526 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept, 



most of them dead, and no queen to bo found. She 

 lately sent me a new queen — the smallest specimen 

 I have ever seen, and that she considers making 

 things satisfactory. I consider her a humbug and a 

 fraud. J. Edwin Keene. 



Newark, N. J., Aug. 6, 1883. 



The above letter is a fair specimen of the 

 reports we get from her customers. I be- 

 lieve there are some, however, wlio are 

 pleased with her goods, or at least she claims 

 there are. If you will compare her circular 

 with the circulars of other dealers, you will 

 find her prices enormously high. That does 

 not quite express it either, for she charges 

 four dollars for a very small bee-book, and 

 drawings and illustrations for making the 

 Controllable hive. This bee-book embodies 

 nothing not already well known ; further- 

 more, it entirely ignores a great many of 

 the modern improvements in bee culture. If 

 I am correct, she gives the lioney-extractor 

 not even a passing notice ! The Controlla- 

 ble hive, so highly recommended, contains 

 no principle not already well known to all 

 intelligent apiarists. Now if you still con- 

 clude to patronize her, we have nothing at 

 all to say. So many inquiries keep coming 

 up in regard to the many circiilais she is 

 sending out, that I do not know but that I 

 shall have to keep a standing reply, embrac- 

 ing the substance of the above. The prices 

 she charges for the things she has for sale 

 would of itself forbid her being classed with 

 the regular supply dealers who are now to 

 be found in almost every locality. 



QUEEN - KEARI1VG; SOITIE IVEW 

 FEATURES. 



QUEEN-REARING AND DRONE-REARING. 



S BELIEVE it is said that Mr. Alley, in his book on 

 queen-rearing, claims that, if there are no black 

 bees within half a mile of our queen nursery, 

 our queens will be almost sure to become purely 

 mated. Although this is altogether contrary to the 

 general theory upon the subject, yet two years ago, 

 in raising queens, there were black bees within one 

 mile of me at two different places, and at the same 

 time 1 found my queens were all purely mated, 

 though I raised only about a dozen that year, and of 

 course could not considerthis a thorough test. Since 

 that time 1 have been requeening the black bees 

 near me. But the new features above alluded to 

 are, first, 



HAVE YOUn. DRONES H, MILE FROM YOUR QUEEN 

 NURSERY, 



and, what is bettor, at two or three different points; 

 and to accomplish this is an easy matter, which 

 brings us to our second new feature; viz., to 



CLIP SOME VIRGIN QUEENS' WINGS, AND MAKE 

 DRONE-LAYERS OF THEM, 



and in this way we can easily have any kind of 

 drones we choose. It would bo well to have at least 

 four colonies with this kind of queen, the colonies 

 to be stationed at four different points H mile dis- 

 tant from our nursery. Of course, we shall have to 

 keep these stocks replenished with workers by giv- 

 ing them worker brood. One who has never tried 

 this would be surprised to find the number of drones 

 that could be kept in one hive. Chas. Kingsley. 

 Greeneville, Tenn., Aug. 15, 1883. 



Very good, friend K.; but have you ever 



done this V I should suppose from your re- 

 marks that you have, although you do not 

 say so directly. The next thing is, are these 

 drones as large and vigorous as drones reared 

 in the natural Avay ? The idea has been 

 many times suggested ; but there is a little 

 controversy in regard to these drones. 

 Your suggestion in regard to having drone- 

 rearing colonies a quarter a mile from the 

 apiary in four different directions is, I think, 

 a good one. 



DOOI^ITTLE'S LETTER. 



unsealed BROOD TO KE»P FIRST SWARMS FROM 

 LEAVING. 



^SS^ ITHOUT desiring any controversy, and with 

 WM no spirit of contention, I wish to say a few 

 words more regarding giving first, or prime 

 swarms, unsealed brood to keep them from decamp- 

 ing, as it may be of benefit to all. Friend Root and 

 others recommend doing so, while all of my ex- 

 perience goes to prove that it is bad policy. Friend 

 E. T. Flanagan writes me under date of Aug. 3, "I 

 hav e read yours in hist Gleanings, in regard to put- 

 ting a frame of brood in hives to make swarms stay, 

 and 1 am satisfied that jou are mistaken. I have 

 had some experience in this thing in the last few 

 years; and in nine cases out of ten, if no brood was 

 given, away would go the swarm; while with a 

 frame of unsealed brood (not hatching hrood, or 

 capped brood), thpy would stay 49 times out of 50. I 

 doubt seriously if you ever tried it sufficiently to 

 prove its efficacy. It's all bosh about their being 

 tired of brood, and wanting to get away from it. 

 Then why do they go right to raising more again? 

 I should like to know. I hate to see two such good 

 teachers in apiculture give the novices such contra- 

 ry advice. It bothers them, and s-hikes their confi- 

 dence in the reliability of their teachers." 



On page 451, friend Root tells us how he purchases 

 bees of the farmers, and divides them up into from 

 1 to 10 lb. lots; and when given unsealed brood they 

 generally stay; otherwise they often leave; but he 

 will readily see that this is not trying the elficaey of 

 it as Maggie tried it, or as I would do in my own 

 yard. In his case I should most assuredly give 

 brood; while in Maggie's case I should most assured' 

 Jij not do so. 



Right here I wish to ask all who favor the plan of 

 giving brood to prime swarms, to tell the reason, if 

 they can, why Maggie's swarms both stayed and com- 

 menced to build comb before the brood was given, 

 and why they both went out and left after the brood 

 was given, if it was not that brood which changed 

 their motives. It will be observed, by turning to 

 page 396, that all went well with Maggie's bees till 

 the brood was given. 



Now, as regards confidence in teachers: What 

 shall I say of the assertion friend Flanagan makes, 

 that 9 swarms out of 10 will leave where no brood is 

 given, when I have not had a swarm offer to leave, 

 out of over 200 hived, for the past four years, under 

 precisely the same conditions? Well, I had to laugh 

 outright when I read it. Friend F. says it is all 

 " bosh " about the bees wanting to get rid of the 

 brood, as I quoted from friend Betsinger. Well, let 

 us see: I think I tried 16 swarms with the brood, 

 (was that a sufficient number?) and out of the 16, 

 eleven tried to leave, and the first succeeded, mak* 

 ing 12 out of the 16. In all these cases I found 



