164 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



How is it that my best Italian hive of beautiful yel- 

 low bees are bringing out al3 black drones? 



We think if you look closely, yoa will find 

 they are not Uaek ; the color of drones varies 

 greatly. 



Must drones always be visible before making arti- 

 ficial swarms? 

 Must be visible when queens are 10 days old. 



How should queens be kept after hatching if not 

 wanted for a week or two ? 



E. NoTLEK, New Orleans, La. 



It is a very easy matter to keep them caged 

 in a hive, but it is a very hard matter to get 

 them introduced (if unfertile) by any plan we 

 know of after they are a day or two old. 



BK8EKTING THEIR HITE IW THE SPKINO. 



1 have 90 stands ot bees ; but they have become 

 "communists," it seems. Since I set them out aearly all 

 the bees from about half the hives have left and gone 

 in with the rest, in some cases leaving only two or 

 three dozen bees with the queen. 1 am trying to per- 

 suade them of the folly of such nonsense, but they 

 don't boar to reason "worth a cent." 1 have the 

 plain box hive with movable comb frames. I like the 

 looks of your Simplicity "in a book." 



C. W. HiNMAN, Clear Lake, Wis., Apr. 2l8t. '77. 



1 took 185 swarms of bees from the cellar to-day. 

 Generally in good condition. Lost three. 



L, U. Root, Mohawk, N. T., April 25th, 1877. 



The L. frame is usually called for, in hives and nu- 

 clei. The call lor bees has keen very great this spring. 

 I could not fill the orders owing to my great loss of 

 bees by the cider mills last fall. My experience with 

 New Idea hives is this : I can breed the most bees 

 in them but can not get the amount of honey accord- 

 ing to strength of colony. I prefer a two story hive, 

 because 1 can get more honey. I never could get any 

 comb honey on account of bees carrying pollen in the 

 surplus sections or frames. They are splendid to win- 

 ter in; I lost none in wintering in them lor three 

 years. J. M. O. Taylor. 



Lewistown, Md.. May 4th, 1877. 



The comb fdn. by mail reached me in splendid con- 

 dition. Am much pleased with it, and have no doubt 

 the bees also will be. Am glad you sent ic whole, it 

 was no trouble to cut it iip to siiit myself. 



ALFRED McMains, Chariton, Iowa, May 10, 1877. 



Can't you induce Southern bee-keepers to contribute 

 more to your columns? There is a great deal of space 

 devoted to wintering that is of no interest to Southern 

 bee-keepers. 1 think the prevention of swarming in 

 the South, is '>f as much importance as successful 

 wintering in the North. 



PREVENTION OF SWARMING. 



This spring 1 have tried everything I ever heard of 

 to j)revent swarming and all have failed. 1 have ta- 

 ken all their combs away except one of brood and one 

 of honey, and they would ssvarm in 4 or 5 days after. 

 One hive swarmed 4 times in the month of April. 1 

 have moved some to a new stand when the second 

 swarm came, and they would swarm the third time. 

 I now move the old stand to a new location, when the 

 first swarm comes, and place ihe swarm on the old 

 stand giving it all the comb but one frame and so far 

 have prevented a second swarm. 



VERY THICK HONEY AND HONEY GATES. 



I want to quarrel a little about the extractor I bo't 

 of you in 1875. Over half my time is lost while ex- 

 tracting, waiting for the honey to get out of the way. 

 I can not extract two well filled combs without stop- 

 ping. With the number of hives that I have now it 

 will be out of the question to do my extracting with it. 

 It cost me $12,75 cost and carriage. Can there be a 

 larger gate put in ? I think it strange you sent out so 

 many before finding out that your gates were too 

 small. Perhaps our honey is thicker than yours. I 

 never extract, uncapped honey. 



How do you keep the point of knife from sinking 

 into the combs ? I find it a difficult matter to use it ; 

 if the heel and point rest on bottom and top bar the 

 middle of the knife sinks into the comb. 



T. W. Johnson, Verona, Miss., May 10th, 1877. 



We can use but a small part of the corres- 

 pondence sent us, and we have endeavored to 



have our friends all represented as far as pos- 

 sible. 



After you have given them plenty of room 

 by extracting the honey, or given them sec- 

 tions, if they then persist in swarming, we 

 should say let them swarm, and prepare youi'- 

 self to sell bees as well as honey. The plans 

 you mention of moving the hives are perhaps 

 the best for preventing after swarming. 



We are astonished that you should have 

 wasted very much time friend J., with a gate 

 that was too small. Why did you not cut a 

 hole through the bottom of your can and set 

 the extractor over a tub or similar receptacle? 

 It is true that would be a rather desperate 

 remedy, but it would be better than wasting 

 time in waiting for honey to run out. If you 

 have a tinner who can put in a large gate, we 

 will send you one without charge, and pay ex- 

 pense of putting it in. We used but a very 

 few of the small gates before we discovered 

 the mistake. 



We do not find any such trouble with our 

 knives as you mention, yet as there are those 

 who prefer a curved or bent point, we now 

 keep both kinds on hand. As it is an extra 

 task to finish the latter, the price is $1,15 r, 

 sent free by mail. 



The extractor is just the thing— getting plenty of 

 honey for the table and some to spare. The sectioa 

 boxes witli fdn. you sent me are being filied out beau- 

 tifully. R. THOMSON. 



Terry, Miss., April 24tb, 1877. 



CHAFF PACKING. 



My bees have wintered splendidlv. I packed in 

 chaff, in dry goods boxes, f first took the box and 

 cut an opening In one end, the size of the front end of 

 the hive, then hinged on the piece making a drop 

 door. I then set the hive in the box. with the front 

 end to the opening, put a quilt over the frames, put 

 on the cap, and packed chaff 4 to 6 Inches thick 

 around the sides and on the top. In extreme cold 

 weather, I would drop the door in front, closing them 

 in entirelv from the cold. When warm enough for 

 them to fly, I h,td only to raise the drop door, and 

 they were just the same as on their summer stands. 

 I have them still packed in the chaff, and the heat m 

 the hive is so great that it warms entirely through the 

 end pieces of the hive. I shall hereafter winter my 

 bees packed in chaff. 



J. Mattoon, Atwater, O., May 14th, 1877. 



The above letter sounds cheerful, compared 

 with the one we got from friend M. just two 

 years ago. Just read it. 



Please don't send me more than one Italian queen, 

 until you hear from me again. Have lost 12 coloniesv 

 out of 13, but shall buy some more if I can. 



James Mattoon, Atwater, O., May 5th, '75. 



The reports from the chaff" packing, seem all 

 alike from all sections of our country, and it 

 really does seem as if an effectual remedy 

 against the wintering troubles is in our hands, 

 simple though it is^ 



CHAFF AGAIN. 



I can give good testimony in fav^-r of chaff packing. 

 I packed two Italian stocks in a dry goods box and 

 they are very populous, sending out the strong cur- 

 rent of warm air that you speak of. I lookeii at them 

 Friday last and found brood in all stages .-ind in everjf 

 comb, and so many young bees and old that there 

 scarcely seemed room for the hatching brood, while 

 others that wore not csvred for, are not half as strong. 

 Shall pa(;k all next winter if providence permits. I 

 believe I can winter without loss. I think the main 

 secret of my success with chaff consisted in unpaci- 

 ing in warm days in winter and allowing the chaff to 

 dry, thereby preventing dampness. A neighbor who 

 iliil not use ihia precaution had less success than with 

 no protection whatever. Yours for chaff, 



Le Roy, N. Y., May 8, 1877. W. C. Gillette. 



