352 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



July 



DECLINE IN PRICE OF HONEY-JAR8; POOR HONEY; 

 PROSPECT IN CINCINNATI, ETC. 



I have made a new contract with our glass-works, 

 and can sell honey-jars at quite a reduction. If 

 you would mention the present price of .iars in next 

 number of Gleanings, it would be quite an accom- 

 modation and a favor. 



We have had quite a bee famine this spring. Colo- 

 nies all strong- were kept, by the unfavorable weath- 

 er, inside of their hives, and consumed their stores 

 in a hurry. I had not looked at my bees for aliout 

 two weeks, because of the weather, and found them 

 at the point of starvation about the 10th of May. 

 They had but few fresh-laid eggs and young- larvsp, 

 and most stands had commenced to uncap their 

 brood-cells and drag out their larvse in order to 

 keep down consumers. Since that time I have fed 

 them regularly with over lOCO lbs. of honey. I am 

 still at it, as no honey is coming in yet. Our honey 

 season, if there is one coming, must be a short one. 

 I dare say that, in this neighborhood, as many bees 

 (or more) died of starvation during the month of 

 May this spring than perished during the winter be- 

 fore last. Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, O., June 15, 1883. 



I am very glad, friend ]Muth, to note a de- 

 cline in prices of any staple article used by 

 bee-keepers, and I am, too, willing to give 

 so much of a free advertisement to those 

 who bring it about.— In speaking of the bees 

 uncapping the brood, I would suggest that 

 it is not because they wish to keep down 

 consumers, but because they are driven by 

 starvation to dig them out, to suck the 

 juices out of their bodies. In cutting out 

 queen-cells, Ave often see the bees sucking 

 up the juices of the brood that is injured by 

 the knife ; and when brought to a starvation 

 state, I have thought it sustained tliem for a 

 few days, much as honey does. We have 

 had the same state of affairs here, almost 

 right in the middle of June, and I know it 

 is a wasteful thing to let tliem get so far to- 

 ward starvation, even though they do not 

 destroy the brood. 



FRIEND DUGOER'S PARADISE — FOR BEES. 



Twelve months ago I ventured to take a " partner 

 for life," and have settled down on a small farm, 

 which I think, from the surrounding situation, is 

 the bees' paradise. One mile west of here the 

 Cumberland River flows, which is the home of myr- 

 iads of beautiful flsh. Along this river hundreds 

 and hundreds of poplar and linden trees grow, al- 

 though the poplar bloom, owing to the late cold 

 spring, was nearly a failure. Two miles east, a 

 chain of mountains called the Sulphur Mountains 

 runs parallel with the Cumberland. The summit of 

 these mountains is covered with a beautiful ever- 

 green foliage. Their base and sides are covered with 

 yellow wood, which is now in full bloom. One walk- 

 ing along, not accustomed to the way bees gather 

 honey from these trees, would think that there was 

 a swarm of bees in every tree; and in the valley are 

 found a great many wild persimmon-trees which are 

 also in bloom, which the bees work at considerably. 

 White clover is very, very good this season. I sowed 

 a patch of buckwheat about the 20th of April, which 

 is in bloom, but the bees pass it by. I will sow an- 

 other patch for fall blocm. So you will see that it 

 was my intention to find a good locality for bees, 



which I think I have. I commenced this spring with 

 four colonies; two of them were in the old-fashion- 

 ed bee-gums, which I transferred to movable-comb 

 hives. They are doing as well at present as I want 

 them to do. I have learned more about bees from 

 the sample of the Gi-eanings vhich you sent me, 

 than I ever knew before. I have read it time and 

 again. My wife laughs, and tells me that 1 must 

 have all my bees named, and watch and see if any 

 come up missing. W. C. Dugger. 



Clio, Ky.,.June 10,1883. 



Bees will never notice buckwheat, friend 

 D., while they can get honey from other 

 sources, and it is never of any use to sow it 

 for bees until after clover and basswood are 

 gone, or, rather, so as not to come into blos- 

 som until honey from these is gone. I pre- 

 sume the reason is, that buckwheat honey is 

 dark and poorly tlavored, as a general thing. 

 I •wonder if that new " partner for life " has 

 not something to do with making your sur- 

 roundings all so pleasant, friend i). Thank 

 God for her, and see to it thatthistirstyear''s 

 experience goes all through life. 



]adi^^' §^jiavltm^nh 



USING THE RUBBER PLATES. 



E RECEIVED the $7.00 rubber phitcs all right, and 

 had but little trouble in getting them to work 

 by the instruction I obtained in the back num- 

 bers of Gleanings. I used the water .iust warm in 

 tank. I very soon learned to temper the heat of the 

 wax; if it gets a little too hot it will stick to the 

 plates. I used starch cooked about as thick as I do 

 to starch shirt-bosoms. I made some beautiful 

 foundation; have some nice combs built from it. 

 Our bees have been doing finely; have extracted 

 some veiy nice honey fmm the ratan bloom; have 

 increased from 17 to 30 hives, all doing well. 



Lizzie A. Rogers. 

 Farmington. Texas, May 9, 1882. 



AVell, I confess I am a little astonished. 

 Our friend Mrs. Lowe has beaten the men 

 all to pieces in rearing and shipping queens, 

 and now you, my good friend, have succeed- 

 ed with the rubber plates, and have even got 

 nice combs built out from them, even after 

 a good many men have failed with them, or 

 reported them quite unsatisfactory ! I real- 

 ly can not see why you used starch on them. 

 We use nothing at all but soft warm water, 

 and we never have any trouble with the 

 fdn. sticking. While I think of it, 24 nice 

 queens just received from Mrs. Lowe 

 are now calling loudly from the stand near 

 by. Every queen, and, if I am correct, every 

 bee in the lot, came througli bright and lively. 



BEES IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY, ETC. 



Our bees commenced bringing in pcllon March 20, 

 and are gathering honey now. I think there will be 

 two swarms out in a few days. I will try to ktep a 

 diary of the bees this year, and send you a correct 

 report. I planted the Spider plant last year, and the 

 plants were full of honey, but not a bee could I ever 

 find on it, as we have so many wild houey-plants 

 here; besides, we had two crops of buckwheat and 

 alsike clover, and white clover in bloom from the 

 middle of May till October. This spring we will sow 



