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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



the principle that the world is broad enough 

 for all, even along the line of ihe supply busi- 

 ness. And what I have said of Gleanings and 

 its DQanagers I find equally true of nearly all of 

 the other bee-papers and their managers. 



I should like to say many other things re- 

 garding the thoughts brought out in Skylark's 

 article in the July 1st number of Gleanings, 

 showing how he is wrong in his ideas of over- 

 production; what has been the real cause of 

 the hard times to bee-keepers and in our nation; 

 how I can not afford to attend bee-conventions 

 as I used to, on account of having to pay three 

 times the amount in car fare, when measured 

 in honey, that I did in the seventies, etc.; but 

 space will not permit, neither would all of it be 

 appropriate for a bee-journal. The time has 

 come for deep thought regarding the evils 

 which have crept into our midst, and bee-keep- 

 ers should lead the way toward reform by 

 "quitting themselves like men," and by taking 

 an advanced position by voice, by ballot, and 

 on the printed page. 



[I desire to take no sides in this discussion; 

 but it might be well to state that a newspaper 

 clipping, especially one that is anonymous, is 

 not a reliable or a uthoritative source of inform- 

 ation. In saying this I am not implying that the 

 statement regarding the number of farms is or 

 is not right. As the whole question borders 

 closely on politics, and is out of our legitimate 

 line, the discussion, now that both sides have 

 been represented, should end where it is.— Ed.] 



xd^^i 



BEE - MAKTINS; HOW THEY ARE SOMETIMES 

 STUNG IN THE THROAT. 



Seeing an article in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal about the bee-martin, and chancing a few 

 days later to kill a couple of these birds, I de- 

 cided to hold a post-mortem examination so as 

 to ascertain what became of the stings. The 

 first bird dissected showed that he had eaten 

 fifteen working bees, two of which had stung 

 him in the throat. The other bird showed that 

 he was more of an expert at swallowing bees; 

 for out of twelve bees he had eaten, not one had 

 stung him. E. L. Rogers. 



Healdsburg, Cal. 



[I have always wondered whether the birds 

 were not stung, and I am not surprised that one 

 at least was paid back for his fun. Another 

 query arises, whether the stings, when receiv- 

 ed in the throat or mouth, have any bad effect 

 on his birdship. — Ed.] 



BASSWOOD AN ENTIRE FAILURE— WHY? 



Basswood opened June 28, and blossomed 

 more profusely than before in ten years. I was 

 ready with 100 swarms of bees, but not one 

 drop of honey was gathered from it. Bees did 

 not visit the blossoms at all after their opening. 



The weather was all that could be asked for; 

 but why it failed to secrete honey I do not know. 



Last season, with only an occasional tree 

 blossoming, and that very sparsely, we got a 

 fine crop of honey, and here we are in the midst 

 of the famous great basswood-belt of Wiscon- 

 sin, obliged to report a failure with every thing 

 apparently favorable. Why is it? 



E. A. Morgan. 



Chippewa Falls, Wis., July 11. 



working two QUEENS IN ONE COLONY'— CAN 

 IT BE DONE? 



Will you answer through Gleanings what 

 would be the result of placing two queens in 

 one hive, with perforated zinc in center, also on 

 top? Would both colonies work together in 

 super? T. N. Briggs. 



Marion, Mass., July 30. 



[The plan you speak of has been practiced to 

 some extent. In some cases it has seemed to 

 work satisfactorily, making apparently an in- 

 crease in the strength of the colony, and in the 

 amount of honey secured. It has been tested 

 more fully in England, but of late I have seen 

 but little of it. Under some circumstances it 

 can be made to work satisfactorily — at least 

 quite a few reported having done so in our col- 

 umns some two years ago.— Ed] 



another bee keepers CONGRESS CALLED 

 FOR. 



During the last few weeks I have been in cor- 

 respondence with some of the parties connected 

 with the Tennessee Centennial, for the purpose 

 of ascertaining to what extent they are going 

 to encourage an apicultural exhibit; and up to 

 this time I am unable to give any thing defi- 

 nite as a result of the correspondence. How- 

 ever, I expect, during the coming week, to 

 know more about what my old home State will 

 do toward recognizing the bee and honey in- 

 dustry in the celebration of her one hundredth 

 anniversary. 



I am well satisfied, though, that there will be 

 sufficient encouragement to call for a general 

 recognition by the bee-keepers of the United 

 States — yes, of the entire world — and the object 

 of this communication is to suggest what I 

 think would be a very interesting and benefi- 

 cial movement on the part of combined bee- 

 dom. Let's all. with one consent, pick our- 

 selves up and hold a " National Bee-keepers' 

 Congress" at Nashville, some time during the 

 centennial, which opens on the first of May, 

 1897, and continues six months. There are 

 matters of great importance that could be con- 

 sidered at such a meeting; and taking into 

 consideration the attractions, which will be 

 quite to the advantage of the meeting, I am of 

 the opinion we can, between now and next 

 summer, work up one of the greatest bee-keep- 

 ers' meetings that was ever held. 



Some, who are of a prejudiced turn, may say, 

 "No, our National B. K. Union, or the North 



