280 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



GOOD NEWS. 



HOW TO WINTER BEES FOR 50c PER COLONY. 



M FEW days ago a colouy was found that 

 ^h. would let auy bee that wished, go in and 



' help himself, as long as there was any 



honey in the hive. In vain we tried to stir up 

 a spark of spunk in them ; they seemed to have 

 lost, or never had, the keen sense that ordinari- 

 ly enables bees to distinguish thieves from 

 their own inmates. They were well marked 

 Italians, and gentle, o/wwrse, but I was tired 

 of giving them combs of honey, only to let the 

 other bees learn bad habits, and demoralize 

 the whole apiary. 1 had almost determined to 

 let them suffer the result of their own lolly 

 one day when out of all patience with them, 

 but then came the thought, as it often does, 

 perhaps this case too, was sent me for the 

 purpose of doing me good, and unfolding some 

 grtat lesson, if I would only receive it mildly 

 autl patiently, instead of getting cross about ii. 

 '• Well you little scamps, what is the lesson a 

 body is to learn of youV I guess it must be 

 caudy,'" I said mentally, and went and brought 

 some. The robbers were on hand, and as soon 

 as 1 left the hive, they piled in to see how much 

 houey I had furnished this time. They worked 

 some on the candy, but it was too slow busi- 

 ness, aud I finally stopped the robbing entirely 

 by scenting their hive with essence of rose, 

 and the hive of the robbers with camphor. The 

 morning after, all bees that were perfumed 

 with camphor, were led out by the ear, or per- 

 haps leg, as soon as they made an appearance. 

 Under the caudy treatment, the combs soon 

 tilled up and every thing began to prosper, but 

 being quite busy I began wondering if there 

 were not some way of giving them a "big lot" 

 at one "dose." Candy bricks could be put on 

 the frames, it is true, but after they were con- 

 sumed, the bees were quite apt to build combs 

 above the frames instead. Putting a heavy 

 irarae of sealed honey into a hive seemed the 

 most satisfactory way, and I called the boy 

 who makes the candy for the queen cages, and 

 told him I wanted a cake of just such candy, 

 made inside of a Laugstroth frame. He soon 

 exhibited two of them looking and feeling like 

 blocks of marble, aud one was at once hung in 

 a nucleus hive that had an especial fancy for 

 swarming out every Sabbath when I was away 

 at Sabbath school, just because they had too 

 few bees, aud too little honey. They at once 

 filled their combs as if it were clover time, and 

 yet it was all done so quietly, that not a robber 

 even '•smelled" feeding. One such comb weighs 

 7 lbs and a pair of them, I verily do believe, 

 would winter a larije colony that had not one 

 drop of stores ; you could pack them up as 

 snugly as you chose in your chaff cushions, 

 and after their candy was all gone, they could 

 build a comb in the frame that contained it, 

 just as well as not if it happened to be left in 

 the hive until spring time. A very good col- 

 ony, could be fixed up on 4 empty combs placed 

 between the two slabs of candy, and can you 

 think of any possible way of putting their food 

 in a more compact form? Do you ever have 

 your nuclei swarm out because they in some 

 way get out of honey V Well, if you will make 

 the little hives so as to hold 3 frames, and have 



the back one contain candy, you can run them 

 all summer, even if it is the worst season you 

 ever knew, without any solicitude in the mat- 

 ter. Lots of eggs were laid in the hive that 

 had been robbed so long, but as they were en- 

 tirely out of pollen, no larvae made its appear- 

 ance. The candy boy was again called, and 

 deeired to make some more, but to put 1-10 

 part of it wheat flour. This looked all right, 

 and another lot was made of }^ flour. The 

 bees ate this in preference to the pure sugar 

 candy, and soon had a nice lot of brood. Just 

 about this time, the following letter came to 

 hand: 



I have been keeping house lor the last 46 years anrt 

 keeping bees more or less lor the lasi 40 years. Your 

 Gleanings is all new to me and 1 don't know where 

 to begin. 1 have never seen an Italian bee ; my bees 

 are all black. In box hives and don't do me much 

 good ; still I like to have them about me. The moth 

 is very troublesome here and witli all 1 can do, they 

 devour some ot my hives. I want to get some of the 

 Italians in your best hivep, and try my luck. 



I see you recommend syrup maue irom coflfee sugar 

 for leeding l>ee8. This is very good, but in addition 

 to this I have used light wheat bread. 1 cut a 

 slice about one inch thick, then pour on molasses un- 

 til the bread is saturated ihoroughiy, lay ii under the 

 hive and they will come down and eat it up crust and 

 all. This I commence about the first of March, or 

 sooner if I see the bees are in want. In this way I 

 can lake a weak hive through un 2 lbs. of sugar and 3 

 lbs. of bread. I think this is cheaper than all molas- 

 ses, and then my bees don't dwindle away in April or 

 May and die. "Man can not live on bread alone." 

 A. PowELSON, Black Creek, O. 



In the same mail, came also the following. 



Some :i weeks ago I made 4 new swarms in the lol- 

 lovving manner: Having shaken and brushed all bees 

 from ihe frames ot 4 hives into 4 empty ones, I placed 

 the latter on the old stands and removed the former to 

 the place of 4 other lull hives, which 1 placed on new 

 stands. I began to leed the 4 new ones with corn or 

 grape sugar made into syrup and say 110 honey mixed 

 with it. The bees took it eagerly aud began building 

 comb immediately. They have now sealed brood ana 

 the hives are, say J to f lull of comb, and some of the 

 syrup is sealed. The comb is very white— remarkably 

 so. The sealing ot the cells containing brood has a 

 peculiar look, uiflerent Irom the ordinary appearance. 

 We have had very little lioney gathered lately and 

 judging by the tasie of what is btored In the 4 new 

 hives there has been very little, il any honey mixed 

 with the syrup by the bees. Many of my July 

 swarms arc very light; I would like to ask your advice, 

 and siiuuld be much obliged if you would ten<l it on 

 the enclosed postal card. Query : supposing that the 

 young bees in those 4 hives appear healthy when 

 hatched out, and that there appeals to bo nothing 

 wrong with the old ones, woulil you ventuie to leeii 

 the same syrup to the light hives lor wintering pui- 

 poses r' 1 vvinier in a large cellar well ventilated, it 

 should be remembered that the tyrup is beautifully 

 sealed over already. If 1 remtmber rightly Prof. Cook 

 seems to make a point ot leed being sealed over, ana 

 seems to consider that stores which are sealed are 

 tlierefore good. The sugar is bitter but very white 

 and dry and costs but 4 cts, whereas white cane 

 sugar costs He. Will write aud let you know the result 

 as soon as 1 am certain of it. Jc>un. Dickenson. 



Milwaukee, Wis. Sept, 9th. 1877. 



The bees which were fed on the grape sugar are 

 hatching out all right. J. L». Sept. 15, '77. 



I replied that if it were my bees I would risk 

 it for winter stores. I fed glucose some years 

 ago, but had not tried the grape sugar, which 

 I suppose amounts to about the same thing. 

 After some inquiry I found where it was made, 

 and obtained the following : 



Davenport Glucose Manv/acturing Co., Manufactu- 

 rers of tiuperior Double Rcjined Grape and Malt ISug- 

 ar, Crystal Glucose iiy')~up. 



Davenport, Iowa, Sept. 12, '77. 

 We will furnish you our Su)). Double Refined Grape 

 Sugar at 3^20 in barrels of 375 lbs. and 4c in boxes of 

 .■50 or 100 lbs. We mail you a sample free, and yoir 

 may say what quantity you want. 



Louis P. Best, Sup't. 



