124 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 



It just now occurs to me, that the above was 

 iu a private letter, but I thiiik they wont 

 • mind." 



THE FIRST REPORT OF NEW HONEY. 



When winter set in 1 had 41 stocks in good condi- 

 tion, and 10 ordinary ones. Now 1 have 50 in good 

 condition. 1 lost one from robbing. I have extract- 

 ed as much as 24 lbs. from some of my hives, leaving 

 at least 15 lbs. in the hive. The spring has opened 

 very favorably here, several swarms filling boxes. 

 1 jjut in some section boxes a few days ago, and yes- 

 terday J divided one swarm. I opened some Italians 

 this morning and found 8 frames in a hive, full of 

 brood, i am Italianizing bj* making a stock queen- 

 less, putting in Italian brood, then cutting out the 

 queen cells and inserting them into black stocks. I 

 suppose some of your readers will be curious to 

 know what bees can gather honey from at this time 

 of the year. Mustard blooms here all winter. Peach 

 trees are in full bloom now, also elm and plum; and 

 ou" prairies are covered with a species of wild clo- 

 ver now in full bloom. I like the section boxes and 

 shipping case first rate. J. W. Eckman. 



Kichmond, Texas, March 13th, 1878. 



I wonder if our friend Perrine had not 

 better start his floating apiary, somewhere 

 in Texas. If he should commence extract- 

 ing in the middle of March and keep it up 

 until Aug., he ought to get "right smart," 

 of honey ; and even if he didn't get more 

 than 5c. — hold on ! it would take a good 

 many 5c. pieces to pay for a steam boat, 

 wouldn't it? 



WHAT KIND OF CHAFF AND HOW TO USE IT. 



Chaff hive rec'd all right. As I have no chaff, will 

 ohafled (cut) straw answer? 1 also have clover chaff, 

 which of the two is preferable? How will saw-dust 

 cio in comparison with the above? Should the chaff 

 be packed in tight, and must it be put in from below? 

 U. P. Friend, East Paris, Mich., March 18th, '78. 



I presume cut straw will ansAver nearly as 

 Avell as chaff, but as it is usually in longer 

 pieces than chaff, I do not think it will 

 make as good a non-conductor, nor absorb 

 moisture as readily. It should be remem- 

 *l)cred that wool, feathers, chaff, etc., owe 

 their non-conducting properties to the 

 amount of air they entangle mechanically, 

 thus preventing a circulation. There would 

 be a greater circulation of air through the 

 cut straw, less through the chaff, still less 

 through the wool, and least of all through 

 the feathers. Wool and feathers are not so 

 desirable for bees, because they would get 

 damp and not dry out as the chaff does, and 

 I am afraid the same objection would ai)ply 

 to clover chaff. Which will dry out quick- 

 est after a rain, be least likely to pack down 

 and decay, and at the same time be warmest 

 in Avinter, is the question to be decided. 

 Invert the chaff hive to fill it, taking out 

 the bottom which is lightly nailed in the 

 sample hive. Pack the chaff enough so it 

 will never settle away from the top, but no 

 more. Sawdust is not as good chaff. 



FROM KELLET'S ISLAND. 



1 .iust received a postal, and letter from N. C. M. 

 asking for names of all bee-keepers here, in view of 

 getting them as subscribers. I gave him my own as 

 Ihe only one. 1 also received one fi'om A. Grav, en- 

 MiiiringaboutN. C. M. and as to prospects for start- 

 ing a (]ueen nursery here with a Mr. Hughs of 

 Bi'ody, Ills. Chas. C.4.rpenter. 



Kelley's Island, O., March 18th, 1878. 



Thanks, friend C. with your kind aid, I 

 think we shall be able to keep a shari) look 

 out on Kelley's Island, and I think we can 

 l^retty effectually prevent a repetition of the 

 frauds that have lieretofore been practiced 



by claiming that queens were reared and 

 fertilized there. If they start an honest 

 business, we will help them all we can. 



Does the queen lose her sting when she stings a 

 tough substance? If so does it injure her? I have 

 neve yet been stung liy one. You say a queen never 

 leaves the hive except for the purpose of fei"tiliza- 

 tion, or with a swarm attending her. Well, last sum- 

 mer one of my queens eame into the house; 1 was 

 attracted by the loud buzzing against a window 

 frame, and looking to see what It was, lo and behold, 

 her Majesty! The window is at the side of an outside 

 door— about 6 inches between the two. We showed 

 her the door, and she immediately took a B line for 

 the hives— about 20 feet from the" door. 



By the way. how long would it take for bees to 

 change their lines 2 or 3 rods? I must move mine. 

 My little girl (7 years old) went out bare-foot last 

 summer, stepped on one, and it nearly killed her; 

 she had to be carried about. Now don't get mad at 

 this long epistle. A. N. Griswold. 



Naugatuck, Conn., March 18th, 1878. 



I can readily believe you never have been 

 stung by a queen, and I feel pretty sure yon 

 never will be, although a few instances are 

 on record, of the stinging of the fingers of 

 tlie operator by the queen. When queens 

 sting each other, they always withdraw the 

 sting, and I presume they would, if allowed 

 to, when they sting a person. One case has 

 been reported in which the sting was 

 torn from the queen"s body, and she lived 

 and laid eggs afterward. 



The case you mentioned was a rather sin- 

 gular one ; I feel quite sure that the queen 

 was a virgin queen out seeking the drones, 

 or she would never have got on the window. 



You had virgin queens in the apiaiy at 

 the time, had you not V If you move your 

 whole apiary, at once, and let the hives all 

 preserve their usual position in regard to 

 each other, you can perhaps do it without 

 any loss ; much depends on the suiTOund- 

 ings. In all such experiments, you must 

 however keep watch, and see what the bees 

 are doing. Instead of asking me, "pitch in," 

 find out how it answers and then tell me the 

 result. Not that I shall get mad if you ask 

 questions, but that it will do you more good ; 

 for there is a great deal about bees that I, 

 as well as you, have not learned. 



BLUNDERS— INTRODUCING AND TRANSFERRING. 



I, in the midst of the honey harvest, transferred 

 into movable frames, several hives with success, 

 and our drouth set in about July 1st. My good neigh- 

 bor came to me to transfer a colony for him and I 

 promised to be on hand early in the nioming Jnly 

 21st. I took the old box gutn into the house and 

 they were the slowest to drive of any I ever tried, 

 but I finally got them out, the comb placed, and all 

 fixed up nicely. Now for the blunder, I set them out 

 on their original stand and in less than an hour the 

 robbers had taken the whole thing. My friend's 

 loss taught me never to transfer at a time when no 

 honey was eominar in. The queei] I purchased of 

 you, I lost ; wishing to introduce her to a populous 

 hive, I took out crcry frame and examined them 

 closely, twice. I could find no queen nor brood, and 

 coming to the conclusion they wei-e oueenless, I 

 went through my process of introduction (^caging 

 the queen I wish to introduce, 48 hoiu-s before re- 

 leasing) and never saw her afterwards. 



S. P. Capehart. 



St. Albans, W Va., Feb. 11th, 1878. 



Both your blunders are quite common 

 ones, and your idea of warning others by 

 your experience, is veiy commendable. The 

 reason why I have so "often advised trans- 

 ferring during fruit blc:>ssoins, is that bees 

 will seldom rob at such a time. Never let 

 a queen loose in a hive, thinking tliey are 



