GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 



SIOXV 'VO iHi KVKKV 'i'HlN<i THAT 



jm:iji>s to kk oonk with a 

 colo,\v of bees. 



\VITI1 THE HOPE THAT IT MAY ANSWEK A GIIEAT 

 NVMIJElt OF QUESTIONS. 



WE will suppose it is the lirst of March, 

 Mud that you liave purchased a colony 

 of common bees either in a box hive or in any 

 l)atent hive — it amounts to about the same 

 thinii — which you arc inteiidina; to transfer. 

 The first tliiuij; is to get the half bushel of saw- 

 dust, mentioned on page 41, and when your 

 hive is brought home, put the bees on it and 

 do not undertake to transfer them until they 

 have been at wo;.k and feel perfectly at home. 



TRANSEEIiraNG 



is simply cutting the old hive in pieces and 

 fitting the combs carefully into the frames of 

 the new hive. It is best done while the bees 

 are busy at Avork, and if performed skilfully, 

 they should continue working during the 

 whole operation. 



Briefly ; the work is usually to be done wliile 

 ffr.it trees are in bloom — it should be done 

 about 10 A. ii., while the bees are busily at 

 work. Smoke them and move the hive two 

 feet backward, turn it over — put the new hive 

 in its place and fi.\ the entrance so nearly in 

 place and like the old one, that the bees will 

 go right in After they go in you must make 

 them feel at liomc by giving them a comb of 

 l)rood cut from the old hive — cut the old hive 

 in pieces and cut out the combs neatly, care- 

 fully and quietly, keeping them in perfect sub- 

 ection in the old hive by the smoke, as often 

 as they show the least disposition to dispute 

 about who is "bossing the job." Lay the 

 combs on something soft to avoid crushing the 

 homy and injuring the brood, vrhilc you are 

 lltthig the combs into frames — if you daub no 

 honey about you will have no robbing — keep 

 a towel, wash-bowl and water near you, and 

 spre.ad down newspapers where the honey is 

 likely to drip— wear a veil if you choose, but 

 please do believe us, when we say again that 

 gloves of any kind are icorse than useless. 

 Cover both hives with a cloth, while you are 

 litting t!ie comljs, and k(ep the brood in your 

 new frames in a compact cluster, as it was in 

 the old hive — i;" you carefully fl.xed things be- 

 fore commencing, so there was no crack or 

 crevice into which a bee could crawl, except 

 into the entrance of the new hive, and if you 

 have been careful — as you always should be — 

 to avoid setting your (clumsy V) feet on a bee, 

 you certainly have not killed the queen, and 

 she is in one hive or the other. To be sure she 

 is in the new hive, shake all before the en- 

 trance u'heu you are done, and see that ev&n/ 

 bee goes into the hive. For a more lengthy 

 -discourse" see May No. of 1S75. 



DIVISION EOAKDS. 



During this month, a very fair colony will 

 not need more tJian six combs ; and they are 

 much Inciter ofl'whcn confined to these six, 

 than when spread over a greater number. The 

 purpose of the division board, is to contract 

 the hive until the bees fill it, even should it be 

 only two combs, and to make them fnliy cover 

 these before they have more. When they have 



' all the cells occupied with brood, honey or 

 ', pollen, they should have. another comb, and f)e 

 made to fill that. When the division board is 

 used for this purpose, the bees are allowed to 

 I get back of it during jileasant weather, and in 

 fact it makes an excellent place for feed when 

 it is not too cold. If combs containing some 

 honey be left back of this division board, Ihey 

 will soon carry it over, and it seems to have 

 much the effect in stimulating, that natural 

 stores do. The small channel along the rab- 

 liet usually attbrds them a passage way, or the 

 division board may be raised about V4 inch. 



FEEDING. 



We prefer loaf sugar, or that sold at the gro- 

 cer's as "crushed sugar," for all purposes for 

 feeding, and the process is so simple that we 

 hardly know how to give directions. If you 

 wisli to feed for stimulating, the least trouble 

 is to put the lumps of sugar in the open air — 

 protected from rain — but if you do not wish 'o 

 feed your neighbor's bees, put the sugar on top 

 of the frames under the quilt. In cold weath- 

 er, you must be careful to i)Ut the sugar di- 

 rectly over the cluster of bees, or they can not 

 get it ; if the space under the cover is not large 

 enough to admit of the supply yon wish to 

 give at once, put on an extra hoop. We prefer 

 this Avay of feeding to any other, because it 

 avoids all trouble from robbers, the sugar can 

 be given any day in winter, and there is noth- 

 ing sticky al)out it, as there is with all kinds 

 of syrups and liquid food. More than all, this 

 loaf sugar is the purest sugar that can be liad, 

 and never has lu'odnced any of the diseases 

 consequent upon cheap sugars or anj' kind of 

 watery food. 



I'.ni.DING THEM L'P. 



Whenever you find they have every cell oc- 

 cupied with brood, pollen or honey, and all the 

 combs covered with bees, move back the di- 

 vision board, and put an empty worker comb 

 in the centre of the brood; should they be 

 short of honey, it will be better to give th^'Ui a 

 comb containing some scaled honey, uncapping 

 it at the time. Be very sure you do not spread 

 them thus, too fast, during the cool spring- 

 months; and also be sure they do not suffer for 

 want of room later in the season. AVhen the 

 hive is full of bees, or when honey begins to 

 come in plentifully, you are ready to consider 



SURPLUS nONEY. 



Quinby s.iys with much truth, that it is of 

 great importance that the boxes be put on just 

 at the right time; and the only way to know 

 v.'hen, is to keep a careful watch of their i)ro- 

 ceedings. When they begin to build little bits 

 of comb at the tops and ends of the frames, it 

 is pretty certain they will make a start in box- 

 es, provided they have easy access to them, 

 from near th(> centre of the brood nest. The 

 boxes and sections we offer are made so that a 

 strip of the bleached comb fonndalion can be 

 fastened very securely, so as to make a ladder 

 for them to the top of the section. -A very lit- 

 tle piece of comb will manj^ times make a great 

 diflVrencc ; and if you can cut out a piece of 

 new white drone com!) from some of j'our 

 frames, and put good large i/ieces of these in 

 the sections, you can make a very sure thing 

 of box honey, when "hey are getting any honey 

 at all. This is some trouble, but it is only by 



