733 



GLEANIlJsGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



In regard to friend Miller's Straw, page 584, I 

 would say I have an inch hole in or near the 

 center of all my hives (front), and find it a 

 great advantage, whether the Langstroth or a 

 deeper hive, as the bees use it more in propor- 

 tion than they do the entrance across the front 

 at the bottom, and it seems to give a more per- 

 fect circulation, thereby lessening the liability 

 of combs melting down in extremely hot weath- 

 er, where no shade is used; at least, I used to 

 be troubled somewhat until I tried this extra 

 entrance, and since then have not had a comb 

 melt; and when a swarm issues, this hole is 

 crowded to its utmost. I may have something 

 to say later on in regard to the 8 and 10 frame 

 hive, and also the controversy concerning yel- 

 low bees. 



Hillsboro, Wis., Aug. 8 



[I should like to hear from you further on the 

 subject indicated in your last sentence. I 

 think we may now consider it fully settled that 

 bees do work on strawberry-blossoms. And 

 here is another that furnishes still further 

 proof.— Ed.] 



BEES NECESSARY FOR STAW BERRY FRUITING; 



INDISPUTABLE PROOF; A HARD RUB 



FOR THE CARNIOI.ANS; JAPANESE 



BUCKWHEAT. 



As to bees working on strawberry bloom, I 

 would say that they do. 1 covered my straw- 

 berry-beds up with straw during the frosty 

 nights of last spring, and uncovered them in 

 the mornings, and by noon the bees would be 

 fairly swarming on them. They worked on it 

 equal to white or alsike clover. A few years 

 ago I visited an extensive strawberry-grower a 

 few miles from here; and after he showed me 

 around the place I happened to see half a doz- 

 en or more hives of bees, and remarked to him, 

 " I see you are a bee-keeper." He said, '" Yes, I 

 keep them to fertilize the strawberry bloom." 

 He said that the only time he had failed to get 

 a full crop was one season when it rained so 

 much that the bees were not able to work on 

 the blossoms except an hour or two at a time, 

 and then only on the outside of the matted 

 rows. He did not get any berries at all except 

 where the bees worked. He told me he could 

 calculate almost to a bushel as to how many 

 berries he would get if the weather was tiiie 

 when they were in blossom. 



You will remember that 1 wrote an article in 

 Gleanings a little over five years ago as to the 

 stinging and honey gathering qualities of the 

 Carniolan bees. The breeder of these queens 

 wrote me a long letter, but requested me not to 

 answer in Gleanings, but to try them another 

 year; so I have fooled with them ever since, 

 getting more stings than honey. The first 

 year I gave them ten frames in the brood- 

 chamber; but as the surplus crop was a failure 

 I concluded I would reduce them to eight 

 frames the second season. They all wintered 

 well the first winter; but long before the honey 



harvest had arrived they had used up all of 

 their honey, and had to be fed. They were 

 meeker than Moses. I fed them by filling 

 Mason cans with honey diluted with water, 

 tying cheese-cloth over the tops of them, and 

 inverting them over the brood-frames. When 

 cans were empty I would remove cans and give 

 the bees a quick shake in front of the hives to 

 dislodge them; but every last one of them 

 would have its sting fast in the cloth instead of 

 letting go like decent bees. Well, four of them 

 got to swarming, and their swarms swarmed so 

 I got half of my swarms Carniolans. I used 

 their combs for extracting-purposes, after they 

 swarmed, to prevent increase. As to honey, 

 the two that did not swarm did as well the 

 second season as my Italians; but, how they 

 stung when they were swarming! none of the 

 family cared to be out of doors, as they were 

 sure to be stung. No one would care to shake 

 the bees ofl" their combs, as they were afraid of 

 being stung. To stand within ten feet of one 

 of the hives in the fall, and look at them, they 

 would come at you in a steady stream, which 

 meant sure death if you did not make tracks 

 immediately. They would drop on to any one 

 like so many flies, and sting without any warn- 

 ing whatever. The stinging qualities of my bees 

 have been increased over 50 per cent since in- 

 troducing them. 



Is it true that bees gather as much honey 

 from Japanese buckwheat as they do from the 

 gray and silverhull ? I have heard farmers say 

 that it hardly amounts to any thing for honey. 

 At the south of me there l-s a large piece of 

 common buckwheat, while in other directions 

 there is nothing but Japanese. Well, the bees 

 seem to prefer to go south — that is, the bulk of 

 them. Two vears nothing was sown but Jap- 

 anese, and those years 1 got no honey from 

 buckwheat to speak of, Geo. Broadbent. 



Factoryville, Pa., Aug. 12. 



[Yes, Japanese yields as much honey as any 

 other buckwheat, and very much more grain. 

 The cases you mention do not prove any thing 

 against the Japam^se. All buckwheats some 

 seasons fail to yield honey, and it is evident 

 that diiference in soils even on different farms 

 not far apart makes some difference. Even if 

 the bees do prefer to go "south " it may mean 

 that the character of the ground in that direc- 

 tion is more conducive to nectar secretion. — Ed. J 



CRIMSON CLOVER. 



ITS BEAUTY AND PR.\CTICAL VALUE. 



By L. Staples. 



Crimson clover is an annual, and should be 

 sown in the fall, in August, September, and 

 October. It germinates very quickly, and 

 grows rapidly through the fall and winter, and 

 blossoms about May 1. In this latitude this 

 clover can be sown after other crops have been 

 removed from the ground, and in this way will 



