153 



GLEA.NINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



wnawing out. The queen has evidently been 

 faithfully doinpj her part, for almost every cell 

 near the brood contained several eggs. This 

 state of afl'airs we have witnessed many times, 

 and were not at all surprised. Brood would 

 die the very first cool night, unless something 

 were done, and the queen might desert the 

 hive in less than an hour. In the house apia- 

 ry was a fair colony that was queenless, they 

 were kept so partly to see how long the 

 old bees would hold out. I knew from past 

 experiments that these queenless old bees 

 would accept any queen at oace, and that they 

 would adhere to any location, if given a queen. 

 Every comb containing eggs or larvnc was 

 given the queenless stock, and perhaps a quart 

 of the old boes were given to the queen in her 

 own hive. What do you suppose they did ? 

 The queen commenced laying right off, and 

 you never saw a set of school children more 

 delighted with a holiday, than were these old 

 bees with a queen that went right to work 

 laying eggs about as regular and fast, as a 

 farmer would plant corn. In just 6^4 days 

 they had larva- capped over, and in 9 days the 

 frame was pretty well filled with brood. Of 

 course we used chaff cushions. What do you 

 suppose the queen did when she got a frame 

 fdled? Went on to fill the others of course 

 and although young bees have begun to come 

 out rapidly now, the old ones seem as bright 

 and fresh as when they first commenced brood 

 rearing, /think the reason is that they did 

 not start out for pollen at all, until settled 

 warm weather, and when they commenced to 

 rear brood, but few bees comparatively were 

 needed to keep it warm, permitting the queen 

 to go right along with her work — after she had 

 got one field planted, taking another, &c. 

 With the green house I can easily hatch young 

 bees in Dec. or Jan., friend Bolin, but it costs 

 ever so much more than it does to do it in May, 

 aad I have never been able to discover spring 

 dwindling was any less liable to attack young 

 bees, than old ones. Others have made the 

 same experiment and we believe in most cases 

 with like results, providing they have had per- 

 fect young bees to start into winter with, and 

 not ragged winged veterans. 



GL EAMtNCS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Publislied Monthly, 



-A-_ I. I?,OOT. 



EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR 



MEDINA, OHIO 



Terms : Sl.OO Per Anmini. 



[Including Postage.] 

 For Clitb Bates see Last Page. 



Ivfl:EIDIIsr.A-3 tTTJU^TE 1, IST'T. 



But they that wait upon the Lonl shall renew (heir 

 strcng-th ; they shall mount up with winjrs as eagles; 

 they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall 

 walk, and not Taint. 



We have sold about 50,0(0 section boxes already, 

 and liavc just now started a 'iS horac power engine at. 

 work at them. 



Every letter we receive is no£ only carefully filed 

 away alphabetically, but the writers name is plainly 

 written on the envelope ; but notwithstanding, the 

 number received is such, that it is often a very great 

 task indeed to find one received but a few weeks back. 

 If our friends would bear this in miml in ordering 

 frames, extractors, etc, it would save much trouble, 

 and many misunderstandings. 



Wk have received a sample of the fdn. C. O. Per- 

 rine oflers for 50c. It has no walls to the cells, but I9 

 like the fdn. made for so many years in England amJ 

 Germany. Not having as jet received a jiricc list, we 

 arc unable to say wliether he retails it by the single 

 pound lor .50c., or not. 



L. C. Root says in May Agriculturist, in rt^rd to ease 

 of handling frames, "After the first comb is removed, the 

 preference is with the Langstroth frame in this one re- 

 spect." Where the frames slide easily in the rabbets, 

 (metal bearinss), we cannot think any one will find any 

 trouble in getting out the first one. 



We are well aware that many things that ought te 

 have received attention or had a place in this No. are 

 left out; but with the great rnsh of bnsiness it has 

 been unavoidable. The way the fdn. has come into 

 favor is simply astonishing, and we think we may con- 

 sider all discussion at an end in regard to its value for 

 both brood comb and comb honey. 



Something has been said about bees being sold 

 1 )wer than— than —than they can be afforded. Now ie 

 it not a waste of time, friends, to argue such matters ? 

 If anybody has offered bees for sale (or anything else) 

 cheaper than they can afford them, the matter will 

 very soon right itsell. It they can afford them cheap- 

 er than you. had you not better get up a little earlier 

 in the morning, and "■scratch around" a little faster ? 

 Those that work hard and talk little are often the 

 lucky ones. 



RED BIROS' EATING REES. 



fHAVE received the fonr No's of Gleanings, and 

 am well pleased with them. Will try to get sub- 

 . scribers. but you must take into consideration the 



fact that I am located among the mountains of Ken- 

 tucky, and get mall but once a week ; the people are 

 ignorant and of course non-progressive. 



I have read Quinby and taken some observatii>ns 

 during the past two years, and had ome to the con- 

 clusion that there was no bird that made a business 

 of catching worker bees, but yestenlay I was taken all 

 aback by a reputed harmless bird ot thi-j place (I nev- 

 er saw any in Michigan) called a "red bird."' The 

 male is red and a great singer, naturally a shy bird., 

 but a few days fince I noticed one in my back yard 

 where I have 2 stands of bees. I set a trap lor him, 

 and watching to see him get into the trap I saw liim 

 go on to the alighting board of the hive and take bee» 

 out of the hive. 1 examined round the hive and lound 

 the ground and top of hive littered with abdomens 

 and beads of bees; of course I was willing ray son 

 should shoot him, which he did in a very few mo- 

 ments as bee diet had made him very tame. 



I have had one of these birds in a "cage for the past; 

 year (.\pril 2d sent him to Toledo) and had not foumJ 

 him ravenous for Insect food, but 1 had never tried 

 him on on bees. My neighbor has one of tliese birds 

 which is singing at a great rate while I am writing 

 this. Think I will take him over some bees to test his 

 appetite. 



I just went out, picked up two deformed young 

 workers and took them over to my neighbor's red 

 bin: ; as soon as he saw them crawling on the bottom 

 of his cage he plckeii them up but soon dropped them, 

 scratched his bill with his foot, then tried again with 

 better success and being exceiHlingly bee hungry left 

 no ))art of them that I could see. (le then returned 

 thanks in a nice song, and I left him In iiis glory; Ea<l 

 that I couldn't feel Iriendly toward his race. 



This is a great place for toads, and (Quinby admits 

 them to be fond of bee diet; now by putting the hive 

 low and filling aroun<i with sawdust do not you invite 

 the toad to make it his home among the l)ee hives ? 



H. SCKANTON. 



riuramer's Landing, Ky., May 2d, 1S77. 



