GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURK 



Nov. 



The two aOc lath hives that j- m sent me came throir' 

 all right at fart, although they were a long, thi^e on 

 the jonrnc}- (freight charges Sl,45). I went to work 

 on your speciilcations given in June Nc. of G-lean- 

 }\GS, gtt up three or four lath hives and had bees in 

 tljrea of them before youra arrived. They appear to 

 be just the th- thing- for hot summ-ers like thi-s, bnS 

 just how they will stand one of our Illinois wiivters i's 

 the next qiescian. \yill oat eiiafS be the thing ? 



Bees began swarming earlier than cmuraoB here 

 this season. Had the llrst swarm May 30th. This 

 spring, I liad M stocks, n?ative bees, lost none last 

 winter; all remained on their sumn>er stands. By 

 the middle of June or 20th at farthest I bad as many 

 good strong young stocks as old ones ,' and by the 10th 

 of July, they were just three to one .' my first swarm 

 having turned off a swarm whteh 1 think will fill theii 

 hive. But the most unusual thing with me is, I had 

 not one swarm to leave the hive after being pirt in, 

 nor one giy oQ\ or leave for the woods. 



W. LE^rIS, Kappa, Ills., St3pt. llth, 1876. 



Take away all frames that remain unfilled 

 or that contain but little honey, and close up 

 the side boards so as to occupy a» Itttle room 

 as may be ; then cover the whole with such | 

 cloth as is used for j^rain bags. Transfer i 

 them t-hus prepared into an empty box, and 

 pack chafl' all around. Fix the entrance- to 

 exclnde mice, but so the bees can pass, and be 

 sure the boxes have a good roof to keep the 

 chaff dry. 



Honey trade has been very lively of late. I have 

 perhaps never sold as many ban-els of honey in one 

 month as I did during this September. 



Chas. F, Muth, Cincinnati, O., Sept. 29th, '76. 



The idea that a young qneen will lay but few drone 

 eggs is quite erroneous. That ymtnr/ queens geijerally do 

 not lay as many drone eggs is no ijroof that they will not 

 under favorable circumstances. I have been testing tliis 

 theory for three years past aud I know my young queens 

 by as many drone eggs as the old ones, and that too in 

 one week after they begin to lay. I have had many 

 swarms issue in from one to four weeks after the queens 

 began to lay. The necessary conditions are strong stocks 

 and fine weather. It is said the queen seems discreet 

 when honey fails. I add, the bees are more so. Prof. 

 Cook also says that an egg is ])}aced in a queen cell either 

 by the queen or the bees. I have tried in vain to in- 

 duce bees to remove eggs from combs to qncen cells. 



R. S. Eecktell, New Buffalo, Mich. 

 You are uncharitable friend B. Bees at 

 times work strangely at variance with their 

 habits as laid down by others, but we should 

 get into an awful row, if every one of us said 

 he did not believe anything that was contrarj' 

 to his own experience. We rarely Had a 

 young queen laying drone eggs the first sea- 

 son in our apiary, and we quite frequently 

 find eggs moved by the workers for the pur- 

 pose of queen rearing. 



besides Quinby lias it ? Box hives are the rule here- 

 know of only on« man besides myself vrho ha:» movable 

 comb frames. L. H. W. 



Jlarlljoro, 3Ias3:, Sept. 21, 1S7& 



The tin would prevent making^ the clo.'=e- 

 tight joint that we get with the- wooden bars^ 

 aiid would make tli^ hive nvuch- more expen- 

 s-ive ; the idea; is not a new one. We can sur- 

 round any kind of a hive witii: the chaff" pack- 

 ing, but we- opine to get tli-e fir-U advantage of 

 it, it slTOuld come irp close to the l?ees antF 

 combs, as it does when we simply cover the- 

 frames with a coarse piece of cloth. To do thiw 

 to the best advantage, ia as yet an u-nsolved' 

 problem. 



After reading ycur '^Experience wi-tlr smokers," 1 con- 

 cMded to give you a dteseription of or« I ufie. Make :i 

 qi5flrt cxvp without solder ; near tire bottom, in- side next- 

 you when holdHng it in tlKj band— I pre-fer holding it in 

 tlie left hatxl — make an inch lK>le, or n; nunrbar oi smaller- 

 ones, oi'er which arrange a slide to be clo9ed when not iii 

 nse. Then m-ike a close fitting lid with a slot in the cen- 

 ier, fxl hich. Next make a conical tube S inches long, i 

 inch in di-imeter at one end and 1 inch at the other, witli 

 a slot in the mkldfe to TOn-espond with tlie ca>e in the lid. 

 Solder the tube to tte lid and' it is compl'eted. By placing 

 tTie small end of the tube to tire moiitb and gently blow- 

 mg, you can send enough sirioke to ai?y part of a hive foi- 

 ordinary use. When you get amoijg "dirk liybri-ls" antl 

 find a sauce pan necessary, take off the lid and you have- 

 it ready. E. S. Easteecat, Nokomis, 111. 



I started I'st of Maj- witli r>h stocks in fair conditio!! ;, 

 vei^' poor season up to last of May but very good since. I 

 increased to 130 and took 3000" lbs. hmey, about 1200 box- 

 balance extracted ; my bees are all in extra condition fot- 

 winter. I had but one swarra go to the woods. 



Geo. W. Kennedy, Cirrollton, Mo., Sept., 21, 7(i. 



I use a straw lined hive and Kke it much. I commencecE 

 the season with 11- stands, lost 2 which were not in 

 straw lined hives, in winterJiig. I have inci*eased by nat- 

 ural swarmiijg to 2S' strong stocks, and ta'ien 900 lbs. oi: 

 honey, comb and extracted, which I have sold at home 

 for IS and 20c per lb. 



How do you keep the sectional boses together ? That 

 is, v/here yon put 30 of them on a hive, how do yon keep 

 the end boses from failing over before you put the cap 

 on ? IX) you make them different sizes ? 



E. J. ScnoFiELP, Nashua, Iowa, Sept. 21, '7*1. 



Most of our hives have upper stories, and as 

 vi-e get at the sections by simply removing the 

 light cover, we have no such difficulty as you 

 mention. Those made with caps for honey 

 boxes, were worked by using thin boards to 

 close the ends of the sections ; these thin 

 boards can be liept in place until the bees 

 fasten them, by a string around the whole. 

 The bees shonld never under any circum- 

 stances be allowed on the outside of the 

 section. Can make sections of any dimensions. 



In reading the article "Hives used by ouv leading bee- 

 keepers,'' I am reminded to send you a part of an end to a 

 "Qiiinby frame." You will perceive the sides of it are 

 Ijrotected with tin ; and it certainly has this advantage, 

 that the wax can ba scraped off quite easily and quickly. 

 Please comment. ^Vhat I want is a hive in which I can 

 winter ray bees on their summer stands. It seems that 

 friends Davis and Townley liave done it, and you have 

 (lone it with "Quinby's hive." Now let us have a hive to 

 which we must add only the jiacking in the f:'!l. Who 



I received and read j-our August number, advertise- 

 ments and all. Thought I would give a little of my "bee" 

 experience. One year ago last winter I had but 10 

 swaiTns live through, and they were all very weak. I i;-.- 

 creased the number to 10 during the summer, and i;i Ih;; 

 fall took oft' about $100,00 worth of nice box honey, or vw 

 average of S10,00 to each hive ; besides the increase of 

 three swarms to eacli one. My 40 all lived through la.st 

 winter, and were all good and strong this spring. I u.sl' 

 the American hive principally, and let them remain on 

 their suir.mer stands. 1 had 25 of my Centcnni-\1 hivis 



