1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



887 



gras«. A pair nested this summer under a limb 

 of a Norway spruce near my front door, and it 

 was interesting to watch them brin(?ing great 

 quantities of worms and insects to their young; 

 but I have never caught them on the grapes. 



I will add that the bees paid no attention to 

 the punctured grapes this (last) season, because 

 there was a good flow of honey from heartsease 

 and goldenrod at the same time. It is only In 

 scarce times that they will go on bruised fruit. 



Pelee Island, Can., Nov. 7. 



[It is very possible that the bird that has been 

 making us the trouble in our vicinity was an 

 oriole; but it is not the Baltimore oriole, for I 

 am quite familiar with that species. I used to 

 spen 1 considerable lime with a friend who was 

 a taxidermist, in gathering specimens. I re- 

 member we once came across an oriole's nest 

 suspetided over a stream of water. He coveted 

 it, and so did I. The tree could not be climbed, 

 and how to get the nest was the problem. Lit- 

 tle dreaming that I should be able to do it I 

 boastingly said to ray friend that I would bring 

 it down for him if he would fetch the birds; 

 and, raising my rifle to my face, I aimed at ihe 

 slender twig that held the nest, some 40 feet 

 above. There was a sharp crack, and down 

 came the nest, the twig having been neatly cut 

 by the ball. I was as much surprised as my 

 friend, although I didn't say so; yet I knew 

 that it was only a " luck shot." 



The two orioles were then secured, stuffed, 

 and mounted, together with the nest. I shall 

 never forget the markings of both birds and 

 the peculiar shape of the nest secured in the 

 manner stated. For this reason I feel sure that 

 the little guilty culprit that has been punctur- 

 ing our grapes was not a Baltimore oriole, al- 

 though it might have been a near relative.— -Ed.] 



BIRDS, BEES, AND GRAPES; A FLOCK OF SPAR- 

 ROWS CAUGHT IN THE ACT. 



nMr. Root: — Replying to your article on birds, 

 bees, and grapes, page 827, 1 wish to state that, 

 during the last summer, I had 28 colonies of 

 bees located right among my grapevines, which 

 were heavily loaded with fine fruit; but I never 

 saw a bee molest the berries. However, they 

 worked some on plums that the birds had first 

 punctured. This was done by the jay birds 

 mostly. It is very seldom that I see a sparrow 

 on my premises. I usually pick them off with 

 a 22 rifle, and the remaining ones seem to take 

 the hint. My father, who lives in the little 

 town of Roselle, a mile and a half from my 

 place, and who grows a number of fine varieties 

 of grapes, called my attention to the fact that 

 the bees were working on his grapes. I told 

 him it was the English sparrow that was doing 

 the initial work, and that the bees would then 

 follow and clean up the punctured grapes. We 

 watched a while, and presently a large flock of 

 sparrows alighted on the grapevines and began 

 their work of destruction. After the sparrows 

 were gone, the bees worked on the spoiled 

 grapes. This convinced us that the birds are 

 the aggressors. The English sparrow came in 

 for his full share. There are few sparrows on 

 the farms, but the towns are full of them. 

 Roselle. la. I. W. Hoffman. 



We note that, along with other industries 

 that are starting up after election, are several 

 glucose -factories. 



Dame Nature is enlivening the hopes of bee- 

 keepers for a flow of honey in 1897 by drench- 

 ing the land with copious rains. We have al- 

 ready, Nov. 24, had about as much as we had 

 during the entire winter of 1895. 



Experiments of Sir John Lubbock prove that 

 ants are the longest lived insects known. A 

 species of ant tenderly cared for lived 1.5 years, 

 another 13 years. A queen laid fertile eggs 

 when past the age of 9 years. We might wish 

 that bees could live to the above age, but we 

 question whether it would be of any benefit. 



Mr. C. A. Hatch, of Wisconsin, is certainly 

 one of us. He intends to try at least one sea- 

 son of bee-keeping in California. He has tried 

 one season in Arizona; and with one season 

 here he will be able to decide where to locate 

 permanently. We hope it will be in California. 

 Any way. we shall use Mr. Hatch well, so that 

 he can find no fault on that score. 



For a new and economical process of render- 

 ing wax, perhaps some of our beekeepers may 

 find interest in the following: 



Please publish in the Farmers" Department a 

 recipe for making beeswax, how It is made, and 

 what process it takes; also how it is done for mar- 

 ket purposes; and if old comb would be salable. 



John Templeton. 



The wax is already made by the bees. The only 

 thing man can do is to separate it from the honey 

 and impurities. To separate from honey, put comb 

 and all into a sauce-pan, with one tablespoonful of 

 water to each ponnd of honey. Heat gently, and 

 stir occasionally with a wire until all contents are 

 melted. Do not bring to a boiling-point. Set aside 

 to cool. The cake of wax that will form may be 

 carefully lifted off with a knife. It is usually pure 

 enough without further process. 



A saucepan, teaspoon, and a wire is all that 

 is necessary. 



Aury Denillo Dimmic Wood. Any one would 

 naturally think that a person bearing the fore- 

 going name would be somewhat dwarfed, sick- 

 ly, or short-lived; but the subject under con- 

 sideration seems to thrive in spite of the name, 

 and is a tall handsome man known for short as 

 A. D. D. Wood, of Lansing, Mich. Mr. Wood 

 spent one year in California, and then returned 

 to Michigan. When he came out here he was 

 much enthused at the idea of rearing queens 

 on the beautiful Catalina Island, 25 miles off 

 our coast. He secured the right to put down 

 a queen-rearing apiary near Avalon. The 

 scheme contemplated a large apiary upon the 

 mainland, and a fertilizing apiary on the isl- 



