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GLEA:N1NGS IK BlCE CtTLtlJtt^. 



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bad to handle. I am not denouncing the Italians, 

 but I think color has had too much weight in the 

 matter. When experienced breeders tell me that 

 they have paid $8 00 for an Italian queen, and, after 

 testing her, sold her for SLOG, it looks a bit one- 

 sided. Don't think, friend R., I am finding fault 

 with the queen you sent me; lam not; she is all I 

 could ask, and bred up a good swarm after the 24th 

 of June; but she stopped laying sooner than some 

 of the hybrids, though many claim they breed later. 

 Probably that $8.C0 queen was an in-and-in breed, 

 which gives more chance for lazy Italians than with 

 hybrids. I have doubts about raising queens anoth- 

 er season, for it is expensive, though a grand school, 

 and very interesting. I must say, all I raised and 

 use, are doing all I could expect, as to handling, etc. 



E. P. Churchill. 

 No. Auburn, Me., Oct. 29, 1883. 



BEE - NOTES FROM THE BLUE RIDGE. 



BOTTOM VENTILATION. 



T article in Oct. Juvenile woul 1 read better 

 by saying " four-inch," in place of " four- 

 nidi V-shaped entrance." Bottom ventila- 

 tion is certainly best, as the warm air is forced 

 downward very slowly, and dispelled by the respira- 

 tion of the bees, drawing the cold fresh air up grad- 

 ually, causing a minimum condensation of vapor. 



GRANULATED-SUGAR FEED. 



The fall of 1882 in this part of the mountains was a 

 very wet season, which prevented much nectar se- 

 cretion, and the bees from gathering even the little 

 that might accumulate. When the time for prepar- 

 ing the bees for winter arrived, I found the most of 

 my colonies almost destitute of stores. 1 made 

 granulated-sugar syrup, and fed till all had 25 lbs. to 

 the colony. Bees never wintered in a better or more 

 healthy condition. As spring advanced I fed each 

 hive a small portion of syrup two or three times a 

 week; and when flowers liegan to bloom it was a 

 pleasant contrast to see the strong army of workers 

 pouring out of my hives, and note the feeble, lan- 

 guid movements of the decimated stocks of the 

 patrons of the gum and box hives. 



ITALIANS AGAINST BLACKS. 



The bees of these mountains are the large brown 

 bees, of which we hear so much commendation. If 

 they ever possessed any special merit, the branch of 

 the family which has sojourned here these many 

 years has lost it and degenerated into scraZ)8, like the 

 farm stock of the country. They cut a sorry figure 

 beside the Italians, which would be out in the morn- 

 ing, bright and early, off to the fields long before the 

 blacks were stirring; and in the afternoon the blacks 

 seemed to tire; and as sundown approached they 

 would move around slowly— longing, apparently, for 

 darkness to come, the Italians keeping up their busy 

 labors till the gloaming p jt an end to their tireless 

 industry. 



BEES WORKING FIVE MILES FROM HOME. 



There has been considerable said in Gleanings 

 about the distance bees would fly in search of hon- 

 ey. I had a favorable opportunity of testing the 

 matter to some extent the last season, as there were 

 no Italians within perhaps fifty miles of this place, 

 except those I owned; and although there was an 

 abundance of white clover and other bee forage in 

 and around this plateau, the Italians were found 

 working on the clover in the coves four and five 



miles distant. To reach those feeding-grounds, the 

 bees had to ascend 300 or 400 feet In a distance of 

 three-fourths of a mile over the ridges; and then in 

 plain view, three or four miles distant, and a thou- 

 sand feet below, lay the tempting white - clover 

 fields. After the little fellows had secured their 

 loads of nectar, rising a thousand feet in the air in 

 order to clear the crests of the ridges which lay be- 

 tween them and their hives, must have been an ex- 

 hausting labor. But, why do bees go so far when 

 abundance of bloom is in immediate proximity to 

 their hives? They must scent the perfume in the 

 air, and follow it till they alight among the flowers. 



PREPARING BEES FOR WINTER IN THE MOUNTAINS. 



The wintering problem, which gives bee-keepers 

 so much trouble further north, presents no difficul- 

 ties to the apiarist here. Provide the colonies on 

 their summer stands with plenty of stores; contract 

 the space to suit the size of the colony; place some 

 strips of wood across the frames, and cover with a 

 few folds of burlap or woolen cloths; fold some old 

 newspapers, and press down souglyover all, to keep 

 the heat from escaping ; place the cover on, and the 

 job is finished. 



HEDDON'S PLAN NOT RELIABLE. 



IgaveMr. Heddon's plan of transferring on frames 

 of fdn. a pretty good tf'St last season, and the result 

 proved, though new. that it is not an improvement 

 on the old one. The first trial, I drummed the old 

 hive what I considnred very thoroughly, for 20 min- 

 utes; but the bee^, when emptied in front of the 

 prepared hive, and forced in, showed, by unmistak- 

 able signs, that it was not to their liking: and not- 

 withstanding the thorough drumming they had re- 

 ceived, the queen had not been dislodged, but re- 

 mained in the old gum. They soon began to leave 

 their new quarters, and go in with another black 

 hive in the yard, whose occupants were nothing 

 loath to receive them, even placing a band of musi- 

 cians at the entrance to invite the immigrants in. ([ 

 think when bees enter a stange hive with full sacks, 

 they are always welcome.) Covering with a sheet the 

 hive to which they were deserting, I placed their 

 old gum near the frame hive they had been transfer- 

 red to, and, ah I what a joyful hum was immediately 

 set up, as the column took up its line of march into 

 their old quarters. The gum was placed on its old 

 stand, and another one tried with similar results. 



A neighbor had a solitary gum which he wished 

 transferred, and the next day I concluded to try 

 them on the new plan. After driving as many of 

 the bees up into the drum-box as possible, I turned 

 them out at the entrance of the frame hive, which 

 had been previously furnished with combs, but the 

 queen was evidently behind; so, placing the drum- 

 box on, I gave the old hive some more smoke and 

 pounding; but the second installment of bees, when 

 turned out of the drum-box, did not mend matters, 

 for the queen still persisted in sticking to her old 

 quarters. I was determined to drive every bee out 

 of the gum, if need be, and a third trial proved that 

 I had at last routed her majesty, and the colony final- 

 ly accepted the situation, but with evident reluc- 

 tance, leaving their warm combs, honey, and brood, 

 to occupy new quarters in a cheerless, empty hive, 

 on dry combs. I allowed the brood to hatch out in 

 the old gum, and in a month or so transferred the 

 colony; but it turned out poorly, and proved of little 

 account. 



Determined to give the new plan a still further 

 trial (having succeeded in the last attempt after a 



