1870. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



lo: 



PROM DIFFERENT FIELDS 



f' FOR one am not willing to forego the pleasure ot 

 seeing my bees at work in the boxes. I want to 



— sec when they commence work, to note the prog- 

 ress they make, and know when the boxes are full 

 enough to raise up and take off. 1 don't believe a hive 

 can be made to Jus' suit, for box honey, and yet be 

 jutl the thing for the extractor. You say you are 

 about to do away with feeders. Do you mean to say 

 that candy, or loaf sugar, is just as good as li(|uid food 

 to stimulate breeding in the spring? or don't you re- 

 sort to feeding for that purjiose ? 



E. KniPTON, Cedar Creek, N'. J. 



By simply rai<-ing the quilt, you can see the 

 bees at work in all tlie section boxes at once, 

 and as it can be instantly closed witliout dan- 

 ger of killing a bee, we don't see what more 

 can be desired, or why gliss need be used un- 

 til the boxes are removed from the hive. We 

 regard the universal hive as perfectly adapted 

 for both comb honey and the extractor. We 

 do regard candy as jastasgood for stimulative 

 feeding, as and li(iuid food; but the loaf sugar 

 does not seem to work quite as well in warm 

 weather, on account of getting down on the 

 bottom of the hive. During cold weather the 

 moisture from the cluster softens the sugar so 

 that it is taken before anjMS wasted; but for 

 summer feeding we fear we shall have to use 

 the candy. Cakes of maple sugar work beau- 

 tifully, uud we suppose all that is needed is to 

 get our sugar of commerce — either white or 

 brown — in the form of cakes like maple sugar. 



This seems an easy matter, yet after all it is 

 some bother. To feed the candy or sugar to 

 advantage, a close fitting quilt should always 

 be tucked over it. This can be done with per- 

 fect satisfaction by means of an extra hoop, 

 such as we famish to hold the quilt ; but the 

 quilt needs to be extra large, or it will leave 

 openings at the sides. The first time such a 

 large ({uilt is put on, it seems diflicalt to get it 

 tucked into place, but after that, it will go 

 back without trouble. In opening the hive, 

 leave the quilt haitging by one corner if possi- 

 ble, and then it will be easy to get it back as 

 before. One who has once used candy or cakes 

 of sngar in this way, will never more wish to 

 bother with tin, wood, or cloth feeders, and 

 their attendant stickiness. The arrangement 

 of the covers to the hives, in the house apiary, 

 will admit of several lbs. of food on top of the 

 frames, and }ret the cloth will close over it, witli- 

 out permitting a bee to get out. 



highly pleased with them. Yes, and the lithograph of 

 apiay is ever so ni^e, and I now have in my minds eye-- 

 an apiary iu the form of a hexawn. witii grape \ iiios, etc.. 

 saw dust and all. You m ly think I'm "building castles in 

 the air " as I now have only four stands of bliok hecs, bui 

 never mind, "when ther j is a Will there is a wan." 



Inst spriiia:, I got two stands of bees in box hives, trans- 

 ferred them into movable comb hi\'es. I could get no one 

 to make the hives foi- mo, so with saw. squai-c, hammer, 

 nails and roujrii boards, I made (with some help from hus- 

 band) four now hives, with loose top and bottom boii-dt^. 

 Bees did well— we, and our fri9nds had '"lots" of housy ti> 

 eat. None of our neighbors 'lave bees, so we will hive no 

 trouble from want of pasturage. Jex.vie .Iewktt. 



White S.ilmon, Wast. Ter., Feb. 187(3. 



A woman who has the i^erseveranc*; and en- 

 ergy to make, or direct the making of her own 

 hives, can certainly become a successful bee- 

 keeper if she wishes .to. And we shall be very 

 glad indeed, to hear how the hexagonal apiary 

 flourishes in the "far west." 



White clover is beginning to blossom. Many cole nies 

 of bees have died here during tlie past winter, yet neglect 

 was the sole cause. I positively assert that in this lati- 

 tude, hoes winter successfully every time, if but three 

 conditiotis are observed, namely : The hive must be strong 

 in nurabjrs, there mu^t be an abundance of honey, and it 

 mast have a young queen. 



Fr.vnk Benton, Knoxville, Tenn. 



P. S. — I have lost no colonies in wintering — even win- 

 tered on their summer stands, two queen rearing nuclei, 

 with frames 8x10— all that 1 attempted to winter.. 



The three volumes Gleanings came to head :i few diys 

 ago. Prom iiiv examination thus far, I ean onlv sny I am 



Transferred my single stand from a common to a "Sim- 

 plicity" hive on Saturday. They seem to bs working rirhl 

 on. It was a very strong c ilonj' with about one-half bush- 

 el of bees, with ]>lenty of brood comb and but very little 

 honey. Have given about four table-spoonfuls of syrup 

 d,aily to encourage them. Would it be askiuj; too much, 

 to reijuest you to tell me where to sairch for tli i queen r 

 I am a beginner, and have yet to behold her majesty. 



M. W. CnAPAiAN, Mayhew Station, Mi.ss. 

 Get your smoker all in good trim, or your 

 pan of smoking bits of rotten wood, as the 

 case may be, and place it near the hive. Now 

 turn up one corner of their ([uilt gently. If 

 they show tight, drive them bi,ck with smoke, 

 but don't smoke them at all, if they seem inclln 

 ed to be 'treasonable." After the (juilt is clear 

 ofT.let them remain quiet, perhaps a minute, 

 just long enough for them to get a fall view of 

 what is going on, and meanwhile fix your eye 

 on the comb that seems to contain most bees ; 

 now push the combs at the sides of this one 

 back a little, that you may be able to raise it 

 without any jar or disturbance. After yon 

 have it in your hands, step away a little, that 

 they may not feel ([uite so much at home as 

 when in sight of their hive; hold the frame ut> 

 to the liarht and look over both sides of it care- 

 fally. Yoa will probably find her among the 

 brood, and the center of an admiring circle of 

 bees. If not on this comb, she will be pretty 

 "ure to be on one of the other brood combs. 

 If you have never seen a (lueen, you are to look 

 for a long bee, not ((uite so long as a lead pen- 

 cil, but considerably longer than a common 

 bee ; and when you "find her, take a good look 

 that you may know her next time. If you arc 

 careful, you can put them back without smoke 

 and if they are busy :!t work, we can usually 

 get along without any smoke, or vail either 

 — our friend has the metal cornered frames. 

 If you have frames that have to be pried loose 

 with a snap, you will perhaps need smoke, and 

 a vail too. 



I have the hive, etc., by mail. Honey arrangement nice 

 —can not decide on merits of hive yet— fe-ar it will be too 

 easily broken. I am charmed with the comb foundations. 

 But it costs us only half to build comb here that it does 

 East. I am soriy you could not manage to sell us combs 

 or m:ichiues cheaply. R. WxiKlN. 



San Buena Ventur;i, C:il.. Ainil i:5'.h, '7(1. 



