1874. 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
63 
been there a week. We have kept the heat 
constantly at a summer temperature, ancl the 
bees and Queen crawl to all parts of the hive 
at pleasure, but there are no eggs, and no 
brood-rearing ; something besides warmth 
must be wanting. To be sure many will say, 
she can’t lay eggs, and brood can’t be reared 
without more than eighty-Ueo bees ; but why ? 
her whole hive is kept as warm as the centre 
of a populous colony in June. 
Again ; the combs of the hives from which 
the bees had died, almost without exception 
were destitute of pollen, see problem 13 and 13 
last year. No one has yet applied for the $5.00 
although several have suggested, corn-starch, 
corn-bread soaked in honey etc., etc., and our 
“Ambrosial” friend Flick gives to B, K. M. a 
recipe for “bee food” composed principally of 
corn-starch. As it is not so very much trouble 
to try the experiment, we made a small heap 
of corn-starch, in the rye and oat-meal in our 
feed house, and they seem to dislike it more 
than any of the various substances with which 
we have experimented. We wonder if it ever 
occurred to Mr Flick and some others, to try 
whether their receipts are valuable. 
How can we supply bees with pollen in the 
spring, that brood-rearing may proceed when 
the weather proves unfavorable? Have some 
of our readers a Green-house or conservatory, 
and does any one know of an experiment ever 
having been made to see if bees will fly out 
and regain their hive again, in such a place? 
If so, they would certainly work on rye meal, 
and thus enable us to be independent of bad 
weather. The bees we have lost this spring 
would pay for one large enough to make the 
experiment, and if it cannot be demonstrated 
otherwise, we have a strong fancy to see for 
ourselves what can be done. 
Some friend suggests that a field of hemp 
would furnish pollen enough, and thus enable 
them to keep a supply over winter. We strong- 
ly suspect this lack, is one of the drawbacks 
in our locality, and may possibly be in others 
also. Friend Hosmer says in N. B. J. that he 
thinks the great advantage of the Western 
over the Eastern States for bee culture, is on 
account of the greater abundance of pollen 
yielded. 
April 16 th — A part of the day being some- 
what warm, a little natural pollen was gather- 
ed. Two more colonies are dead and no favor- 
able change in the weather yet. After the 82 
bees in the Lamp nursery had dwindled down 
to nine bees , we sent them Queen and all in an- 
swer to an application for the “ cheapest queen 
we could furnish, hybrid or otherwise.” ’Tis 
our first sale of queens this season and bids 
fair to be our last also. 
April 20 Although yesterday was Sunday, 
as it was the first really fine day since March 
2nd, we, and “Blue Eyes” anxiously watched 
the remnants of our Apiary’s laborers, as they 
brought in the different colored loads of pollen. 
The manure had been removed from a few 
01 the hives, and we were curions to observe 
nhich would commence work soonest. Sure 
enough, the warm sun shining directly on the 
tops of the uncovered hives, sent them to the 
fields, an hour earlier than the rest; the ma- 
nure having the same effect as double walled 
hives, since fermentation has ceased. 
Several more colonics were found so weak 
that they had to be broken up, and worse than 
all the rest, our Argo Queeii is among the miss- 
ing; we would not have sold her for $25.00. 
We noticed about church time, that the bees 
were very feebly resisting the attacks of some 
black robbers; and, although they had been 
working briskly on meal but a few days before, 
an examination showed very few bees, and no 
queen* 
Another colony about the same time, showed 
symptoms(individual bees whirling around ex- 
citedly, at the entrance)of swarming out (they 
have, once before) although they had a fair 
number of bees; these, were given a comb of 
eggs and some pollen from another, and after 
that, abandoned their project. All the stocks 
that have failed were found nearly or quite 
destitute of pollen, and none contained eggs 
or brood. The manure answered perfectly in 
keeping them at an even temperature, above 
freezing, and vegetation was found to have- 
started briskly, about and beneath the hives, 
when the manure was removed. The few lines 
below just received from Mr. Curry, will prob- 
ably explain why the manure answered, in 
place of warm weather, in Ms experiment, and 
has not in ours. 
Pollen seems rather scarce, on account of the severe 
frosts 1 suppose. I am not sorry, as it gives them n 
chance to clear out the old pollen from tho combs. 
We cannot remember to have seen any old 
pollen in the combs in the spring, for the past 
three seasons; last season we looked over more 
than a hundred combs before we could find just 
enough for a simple experiment. What shall 
we do for pollen when we have weather like 
that of the past six weeks? 
P. S. — We didn’t go to church last Sunday, 
and it is to be feared we w-ere not in a very 
“devotional” tame of mind either, -at least a 
part of the day. 
CHEAP PAINT *«H HIVES. 
You advocate all economical articles and processes, 
what do you think of the cheap paint recipe given In 
Winder’s circular? I llnd the same recommended in 
Robinsons “Pacts for Farmers.” 
J. U. Martin, Hartford, N. Y. 
We think of it as we do of many other re- 
ceipts given by thoughtless people because they 
had “heard ’twas good” but never once thought 
of trying it themselves. As a white-wasli,it 
may do very well, but if we really would pro- 
tect lumber from the evil effects of moisture, 
the wood must be thoroughly treated with 
good oil paint. The cheap paint will not stick 
unless it be used on rough, undressed boards, 
and we do not think it possible to make hives 
sufficiently accurate of such material. 
We once made 50 such and used them sever- 
al years ; the paint adhered very well, but the 
boards warped and drew the nuils out, nearly 
if not quite as bad as if unpainted. After they 
had been in use three or four years, we in des- 
peration nailed them over, and then wasted 
more good oil paint on them in the attempt to 
make the old weather beaten wood impervious 
to water, than they were all worth. The Sim- 
plicity style of hives, requires but little paint, 
and their form offers every facility for giving 
them an additional coat whenever they may 
need it, as they remain on their summer stands. 
One coal at first, on new hives will do very well. 
