1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



143 



here in the North in the month of October. I 

 was especially interested in an account of an 

 immense crop of strawberries gathered in only 

 si.K weeks after setting the plants in the ground. 

 It was done by selecting the strongest plants 

 with the largest fruit-crowns, taking some of 

 them at a time when they were so far along as 

 to show occasionally a blossom. These were 

 set in very good ground, and given extra culti- 

 vation, and made a line crop in the time I have 

 mentioned. Of course, all runners were kept 

 off. During the past season I myself succeeded 

 in getting something of a crop in just about 

 the same way. Of course, the wet weather was 

 against it. By moving the plants with the 

 transplanting-tubes, I think it could be made 

 quite a success, when we learn by careful ex- 

 periment just how to manage. 



7x10 

 YEAPj 



Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. — Matt. 



The pure in heart shall not. only have a clear, 

 unbiased understanding, but they shall have 

 wisdom given them from on high: while '• he 

 that committeth sin is the servant of sin." 



Be sure to read Langstroth's Reminiscences 

 in this issue. 



The demands upon our space are so great 

 that we are obliged to add eight extra pages. 



The Progressive Bee-keeper, published at 

 Unionville, Mo., is again making its regular 

 monthly visits. It is a good paper, and we 

 should have been ^^orry to know that the heavy 

 loss by tire which it sustained was too much 

 for it. 



Our bees are wintering nicely so far. and 

 only four are dead this exceptionally cold 

 weather. Two of this number were very weak 

 in the fall; but summer is not here yet, and we 

 won't count our chickens till then. So far the 

 winter cases appear to be doing as well as the 

 large chaff hives. As to the hives with sealed 

 •covers, the difference appears to be a little in 

 favor of the sealed-cover idea. 



We hope the Rambler will urge upon the 

 bee-keepers of California the necessity of join- 

 ing and supporting the Bee-keepers' Union. 

 That the bee and fruit men in that great honey 

 State are and have been coming into conflict is 

 becoming painfully evident. See Rambler'sar- 

 ticle in this issue. There never was a greater 

 need for the Union than now; and unless it has 

 a large membership it will fail of a great work. 



We now put up all our sections by the thou- 

 >^and. in potato-boxes holding just a bushel and 

 a half, and worth about :.'.5 cents alone. Instead 

 of having a useless crate lying around as for- 

 merly, the purchaser of our sections will have a 

 useful implement. Even if he does not live on 

 the farm or raise potatoes, the potato-box crate 

 will be very handy for storing apples, potatoes 

 — in fact, any sort of vegetables — in the cellar. 

 This is in the line of the request of Dr. Miller 

 and others, that supply-dealers make such 

 boxes and crates as will be useful for otlter pur- 

 poses after they have subserved their first mis- 

 sion as a carriage crate while in the hands of 

 the railroad companies. 



In one of our exchanges a writer thinks 

 Gleanings has not given enough attention to 

 that fearful bee-disease, " bee paralysis." It 

 really seemed to us. if it did not to many of our 

 readers, that we had allowed the discussion to 

 proceed to an <td tiauseuvi extent. No new or 

 peculiar development has occurred, except in 

 the case of J. A. Golden, and in our next he will 

 answer some questions in regard to it. It is 

 evident, as Dr. Miller says, that in some cases 

 the disease appears to be much more aggravat- 

 ed and serious than in others. Why this should 

 be so we can not say, for all the dead specimens 

 of diseased bees that we have examined from 

 all parts of the country appear about the same; 

 viz., swollen, hairless, with a general greasy 

 appearance. 



Where bees have insufficient protection, or 

 were neglected last fa'l, the indications are, 

 from the letters, that there will be great losses. 

 Colonies that were properly cared for will win- 

 ter well. We are afraid there are too many of 

 the former class, as so many bee-keepers have 

 been sort o" neglecting their bees in the fall be- 

 cause the winters of late have been compara- 

 tive mild. It; is always safer to prepare for a 

 cold winter every fall. It is rather poor policy 

 to send a hundred or so dollars to your supply- 

 dealer, and then lose all your bees the following 

 winter through neglect. It is bad enough to 

 have a series of poor seasons; but there is no 

 excuse for cutting <lown the small profits by 

 winter losses through carelessness. 



HONEY CARAMELS. 



Our veteran friend in introducing honey to 

 the people in popular packages, C. F. Muth, 

 has sent us a sample package of honey cara- 

 mels. We passed them around, and they were 

 gone so quickly that Ernest, it seems, did not 

 get even a taste of them. They are pure honey, 

 without question, and friend Muth has succeed- 

 ed in giving us a honey confection that is just 

 as neat and clean to handle as the best and 

 finest candies to be had. We have been wait- 

 ing, thinking he would give us prices. They 

 certainly i^hould be advertised through the bee- 

 journals, any way. My opinion is. that honey 

 candy will be found to be more wholesome than 

 even candies made of pure sugar; and you 

 know that, sometimes, we do not get the pure 

 sugar. A. I. R. 



OUR BRITISH COUSINS AND THE NORTH AMER- 

 IC.VN. 



The British bee-keepers are making exten- 

 sive preparations for a grand honey display at 

 the VVorld's Fair. If we don't look out. Canada 

 and England will " beat us all to smash." We 

 are glad that our Canadian and English cousins 

 are coming over, and the bee-keepers of the 

 United States mean to give them a hearty wel- 

 come. We hope a large delegation from both 

 countries will be present at the next meeting of 

 the North American, at Chicago. It is expect- 

 ed this will be the largest and grandest meet- 

 ing in the history of the association. Let the 

 date be fixed early, that all may be making 

 their calculations. It was approximately fixtd 

 for about the middle of Octobor, at the VVash- 

 ington meeting. 



A FEW HARMI-ESS LIES ON THE BEE. 



That old canard that originated somewhisre 

 over in Canada, that bees use their sting as 

 trowels to cap honey, etc., is still trying to go 

 the rounds of the press. It gets a little encour- 

 agement, hence it is kept alive. There is an- 

 other yarn of the same ilk, to the effect that 

 flying bees often carry little tiny stones to pre- 

 vent the heavy winds from blowing them away; 



