U2 



GLEAJ^IXGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



SWARMING WITH A CUPPED QUEEN. 



I want to sav to J. H. Buchanan that I can give 

 a phin to hive bees with a clipped queen. I think it 

 is just fun to hive them, and 1 have practiced this 

 mode for some time. I take a cage, and when the 

 queen comes out, cage her. and when the bees are 

 mostly out, I just pick up the old hive and move it 

 awa.v "about a rod, and set my new hive on the old 

 stand. In a few minutes, when they find no queen 

 with them, thcv come to enter the old hive, and 

 pile right into 'the new one. When they get well 

 under wav, I let the queen go in, and then, as quick 

 as they are well in, I move them to a new stand, set 

 the old one back, and all is over. David Bailey. 



Chester, O., Aug. 34th, 1878. 



The same plan has been given substan- 

 tially, several times ; if yon are on hand, 

 and get the qneen, there is but little diffl- 

 cnlty. Should you not find her, or should 

 the swarm unite with others, it may be 

 more complicated. 



I think your bottle queen cage is a grand success. 

 I have kept a queen in the one you sent me with my 

 Italian queen, for several weeks. 



J. R. Anderson. 



Washington, Ky., Sept. 11, 1S78. 



REPLENISHING SMOKERS. 



Can you not improve your smoker so that the top 

 can be removed more readily, when it is hot? It is 

 sa conical, the hand slips off, and it is hard to remove 

 to renew the Are. J. B. Coopek. 



Coles Station, 111., Aug. 30. 1878. 



I have studied long and hard on this very 

 ])oint, but have, as yet, struck on nothing 

 that will be strong and efficient, and not add 

 to tlie expense too much. I shall keep on 

 tliinking. 



HOW a boy manages. 



To-day is the day for my name to go out of the list 

 of subscribers for Gleanings, but I hope it will go 

 in again, in less than 5 days, for to-day I earned 35c., 

 and ray mother gave me 15c., which I send to you for 

 another ',4 year's subscription. My bees have done 

 nothing for me this year. I had 3 swarms, each of 

 which absconded, owing (I suppose) to improper 

 hiving ; for I gave them no brood or comb. I had 5 

 colonies (blacks) last spring, and have only 5 now, 

 with no surplus honey, as yet. I think that looks 

 rather discouraging, but I am not discouraged, for 

 Spanish needle is now in bloom, and the bees are 

 st()ring honey pretty fast in boxes. I received the 

 buckwheat all right. I sowed about V^ of it, the 1st 

 day of July, which is now in full bloom, and attracts 

 a groat many bees. The other half I sowed the 31st 

 of July, and havn't had time to go and see it; for it 

 is a good ways from the house. Geo. F. Spencer. 



Payson, 111., Aug. 30, 1878. 



An old gentleman who has kept bees for 30 years, 

 getting from 10 to 30 lbs. of honey from a colony, 

 when he saw me take 56 of those finished sections 

 from a colony, said he would never be surprised at 

 anything in regard to bees and honey in my hands; 

 when I told him that colony had now furnished 105 

 of those sections, he said he never could have be- 

 lieved it, if he had not seen it for himself. 



W. W. Hooper. 



Minerva, O., Aug. 36, 1878. 



WHAT MADE 'EM "FIGHT." 



Can you tell what makes bees tight after taking 

 off a box of honey, and what will stop them? 



R. H. Baily. 

 Ausable Forks, N. Y., Aug. 37, 1878. 



Yes ; you took off your boxes at a time 

 when robbers were around, and they got a 

 taste, and hence the "un])leasantness." If 

 it is necessary to do such work after the hon- 

 ey lias failed, do not keep the hive open an 

 instant longer than can be avoided, and if 

 robbers "i>ile in" even then, remove your 

 lioney just at dusk, or bv moonlight, using 

 smoke of course. 



SOFT WAX, ETC. 



