1877 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



71 



wintered in this way for throe seasons with good results. 

 Bees all riirht at present li:ul n jtocid lly yeslerdtiy. 



K. M. Barbouk, Alamo. Mich., Feb. tith, 1877. 

 P. S. What is the thickness of stufT for sections ? [I in.] 



VIRGIN (iUEENS. INTRODl'CINd THKVt. 



You say in your answer to my other letter that you do 

 not believe a virgin tiucen one week old can be introduced 

 by any process. 1 knew that bees wore possessed of near- 

 ly all th(! human frailties, but did not know before that 

 lack of gallantry to "ancient maiden ladies" of their own 

 race was one of them. I have always kept my queens at 

 least t days, and from that to 8 liefore introducing and 

 often introduce fl or S in a day without any loss. In fact 

 I would just as lief introduce a virgin as a fertile quoen 

 and can do it with as little loss. H. I'. Savlks. 



Hartford, Wis., Feb. !tth, 1877. 



[Will wonders iiever cease ? Please tell us friend S., 

 how .vou introduced Ihcni. Almost every attempt we 

 have ever made, or heard of others mnking with virgin 

 queens old enough to lly, has been a failure.] 



Our bees are all right so far, excci)t one in the house 

 apiary, showing signs of dysentery. 1 examined one 

 under chart" out doors and found them in a great com- 

 motion; the chalV above them was hot. I brushed it 

 oil" and rolled back the sacking and let them lly (the 

 sun was shining quite warm) and they soon quieted 

 down. I examined the lower entrance and found the 

 space entirely closed with a thin board that h.-id slip- 

 ped out of place. They liave been quiet since their 

 fly. Have one swarm completely covered in .1 snow- 

 drift. J. H. Maktin, Hartford, N.Y., Feb. 14, 1877. 



[If your chaff hives arc close and warm, wc think 

 you vriil need the whole entrance open all winter for 

 ventilation.] 



In feeding bees, why not pour the honey or syrup right 

 into the combs liy lifting out one fi-ame at a time? I 

 have the L. hive, and that is the way I do it. Others 

 take more pains, but why, I want to know. 



Wm. Hunt, Xorth Lawrence, Kans., .Ian. ;50th, 1S77. 



[There is no ohjection to the plan at all, except that it 

 is a sticky, dnuby operation, is Aery apt to excite robbing, 

 and takes much time. If you have many colonies, you 

 will find that it is rather laborious^ to even take out one 

 comb from each hive. Giving them their food before the 

 entrance at night, we find much easier, if the weather is 

 warm ; if it is not, give them sealed combs or candy.] 



I guess I must have been intended for a bee-keeper, as 

 I am Jiot nuich account for anytliing else, and I .am al- 

 most bee sting proof. It does not swell a particle on me, 

 and uives me but little pain, and I love to work with 

 bees better than anything else and above all I am 

 particularly fond of honey. You say somewhere that 

 your principal living is nic« bread, butter, honey, and a 

 pitcher of ice cold milk. Now such "fodder" as that suits 

 rae to a T. I would like to board with you. 



M. M. Stovee, Table Rock, Neb. Feb. ftth, 1877. 



My 25 colonics of Italians increased to .V) last sum- 

 mer, and gave me about a ton of honey in little frames. 

 We have been getting stulf sawed at home for the sec- 

 tions, but it is rough and uneven, and would like to 

 try a few of yours. From your rei)ly to Brooks S: 

 Rro., I judge you make sections of ilcsired width, as 

 well as length and hvight. Mrs. A. h. tJuii.!). 



Ridgevillc, Iroquois Co., HI. 



[Certainly.] 



I have lost 10 hives of bees this winter. I gave them 

 too much box room. They were in box hives, ami 

 one of them had '20 lbs of honey, but there was noth 

 Ing but drones in the hive ; I don't know how that 

 comes. John Boeusti.kk. 



Gilcad, Calhoun Co., III. 



[The hive with nothing but drones, is rather a joke 

 on you, friend B. You did not see that they were sup- 

 plied with a good queen in the latter part of the sea- 

 son, ami your drones are the work of a drone laying 

 queen, or f'jrtilo workers.] 



Bees had a fine lly to-day. Have lost one colony in 8,'; 

 as near as I can tflll now. You are aware I winter oul 

 doors in Fiini hive. J. ,1. Riser. 



Adrtlphi, Iowa, Jan. 27th, 1877. 

 Bi[That is certainly pretty well, but it seems they di. 

 somctinus die in the Finn hive after all.] 



I bought a bee tree last Thursday ; paid .§5,00 for thf 

 tree. Cut it yesterday, got 85 lbs. of line comb honey, 

 and a large colony of hybrid hccx. How is that for 

 wild bees only two years old ? 



W^. G. Ckaig, Clearniont, Mo., Feb. i)th, Hi77. 



I commenced last season with '15 colonies, several 

 gave over 100 lbs. box honey. 



1 have 07 stands with which to commence the pres- 

 ent season. W. W. HirronTK. 



De Vall's Blulf, Ark., Feb. 12th, 1877. 



Have got my saw Hxed for cutting boxes; I use a 

 slide the same as we use for cross-cutting, with thif, 

 steel plate fastened on. It works splendidly'. 



G. R. Smith, Victor, N. Y. 



BEE JOTTINfiS FKOM THE MODIi^IKTV 

 "LANO OF Mlt,K A^'» MOIXEV" 



^N this, my initial "jottings," it would be expedient 

 HI to inform the readers of Gi.i;anin(;s where I hoU.! 

 — forth. Though less than 15 miles from San Fran- 

 cisco and on the opi)Ositc (east) side of the Bay, wt; 

 are located in one of the best places for an apiary in 

 this county. The Contra Costa range is hard by on 

 the cast, while to the west lays the Oakland Valley, 

 sloping towards the Bay of San Fi-ancisco; on th(! 

 north and south, low and rolling hills add to the 

 landscape. A living stream of water Hows nea- our 

 stands, while trees break ofl'all winds. An important 

 object (a honey market) to the bee-keo])er, is secured 

 to us by the two largest cities in the state, each with- 

 in three quarters of an hour's riile by rail or ferry. 

 Such Is the location of our apiary. 



Although our bees do not gather white sagtj or 

 orange (•') blossom honey as do those of the lower 

 counties, we can claim, to our notion, as fine an arti- 

 cle and a longer honey season than the bee men fur- 

 ther south have. We do not contend that in this 

 place such vast (juanlities of nectar can be pradiiced 

 as in l^os Angelos, San Diego and other lower coun- 

 ties, but that a good article can be had, and the honey 

 producing plants are such that bees can be busily em- 

 ployed every day in the year ; hence, colonies go 

 through the winter safely, and by the time the peach 

 blossoms, they will be heavy in stores and strong iia 

 bees. 



While your bees are wintering in their chaff hives ; 

 whether in cellar, under snow, or--wc don't know 

 where— let us tell you what our bees are <loing, and 

 liow they are "wir.tcring." Possibly you may be jeal- 

 ous, but wc can't help it, for our bees will enjoy theui- 

 selves these v.inler months, in spite of all our protes- 

 tatims. 



