1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



38f 



SOmE HONEY-PLAIVTS OF THE SOUTH. 



WHILE I frequently see articles describing 

 honey-plants, and but few of them are from 

 ^ ^ the South, that land of flowers, I wish here 

 to call attention to three that I consider of more 

 than ordlnarj- importance, and respectfully ask for 

 the experience of others in regard to them. 



THE BLACKBERRY. 



Of this I have had experience only with the wild 

 variety, which grows spontaneously in all waste 

 places. My bees work on it from about the middle 

 of April to the middle of May. I suppose the culti- 

 vated varieties arc equally good. 



THE PERSIMMON. 



This is a medium-sized tree that grows best in the 

 fields, and blooms through May; bees work on it in 

 great numbers, and seem to prefer it to almost all 

 other trees. It could be cultivated, and I think the 

 fruit might be used for various purposes. 



THE SOUTHERN COW PEA. 



Mr. White, in his " Gardening for the South," 

 gives this as a Doliclio^, but I think that I have no- 

 ticed that this was a mistake. We have many vari- 

 eties, the best of which 1 think are the speckled; 

 they are earlier, more compact in growth, free to 

 bloom, and do not shed the leaves until maturity. 

 They seem to secrete honey both in the flower and 

 on the flower-stalk; commence to bloom in from 30 

 to 40 days from germination; time of sowing can be 

 varied 3 or 3 months; will grow on almost any soil; 

 is but little damaged by drought, ami last, but not 

 least, as the peas are equal to grain, and the vine 

 makes excellent hay, it will more than pay its way 

 aside from honey. I reeommeml their culture. 



Paris, Tenn., June 3, 1883. W. H. Greer. 



Our friend has kindly sent, with the above 

 letter, a box of peas, and a sprig of the per- 

 simmon, with blossoms. The latter has been 

 several times mentioned as a honey-plant, 

 and of late we have had attention called 

 once or twice to peas. We will plant them, 

 and report. 



WHAT TO DO WITH THE DKONES WE 

 DON'T W^ANT. 



AN AUTOMATIC DRONE-TRAP. 



WN Italianizing where you have had a drone-lay- 

 ijl Ing queen, how do you get rid of the surplus 

 ' black drones? I inquired of several large bee- 

 keepers near me, and all the satisfaction I got was, 

 "Pinch their heads off; that is all the way I know 

 of." That would not take very long if a person only 

 had them caught; but pinching drones with the 

 fingers, out of a colony of bees that is just booming, 

 while a lot of the bees are speaking right to the 

 point — of their stinger saying, " Put that comb 

 back," is more of a job than a new hand like myself 

 wishes to undertake. 



I made a trap and set it in the entrance so that all 

 bees passing either way would have to go through 

 it, with the meshes large enough lo admit a worker 

 only. The side nearest the hive, in place of the 

 screening, has tin trap-iloora, so arranged as to al- 

 low a drone to pass into the trap, and prevent his 

 return. When they are done Hying for the day, 

 they can be destroyed. The trap Is 9 inches long, 3 

 high, and 3 wide. The bottom and ends are wood; 

 the sides and top are wire screen, 3 meshes to the 



inch one way, and 5}i the other. I would prefer the 

 screening to be made of No. 20 wire, as the finer 

 wire is not so easily kept in place. If you think 

 this will be of any use to bee-keepers, you are at 

 liberty to publish it. If you wish to make some, I 

 will send you a trap-door, such as I use. The other 

 parts, any one can make without further descrip- 

 tion. By the use of it I caught my black drones, 

 and put them where they will not fertilize my Italian 

 queens. Would not such a trap be a handy thing for 

 any bee-keeper to have? 



I am a bee-keeper of only one season before this, 

 and am under many obligations to such writers as 

 J. Heddon, C. C. Miller, and many others. 



C. A. Newton. 



North Benton, Mahoning Co., O., June 18, 1883. 



Your plan is not new, friend N., and, if I 

 am not mistaken, the simple device given 

 us by friend Jones answers every purpose. 

 By placing it before the entrance, and then 

 shaking every live bee outside, you have 

 every drone outside ; and if it is done toward 

 night, you have them where they can easily 

 be killed, lentil this season, we have al- 

 ways been annoyed more or less by black 

 and hybrid drones ; but now we have toward 

 four hundred colonies, and not even a black 

 or hybrid colony on the grounds, and none 

 that we know of very near. The conse- 

 quence is, that our young queens are, al- 

 most without an exception, pure. 



HONEY -Pli ANTS, TO KEEP THE BEES 



AWAY from: GKAPES. 



HOW TO DO IT. 



MpAVING been a subscriber to Gleanings for 

 ! the past three years, and knowing that yoil 

 ' are trying to advance the science of bee cul- 

 ture, I have a question to ask,— a question that may 

 be of much importance, not only to myself, but to 

 many others engaged in bee culture; it is this: 

 What can we sow or plant to most successfully keep 

 the bees from grapes? Every year we have the 

 story of "Bees and Grapes." Now, if we as bee- 

 keepers can furnish the Vices with something else at 

 that season of the year, to keep them out of mis- 

 chief, we shall have that question settled, and it is 

 the only way it can be satisfactorily accomplished; 

 and also, what amount should be sown or planted 

 for, say, every ten colonies? I know the season 

 may have much to do with our success, but we may, 



sometimes at least, be successful. 



A. T. Keelev. 



Koyersford, Mont. Co., Pa., June 20, 1883. 



Your idea is an excellent one, friend K., 

 and I think I know of at least one plant that 

 will do it. There may be others, but I have 

 not had experience with any I feel sure of, 

 except the Simpson plant. An acre would 

 surely keep ten colonies busy, and it might 

 do more, on good soil, and with good cultiva- 

 tion. The worst drawback I know of is the 

 fact that a new plantation must be made 

 about every third year. If the plants are 

 started under glass, you will get quite a yield 

 of honey the lirst season, and it Avill come 

 just about the time grapes ripen. The next 

 "will be the principal yield, and the third 

 will about equal the lirst. The fourth year 

 you may about as well plow them up and 