Yours of the £0th, inquiring if I received my im- 

 ported queen, is received. You sent the queen on 

 the 3d of July, and I received her on the 6th, in good 

 order. I introduced her safelj% she is producing 

 nice yellow bees, and I am well pleased with her; so 

 you can take my name off your book. I like to see 

 that you want to have everything correct. 



I will write a few lines about comb fdn., but not to 

 complain. I have used five lots of fdn. that I have 

 received from you, and I never was troubled with 

 sagging, which many complain of, except in the last 

 lot; the wax was so soft it would melt down by the 

 heat of the bees. I then put in strips only 4 inches 

 wide and between two combs, and they would tear 

 down. Could not such soft wax be hardened in some 

 way, so that it would not tear down? If not, I think 

 it would be well to put in some wire, or something 

 else, to prevent stretching and tearing. 



I. G. Martin. 



Reidenbach's Store, Pa., Aug. 36, 1878. 



Thank you for reporting. Some wax, I 

 know, is too soft for combs unsupported, but 

 this same soft wax is worked out mucli fas- 

 ter than tlie hard, firm wax. There may be 

 a i)rocess devised for hardening it, but I 

 think the wire supports will be best. 



CALIFORNIA AGAIN. 



I had 80 swarms in the spring and have now over 

 500, and hav0 taken over 10 tons of honey. I find 

 that bees are not half taken care of, as a general 

 thing. I know, from trying a few, that I have not 

 taken care of a good many of mine. A man that 

 don't know how to take care of bees can handle 4 or 

 5 hundred; but a man that understands taking care 

 of them can do about as well with 35 or 30 stands, as 

 the other man with his 500. I will send you a state- 

 ment from our paper. Jefferson Archer. 



Santa Barbara, Cal., Aug. 18th, '78. 



FOUR MONTHS' WORK. 



To the Editor of the Santa Barbara Press: 



According to promise, I herewith present my 

 fourth monthly report of the progress and proceeds 

 of those four stands of bees. From one of mine, I 

 now have 16 swarms and have taken 436 lbs. of hon- 

 ey. From the one that I have prevented from 

 swarming, I have taken 405 pounds of honey. 



Mr. White's swarm has increased to 15, and he has 

 taken 390 pounds of honey. 



Mr. Stone's, swarm has increased to 10, and has 

 yielded 157 pounds of hone.y. 



During the first three weeks of this month, the 

 weather was 60 cool and damp that the bees did not 

 gather large quantities of honey, and owing to the 

 condition of the weather, I could not use the ex- 

 tractor, otherwise this month's report would have 

 been much more favorable. 



Out of the three Italian queens I sent for, I have 

 one first class queen, and am raising as many from 

 her as I can; and am now prepared to furnish young 

 fertile queens, from an imported mother at $1; 

 tested and warranted queens, $3. 



jEFFEnsoN Archer. 



Santa Barbara, Cal., June SOth, '78. 



HONEY DEW. 



We have a large plant of Camellia .Taponica; for 

 many years, this plant has distilled from its large, 

 shining leaves, large drops of thick honey or syrup 

 resembling in taste grape sugar. Camellias aie 

 never visited by aphides, and this plant, being large 

 and spreading, stands solitary every winter. We 

 have intended to send you some of these honey pin- 

 ducing leaves, for the last two winters, and should 

 the phenomenon occur again next winter, will sure- 

 ly mail you a few specimens. Stair & Kendel. 



P. S.— The honey can not come from the flowei"S, 

 as it appears when the plant is not in bloom. 



Cleveland, Ohio, Aug. S7tb. 1878. 



The sections are a success, this time, go together 

 just right, and are the exact size, making every- 

 thing work smoothl.v. I think Foreman's fdn. fast- 

 ener can be made to fasten clear into the corners of 

 the frame, by having the end of the handle properly 

 shaped, with a flat face, and edges square, 

 so that it can be pressed into the corners, instead of 

 the roller. Chas. H. Rue. 



Manalapan, N. J., Aug. 27th, 1878. 



