1882 



GLEAl^INGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



625 



strong last pprlng I could have extrncted much fine 

 honey, for the tlnwers were very abunduiit, and rich 

 with honey. We hHd swatms here as early as the 

 14th (if Mnroh. These wen- the Italians. I never 

 knew the black bees to swarm here sooner than the 

 30th of March. 



nONEY-DEW, NOT FROM THE APHIS. 



We have had no huney-dew here this yrnr. Is 

 there ever any of it on trees that bloom freely? I 

 have noticed, that when my peach-blooms are killed 

 by frost, the tree yields honey-dew, which is found 

 at the foot of the leaf-stem, and no aphis about. 

 The best years for honey-dew is when the early ver- 

 dure is killed by frost. Both last year and the year 

 before, the white-oak blooms were killed, and both 

 years honey-dew was found upon them. It was very 

 white, and formed sugar. Last year it sugared on 

 the leaves, and the be^s were unable to gather much 

 of it. The fronts of the hives were white with it. 



Minden, La., Oct. 6, 1883. T. M. Fort. 



Thanks for facts given, friend F. Who 

 knows but that this bitter lioney may not 

 have medical properties, say equal to qui- 

 nine? Honey is often prescribed as a vehicle 

 for medicine, and here we have it already 

 commingled by nature. I presumej friend 

 F., you could put it up in nicely labeled bot- 

 tles a deal cheaper tlian doctors charge for 

 their bitter stuif.— I believe you have struck 

 a great truth in your conjecture about hon- 

 ey-dew after an untimely frost has killed the 

 verdure. While 1 was reading your letter, 

 something seemed to be glimmering in my 

 mind in regard to the relation between frost 

 and sugar ; but it was some time before it 

 bubbled up to the surface, that potatoes are 

 made sweet by being frozen. The freezing 

 converts the starch into grape sugar, and, 

 presto! we have honey oozing out of wheat 

 stubble, peach-tree leaves, and, possibly, 

 corn-stalks. Don't I come pretty near be- 

 ing a scientist? 



GIEAWIWG S m BEE COUTURE. 



EDITOR AND FUBLISKEB, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERmS: $1.00 PEK VEAR, POST-PAID. 



FOR CLUBBING RATES, SEE FIRST PAGE 

 OF READING MATTER. 



3VC:E:X3Xig'.i9L, 3DJE3C. 1, 1.0GS3. 



Thy word is truth.— John 17: 17. 



We are now fully supplied with honey, and could 

 not at present pny more than 9c. for the best, clover 

 and basswood, delivered here. 



In our Nov. No. I said the price of waxed strings 

 for sealinv the Jones honey-pails was COc. per lOl). 

 It should have read thlrtij cents only. 



A NEW use FOR THE 50 CENT SMOKER. 



It is capital to use In the prlnting-offlco to blow 

 dust Out of the type-cHses. Every printer should 

 have one. A regular bellows costs fnjm f 1.25 to $].hO. 

 We will furnish the smoker bellows alone, without 

 the tiD part, for 25 cents. 



As we fro to press this 29' h day of November, we 

 have 5445 subscribers. The kind help you have giv- 

 en me has made my task a pU-asant one during the 

 past year, and it has also enabled m; to give you a 

 call during the greater part of the year, a little of t- 

 ener than We either of us expected, when wo start- 

 ed in a j ear ago. Once more, I thank you. 



We can sell honey-labels ft)r 25c per hundred, if 

 you take such as we keep constantly in stock; but 

 of course these can not have your nxme and addre-ns 

 on them. In fnct, we can not furnish any kind of a 

 label with your name and address on. even if y >u 

 wanted only a dozen, because it would not pay for 

 setting up the job, and getting r. ady to print. 1 say 

 this, because so many ask for 25c worth of labels, 

 printed to order. 



We are surely going to run short of beeswax be- 

 fore another twelve months pas-^es over our heads, 

 and I fear all there is in the world will not meet the 

 demand of the next year. A letter came to-day, ask- 

 ing me what I would turnish a ton for, and 1 replied 

 30cts. If this man takes me up I do not know 

 where I can get it back airain, even if I should offer 

 35 cts. It may be there are those who are holding 

 on for better prices; but the general report is, that 

 there is none, for it has been all bought up. It will 

 certainly do no harm for us to commeace saving ev- 

 ery particle of it. 



We have sold an immense quantitv of the perfor- 

 ated zinc ffor excluding queens and drones, and still 

 allowing the workers to pass) during the past year, 

 and frl"nd Jones informs ui It is just the thing for 

 preventing the queen from going into the upper 

 story, or to prevent the bees fr. im building the 

 space between the upper and lower stories all solid 

 withhnnej^. We are now fully supplied, and can 

 furnish any-sized sheets at 15c. per square foot, or 

 only 12c , if taken in the sheets, just as we get It, 

 3x8 feet. 



A year ago I promi'ed to come again to the Mich- 

 igan Bee-Keepers' Associatiim, and at present writ- 

 ing I expect to be on hand. The secretary sends us 

 a printed postal that reads as follows:— 



MiCHia.4.N bee-keepers' association. 



The 17th annu«l c inventii>n of the Nf Ichigan State 

 Bee-Keepers' Associntion will be held in Kalamazoo, 

 Dec. (i and 7, 1882. All interested are cordiallv in it- 

 ed to pnrticipat in the discussions, wbicti will em- 

 brace the live issues of the A icult\ire of to-day. 

 Thomas G. Newmnn, A. I. Root, D. A.Jones, Pr-.f. 

 A. J. Cook, and many other distiug-uished apicultur- 

 isis, are cvpected to be present. Low rates of tioard 

 at hotels have been secured for those aitedins". 



T. F. Bingham, Sec'y, Abronia, Mich. 



Some of you will remember a man who wanted our 

 bee folks to suhsctibe a certain sum each toward 

 getting stingless bees from South America. I be- 

 lieve few, if any, subscribed. Perhaps the prompt 

 warning the journals gave was the reason they did 

 not. Well, every little while somebudy suggests 

 doing something of this kind, if a certain number 

 will give, say $1 00 each. Now, while I would not 

 question for a moment the sincerity of tho-e who 

 start such pr"jects, I U'ouW question the wisdom of 

 such proceedings. If you feel like developing some 

 new thing, do it with your own money, and trU'^t to 

 those who are benetlted, to do the fair thing by you. 

 If you feel you can not trust taumaaity, don't go in- 

 to It. 



