1876 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



183 



Oko of iTiy noiglibors had three swarms before the mid- 

 dle of May, first one on the 7th; they were Itahans. 1 

 had three swarms this week. The first one came off at 

 6>i A. M., and was imraediateJy hived in a new frame hive 

 of dried poplar. They came out at 5;i:' r. 3i., and went to 

 the woods. I scratched the ii side of hive and next day 

 j)ut another swarm in, which went to work. 



Wiliiam; a. Docglas, Oxford, Ohio, 



N. B.— If those section boxes will not do for oid style 

 Ija-.isstroth hives, you need not send tlie extras, but hold 

 ni.V 81,25 for further orders. W. A. D. 



We suppose the "scratching" was raeaut to 

 give the bees a better chauce to "hook ou ;" if 

 it answered, all right. Our cases of sections, 

 are just right to go inside the old style Lang- 

 stroth cap, or cover. 



AVliy do not bees commence working on wliito clover 

 sooner '? It lias been in blossom now abont two weeks 

 and they do not seem to notice it. I have been somewhat 

 oui'ious to know what they are working on now, but have 

 not been able to find out unles.s it luay be poplar ; but 

 have not seen that kind of timber and so do not know. 

 S. A. Dtks, Downington, O,, June 8th, 1876. 



Bees do not seem to get much honej"- from 

 any kind of blossoms initil th"-"}' are pretty 

 fully matured, or even ou the eve of drying up. 

 We have many times noted that large yields 

 of honey from apple blossoms only come when 

 the petals begin to fall. We too have noticed 

 when the clover first comes out, that it seems 

 almost unnoticed for several days. With us, 

 !:<he!l bark hickory furnishes considerable hon- 

 ■ey of a dark color, just before the bees com- 

 mence on clover, and it is important that we 

 are carelul to prevent this from being mixed 

 with our clover liouev. 



This is the best season for bees that we have had 

 for six years. The riehls arc white with clover yet, 

 ami red clover yielded abiindantly. 



I have no trouble introducing a queen just hatch- 

 ed. I put a little honey on her back, to stick her 

 wings down, then lift a frame from a queenless hive 

 and put her on the comb. When introducing a lay- 

 ing queen, I take away the queen I wish to replace 

 and wait until the bees show that they miss her, 

 which they do bj- running around outside the hive 

 and squealing dolefully. I then lift out a frame of 

 bees and put it behind the division board, or into an 

 empty liive, putthequeenon it, withher wings daubed, 

 and spray the whole with sweetened water scented 

 with nutmeg, and if tlie bees do not roll her up in a 

 bail put the frame back in the hive. If they do, put 

 her in a cage on the comb for a few hours, then let her 

 out, spray them, and try again. They will come to 

 terms after awhile. This may look big but I have 

 never lost one yet. Dont forget to daub her wings so 

 that she can't squeal. I think that when a swarm 

 <loes not kill their drones in the fall, a queenless 

 .swarm will be found in the spring. 



Is honey candy good ? Honey slightly boiled is any 

 thing but delicious. 



Lloyd Z. Jones, Galva, Ills., July 12th, "(J. 



Many thanks friend J. we really think you 

 have this time struck ou something of great 

 importance, for we have often felt that if we 

 could only induce young queens to "keep 

 their mouths shut" as we expressed it, they 

 would pass safely unnoticed. But after they 

 are a day or two old, they are almost sure to 

 utter their note of alarm if the workers han- 



pen to take a notion to look them over a little 

 Inquisitively, and then follows a general rush 

 for the stranger ; for the cry of a queen is 

 something that seems to stir every bee in the 

 hive very much as the cry of fire stirs us at 

 midnight. Now bees do all their talking with 

 their wings — did you never hear them say 

 plainer than words, "if you don't go right 

 away from our hive I'll sting you V" — and if 

 their wings are pinned fast with a drop of hon- 

 ey, as our young friend directs, of course they 

 are dumb for the time being, and a queen 

 must crawl silently through the throng in 

 this condition, no matter how much she feels 

 like screaming out in affright. If this really 

 does all it promises, we certainly shall owe 

 our 18 year old brother a vote of thanks for 

 his ingenuity and research. Many a young 

 qtieen have we lost, just because she would 

 "holler" when they began to run after her. 



Lamp nursery received. Does well. 1 smoke the 

 bees well with smoke from rotton wood. Hickory is 

 best 1 have tried. Catch queen in cage and let her 

 crawl out quietlj- among the thickest bunch of bees; 

 iftheyi)ull lier legs and wiugs I smoke them until 

 they will let her crawl quietly among them. Kever 

 catch young queens in your fingers, but hold a cage 

 over them until tliey cra77l up, then set the mouth on 

 a ]3iece ot fresh comb. In this way j'ou leave no 

 strange scent on the queen, and the bees will almost 

 invariablj' receive her. I intend to put new queens in 

 place of all old, badly marked queens, or those produ- 

 cing cross, or lazy bees. I put a virgin queen in No- 

 62 which had an old fertile queen, bees commenced 

 fighting and after killing hundreds carried out the oUl 

 queen dead. A bunch of bees watched her all night, 

 ard next day. Singular wasn't it ?. Next evening tlioy 

 carried out the virgin queen and 1 had to give them a 

 new one. 



John Laifektv, Martinsville, Ills., June II, '70. 



I had a very large swarm come off yesterday which 

 I succeeded in hiving all right. This morning be- 

 tween six and seven o'clock they went off; I followed 

 until I lost all ho))es of getting them, and gave them 

 up as a bad bargain. Now losing a swarm is a com- 

 mon occurrence, but the uncommon comes in here : 

 I had been home about one-half or three-quarters of 

 an liour wlien my swarm came rushing back, entered 

 the hive they left and went to work as if they intend- 

 ed to scay. Now if it had been a second swarm I could 

 have accounted for it, but it was a first swarni and 

 must have had a fertile queen. Can you enlighten me 

 on the subject? 



W. A. ViNCENi', Uuchanan, Mich., JuIySth, '7G. 



Friend Y. there is something we would 

 prize very much, and that is a photo of your 

 visage when you were compelled to give up 

 that truant swarm ; and another when you 

 saw them returning, and were sure they were 

 going back into their old hive again. We do 

 not know but that it would be worth engrav- 

 ing for our front cover. There are several 

 causes that may have brought about the 

 phenomena. Perhaps the old queen, by mis- 

 take when they swarmed, got up into the 

 honey boxes, or somewhere, and they did 

 not discover her absence until well under way 

 to their chosen home in the woods, or are you 

 sure it was the very same swarm that went 

 into the hive the second time ? Those who 

 are good at riddles, perhaps can help us farther. 



