1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



403 



gling for an existence, while the few revel in 

 wealth at their ease, said wealth being wrung 

 from the masses by the legislation of the past. 

 Did God ever intend that a few men, through 

 unjust legislation, should enjoy the good things 

 of this world while the many should suiTer? Is 

 it not about time we began to legislate for the 

 masses instead of the classes? 



[Friend D., I most heartily agree with the 

 text you quote — " tf any will not work, neither 

 shall he eat." But you surely do not mean 

 that every man must necessarily earn his bread 

 entirely by muscular work. Quite a few of 

 the readers of Gleanings buy potatoes in the 

 fall, and hold them over till the spring, taking 

 great pains to keep them in good condition in 

 the hope of getting better prices. Now. wheth- 

 er they buy the potatoes in the fall, or raise 

 them on their own farms, they are to a certain 

 extent speculatinc on the chances of a scarcity 

 in the spring. Whoever furnishes potatoes for 

 seed must be more or less of a speculator: hut 

 may not his work be as honest as that of his 

 neighbor who sells his potatoes as soon ns they 

 are dug? If the Standard Oil Co. did clear 

 75 millions of dollars, as you say, in ten days, it 

 was a gigantic gambling operation; and the 

 gambling mania of the present time is one of 

 the most terrible evils that threaten us. You 

 say mv father kept 95 cts. out of every dollar, 

 but that we to-day can keen only .52 cts. out of 

 every dollar, etc. I believe I have read enough 

 in regard to the matter you allude to, to under- 

 stand it pretty well; and if I am correct there 

 are only comparatively few people who agrpe 

 with your statement. You suggest that the 

 times are terribly hard for poor people. Sun- 

 pose I should take the time and space to make 

 out a list of the things that are cheaper for 

 poor people than ever before. We should all 

 consider that, when any thing gets to be very 

 cheap, it is bad for the producer, but a blessing 

 to tho«e who have to buy. The farmer gets but 

 a small price for his wheat. At least one con- 

 sequence is, that every humble home can have 

 bread cheaper than ever before. I would not 

 abstain from beef; but I would buy it from mv 

 nearest neighbor who has beef to sell, and so 

 with bread. If the miller is greedy and dishon- 

 est. I would have a little mill of my own. I 

 have found these little mills in many homes 

 during my travels; and they have proved to b^ 

 a great economy and comfort. I never found 

 any better bread, to my notion, than that made 

 from home-made flour. There are men who 

 produce both coal and oil who are not in any 

 combine, and refuse to enter one. Can we not 

 do something, at least, by way of encouraging 

 them? You speak of "hard-working people 

 struggling for an existence." All mv life has 

 been spent among hard-working people, and in 

 many respects it seems to me they are havinsr a 

 pretty good time. Wages run from SI. 35 to 

 S1.50 per day. and almost every thing that a 

 workineman has to buy is cheap and good. Of 

 course, there are times and seasons when cer- 

 tain things are away up: but with the great 

 variety around the most of us. can we not select 

 things that are reasonable ? I have no sympa- 

 thy at all with the few who "revel in their 

 great wealth, and live at their ease;" and mav 

 God forbid that our crop of millionaires should 

 continue to increase. — A. I. R.] 



A CORRECTION. 



On p. 344 of last issue, second column, third line 

 from the bottom, it reads " lessens the first co.sf of 

 the brood-nest." It should be first cast (first time 

 filling the combs). H. R. Boardm.vn. 



ilf. C D., 0.— I should judge from what you 

 say in your letter that your bees are afflicted 

 with what is known as dysentery. The only 

 cure I know is fair and warm weather. 



^. S. M., Pa.— It is evident from your letter 

 that the bees you speak of as crawling about 

 and having swollen bodies are affected with 

 the disease known as bee-paralysis. I know 

 of no satisfactory cure for the disease. Some- 

 times removing the queen seems to remove the 

 trouble; but in many cases it does no good 

 whatever. If you have very many other colo- 

 nies, and these bees do not get any better, I 

 would recommend destroying them entirely. 



M. L. B., III.— We are now using a very much 

 better arrangement —T supers or combined 

 crates, in connection with a honey- board. 

 Wide frames— that is, double-tier— are not used 

 very much, owing to the fact that burr-combs, 

 used with the old-style frames, are apt to hold 

 them down to the frames, making it somewhat 

 difficult to remove them. But wide frames 

 will come out all right providing the modern 

 brood-frames are used in the lower part of the 

 hive. 



J. M. E., Ala. — It would take a good many 

 years for basswood or linden trees to yield 

 honey — perhaps twenty. We set out a bass- 

 wood orchard something over 20 years ago, and 

 it is not yielding honey very satisfactorily even 

 yet. The experiment is rather too expensive 

 to engage in very extensively. — I can not ex- 

 plain to you ^vhy some colonies are so much 

 more energetic than others unless it be that 

 the bees come from a more energetic queen. If 

 you have a good queen, some colonies will do 

 better than others, of course. 



W. R. JB., Ind. — The ants are a serious pest 

 in certain parts of the South, but do not do 

 much damage in the North. I would sug- 

 gest that you find the nest, stick a crowbar in it, 

 and make a hole about a foot deep in the center 

 of it. Pour into this about 3< oz. of bisulphide 

 of carbon. Tamp the hole tight, and you will 

 have no further trouble from the ants. The 

 bisulphide produces a gas, and kills them al- 

 most instantly, the gas permeating all the gal- 

 leries of the nest. 



B. D. C, N. H.—ln our A B C of Bee Culture, 

 under the heading of Poisonous Honey-plants, 

 you will find the mountain laurel described as 

 a poisonous honey-plant. I do not know that 

 any deaths have ever occurred from it; but it 

 certainly is not a honey to put upon the mar- 

 ket if the report from Dr. Grammer is true, and 

 I have no reason to doubt it, because his state- 

 ment has been confirmed by others. Under the 



