192 



QLEA]S^INGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Arci. 



I se3 ia Fib. uuuibjr, B. Lumlerer speaks of unitiiK 

 weak colonies. I never tried it but once and that prov- 

 ed so successful I will give you tbe plan not knowing 

 whether it i5 new or not. On a pleasant day in January, 

 a small starved out .swarm came to my apiary a:nd settled 

 on top of one of my stands (I winter out doors) ; I put 

 them in a honey box and smoked them and also the col- 

 ony I wanted to strensthen. This desrtroys their peculiar 

 scent by which they know each other. I turned them 

 tog:ether and all was well. I see you speak of a quilt in- 

 stead of honey boanl ; what do yon mean by quilt ? is it 

 made of cloth, and could you send me one by mail ? and 

 could 1 make them if I had a pattern ? or is it patented ? 

 Also division board, does that flt close up to honey 

 board to keep bees from goimr over into the unoccupied 

 part ? and does it cause them to breed fas-ter ? How of- 

 ten ought the old comb in lower story to be taken away ? 

 Do you use two story hives for estractr.ig, or do you ex- 

 tract from lower &-tory where they rear their young"? I 

 would like to get the Italian, biit can't see into the 

 catching of the buick queen and inserting th& yellow. I 

 think I could learn more if I could visit some experienced 

 apiarian and assist m his handling bees. Who is near- 

 est me, that I could visit this sprhig "? I would like to 

 learn artificial swarming so as to save the hot laborious 

 work of cUmbiiif/ trees etc. in the hottest weather, after 

 them. If I could succeed as well as Mr. A, C. of "Warsaw 

 Mo., I would feel indeij^ndent and mister of all I survey 

 in the bee hingdmn. Seven hundred and fifty lbs. and 1.3 

 new colonies from 2 stands, looks "mighty bifj." I start- 

 ed last spring with 9 stands and got about 40 lbs. from 

 one stand that did not swarm ; tbe others scarcely made 

 enough to winter on. I have no right to doubt Mr.- 

 Campbell's statement as I don't know, and he does, but I 

 want to learn. Does the robber bee ever make an effort 

 to sting the bee who catches him intruding? I think not ; 

 I have alVr'ays thought the robber only was killed in the 

 combat, am I right r S. P. Capehabt. 



St. Albans, W. Va. April 21st, 1876. 



We get quite a number of letters asking 

 '■what are quilts V" "What are transferring 

 clasps, and "what are they for?" "What is a 

 section box V" etc. etc. Now shall we use 

 these pages to describe again what has been 

 described so fully, or shall "we be so rude as to 

 refer new friends to the back numbers. A care- 

 ful reading of our price lists would nearly al- 

 "ways answer, and the index to back Vols, would 

 guide to full descriptions of hovf the articles 

 are made and what they are for. Many times 

 the article itself can be sent by mail for a very 

 trifle, and perhaps that would be the readiest 

 way. A section box "with a strip of founda- 

 tion is sent you by mail for 5 cents, and 2 of 

 this is for postage, j'et some of oar friends* 

 "scold" because they say we continually talk 

 about things they do not understand. Per- 

 haps we had better print a bee-keepei''s glossa- 

 ry for beginners. We have had serious 

 thoughts of printing at the head of each page 

 "nothing mentioned on these pages is patent- 

 ed." We shall be very glad indeed to have 

 any one copy our wares if they q^n do so to 

 advantage to themselves, for the "purpose of a 

 bee-journal is to help bee-keepers ; and if thej' 

 should all get rich, they would certainly re- 

 member their editor. 



It is seldom advisable to remove comb from 

 the hive just because it is old, but it may be a 

 very good investment to replace it with found- 

 ation, to get rid of drone comb. Extract from 

 both stories, or the upper one only, as you 



prefer. It will be a very good idea to work 

 with experienced bee-keepers if you can cou- 

 veuientently do so, but with the journals now- 

 published, and a few hives to practice on, you 

 can at a small expense soon become master of 

 nearly all that is known on the .subject. We- 

 have carefully watched the behavior of robber 

 bees, and do not discover that they ever use 

 their stingy, even when hard pressed. 



The extractor came to hand on Saturday the 17th, inst. 

 O.K. I like it very much, it ia the lightest runnsng ancJ 

 best got up thing of the kind I have seen yet, so say a'J 

 my bee-keeping neighbors that have seen it. We think 

 the sample frame quite as good in its way as the e.^traetor. 

 S. Co'E^'AI!T, Spanish Fork, F. T. June 19th, IS"?". 



Our bees are doing finely, better Shan over ; some- 

 have tilled boxes of 40 lbs. already. We number 90 col- 

 onies large and small. Bees have done better than 

 last year. I see chaff is your hobby, so itis micej ; the- 

 Centennial hive is j^aekcd with chaff in five minutes 

 just right lor winter. You will be apt to make one oi 

 your own invention. Townly saw me packing beer- 

 his way 10 years ago and he gets credit for it now. 

 J. L. Davis, Delhi, Mich. June 27th, 1ST:*. 



But we will try hard to have the credit 

 placed where it belongs, friend D., if you will 

 only be so kind as to give us a full description 

 of that Centennial hive. If the chaff can be put 

 on and taken off in 5 minutes, it is Just the 

 plan we have been looking for. Please give 

 us full piarticulars, and if we can't pay you for 

 your time and trouble, it will be funny. 



Frequently 'when walking among my bees, I have 

 noticed a great commotion around some particular 

 hive, bees crawling excitedly over the front ami 

 alighting board, and buzzing in front and above the 

 hive. In an hour all -will quiet down and work goTia 

 as usual and porbapa some other colony will be having 

 the same performance. I have never seen this men- 

 tioned by any writer and thought pei'haps you could 

 explain it. Another question I would like to have an- 

 swered is, how do bees carry propolis ? and is the 

 general experience of bee-keepers that the oftener 

 they are stung the less effect the venom has on them r 

 J. E. Dean, Fishkill, IST. Y., June 20th, 7e. 

 It is only the young bees playing in front of 

 their l^ives, friend D., but perhaps you are ex- 

 cusable, for more than one iVoyz't-c has, during 

 their first lessons, thought something must be 

 wrong at such a time. We remember very 

 well stopping up the hives thinking they were 

 robbing, during our first summer with the 

 hives. They carry propolis on their legs ex- 

 atcly as they do pollen, and if you will leave 

 an old quilt where they can find it during al- 

 most any hot day, you can see the "whole oper- 

 ation of loading it up. The majority agret- 

 that the oftener they are stung, the less it ai 

 fects thein; but a few, say such has not bee::; 

 their experience. 



We have sold very i:early 700 swarms up to date. Wii? 

 perhaps advertise again next fall. 



■>Ibs. Adam Geimm, Jeffereon, Wis., June 30th, "7(5. 



Those who complain of no sale for honey, 

 should consider the matter of selling bee;. 

 The demand is almost unlimited, and oae wh' 

 can manage to steer clear of the wintering 

 troubles, should find no difficulty in procluc 

 ing stocks at the prices quoted by Mr.?. Grim;::. 



