February, 193 8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



107 



it were not so rainy this would be the great- 

 est country in the world for bees. There 

 are thousands of acres of heather loaded 

 with nectar. The bumblebees here in a 

 good year vnll make a pailful of honey, so 

 you can imagine what a good swarm of 

 Italians run on the American plan would do. 

 Most every one here keeps a few swarms of 

 bees, many of them in the old straw skeps. 

 The heather honey has a strong odor, and 

 a pound cut in an ordinary-size room will 

 perfume it so you would almost think your- 

 self out on the moor among the flowers. The 

 honey also has a strong flavor but it is very 

 nice." — Geo. H. Daj^, Ardgory, Scotland. 



' ' In spite of all the big war news the 

 honey bee gets the entire first column on the 

 front page of the Washington, D. C, 

 Times."- — H. L. Kelly, Washington. Mr. 

 Kelly sends along a copy of the great Wash- 

 ington daily to prove his statement. 



' ' We have had a number of days with 

 temperature ranging from 40 to 60 degrees 

 above. Bees seemingly on some days are 

 gathering pollen — something very unusual. ' ' 

 —J. W. Beckley, Salem, Ore., Dec. 28. 



C. M. Sheafe, Chicago, calls attention to 

 the account of a very early bee hunt in this 

 country told of in " Astoria," by Washing- 

 ton Irving. It is to be found in Chapter 9 

 of the book, detailing a tour of the prairies. 



' ' This southern Georgia country is the 

 finest bee country I have ever seen. ' ' — -Z. 

 T. Crawford, Jesup, Ga. 



' ' I want my subscription to run the re- 

 mainder of my natural life. If I die I may 

 not be prominent enough to be mentioned, 

 but I want the journal just the same. ' ' — J. 

 G. Puett, Callbran, Colo. 



' ' As I am a reasonably good mechanic I 

 keep my hives in the best of condition. I 

 think the best is none too good for the 

 sweet little bees." — A. J. Knepp, Middle- 

 bury, Ind. 



' ' Wife says she gets nothin ' out of me 

 when I get started readin' bees." " I 

 don 't mind a sting half as much as a sting 

 bv a 'skeeter. ' ' ' — Dr. H. C. Bennett, Lima, 

 Ohio. 



" We are having high water and the 

 whole country around is flooded. People 

 drive thru water on the main highway with 

 horses and buggies and the water runs into 

 the buggy boxes. We have all the way from 

 two to a dozen such ' spells ' as that every 

 vear between November and July. ' ' — C. D. 

 Wright, Oakville, Wash., Dec. 28, 1917. 



' ' Past year a hard one on the bee men 

 here. Very light crop and colonies weak for 

 winter. ' ' — W. L. Pearson, Hermiston, Ore., 

 Jan. 3. 



" In the Mav number of Gleanings, page 

 243, for 1882, S. D. Moscher of Holly, Mich., 

 referring to A. I. Eoot's having received an 



answer to prayer, suggested that he widen 

 his field of usefulness by offering up business 

 petitions for the benefit of beekeeping. He 

 said: " Ask to have revealed to you the 

 secret of wintering bees without loss, espe- 

 cially your own, and then sell the receipt. 

 Ask about the origin of foul brood; find out 

 whether bacteria are to be feared, ' ' etc. 

 Now it was all as plain as the nose on one 's 

 face that this was all sarcasm and infidelic. 

 But it was all wasted on Mr. A. I., however, 

 for he innocently and patiently explained at 

 length why that kind of a plan would not 

 woik. ' ' Friend ' ' Moscher must have look- 

 ed a trifle wall-eyed when he read that re- 

 ply." — From a Eeminiscent Friend of Glean- 

 ings. 



' ' Thanking you for the best bee journal in 

 the world.." — Frank Campbell, Hoy, Ala, Jan. 

 10. 



" Is not M.-A.-O. a Eoot (er) too?"— M. 

 Johnston, Cayuga, Ont., Dec. 26. 



' ' Has been below zero for two weeks. 

 Have been a beekeeper 25 years, and have 

 never seen the weather so bad as this year. ' ' 

 Ray Harder, Catawissa, Pa., Jan. 4. 



' ' Will continue Gleanings as long as I 

 can read. ' ' — H. W. Bass, Riverton, Va. 



" This has been the worst winter on bees 

 in western Kentucky we have had for years. 

 Bees flying every day up to Dec. 5. On 

 Dec. 6 it was 65 above — and 48 hours later 

 it was 14 below."— M. B. Gill, Olmstead, 

 Ky., Jan. 5. 



' ' I predict heavy winter losses over this 

 part of the country. ' ' — Amos Miller, Ash- 

 land County, O., Jan. 2. 



" Mr. A. I. Root Co.: — I have been told 

 by an old cuss from N. Y. state that you 

 publish a honey bee journal. Now I would 

 like a dozen of those journals from August 

 to now down, and I can read and give them 

 away. Lots of bees in this country and hives 

 are loaded to the bottom. This old cuss 

 took up an old hive of bees for me and I got 

 as much as 100 lbs. strained honey, and the 

 bees he added to a weak Italian swarm I had 

 caught from somewhere. Beat all how he 

 handled those bees and swung them all over 

 himself, and folks around here are afraid of 

 him because he don 't get stung. No less 

 than 30 beekeepers within 7 or 8 miles of 

 here. Not one of them has ever seen a bee 

 journal. Some of the honey is bitter. Some 

 is white. He told us the difference was in 

 what it was made from. He has got us 

 all stirred up or nearly crazy. Bees now 

 are storing honey from a white blossom. He 

 the old feller says it is Seneca snakeroot. If 

 that old rascal has lied to us Southerners 

 and he comes this way again he will get 



killed 20 times or more. It is hotter 'n • 



here yet, and he said it was cold up North. 

 Well, goodbye. ' ' — S. Purgeon, Polk County, 

 Ga., Oct. 30, 1917. 



