1883 



GLEAi^INGS IN BEE CULTUEl:. 



462 



they were drones, on the 18th inst. I took from the 

 Italian hive 4 combs, full of bi-ood In all stages, 

 mostly capped, with a good supply of fresh eggs, 

 and to-day I find 10 or 12 fine queen-cells, one or two 

 capped; but there is not a sign of a drone in this 

 apiary of now four hives. Two blacks (new swarms, 

 one of them), had drone brood which I destroyed, 

 and from those four I can build up about five fair 

 hives with as many queens; now, all the chance I see 

 is for you to send me a lot of good drones from your 

 best bees as soon as possible, and send me your bill. 

 The queen is a good breeder for workers, but lays 

 no drone eggs so far. J. B. Ridenour. 



Woodhull, 111., July 31, 1883. 



Friend R., just go on raising your queens, 

 and I think you will find they will all be- 

 come fertilized in due time, although they 

 may meet only black drones. I am sorry to 

 say we have not Italian drones enough in 

 our apiary so we could send you a lot; and, 

 for that matter, we have no drones of any 

 kind, except scattering ones, a few in a hive. 

 Who can furnish friend li. a good strong nu- 

 cleus of nice Italian drones V 



COLOR 0¥ IMPORTED QUEENS. 



In Juvenile for July it is stated that you have 

 plenty of dark imported queens. If you still have 

 them, send me one. I really care but little about 

 the color, as some of the best imported queens I 

 have ever had were nearly black. 



West Lodi, O., July 31, 1883. jAAfES Bolin. 



I am very glad, friend B., to receive such 

 a statement from a man of your experience 

 and ability as a honey-producer. I have 

 long been satisfied that color has nothing to 

 do with the amount of honey produced ; but 

 for all that, our light - colored imported 

 queens are being constantly picked out, even 

 when we charge a dollar or two extra for 

 them, and yet color is only an accidental 

 property. 1 am sorry to say that we are 

 ]ust now out of imported queens of all colors ; 

 but a lot of 50 are expected soon from Italy. 



a praiseworthy zeal in the cause of science ; 

 but I am afraid your queen was rather poor 

 material to work on. 



WHY friend boss KEPT A QUEEN SO MANY MONTHS, 

 WAITING FOR HER TO LAY. [SEE P. 398, JULY NO.] 



I saw in the Kansas Bee-Kcepcr, on page 35, Feb. 

 number, a suggestion that queens that cease breed- 

 ing early in the fall, and do not begin again until 

 late in the spring, always do most and best work 

 during the breeding season proper. Now, according 

 to my experience I do not believe it, as 1 think I 

 gave justice to her. I fed that swarm to make it 

 strong, and gave it brood to keep her in bees. I lost 

 one swarm of bees trying to see what I could do in 

 experiments. However, I learned something by 

 her. She was not worth the postage. I lost about 

 two swarms, and you lost the queen, 



I baton, Kan. David Ross. 



The idea you suggest may have some 

 truth in it, friend 11. I remember queens 

 that were so late in starting to lay in spring, 

 that I was about to destroy them ; but that 

 afterward built large colonies, and gathered 

 a good crop of honey. It may be that a 

 queen that has not been raising brood all win- 

 ter will have greater endurance ; but as atten- 

 tion has only recently t^en called to the 

 matter, perhaps we had better wait for fur- 

 ther facts in the case. You certainly showed 



CATCHING QUEENS TO SEND OFF BY MAIL. 



Did you ever try caging a queen on the comb, 

 without handling her? I have; and with one of your 

 Peet cages it works like a charm. Place the cage, 

 with slide partly withdrawn, quietly over the queen 

 and a few workers, allowing any bees that chance to 

 be under the edges, time to escape; then with the 

 thumb push in the slide carefully, and there she is, 

 attendant bees and all. If there are too many, a few 

 can easily be allowed to escape by opening the slide 

 a little. It can be done in half a minute, with one 

 hand, and no danger of hurting the queen either. 



BURDETTE HASSETT. 



Howard Center, la., July 4, 1883. 

 We have tried the plan you mention, a 

 little, friend H., but found it slower and 

 more trouble ; besides, it seemed to stir up 

 the bees more than to quietly pick up the 

 queen by the wings. 



FLORIDA. 



I shall have to give in my testimony about bee 

 culture in Florida. We came here last Oct., and 

 brought 20 nuclei swarms; landed them on the 

 bank of the St. John's River. They did well all 

 winter; gained up fast, so they came out strong in 

 spring. They commenced swarming, and threw out 

 a dozen good swarms. 



MOSQUITO-HAAVKS. 



And then the dragons, or mosquito-hawks, took 

 them. We fought hawks, and they ate the bees un- 

 til they were reduced as low as when we landed. ]n 

 spite of all we could do they destroyed all of our 

 working force, and half a dozen young queens. 

 They soared about 6 weeks, all through the saw-pal- 

 metto, so we got no profit from that; then they left; 

 and since that the bees have built up quite strong, so 

 that I am in hopes of getting some returns from the 

 cabbage-palmetto. Now, I am not quite as enthusi- 

 astic as our friend of the Garden of Eden apiary, for 

 I find many things to pester and torment me, as well 

 as the bees. J.A.Green. 



Vulusia, Vol. Co., Fla., July 10, 1883. 



UNITING bees. 



Is there any drug which can be used in uniting 

 small colonies? Will you also inform me how much 

 honey it would take to winter a colony of bees hung 

 up in the air, without any bottom-board? 



Wooler, Ont., Can. W. Scott. 



Chloroform and puff-balls have been used 

 for uniting bees, friend 8., but I think they 

 are pretty much discarded now. Watch 

 them carefully, follow the directions laid 

 down, and they will seldom need any thing. 

 If they begin to quarrel, a little smoke will 

 make "them unite, if they are watched and 

 smoked occasionally when they need it. — I 

 have never tried wintering a colony prepared 

 in the manner you state. If all upward 

 ventilation were closed, I shouldn't wonder 

 if they would winter almost as well without 

 a bottom-board ; and many times I think it 

 might be the saving of them. — As for the 

 amount of stores for a good strong colony, 

 I would suggest 25 lbs., although 1 do not 

 think I ever knew a colony to consume that 

 amount. 



