382 



GLEAJ^INGS IX BEE CULTURE. 



Xov 



As the season has just closed, I will send you my 

 report. , . ■■ • ^ ^ 



In the fall of 1S77, I had 6 colonies and wintered 

 them itacked in straw. I lost but one, which was 

 rubbed in the spring. 



I boucrht 5 more in the spring, and so began the 

 season with 10 colonies. 5 very weak. 



I now have 20. 1 of which is queenless; and have 

 taken 100 Uis. of comb, and 1,100 lbs. of extracted 

 honev. with possibly 100 lbs. to take off yet. 



Oki bee-fogies around here made a good deal of 

 sport over mv "flxin's," as they called my Simplici- 

 ties and extractor; but I've got the "bulge" on them 

 now. 



One man who had 13 old stocks, and did not think 

 mv hives of anv account, has got ~'00 lbs. of honey in 

 old boxes, weighing from 10 to .50 lbs. apiece. He 

 has changed his mind on the hive question, and 

 thinks he will get some frame hives this winter. 



Please find enclosed .50c. for a hvbrid queen (or a 

 black, if vou have no hybrid). I had as soon have it 

 as the ^tl'ones. I've had VZ queens sent me in all -5 

 tested, the rest -SI ones— and the whole lot, with 1 

 exception, were hvbrids. So I had just as soon buy 

 hvbrids and done with it. B. F. Pratt. 



Dixon, 111., Sept. 1.5th, 18T8. 



Wliv. my friend, you liave fared badly in 

 vdur purchases of queens. If I paid for 

 tested (jueens and got hybrids. I think I 

 should, at least, want something paid back. 



FERTILIZATION OF QUEENS. 



This summer, while I was working among my 

 bees, I was standing on the lower side of my bee- 

 yard, when I noticed a queen rise from a hive that 

 "was above me. and start south. She had gone but 

 about 3 rods when I noticed a drone in pursuit of 

 her. As thev came in contact with one another, 

 thev fell to tiie ground; and, as they fell, they went 

 between me and the hill, so that I could not see 

 them after they were below the line of blue sky, 

 and I could not find them on the ground. They were 

 not above 30 ft. from the ground at anv time. 



J AS. Evans. 



Ketchum%ille, N. Y. 



Thanks; this and other like instances 

 seem to settle the fact, that the meeting 

 does not always take place very high up 

 from the ground. 



The queen mentioned in the following was 

 first sent to a wrong address, and by the 

 time she was re-shipped to the right idace. 

 site liad been some days on the way. The 

 vial of water was what saved her. 



Your queen came to hand yesterday evening, alive 

 and that was all. The vial was empty, but there was 

 "right smart" of candy, hard and dry. I fed them 

 with honey and water mixed, and they got very mer- 

 ry on it. Five or six of the worker bees were dead 

 when they came to hand, and two more died after- 

 ward. 



Good bye, my friend. If you can't read this, guess 

 at it. Are vou satisfied? Frederick Meyers. 



Thomas, Pa., Oct. 9, 1878. 



P. S.— Where can I get good extracted honey the 

 cheapest? For what price could it be sent to me, 

 freight paid, for cash down? I have not got enough 

 for my customers, since fruit is scarce here. Give 

 me the price of comb honey also. F. M. 



I am quite satisfied, friend M.,andlthink 

 tliat some of our readers near you can sup- 

 Itly you with all the honey yoii want, at a 

 lowprice: it is so plenty this year. 



they were gathering .around one of my common box 

 hi\es, and thought they belonged there, but had not 

 the time to watch them long. I did not see them 

 again until about .5 o'clock, when I saw a queen at 

 the entrance trying to get in, and large numbers of 

 bees lying about the hive dead and dying. I began 

 to think something was wrrng. and soon fonnd the 

 hive from which they must have come. It is a mov- 

 able-comb hive, packed in chaff, and, on examina- 

 tion, showed everything in good condition; brood, 

 honey, and combs appeared to be all right so far as 

 I could see. It is a mystery to me. Why should 

 thev leave? Frank Gross. 



Rockford, Mich., March 7, 1878. 



Althotigh I liave always, or nearly always, 

 after making an examination, found some 

 reason for sucli absconding, it may be that 

 I should not in your case. Perhaps the bees 

 left when they were well off, and notliing 

 was tlie matter. If they were packed in 

 chaff, in a small close brood nest, had honey, 

 brood, and clean combs and plenty of bees^ I 

 guess I shall have to give it up. 



MOVING BEES SHORT DISTANCES, TRANSFERRING, 

 ETC. 



I have got several cards from men that are taking 

 Glkanxngp, wanting to know the size of my hives, 

 and other things. I make my hive* 10 by 12 inches 

 in the clear, by 12 inches deep; with 13 frames cross- 

 wise. 



If you want to move your bees a short distance, 

 do it early in the morning; shut them up till 12 o'- 

 clock, then spread something red over the gum and 

 let your bees out, and you will not lose one. 



I tntnsferred 1.52 swarms of bees last winter and 

 spring, and all have done well. I turn the old gum 

 on the head, put a cap on the moutli, then, with a 

 hammer, strike lightly on the gum; the bees will 

 soon run up into the cap; then set the cap. with the 

 bees in it, where the old stand stood, transfer the 

 combs into frames, and, when done, hive your bees 

 by shaking a few out at a time. The best time to 

 transfer bees is in the fall or winter, when the comb 

 is hard. 



I have been working with b"es for 40 odd years, 

 and have always been a subscriber for some bee- 

 journal. I take Gle.\xings now. 



I am a Kcntuckian, and have just come to Texas. 

 This is a fine place for bees. I started last spring 

 with IS black stands, bought one Italian queen, and 

 now I have 78 stands, and have sold 7 Italian 

 swarms, making So. Queens I sell at ?+. Test my 

 plan and, if it is good, put it in Gleanings. 



The feeder vou sent me came all right. 



R. Devenport. 



Richland Spring, Texas, Sept. 29, 1ST8. 



Your hive is very near the dimensions of 



the L. and Simplicity, my friend, but I think 



it would be a misfortune to beginners to 



adopt it, for tlie time is fast coming wlien 



j bees in an odd sized hive will have to be 



sold at a lower ])rice tlian if in the regular 



] size. You can liave the frames run cross- 



I wise in the Simplicity hive, if you wish, as 



exph^ined last month. 



Your plan of transferring is all right, but 

 does it not take too mucli time to drum the 

 bees out? I often transfer a colony in the 

 time usually needed to drum tliem off the 

 coinljs. Your plan for moving bees sl)ort 

 distances will work sometimes, and again it 

 will not. 



bees deserting their hive. 

 As yon answer most people's questions in regard 

 to apiculture, I would like your opinion in regard to 

 ln-es leaving their hives and forcing themselves into 

 the hive f>f another stock. Yesterday. March Sth, at 

 noon, I ol)':erved that f>ne of my swarms appeared 

 to lie abont all out in the air. and I supposed they 

 were out for an "airing," as the weather was very 

 warm, and has been for some days past, I noticed 



The Italian bee is like Saul of Tarsus, head and 

 shoulders above all the rest. They are gathering 

 pollen, while very few of the lilacks gather any. 

 The blacks arc great rogues, and rob and fight, 

 while the Italians are attending to their own busi- 

 ness in a legitimate way. 



Ask vour correspondents if they ever knew of 

 foul brood when plenty of salt water was furnished. 

 I am inclined to think it a preventive. 



M. L. WiIiLJAMS, 



Vanceburg, Ky., Sept. isth, 1S78, 



