1S78 



GLEANINGS LN BEE CULTURE. 



381 



GETTING THE BEES OUT OF SURPLUS BOXES. 



I Should be ver.v much oblisred to you, if you 

 would tell your readers what is the best way to laet 

 rid of the bees contained in surplus honey boxes 

 when they are taken off. They clin? so pertina- 

 ciouslv to the c >mbs in the boxes, that I find it very 

 difficult to drive them out and hjive them return to 

 the hive. J. B.^lsigeu. 



Highland, Ills., Oct. 7th, 1878. 



It is II troublesome oi)eration to get bees 

 out of boxes, the l)est way you cau tix it, and 

 this is one reason why the sections are so 

 much preferable. In warm weather, wlien 

 the bees are getting lioney, you can generally 

 succeed by setting the box in front of the 

 hive over night. Later in the season, you 

 will often tind them clear out of the boxes, 

 after a frosty night, and they can then be 

 removed withcnit trouble. Where you have 

 many boxes to come off during warm weath- 

 er, you can set the whole iu a large box. and 

 throw a cloth over it. Fasten the cloth so 

 that the wind can not get it off. and let rob- 

 bers in. When tlie bees have collected on 

 the under side of the cloth, turn it over and 

 let them fly to their hives. After a half 

 hour, ttirn it again, until all are out. If the 

 boxes have large openings at both top and 

 bottom, you can often drive out every bee 

 with smoke, before taking it from the hive. 



I do not get out of patience with the ABC 

 class, near as often as I do with myself, 

 friend G.; keep on with your questions. 



ARRESTING SWARMS, nCXTING BEES, ROAST CHICK- 

 EN AND SWEET POTATOES FOR BEES, ETC. 



I have a sug'S'estion to make in reg-ard to runa- 

 way swarms; if you find you can not arrest them by 

 any other moans, load a gun with powder only, and 

 lire among th'^m, and be assured they will stop at 

 once, and settle. 



In hunting bees in the woods, where you have 

 lined a swarm and are satisfied that you are not far 

 off from the tree, catch a bee and sprinkle some 

 /Tou'cr of s((fp/n(r on him, and turn him loose. He is 

 off at once, and as soon as he enters the tree, he 

 stirs up such a fuss with his sulphurous odor that 

 the bees roll out in a great hurry, and set up a roar- 

 ing, like a swarm in flight, which you will hear. 



Feeding bees a roast chicken is no myth in this 

 part of our "moral vineyard." In the winter of 

 '71-J, I got possession of a hive late in the fall, with- 

 out supplies, and I fed them till spring, with roast 

 chicken and hakcd swrct potntorx. 



I am more than pleased with what I have learned 

 in your .\ B C and Gleanings, and deeplj' regret 

 that I did not hear of you sooner. 



Dr. D. E. Ruff. 



Pattonville, Texas, Oct. 16th, '78. 



Firing off a gun to bring down a swarm is 

 an old idea : I ])resuine the bees are expect- 

 ed to consider it a premonition of a thunder 

 storm, and therefore make haste to alight. 

 I shall try the sulphur ; will others do the 

 same? If it succeeds we will embody it in 

 tlie A B C. When bees are in need of pol- 

 len, as they often are early in the spring, I 

 l»resume they woidd use the baked sweet 

 l)otatoes on account of the starch they 

 contain. 



SF.CTIONS IN the HOUSE APIARV. 



How do you set (or hang) section boxes over the 

 frames in "ihe house apiary? 



Whore colonies don't seem to understand what 

 grape-sugar is for, some white cane sugar added to 

 it will cause them to eat it. Now, can we, in any 

 way, mix the candy from cane sugar with grape-su- 

 gar in the frames? 



AVhat is the size of the building paper you used in 

 the house apiary, and what does it cost? 



W. B. roRBi-n'T. 



Pleasant Ridge N. C, Oct. lo, 187«, 



The first frame of sections. i>nt on when 

 honey just commences coming in. is placed 

 at the side, just back of the glass division 

 board. When a set is to be placed on top al- 

 so, the frames of sections are sui)ported by 

 strips i inch thick, at each end. Tliese strips 

 close all o])enings, and hold tlie frames just 

 as well as if they hung by the projecting top 

 bars, only tliat wlien lirst put on. tliey are 

 somewhat liable to get tipped over. After a 

 little gum has been put on them by the bees, 

 they hold all right. When first put on, they 

 may be held u]) against the wall, by a comb 

 guide tacked from tlie first frame to tiie last 

 one. Comb guides or similar strips must al- 

 so be tacked over the oi)enings between the 

 se])arators on the outside frame. Our house 

 apiary has again given us more surplus hon- 

 ey than the outside hives, and is better 

 stocked with honey for winter. Tlie objec- 

 tion is that no one likes to wcu'k with bees in 

 it, so well as with the out door hives. 



Cane sugar mixed with grape-sugar makes 

 a hard wax; we do not like it. Our building 

 paper w;!s about a yard wide, and cost 3c. 

 per lb. 



Enclosed please find one dollar, to pav for mv 

 next year's Glk\nings. If all your 4,003 subscribers 

 would send in their money now, it would help you 

 considerably in what you mention in "Our Hf)mes." 

 I have been building, and have fina-icial difficulties, 

 too, (on a small scal''>, or I should order an import- 

 ed queen yet this fall. Our locality is not the best 

 for honey, but very good for queen rearina-. as our 

 farm is situated on a point in lake Erie. We win- 

 tered 1.5 colonies, increased to 40, extracted about 

 600 lbs. of honey, sold (!3 queens, and three full 

 swarms. Farm work hindered me from giving my 

 bees proper attention. Ila Michener. 



Low Banks, Can., Oct. 11th, 1878. 



Many thanks, my good friend. The idea 

 did not occur to me of trespassing on your 

 kind generosity in that way ; I only wished 

 to illustrate how God answers prayer. I ain 

 glad to know that your apiary is prosi)ering. 



entrances IN WINTER, ETC. 



I have not seen anything in Gle.a.nings about win- 

 ter passages through the combs. Some of the A B 

 C class would like to hear from you on that subject. 

 Also how large an entrance should a swarm that will 

 cover 5 or 6 combs have for winter? 



I would like the chaff hive better, if the cover were 

 turned \i around so that the gables would be front 

 and rear. E. T. Hobson. 



Damascoville, O., Oct. 16, 1878. 



From what experience I have had, I do 

 not think the winter passages at all import- 

 ant. I would have the entrance so small 

 that only two or three bees could come out 

 at once, in winter— say i by f inch. See 

 '•EXTRAXCEs," in A B C. The cover to the 

 chaff hive can 1)" made in the way you sug- 

 gest, without any extra charge. 



I am sorry to sav that your honey is too high for 

 me to buy for sale here. We sell comb huncy at 

 1.5c., and the extracted at ISUc. 



Some say that queens caimot sting; I say the.v 

 can, for I had one that stung me in the tingi-r, and 

 left the stinger V)ut not the socket. I returned her 

 to the hive for 2 days and then killed her. She was 

 a layinsr queen. F. Mvers. 



St. Thomas, Pa., Oct. 18, 187.H- 



Glad to hear you have honey so cheap. 

 Did she not lay any more after stinging? 

 Why did you kill h'erV We have had one 

 such report before, and it was said the (pieeu 

 kept on laying, after she had lost her sting. 



