1883 



GLEAl^INGS m BEE CULTURE. 



447 



emptied by the extractor befoi-e appl.vicg- the rem- 

 edy, even then; and admitting the disinfecting 

 properties of this acid, I think the cure doubtful. 

 Would not the putting-on of new fdn. be the safer 

 plan? Dr. J. E. Ferry. 



Fabius, Onon. Co., N. Y., Feb. 13, 1883. 



Thanks, friend F., for your practical facts 

 in the matter. ISow, I really do not see why 

 you should take such a discouraged view of 

 the matter when you have succeeded in se- 

 curing three colonies by what would seem 

 to me to be a comparatively easy process. If 

 driving out the bees, and hiving them on 

 fdn. will do the work, we can surely manage 

 it. Very likely the best thing to do with the 

 old combs will be to melt them up into wax. 

 And a great many of the old combs in com- 

 mon use could be melted up profltablyin the 

 same way, even if there were no foul brood 

 about it. The loss then would be the brood 

 contained in these combs. Now, if this is a 

 great part of it dead, the loss is but trifling ; 

 and I am not sure but that a great many old 

 hives would well repay for melting up the 

 old combs and setting' the bees at work on 

 nice new frames of fdn. It seems to me 

 that even if I did use salicylic acid, I would 

 start' the healthy bees working on new fdn. 

 in new hives. 



HIVING A SWARM FIVE TIITIES. 



LETTER FROSI AN A B C SCHOLAR. 



DELL, Uncle Amos, here is one of your ABC 

 scholars writing out of doors on a bee-gum, 

 all alone. Now, I .want to tell you that I 

 have just hived the crossest lot of bees I ever handled, 

 and that is not all; this is the fifth time they swarm- 

 ed out. The first time, I hived them all nice and 

 snug; in about half an hour they scampered out and 

 went home. The next day they came out and clus- 

 tered in the same place, and I took them in my 

 swarming-box, all nice. I shook them gently on the 

 table, and they immediately took wing and " scud " 

 for home. In two days after, they swarmed in the 

 morning, aired themselves for a long time, and then 

 went back ; did the same in the afternoon. To-day, 

 the Uth, at one o'clock they came out again, and I 

 had a hard time to save them. They were about 30 

 minutes in the air before they came down, I throw- 

 ing water all the time. About a pint cupful came 

 and went into the gum that I had ready; yes, went 

 right in, and the sheet was covered, and bees all 

 swarming around my head, and were .just in the act 

 of settling down, when there came a heavy puff of 

 wind and blew them back, and then they arose and 

 settled a few feet above the gum. I am confident 

 they would have gone in if it had been still. I tell 

 you, I felt vexed when I found they were so very 

 cross. Now, if any ABC boy can beat that, let him 

 stand up. 



ECONOMY IN HIVES. 



There are only 3 swarms out of -20 stands wintered, 

 and in good shape. Yesterday I had a chat witli our 

 old-fogy bee-keepei-, who wintered 40 stands in com- 

 mon box gums, all painted nicely, with a hole on top 

 for boxes, that cost him 25 cts. apiece to make. His 

 bees are booming — from one to five swarms a day, 

 when the sun shines. He has lots of honey, and the 

 best luck of any one in the neighborhood, while I, 

 with my ^' jjattcn flxcns," am not getting any swarms 



nor any more honey, nor wintering any better ; and 

 look at the difference in the cost of gums: his, 25 c; 

 mine, $2 50 to $3 00 per gum. Are not you bee-gum 

 makers putting it a little strong on "patten flxens,"? 

 Of course, Uncle Amos, I believe in progression; 

 but if a cheap thing will do just as well, why go to 

 heavy expense? Let economy be the watchword. 



HIVING BEES WHERE THEY CLUSTER. 



Old Fogy says he hives his bees and lets them 

 stand as near where they cluster as possible. He 

 claims they do much better. What do you think 

 about that? I hope to hear from some of the 

 brethren on this point. J. W. C. Gray. 



Atwood, 111., June 14, 1883. 



Friend G.,I watched anxiously through all 

 your narration, to see if you did not finally 

 try putting a frame of brood in your hive. 

 But I think you say nothing about it at all. 

 Now, under such circumstances I have 

 found a frame of unsealed brood so sure that 

 it seems almost impossible the bees could 

 have deserted it. Surely you have heard it 

 recommended over and over again, have you 

 not?— You say your neighbor with the old 

 box hives has hived from one to five swarms 

 a day. If one's object were to get swarms 

 and nothing more, perhaps a25-cent bee-hive 

 would do very well. But how about getting 

 your crop of honey, raising your queens, im- 

 proving your stock, etc.? If you could see 

 how badly we are crowded with orders in 

 trying to supply the friends with what you 

 term "patten fixens," perhaps you would 

 not think we were "putting it down too 

 strong." By all means, let economy be the 

 watchword. But do not let it be a foolish or 

 thoughtless economy. — In regard to letting 

 bees stand where they are hived, I am not 

 sure it makes any particular difference, al- 

 though you will see that friend Peters, in the 

 ABC book, gives some very sensible sug- 

 gestions in regard to the importance of mov- 

 ing them to a different locality as soon as 

 hived. 



BEES AND SUNDAY. 



SHALL A BEE-KEEPER STAY HOME FROM CHURCH 

 DURING SWARMING-TIME? 



EHAVE a question to ask, or, rather, I want your 

 opinion on it. My wife is very conscientious 

 — ' about keeping the Sabbath holy, and doing no 

 work on that day; and last Sunday she reprimanded 

 me for swarming my bees. Now, you and I both be- 

 lieve in keeping that day strictly, and my wife says 

 I have no right to keep any thing that will keep me 

 from the house of God, or that requires labor on 

 that day. I referred her to the ox that fell into the 

 ditch, etc.; but she sticks to it, that if I work with 

 my bees we shall not prosper spiritually. As you 

 and I keep bees, and they are not particular about 

 keeping the Sibbath, but swarm at any time, is it 

 right to stay at home on the Sabbath to swarm our 

 bees, or have our hired help do so in swarming-time? 



Watseka, 1 11. , J une 25, 1883. W. H.^Shedd. 



Friend S., you are striking on an old ques- 

 tion ; and if you will excuse the liberty I 

 take, I will suggest that disagreeing with 

 your wife may be a worse sin than staying 

 at home and working with the bees on Sun- 

 day. While suggesting a reproof, I take in- 



