, and we entered. If I remember rightly, 

 there were about 40 colonies in the cellar, only two 

 of which showed any signs of dysentery, and that 

 only in a slight degree. The cover was removed 

 from a strong colony near the door, and some of the 

 bees flew out of doors. 



DO BEES REMEMBER THEIR LOCATION OVER WINTER? 



Wken we left the cellar, Mr. B. called my atten- 

 tion to the fact that these bees lay kicking upon the 

 snow just under the plum-tree where their hive had 

 stood; these bees certainly remembered the location 

 of their old home. 



ALSIKE CLOVER. 



Alsike clover is largely grown near Pewamo. We 

 visited one man who had 500 acres of this clover. 

 Mr. R. advises the pasturing of alsike until the latter 

 part of Jure; it will then blossom just after bass- 

 wood, and will yield two crops — one for honey and 

 one cf seed. 



In addition to the bee business, Mr. R. is largely 

 engaged in the stave business. We intended to visit 

 friends Roop and Goodno, of Carson City, but the 

 storm prevented. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Genesee Co., Mich., Feb , 1883. 

 {Concluded yiext month.) 



Friend H., that was a wise " speculation" 

 of yours, in going to see friend Uobertson ; 

 and not only for you, but for the rest of us. 

 — ^ou have dropped a hint in regard to a 

 running stream for keeping a cellar cool, and 



for keeping the air at all times at the proper 

 degree of moisture, that is new to me. Shall 

 we not follow it up ? — I wish the man who 

 has 500 acres of alsike would sell us some 

 seed. It is now worth !?1.5.00 a bushel, and, 

 what is worse, like the beeswax trouble, I 

 don't know at present where we can get any 

 more at any price. If any brother has any, 

 will he please speak out? 



mRS. HARRISOIV'S liETTER. 



SOME SUGQESTIONS FOR BEE-KEEPING WOMEN TO 

 AVOID MOVING HEAVV HIVES IN 8WARM1NG-T1ME. 



N Gleanings for Feb., Cyula Linswik requests 

 me to tell how I manage. I have not strength 

 to move " heavy hives," so I let them alone. 

 My endurance is greater than my strength; and if 

 bee-keeping required such an outlay of it as to move 

 heavy-laden hives, I could not keep bees. I infer 

 that the sisters Linswik clip their queens' wings, 

 and then remove the old hive, putting a new one in 

 its place, knowing that the colony will return as 

 soon as they And their quetn is not with them. 

 This may be as easy a way as any other when there 

 are two to do the lifting; but certainly not, where 

 there is only one. We have never clipped queens' 

 wings; and when our bees issue, they cluster. 

 Hives are prepared for colonies, and placed in dif- 

 ferent parts of the apiary, and we shake them down 

 into a large dish-pan, and pour them down before 

 the hive which is nearest to where they clustered. 

 Very few of our bees have ever clustered very high, 

 and it is rare that any have crossed the street be- 

 fore clustering. Last summer I was alone, and a 

 colony clustered in the top of quite a large cherry- 

 tree. I went up on a step-ladder, and tied a long 

 clothes-basket, with a handle at each end, directly 

 under the cluster. I then got a long strip of pine, 

 such as are used for battens, and drove a nail in the 

 end, and ran it into the cluster, catching hold of a 

 limb, and then shook the bees off. A good many 

 fell into the basket, and I suppose the queen was 

 among them, for they all gathered in and upon it. 

 I have never seen the Brooks swarm-catcher, I be- 

 lieve. 



Josh Billings says that he always likes to know 

 what kind of advice a man wants, before he gives 

 any; but 1 feel as though I must put in a word. 

 Two ladies, owning 75 colonies of bees, could afford 

 to be liberal with their help; and if they would offer 

 three, four, or even five dollars per week for the 

 months of June, July, and August, it would be bet- 

 ter than selling their bees. I said to a friend this 

 fall, " You have excellent help;" and the reply was, 

 "The way I obtained this splendid worker was by 

 offering more than any one else is giving." 



I love to work, and I am not happy unless useful- 

 ly employed. But there are kinds of work that do 

 not agree with my health or feelings, such as sew- 

 ing, or cooking over a hot stove in warm weather. I 

 have this work done by proxy, much better than I 

 can do it, and at the same time benefit others by 

 giving them employment. The girl who does the 

 housework screeches if a bee flies into her domain, 

 and I thought the dressmaker was going to church 

 when I saw her out in the yard with her hat, veil, 

 and kid gloves on. Yet I enjoy working in the fresh 

 air and sunshine, with bees for company; and my 



