08 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



i?reat many of them, and she got so she knew them and 

 eaiight them too. Well, that Scamo afternoon wo heard a 

 loud scream and crying in tbo yard, and as wo all ran out 

 "Little 8un Beam" camo running in and we couldn't j;et 

 her to tell us for a loni.'; time what was the matter; but 

 she artid at last the great bi;4 rooster came ri'^lit along 

 ;ii;d bit her right on the leg. So after awhile I got her to 

 show mo the place, and right on her little leg I pulled 

 oat one or two bee stings, I took her by the hand and 

 walked up in front of tho hives and after awhile I saw 

 marks of a little foot and some dirt and dead bees on one 

 of the alighting boards and I said "I wonder who has been 

 hero killing my bees." 9o she told me she was killing 

 drones with her little foot and the bees came out and 

 stung her on the log. So you soe I had to give her ;i Sun- 

 day lesson, but she wanted to blame all her trouble to 

 the rcoster because he was there and she thought the 

 boes would not have stung her if tho rooster liad not 

 made them, by crowing so loud. We would like to sea 

 another picture of your little Blue Eyes and hope she is 

 growing nicely and healthy. 



W. H. Sedgwick, Granville, ()., Dec. 25th, 1S76. 

 We are so runcli pleased with the picture, 

 that if we thought it possible for an engraver 

 to do it justice, we would try and give all our 

 readers a view. Our remarivs on courage, in 

 the Home column, are well illustrated by the 

 beliayior of "Little Sunbeam,' and we iiave 

 more than ouce .seen children talve stings with 

 ti courage that vv'ould do credit to our veteran 

 bee-keepers. Of course they are seldom slung, 

 for one who braves danger manfully, rarely 

 gets hurt. Our "Blue Eyes" has just this 

 minute come all the way from home alone, to 

 bring papa's handkerchief, and we fear Vv'e 

 shall have to call her "papa's big girl," here- 

 after, if she continues to grow so rapidly. 

 Teach the cliildren to become acquainted with, 

 and to love the bees, by all means, and while 

 yon add to their pleasures, you will find tliey 

 will soon save you a vast number of steps, 

 jibout the apiary. 



BTEaSS FllfiOSI MBI<iiNiJ«»OXA. 

 S I have been hui'i by with fever and am still con- 



I 



with a fevif bee items just to kill time, and if you 

 should And anything that would be interesting you can 

 j)ublivh it. I have just lieen into my bee cellar this eve- 

 ning and I find them quiet and to all appearance doing 

 linely ; they have been in the cellar over three months, 

 (put in Oct. 17th). Page 10 Jan. ]Nfo. Gleanings. Does 

 not Prof. Cook make a mistake in regard to (,^leome being 

 a Minnesota bee plant ? "AVe have acres of Anisatus and it 

 is a great help to tho bees. 



UOW TO STOP EOBEIJTCJ. 



The robbing of bees frequently takes tho starch entirely 

 i)ut of new beginners. To give them a quietus fill a 

 sponge (with one Hat side) with cold water, pin over the 

 entrance so they will have to rub their backs to get in. 



now TO GET HUES OEF TlIU COMBS. 



To get Italiaus from the combs, dip a wing in water 

 tlien tlirt off the M'ater so as to leave the wing damp. 



I'EEmXO IN THE SVKINc;. 



Last winter I had two swarms that had 10 lbs. of liouey 

 each, bees just about tho same. From the first of Feb. I 

 fed one of them all the sugar I could dip with a spoon 

 every other night. Tho one I fed used every bit of their 

 honey, the other went thrcugh the spring without a single 

 feed. 



:iricE. 



Last winter the mice were determined to ruin my bees. 



They would make nests in the quilts and in the hives. I 

 lirst shut them so closely that the mice could not get in, 

 but it soon made them wet and sickly. I then got two 

 cats cf the best breed I could find, and put into the cellar. 

 But that did not stop them, the cats tipped one swarm off 

 the shelf, threw every comb, bees and all iuto the dirt ; 

 some of the combs were smashed. 1 gathered them up 

 and saved them and worked among them hours nearly 

 every night for about two months and saved every swarm. 

 I sent to you for wire cloth to fix them with this winter, 

 but changed my mind. I liavo my shelves built on posts 

 with a tin pan bottom up under the posts, and now not 

 a mcuso gets to them. 



ERAMES WITHOUT BOTTOM BAES. 



Lust spring I cut the Iwttom bar from one comb for the 

 centre of each hive. I like the plan so well that I propose 

 to cut the bottom from all my combs. My combs are 

 12xl2. Now I propose to cut my hives down to just 10 

 inches and cut tho combs to fit and leave them without 

 bottom bar. For now frames I will put a thin strip of wood 

 on bottom of frame with No. 10 tacks. Scon as the 

 frame is filled with comb draw the tacks with jjocket 

 kiiil'e. If you do not like the plan please criticise sharply. 



QUILTS, TACKING ONE EDGE TO THE HIVE. 



You recomend some one to leave the quilt glued to one 

 side. Now from that I caught an idea that has been ben- 

 elu'ial. Tack the quilt with small tacks across the end 



opposite the division board. 



UNCAPPED nOSEY. 



.^t the close of the honey harvest last fall my 17 hives 

 were nearly filled with uncapped honey, all except ray 

 River Styx and a hybrid swarm. I made them cap the 

 honey, all but one swarm which I put away with nearly 

 all imcapped stores. It was a light swarm and I crowded 

 them on to four combs. The hive has smelt like a vinegar 

 barrel but the bees aj^pear perfectly healthy yet and they 

 de not smell so sour as they did. (J. W. Paekee. 



New London, Minn. Jan. 22d. 1877. 



We do not know about the bee plant, nor 

 are we able to find in our botany the other 

 plant you name. 



We think the wet sponge might answer be- 

 fore tlie bees were well under way, but then, 

 we fear they would pay little attention to the 

 wrttins:. We shall try the dampened wing, 

 but do not see just how it is going to get the. 

 bees ol!'. 



Yon did not say whether the fed colony, was 

 in any better condition than the other; please 

 tell, and then we shall know whether the feed- 

 ing p'lid expenses. 



It strikes us we would cet the mice clear 

 out of the cellar, whether they worried the 

 bees or not. Persistent trapping, will usutiUy 

 wind them up. 



We have used frames without bottom bars, 

 but objected to them, because tliey were so 

 easiljr injured. It is not safe to lay them down 

 or stand them up any where, you must always 

 hang theju up, as they hang in the hive. Also, 

 unless yon make the upper corners very strong, 

 by some clumsy block, or otherwise, you will 

 have the end bars getting too near, or too far 

 from the liive. We appreciate the advantage 

 of the extra room that you get along the lov»-er 

 edge, and the etisy access the bees have to the 

 combs, from having them built just as near 

 the bottom of the hive as they want them. 



You niust draw your taclis in the cjuilt, 

 when you wish to use tho upper story. Is not 

 the urumtning that the bees do, enough V 



