290 



GLEA^Lf^GS m BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



in the cut at the left. Tlie cage is repre- 

 sented with the wire cloth removed, to 

 show the position of the bottle. The other 

 end of the bottle is fastened by a pin set 

 over it. As soon as it seemed to be a suc- 

 cess, all of the queens, both blacks and liy- 

 brids, of which we have a great quantity 

 that have been shipped and stopped because 

 no one will pay tlie express charges on tliem, 

 were supplied with bottles of water, and not 

 one has died since, where they had any kind 

 of a chance. They have been sent out daily, 

 by express, sometimes as many as 20 or more 

 a day, but not one failure has yet been re- 

 ])orted. In one of the larger cages, Avhere 

 the bees have been caged over a week, the 

 bees clustered precisely as in comb building; 

 their bodies are small and natural, and yet 

 they have consumed quite a large quantity 

 of candy or sugar, and have had no fly at all. 

 I think it quite likely that the small quanti- 

 ty of flour fl-lO) contained in the candy, sup- 

 plies a very important element in the exper- 

 iment. We are now testing the matter by 

 trying to see if bees will not raise brood and 

 thrive in confinement with only these three 

 elements ; Avater, sugar, and flour. If so, we 

 are no longer at the mercy of luck and 

 chance, with valuable stock, even if they 

 have got run down so as to be weak in num- 

 bers. 



Many of you have lost queens while caged 

 and lying on the frames ; sometimes, it was 

 hard to explain why they died. We now in- 

 troduce all our queens in these bottle cages, 

 and have not yet lost one in them. One im- 

 ])orted (lueen was lost, but. when examined, 

 it was found a cage had been used, by mis- 

 take, without any bottle in it. For sending 

 bees across the ocean, I would use cages with 

 two bottles in them, placed with their 

 mouths in opposite directions. If the cage 

 should stand on end, so that the water was 

 not near the mouth in one of the bottles, the 

 other one would be just right. It makes me 

 shiver, to think of the poor bees that I have 

 probably consigned to death by thirst, dur- 

 ing these long summer days, simply because 

 I knew no better. Hereafter the little fel- 

 lows shall have all the water they wish, and 

 if my invention should be of any use to the 

 bee friends of our land, give God the praise, 

 for it was given me in answer to prayer. A 

 brisk trade is now starting up by express, 

 and I shall probably soon want all the 

 queens you can raise, if it be really true that 

 we are to have no more losses in handling 

 these wonderful little friends of ours. 



Aug. 8.— The three hybrid queens have 

 now been in the bottle cages 11 days, and 

 are as lively as at first. To be sure that 

 tliey had nothing but candy and water, I 

 Avi-ote to the friend who sent them, asking 

 how he made the candy. This is his reply. 



The way I make my candy is this. I put coffee A 

 sugar in a new tin cup, and add water until, Viy mix- 

 ing or stiring it with a paddle, every particle is wet. 

 I then set it over a stove and heat until every parti- 

 cle of the sugar is dissolved. (I put no flour in it at 

 all.) When it is thor( ughly melted or dissolved, re- 

 move from the stove and keep stirring- it, until it be- 

 gins to cool or grain, then put it in the cages. 



M. G. Keeney. 



Quercus Grove, Ind., Aug 6th, ls78. 



Aug. 12th. — It is now over 3 weeks since 

 the hybrid queens were imprisoned on the 



water and candy, and still they are alive 

 and brisk ; a few of the bees have died, but 

 this length of time would snftice for a jour- 

 ney to Cal., and almost across the ocean. 

 As tJie bees in one of the cages seemed dis- 

 posed to cluster as bees do in building comb, 

 I have had a cage made of one of our sec- 

 tion boxes, and supplied with sugar and a 

 bottle of water in the same way. About 200 

 bees were i)ut in, and the miniature hive 

 stands beside my type writer. Somewhat 

 to my surprise, they commenced comb build- 

 ing at once, and show no signs of wanting 

 to get out. Perhaps we may get out an ob- 

 servatory hive, for a parlor ornament, to 

 allow the bees to fly or not to fly, as we 

 choose. Instead of glass, which is generally 

 used, I would have the sides of a coarse 

 mesh, painted wire cloth. This seems to 

 annoy them so little that they do not act as 

 if confined. 



SOms: QUESTIONS FROUE A liADY. 



SAM one of your ABC class, and wish to ask a 

 few questions. Will it pay to increase my 

 stock by saving bees that are to be smothered 



with brimstone, bj' old style bee-keepere, this fall, 

 and then feed them all winter? Would they be likely 

 to build out fdn. for brood nest so late in the fall? 



If you want bees, it will be the cheapest 

 way you can get them, but you must be 

 thorough in your work, and not stop when 

 it is half done. You can get beautiful 

 combs built out on the fdn., but you must 

 feed so regularly, that it will come like nat- 

 ural stores. If you could buy their combs 

 with them, by paying for what honey the 

 owner would get by the brimstoning plan, it 

 would be your safest way. Feed at night so 

 as to avoid robbing, and give them about a 

 lb. per day, until they are in good winter 

 trim. 



If I should purchase a nucleus with queen, could 

 I Italianize my stocks from it next spring? Can you 

 give me any idea what the expressage might be? 



First build your nucleus up to a strong 

 colony, that it may safely winter over, and 

 then you can Italianize without any trouble. 

 You can rear queens from the nucleus yet 

 this fall, if you choose, but it is rather risky 

 work for a beginner so late. Do not under- 

 take it unless yoti have drones flying. The 

 express to you would be $1.40 on a nucleus. 



I cannot refrain from telling you my success with 

 my one stock of bees which I transferred April 18th. 

 Every cold, wet day in May, I fed them, which I 

 think now was just right, for tbcy kept filling the 

 hive with young bees. I put on section boxes June 

 15th, and July 2.5th, I took off 40, the remaining 16 

 not Ijeing perfectly filled. Honey in such a shape 

 was never seen here, and it was nearly all sold in 

 less than a week at 25c per lb., and much admired 

 by every one. 



I think I have a better plan for fastening fdn. 

 in sections than K. L. Joiner. I solder it in the 

 groove, with a feather dipped in hot wax. The wax 

 is melted in a shallow tin, over a lamp turned just 

 high enough to keep the wax hot. Set the lamp on 

 the floor between two chairs, let the tin plate rest 

 on the edge of chair seats, and, with the fdn. cut in 

 suitable pieces and sections on the table before you, 

 the work is easy enough. Mks. J. M. Squike. 



Redding, Ct. 



I am very glad to hear of your success. 

 Your plan for fastening in the fdn. is essen- 

 tially the same as the one given in our price 

 list, except that yoit substitute the chairs for 



