652 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



Burt a number of the 1893 Pratt automatic 

 hivers. 



'• How do these work ? "' we asked. 



" Perfectly. Every one caught its swarm, 

 and tlie bees went to work in their new apart- 

 ments just as though they had been hived 

 there in the good old-fashioned way." 



•• That is, you regard the Pratt hiver as a 

 success?" 



"I do, decidedly," he answered; "and when I 

 establish my out-apiary next year I expect to 

 use quite a number of them. I notice," said he, 

 changing the subject this time, '' what you had 

 to say about swarms without queens generally 

 going back to their own hives. I never had 

 any trouble fioni two or mOre swarms without 

 queens uniting in the air and going into the 

 wrong hive, and I have practiced clipping 

 queens for a good many years. I can not under- 

 stand why Mr. Taylor's experience should be 

 so different from mine." 



"Well, there is one thing," we remarked, 

 "when bees get on a perfect craze for swarm- 

 ing they will do almost any thing contrary to 

 rule. At the time of Mr. Hutchinson's visit, 

 we should judge that the swarming mania was 

 having full sway." 



"To change the subject, we notice that your 

 hives are painted the ocher tint." 



" Yes, I like it, and I don't see why you 

 •changed." 



"Principally because the hive-covers got too 

 hot." 



" But," said he, " I paint my covers all white." 



"Yes. we noticed that. As your hives are 

 principally double-walled, the ocher tint would 

 have the advantage; and painting the covers 

 white would render them nearly as acceptable 

 to the bees as any cover could be." 



We hope, in a few more numbers, to present 

 you a picture of Mr. Burt's apiary— not because 

 it is a model in its way, but because it is a 

 place where many of our new appliances will 

 be tested, and the reports made in Gleanings. 

 Mr. B. is a honey- producer. That is his prin- 

 cipal business, although he has a farm of 25 

 acres that he runs in connection with the bees. 

 A honey- producer is in position to test certain 

 appliances intended for that class of people 

 more thoroughly and more carefully than any 

 one else. One may be a good experimenter but 

 not a good honey-producer. Mr. B., as nearly 

 as we can judge, combines the best qualities of 

 both. 



On page 635 of this issue, Mr. J. D. Fooshe, 

 who raises for us in the South so many queens, 

 gives some valuable improvements which he 

 has made in queen-rearing. The idea of using 

 drone comb for queen-cell cups is as novel as it 

 is unique. If it will work successfully with 

 others it will prove to be quite a boon. Queen- 

 breeders will do well to read his article care- 

 full v; and we hope that many of them will 

 give his method a test before the season is over, 

 and report for Gleanings. 



THE WELSH FOB THE WORD "BEE." 



The editor of Y Drych, a Welsh paper print- 

 ed in Utica, N. Y.. kindly informs us that the 

 word bee in Welsh is gwenynen; bees, gwenyn; 

 honey-bees, mel-wenyn; a honey-bee, mel-we- 

 nynen; the honey-bee. y fel-wenynen; the hon- 

 ey-bees, y mel-wenyn. 



TWO SWABMS UNITE WITHOUT A QUEEN, AGAIN. 



As an additional proof of our proposition 

 some time ago. that swarms in the air, without 

 queens, are not nearly so apt to unite, the fol- 

 lowing, just received, will speak for itself: 



In regard to wliat Mr. Hutchinson says on page 

 ■ 614, about swarms without queens returning and 



going int« the wrong hive, I wisli to say tliat, for 

 tlie last ten years, I have liad aU my queens chpped, 

 and never knew a swarm to go back into any other 

 liive tiian their own. During tliat time I have 

 averaged about 40 colonies eacli year. I can not 

 see wliy Mi-. Taylor's bees should act so differently 

 from mine. John Ma.jor. 



Cokeville, Pa., Aug. 4. 



Remember, we do not say that swarms will 

 (iluutys go back to their hive when not accom- 

 panied by the queen. We are simply trying to 

 get at the general rule. It may appear that no 

 particular importance attaches to this; but if 

 swarms are less apt to unite when the queen of 

 the parent colony is clipped, it is one point in 

 favor of clipping, or, what maybe practically 

 the same thing, using drone-guards or Alley 

 traps over the entrances. Let's have reports. 



THE BUSINESS OF COLLECTING POSTAGE- 

 STAMPS. 



One of our subscribers, Mr. H. A. Bricker, of 

 Bellevue, Pa., who makes a business of collect- 

 ing stamps, suggests to me, in a pleasant letter, 

 that I probably made a mistake, and that those 

 who collect stamps at the present time do not 

 let them go into the hands of those who would 

 defraud the government. He explains that a 

 collection of the stamps that have been used in 

 the United States, since they were first intro- 

 duced, teaches us both history, geography, and 

 politics, besides giving ns excellent portraits of 

 some of America's best and greatest men; and, 

 further, that this craze for stamps teaches the 

 child, man, or woman, a great deal that they 

 might not have known otherwise. The boy 

 who is a stamp-collector will often know very 

 much more than his teacher, in regard to mat- 

 ters connected with the history and politics of 

 our country. I am always glad to be corrected. 

 I will simply say that I got my information in 

 regai'd to the matter of passing canceled stamps 

 from no less authority than the Scientific 

 American. As a proof of what friend Bricker 

 says, he tells us that one-cent stamps used be- 

 fore 1870 are worth 3 cts. each: five and ten 

 cent stamps, 15 cts. each, etc. Of course, no- 

 body would advertise to pay more than tlie 

 face value of a stamp, if he were going to try to 

 defraud the government by using it again. 



POTATO-BUGS — THE OLD-FASHIONED KIND 

 THAT FLY. 



Since the dry weather, the new old-fashioned 

 bugs, or old new-fashioned bugs, as you may 

 choose to call them, have been doing a great 

 deal of mischief in our vicinity. I remember of 

 seeing them when I was a boy. between thirty 

 and forty years ago: but the later generation 

 hardly seems to know what to make of them; 

 and. in fact, they are getting to be a rather 

 serious problem with the old as well as with 

 the young potato-growers. On our ranch we 

 tried pyrethrum. then Paris green; but as that 

 did not seem to bother the bugs very much we 

 began to drive them off as we used to do years 

 •ago. This, however, is too slow and uncertain. 

 They come back again and do a pile of damage 

 in just a little while. Finally I told the boys 

 to take hoes, sticks, and their feet, and just 

 '• make 'em sick." That did the business. You 

 lake a man with big feet, and he can get away 

 with a good lot of bugs by trampling them in 

 the dirt. Where the ground is as soft as ours 

 is, however, lie has got to give his heel or toe a 

 twist, or Mr. Bug will get up, shake off the 

 dust, and scamper off, not very much hurt. I 

 wrote to friend Terry, and told him I wanted 

 to know right away what to do — that is, if 

 there was any thing better than our way. He 

 says he does not know that he can help us 

 much. He says, however, after driving them 



