56 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
May) 
MAXI KL ON Tin: lflt AIN. 
EAR NOVICE You’re a goose ! Do you think 
you can put a pile of manure wound a bee lilve 
in the fall anil have it keep up heat by fermen- 
tation till spring? When the lire burns out won’t the 
hive get cold ? 
l»ut for all that, Gleanings for April Is a splendid 
number. Chicago, 111. C. C. Millkk. 
Now friend M., that’s all theory, (your latter 
observation, not the one about Novice) fpr did 
you never observe that the ground rarely ifev- 
i r freezes under a very slight covering of sta- 
ble manure, say six inches? If you think we 
haven’t any facts to “fall back on” just read 
the following: Supposing it does get cold ; if 
it keeps the ground from freezing would it not 
keep the hive at a low, even temperature? 
DEAR NOVICE Yol. 2, No. 8, is at hand, and as I 
see you have manure on ilie brain, 1 am willing to 
v I vo my experience in wintering bees in manure. I 
commenced more than 30 years ago to winter bees 
that way, though not on the principle that the German 
lady i mis her < heese in the mamiie pile to cure, or as 
\ our wagon load of manure would be to keep them 
Lot. but to breeze them in. I have never failed when 
1 put them up in good season and paid proper atten- 
tion to them. 1 put up a late swarm that was so light 
that 1 thought they were not worth destroying for the 
honev, or wintering for the bees, but as an experiment 
I « 1 Id* it; they came out all right and made a good 
Mvarm. Ihus; place the hive on the ground in a suit- 
able place where the water will not settle around 
them, with the front south. Take long damp manure 
that will ireeze solid, and cover three sides and top, 
cot more than one foot thic k at the bottom, and .less 
at top, then take a wide board that w ill cover the 
front of the hive w hen set considerably slanting (so as 
to give a good air chamber) then cover that up the 
t lie same as the rest of the hive; disturb them no 
more until the lirst pleasant day (with the mercury at 
t in after the middle of March* then remove the front 
covering and give them a good flight; you will see 
them lairiv dame. Alter they have all gone In, set 
the hoard up in front of the hive to prevent the sun 
inducing them out in unlavorable weather, and re- 
move the top covering and commence stimulating, 
using plenty oi quilts. What bees want is a long 
sleep, a strong sleep, and a quiet one. There are 
more bees cooked to death than are frozen to death, 
nowadays. B. I. Talijot, 
Y ioia, Iowa. March 1st, 1874. 
EARLY QL'EEXS from the south. 
erpv EAR NOVICE:—! think you are mistaken in 
j; js\ saying that Miss Anna Saunders can sell all her 
Queens. Too many, learned in everything but 
iiee lore, w ho are opposed to progress and reading, 
even denying the Queen bee story, would be slow 
to beiieve the large Yields of honey that can be had 
here, even though tlley saw it. One Gent, could not 
take Gleanings, but could pay 830.00 for 3 patent 
moth trap hive.', who of course must fail lor w ant of 
7f» cts. worth of other peonies experience. 1 am sorry 
to goJo **B lasted Hopes. Do help us. 
simplicity hives made last sitting of hard pine, 
stood all summer and fall all right, but have warped 
all lo pieces this i-nring. Bee quills almost rotten, 
frames and under side of hive mouldy, combs nice; 
am now using for quilts single thickness of new 
Brown Domestic, is it good? Will paint straighten 
in v hives or prevent their warping in luture? How 
can 1 clean paint and varnish brushes, and keep them 
ready for use? (’an you furnish Buzz Saws, Table 
Gtiages etr. Jor making Simplicity hives, and the 
price? Lost 3 colonies bees, very strong, all lu combs 
tilled with lnood even in the cornels, March 20lh. 
They brought in honey Marc h 30th, but Incessant rain 
and cold w inds ever since. Nary drop of honey in the 
hive. Other bees are now cleansing their combs of 
oflensive brood. 
Wintered on natural stores on summer stands, no 
disease, only starved by sudden check of honey and 
large family' to Iced . 1 had Queens fertilized every 
mouth of the year except Jan. I leal* there is no mar- 
ket South for homy, 1 took 40 Ibe. i remlum honey to 
State Fair, got no oiler for it. Have advertised Queens 
in State paper at 81. and 83., and nary • rder. I fear 
’iwould not pay trouble and freight to ship honey to 
Chidago and don't want the slcei ( ; in my how e 
broken with tons of honey, for I’ll surely heat yov.r 
last year’s crop any year , 1 think. 
Wife says my bees will starve us yet, for I give all 
my time, talk’ and provisions, to my bees and bee 
friends. Am out over 8300.00 cash, and took in mny 
cent. Italians very far abends of black In my hands. 
Can rear Queens from Feb. to Dec., don’t see why 
all will not be pure with no black bees within a mile 
of me. l’lcasc tell me minutely how to ship them 
safely and cheaply long distances, ns I w ish no Queens 
lost by my Ignorance. W. F. Standkfkl, 
Dry Grove, Miss. April 18th, 1874. 
If Queens can be sent safely to the North, 
and we haven’t a doubt of it, there is a market 
for ten thousand instead of one. A postal card 
from you dated April 13, was in our hands the 
10, and Queens might go nearly ns quickly. 
Our cages of last season, although roomy and 
convenient, in several eases proved of insuflic 
ieut strength, also in long distances, water in 
a sponge, dries out, as we prepared them in 
the fall, with a piece of candy. All things con 
sidered, we believe we would adopt the “Alley" 
cage for long distances via : a block of wood 
about 1x2x3 inches ; bore two holes in one side 
nearly through. These holes should be of diff- 
erent sizes, say inch, and inch and a half, and 
should cut into each other so as leatc an open- 
ing between them of about % of an inch. A 
piece of old, stout comb, containing sealed 
honey or syrup is to be securely waxed into 
the smaller one, and after the Queen with a 
dozen bees, young ones arc preferable, is placc-d 
in the other, wire cloth is tacked over both. 
Miss Annie should be able to get a carpen- 
ter to make them complete, for her, for 50 cts. 
per dozen; if’twasn’t for the “awful” express 
charges we would make them for her cheerful- 
ly. Any boy or man can make his own, rainy 
days and evenings. Sometimes a piece of 
sponge, saturated witli honey is preferred, but 
we tliink it more expensive and no better. 
We fear you did not “ halve in” the corners 
and cover to your Simplicity hives, and nail 
them from both ways; when properly made, 
they stand the weather better than any hive 
we have ever seen, when used unpainted. 
They should always be painted, at least one 
coat, before being used. If your hives are not 
too bad, lift the combs and bees into an extra 
one, and take them one at a time and draw 
them up with nails, as well as you can, serving 
the next the same way and so on. They can 
be painted very well after, the bees are in them. 
We think turpentine will soften your brushes. 
We always keep ours in the paint, and even if 
a little stiffened, we paint away until it gets 
limbered. 
We fear our Southern friends, are too liberal. 
We have many letters like the above from 
those who are endeavoring to disseminate en- 
lightened bee culture. Will those who have 
written us so many letters for “dollar Queens," 
early in the season, please send their orders to 
friends Standefer and Miss Annie. In that 
way we can aid them, and help ourselves too. 
In a few cases, we have displeased, by using 
matter for publication not so intended. We 
may say that we regard all ordinary commu- 
nications sent us on bee culture, as matter 
from which we are free to select, unless the 
writer makes a request to the contrary M c 
are also willing to keep back the names when 
so directed, but to secure notice, the full name 
and address must be suit us in all eases. 
