394 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTRUE. 



May 15. 



usually small bloom, and sometimes yields sparing- 

 ly, wbile that in the bottoms blooms from one to 

 two weeks earlier, and has larger and more perfect 

 lilossoms, and gives a jiood supply of nectar before 

 ;i bee is seen working: on 1 he same plant on the hills. 



As my apiary is located about two miles from the 

 bottoms, the bees begaii working very briskly for 

 several days, and I noticed not a single bee working 

 on the smart weed near the apiarj'; so I immediate- 

 ly went to the bottoms, and found the smartweed in 

 full bloom, and just literally alive with bees. This 

 satisfied me that my bees were working at least 

 from 2 to 2'/4 miles from home, and doing good work 

 at that. 



Tlie next thing T wanted to know was, how long it 

 would take a bee to get a load of honey at that dis- 

 tance, as no other honey was being gathered at tliat 

 time, and the working bees could be seen in the 

 morning going in a steady stream toward the bot- 

 toms — like a swarm that is hurrying otf to get 

 better quarters than they had at home. So I sprin- 

 kled Hour on a good many of the bees that emerged 

 from a certain colony, and waited for their return. 



The first bee returned in 13 minutes,. and was well 

 loaded with pollen from corn tassels, which it evi- 

 dently gathered in some of the neighboring corn- 

 fields. The second returned in 33 minutes, and had 

 a load of honey, and a little smartweed pollen. 

 Several entered at 34 minutes, and a few at 37, and 

 all the way up to 40 minutes. All that returned 

 after 30 minutes were well loaded with honey, and 

 some carried small pellets of smartweed pollen. 

 The average length of time it took them to go to 

 the bottoms, load themselves and return, was about 

 36 minutes. 



To tell just how much more honey they would 

 have gathered if they bad had the flora near by, is 

 hard to tell undoubtedly a good deal more honey; 

 but bees can do good work at the above-named dis- 

 tance. F. X. Arnold. 



Deer Plain, III. 



MOKE fax; by a modern "josh billings." 



Mister Editor: — 1 send you sum more fax 

 which I hope w^ill be faverable received. I was 

 educated out heer in the Hoosier State, and, 

 although I am only sort o' middlin' in gramer, 

 I kin pride myself in bein' a mity good speller. 

 These here fax ain't so bulky, but the awther 

 hopes thay will make up in quality what thay 

 are lackin' in quantity, as the poetsez. 



One yeer's actual 'sperience in bee-keepin' is 

 wuth five yeer's of theorizin'. 



A man what keeps bees in a log gum ought 

 not ever komplain of a skeercity of honey. 



The world has a milyun roosts for bacheler 

 bee-keopers. bu' nary a single home. 



A good menny supplies and fixtures don't op- 

 orate well because of inferior finish; what we 

 want is better workmanship in kombinashun 

 with first-class macheenery. 



After cagin' queens with drones, konfinin' 

 'em in a hive, and lettin' 'em sail rotind at the 

 end of a fine silk thred like a kite, fer the pur- 

 pose of findin' sum improvement on the method 

 of fertilizashun, I have, at last, kum tothekon- 

 clushun that the less you monkey with the orig- 

 inal plans of the Creator, the best it will alius 

 be. 



Mister Root, don't you think it is a fax if I 

 could produce a strane of bees havin' five spots 

 on thair wings that thare would be a mity big 

 demand fer 'em? It haint the git up and git, 

 you know, but the looks what I would be after 

 now-a-days. However, fer the present, don't 

 enny body send fer beautiful polka-dot queens 

 until I have 'sperimented fer a season. 



A beginner wants to know what is a good 

 remedy fer bee-stings, and I herewith give a re- 

 ceet: Jist as soon as you find you have been 

 stung, which will not take more'n 1.5 minits aft- 

 er the bee has got in his malishus work, you 

 will keep calm and cool; fer if you git mad it 

 will hurt worser. Remove the stinger, and at 

 the same time and motion apply a little saliva, 

 anuff to warsh off the pizen, and keep it frum 

 soakin' in. This simple remedy will not cure 



entirely, but will save lots o' hurtin'. Thare's 

 hundreds of remedies but no perfect cure— ex- 

 cept amputashun; and if that is too much fer 

 you, wy, you had better make up your mind to 

 grin and bear it; fer whenever a bee socks his 

 stinger into a feller's nerve, thare is bound to 

 be sum komplainin'. Ellkry Krum. 



bay-blossoms. 



There is now on the table where I am writ- 

 ing, a bouquet of bay and magnolia blossoms. 

 The great white flowers of the magnolia are a 

 surprise and delight to one who has always liv- 

 ed at the North. The large germ and stamens 

 are inclosed with three white petals, and the 

 specimen before me measures four inches in 

 length by three in width. These three inner 

 petals are surrounded by six larger ones, which 

 measure six inches in length by four in width. 

 The leaves of the magnolia are thick and leath- 

 ery, and, like ail the leaves of this locality, var- 

 nished a bright green. There were three large 

 insects in the bloom; and will some of the bee- 

 keepers who live where magnolias are abun- 

 dant tell us whether they are rich in honey? 



The bay-bloom belongs to the same family as 

 the magnolia, but is smaller, and admired more 

 by some cersons than the magnolia. The germ 

 resembles the magnolia, and is surrounded by 

 eight white petals measuring two inches in 

 length and one in width. The three calyxes 

 are white. 1^4 inches in length and % in width, 

 and turn back upon the stem, adding to its beati- 

 fy. Its lovely green leaves are smoi^th and 

 glossy. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



St. Andrews Bay, Florida, May 1. 



SEALED COVERS A GREAT SUCCESS; CAUSE OF 

 SPRING DWINDLING. 



As you have solicited a report from your sub- 

 scribers as to their success in wintering bees 

 under sealed covers, I will give my experience 

 for the past ten years. My bees are wintered 

 on their summer stands, packed in outer cases 

 with planer shavings. The cases are of a size 

 to leave a space of four inches all around the 

 sides and bottom, and from 6 to 8 inches on top. 

 When the covers are less than % in. thick I use 

 there or four thicknesses of newspapers under 

 the packing; and when the covers had been 

 loosened so late that the bees could not reseal 

 them they were screwed down, and the cracks 

 sealed with a thick flour paste, and the entrances 

 left the full width. My losses for the last ten 

 years have not exceeded two per cent. 



The past winter has been very severe in this 

 section, confining the bees to their hives for over 

 three months without a flight. Out of 7.5 colo- 

 nies I packed as above described, I lost 3; one 

 starved to death; one lost its queen, and the 

 bees left the hive full of honey, while the en- 

 trance of the other became clogged with dead 

 bees, and they smothered; consequently their 

 loss can not be attributed to the manner of win- 

 tering. 



I noticed that but very few, who have de- 

 scribed their manner of packing in outside cases, 

 seem to think it necessary to put any thing un- 

 der the bottom-board. It seems to me that it is 

 just as essential to keep the cold air from the 

 bottom-board as it is from our sitting-room 

 floor. 



Now a word as to spring dwindling. My ex- 

 perience has been, that colonies that go into 

 winter quarters with few bees and insufficient 

 stores, and of poor quality, are the ones that 

 are troubled with "spring dwindling;" while 

 those that start in with plenty of bees and seal- 

 ed honey are nearly always ready for business 

 when spring opens. P. L. Norton. 



Lanesboro, Pa., Apr. 34. 



