106 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ape. 



I am an old man but a young bee-keeper, wlio has all 

 to learn. Most things in Gleanings are unintelligible 

 to me just now but I may improve. Were it not for the 

 distance I might get your materials, as it is I must blund- 

 er on. I cannot make a frame that I can take out. Per- 

 haps I may do better with Quinby hive, I -will try. We 

 have bnt little winter here, only December and January. 

 In February bees make comb in surplus boxes. Last year 

 was a strange one, in February bees worked well, then, 

 hibernated till July. After that they did well I sup^wse, 

 for I took 100 lljs. of box honey from 3 hives. We had a 

 71 day's drouth in this interval. My bees are the com- 

 mon black bee of the country, and allow the moth full 

 liberty— hence the need to transfer often. I suppose n)y 

 only way is to read and feel my way to more skill and 

 knowledge; J. B. Norm.vnd. 



Houston, Texas, Nov. 1876. 



You certainly will require more skill to 

 har.dle a Q. frame, than the ordinary suspend- 

 ed ones. The Italians will take the moth 

 troubles, entirely off your hands. 



affected them. I have wintered them or part of them s. > 

 for several winters. Let the banking remain vmtil tin- 

 middle of May or Iriter if need be. Be sure not to take ii 

 away until the weather is warm or it will set them hncV . 

 My bee-yard is drifted full ; what will cause tlie snow 

 to melt off so I can set them out by the middle of ]\Iarch r 

 Wm. H. Balch, Oran, N. Y., Feb. 10th, 1S77. 

 If you recommend leaving the earth about 

 the hives until May, we cannot see why yow 

 should wish to get the snow away in March ; 

 whv not let them alone ? 



SIZE OF BROOD APARTMENT AND SPREADING 

 THE BROOD. 



You recommend 10 or 11 frame? to a hive. My hives 

 have S frames, 18 jj bj- 10, only 6 of which are used by 

 the queen. My best hive was filled to its utmost 

 capacity, having 124 lbs. of honey exclusive of top 

 boxes. If 6 frames will do this, will 10 or 11 do as 

 much more in proportion ? I object to having more 

 frames than arc necessary. The question is, how 

 many are necessary to give the best results ? In the 

 spring I expect to find all the outside frames lillcd 

 with honey. Will it be expedient to remove these 

 outside frames and put empty combs in center of hive 

 to faci'itiite brood rearing? I left 3 double-width 

 hives on their summer stands, having G inches of chalT 

 on the two sides and 6 inches all over the top, with a 

 lock of hay against the north end, held in place by a 

 Hat stone, and a lock of hay over the entrance, kept 

 in place by a shingle. The weather has been very 

 colli and windy since the middle of Nov., but Feb. 1st 

 being warm I opened the entrances. A few of the 

 bees came out, but did not speck the snoWin the least, 

 and I conclude they are all right. The bees in the 

 cellar, with no upward ventilation, murmur some, but 

 they do not fly out, and so far as I can perceive, are in 

 good health. J. H. Pakson.s. 



Franklin, N. Y., Feb. 2d, 1877. 



According to Doolittle, 4 or 5 frames the 

 size of yours, are all that an ordinary queen 

 can use, and we think G would be a great plen- 

 ty. If we are right, 10 or 11, would do no 

 good, but rather harm. We would remove the 

 outside frames and put in their place chall 

 cushions to facilitate brood rearing. We are 

 not satisfied that spreading the combs is an 

 advantage, if there is plenty of room at all 

 times to store the honey. This is a matter on 

 which we need some careful experiments. 

 When bees will fly without spotting the snow, 

 we think them in the best possible condition. 



Will you or some of the readers of Gleanings inforn? 

 me how many acres of the following bee plants will am- 

 ply supply 100 colonies? Buckwheat, Rocky Mountain 

 bee plant, mustard, rape, catnip and white clover. 



Joseph Dunn, Bryantsville, Ky. 

 It will probably be a hard matter to decidL-. 

 We will suggest 10 acres of each ; this wouliJ 

 make a very fair "Bee Farm." Let us hear 

 from others. 



UURYING BEES ON THEIR SUMMER STAND8. 



I agree with you as to the value of clnilT to pack bees in ; 

 it is urst new to me, have vised it with good success in- 

 doors and out. The best success I ever hail with outdoor 

 wintering was this ; I took off the honey board, laid 3 

 .sticks across the frames, filled the cover with tine straw 

 and chalT, then banked them up as you would bury jiola- 

 toes except in front, and let them lly at jjleasure. They 

 never came out until the air was warm enough for thi^ra 

 (,: |!y ■••m\ ;•. ■ rrn. A scorching sun and chill wind >;••> ir 



I have had a foot power saw rigged up. I can get up ;( 

 sj)eed of about 1200 revolutions per minute almost instant- 

 ly. It runs with ease and does all kinds of work con- 

 nected with bee hives, section boxes, etc. perfectly. It !>■; 

 quite different from any foot power saw I ever yet read of. 

 I may perhaps send yon a description of it som.e time. 

 M. V. Facet, New Hamburg, Ont. Can. Feb. l'2tb, "77 

 Please tell us about it by all means. 



SIiAIil, WE EXTRACT FROM THE BROOD COMBS 'i 



1 want to ask you to ask your readers to give thoir 

 plan of extracting honey. Is it best to extract all th<^ 

 combs, or would they advise to leave 3 or 4 brooii 

 combs in the center untouched? We lose more queens 

 in running bees lor extracted honey than for bos. Also 

 I wish to ask the best way to hill the larvie in drone 

 comb, so as to use comb for starting in boxes y Ir. 

 leaving the comb out, as Doolittle suggests, until th-- 

 larva; die, one may use it too soon, and have it cappti! 

 over by the bees; and at other times we don't know 

 how to wait. I have held it over a lighted candlc,butthat 

 injures the walla of the eel's. Please give your plan. 

 Last spring we began the year with 6:> colonies, win- 

 tered on sugar syrup ; they came out in fine conditioiK 

 began swarming the first of June, and continui;d 

 swarming for two months. At first I put them back 

 and cut out cells, and tried every preventative, excepi' 

 extracting, but all tailed, and I was obliged to in- 

 crease from 63 to 125 strong colonies. I took about 

 5,000 lbs. of honey— extracted as little as I thought I 

 could get along with — about ,"4 extracted and % comb. 

 Next year I want to take about half extracted, as \ 

 conld have sold my honey at better advantage at home, 

 if I had had as much again extracteil. The market 

 for extracted honey is building up. I liave nearly dis- 

 posed of my crop of honey by keeping my neighbor- 

 supplied and keeping it in the stores in adjoining 

 towns; selling comb at 35c. and extracted at 20e. r<- 



tail. If large quantities are taken I throw off .'ic. 0)1 

 comb, and 1 or 2c. on extracted. I load up a carriage 

 and send my man out to srU through tlie coun- 

 try; have realized about ISc. pIV lb., after expenses 

 for selling arc met. L. C. AxTioLi,. 



Koseville, Warren Co., 111., Mar. 3d, 1877. 



We would advise leaving the entire h)vver 

 story untouched, unless it be the outside 

 combs containing no brood. Not because ex- 

 tracting will injure the brood, but becansi- 

 there is always danger of letting the bees 

 starve, unless they have a surplus aheail. 

 This honey next the brood, is always nicely 

 «f'<».l 'd, and fit stores for winter. 



