GO 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
1874 
I don't like to take the honey all away from the 
bees, and give them cheap sugar-syrup in place of the 
honey for which they work so hard all summer. 
Shlmersville, Pa. L. N. Kern. 
Nor would we for the world, If we thought, 
the dear little chaps were not just as well 
pleased, and sometimes a deal healthier, with 
syrup made of clear, white sugar. 
Took my bees out of the pit March 17, all right and 
to all appearance as strong and heavy ns when put 
in. Bees build wavy combs when from any cause 
they are building slowly, whether a stroug swarm or 
a weak one ; the stronger the swarm, the worse the 
comb. Tills Is gospel. 
We might accept it as “gospel” .were it not 
that so few points can be laid down in Bee 
Culture as invariable. Whenever we think 
we are sure of a thing and no mistake, some- 
body else’s bees upset the whole theory by 
doing directly the opposite way. 
I don’t take any horse manure In mine yet awhile, 
dirt is just as good and smells better. My bees always 
have plenty of brood when I take them out of pit. 1 
can't make Quilts work on my side opening hives, 
frames % from tops, they don’t tuck down worth a 
cent. My wife says if I make her as much trouble 
with all the new no'tions I get from you, she'll quit the 
bees-ness. 1 use a honey-board 3-8 thick and believe 1 
like it better than Quilts", at least for hot weather. It 
Beems to me your plans all assume straight combs in 
frames to begin with. I supposed side opening hives 
were now considered indispensable. I put on Quilts 
2 weeks ago, some gnawed through already. 
Wyoming, Wis. R. L. Joiner. 
Several complain of having Quilts gnawed, 
but if coarse, strong hard woven cotton be 
used, we feel sure the bees will not trouble 
much ; at least ours do not. 
Guess we’ll have to try a “pit” next winter. 
We are sure no one will use “side openers” 
very long; they will have to be classed with 
box honey, and revolving can Extractors. 
DEAR NOVICE:— Two months ago I thought 1 
could bring all my bees through, but have lost 3 out 
of 12, the rest are in good condition; onr winter was a 
very mild one, but the spring is very cold ; our Co Pa- 
per says one-half the bees in the Co., are dead. I 
like the manure idea, but wouldn’t it soil our nice 
white hives and make them look bad? We are hav- 
ing a snow storm to-night— bees gather no pollen yet, 
—have seen them carry it in Peb. 
Chariton, Iowa. April 4th, 1874. A. McMains. 
If you cover the hives with shingles they are 
not discolored. We can cover the Simplicity 
hives with dry straw, and then the manure, 
and if put on in the proper shape the straw is 
not even wet through. 
Will not bees waste dry sugar if fed for stimulative 
brood rearing? Langstroth says feed sugar-syrup 
very thin. 
How can I get candied honoy from a barrel, with* 
out tukiug the head out? So far I have worked on 
Ilrst principles, namely a shingle worked through the 
bung-hole— molasses gate useless. 
Four swarms wintered on C sugar-syrup on summer 
stands, all right. 
Canandaigua, N. Y. R. H. Dixon. 
Put some dry sugar in a tin pan where it 
will be in the sun, but out of the rain, and see 
if you can discover that any of it is wasted. 
Our bees don’t undertake to carry sugar home 
in lumps. Your neighbors bees may get some, 
’tis true, but shall we call that wasted ? 
Candied honey — a poser truly, but we think 
it can be “ got out,” nevertheless. Make the 
barrel Twt, either in the sun or by the stove and 
we think the molasses gate Will work. Bor- 
row your wife’s teakettle (when her back is 
turned) and make diluted honey for feeding, 
of all that obstinately persists in staying inside. 
1st. I believe It is generally admitted, that bees are 
inclined to raise brood toward entrance of hive rather 
than otherwise. Would it be likely to Increase breed- 
ing to have an entrance In each enil of hive and occa- 
sionally turn the hive half-way around, always 
keeping lmok entrance closed ? 
2nd. Can transferring be done early in April with, 
safety ? 
3rd". Can combs be emptied clean with Extractor, 
so that Queeus will lav In cells immediately? 
4th. If enough combs be given to new swarms to 
hall till the hives, Is It best to put them together, with 
empty frames on sides, or to place an empty frame 
between every two combs? 
5th. Will coarse brown paper answer well In sum- 
mer and winter, to retain die heat and allow the 
moisture to pass off? 
Sthu Quite a number of Queen breeders offer 
Queens, In Gleanings, the coming season at Sum 
each. I understand these Queens to be fertile Ital- 
ian Queens but not warranted to leave mated with 
Italian drones. Are any of these persons so situated 
at a instance from Black bees, that these Queens will 
bc^ almost certain to have united with Italian drones? 
7th. I can purchase butter-llrkins here at 60e. each, 
which will hold about twelve gallons. Will they an- 
swer lor holding extracted honev. or will they be 
likely to impart a bad flavor to the honev, after hav- 
ing contained butter? 
8th. Do you know anything about Alfalfa or Lu- 
cerne, as a hay or honey plant ? 
White Plain's, N. Y. Gijo. O. Tompkins. 
1st. We have not found that they arc more 
inclined to rear brood near the- entrance. In 
order to save useless travel, they may do so in 
the long hives ; we have tried changing them 
end for end on the plan you mention, but dis- 
covered no especial advantage in so doing. 
2nd. The objection to transferring in April 
would be danger of chilling brood, and inter- 
ference from robbers, if they were not occupied 
in gathering stores. 
3rd. The Extractor never leaves the combs 
dry, but the bees will lick out the ceils clean 
enough for eggs in a very short time, say half 
an hour; an examination will then show the 
honey that adhered to the cells, carefully col- 
lected in a few filled cells, near the top, or 
outside of the comb; we frequently find eggs 
in a comb within a couple of hours after ex- 
tracting. 
4th. Much is dependent on the size of the 
swarm, and the weather. We would put the 
combs all together at first, and put one empty 
frame between them at night, when the comb 
was well started, another, and so on, endeav- 
oring to keep each comb strait, by having it. 
built between two full ones. 
5th. We do not think it sufficiently porous 
to keep dampness from accumulating in win- 
ter, but it does very well in spring. 
Gtli Messrs Shaw and Daniels ; Dean, near- 
ly as good, and every season shows more 
Italians and fewer common bees. 
We cannot speak for those Who reside at a 
distance. 
7th. They will certainly do if waxed, and 
may answer if not; we cannot say. 
8th. B. II. Stair & Co. Cleveland, O, write: 
We regret to say we arc not well posteil on Lucerne. 
There has not been siitllclent Interest manifested ia 
Lucerne for us to test It; have sold it for many years. 
In Europe it is also called everlasting clover, on ac- 
count of Its remaining some 10 to 15 years without 
re-seedlng. The price of Lucerne. Is 50 ets. per pound. 
The Prairie Parmer contains several articles 
on its cultivation and we gather from them that 
it must be kept free from weeds for the first 
three years by careful culture, and that it yields 
no crop, or but a small one until the third year. 
As the roots penetrate to a great depth, its 
| power to withstand drouth is immense. 
