1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



6? 



weather set in, my rheumatism disappeared almost 

 entirely. Are we to think from that, that wet 

 weather is a cure for rheumatism? 

 Wyoming, Ont., Nov. 26, 1889. A. Ddncan. 



Friend I)., we should say, from your re- 

 port in regard to bee-stings, that they were 

 certainly not always of benefit in cases of 

 rheumatism ; but when you speak of rheu- 

 matism being better in wet weather, we 

 should be inclined to say you didn't have 

 rheumatism at all ; or if you did, it must 

 have been a sort of contrary kind. Damp- 

 ness has always been considered bad for 

 rheumatism, so far as I know. 



ALFALFA IN KANSAS. 



I have 30 colonies to transfer for a neighbor who 

 is tired of the box and log hive. What time in the 

 spring, early or late, would be best for doing the 

 transferring? Three crops of alfalfa were cut here 

 this season, without irrigation. We have had very 

 fine weather so far, as there has not been a day 

 this month when the bees did not fly, and fill the 

 air with their merry hum. We were much pleased 

 with the "Picture Gallery " in Gleanings for Dec. 

 la, and heartily wish you success. 



McFarland, Kan., Dec. '21. M. H. Littleton. 



Transfer in the spring during apple 

 bloom. For particulars, see •' Transferring " 

 in A B C of Bee Culture. 



" Canuck," as applied to our Canadian 

 friends, as has appeared in our columns. 

 As you very kindly intimate, it was an unin- 

 tentional mistake, one that will not occur 

 again in our columns, and we hope not else- 

 where. 



^EP0RTg ENC6a^^6IN6. 



HOW an investment of *230 brought in $46.5; 

 alfalfa. 



I invested $230 in bees last March. I sold bees 

 and honey to the amount of $455, and have 32 

 swarms in good.; condition for winter. Bees in this 

 part get the most of their surplus from alfalfa, 

 there being an abundance of it here. J. W. Bell. 



Mancos, Col. 



AN AVERAGE OF 140 LBS. FROM 67 COLONIES. 



Sixty-seven colonies, spring count, gave me with- 

 in a few pounds of 4 tons of extracted and 13~0 lbs. 

 comb honey, the latter in 1-lb. sections, or nearly 

 140 lbs. for each colony, and an abundance to winter 

 on. Last year my average was about 125 lbs. each. 

 I do not claim this is any thing extraordinary, but 

 it is a high average for this country. 



Turin, la., Dec. 23, 1889. J. M. Hathaway. 



GETTING RID OF ALFALFA. 



Can alfalfa be plowed and killed out, if it should 

 be desirable to do so? A. A. Sanborn. 



Westfleld, Mass., Dec. 16. 



Although I have not had any experience 

 in this line, I feel quite sure that alfalfa can 

 be plowed under, just like any other clover. 

 Of course, the roots go very much deeper 

 than you plow ; but I am quite certain that 

 it will not come up again if a fair sod is 

 turned under. Will some of our alfalfa- 

 growing friends tell me whether I am right V 



A correction on THE USE OF TERMS. 



I want to correct a mistake which you, in common 

 with some other of our American brethren, are in 

 the habit of falling into. On more than one occasion 

 you have referred to Ontario bee-keepers as 

 " Canucks." You are evidently not aware that this 

 term is applicable only to the hahitans of Quebec— 

 in other words, to French Canadians. " Johnny 

 Canuck," arrayed in his blanket, coat, capoo, and 

 tasseled night - cap, is typical only of the old 

 viyyageum of Lower Canada, and is in no way ap- 

 plicable to the people of Ontario. As well might 

 you apply the term Yankee to the natives of Virgin- 

 ia or Mississippi as "Canucks" to the major portion 

 of the Canadian people. 



On several occasions you refer to Mr. J. B. Hall as 

 a Scotchmam. I have always believed him to be a 

 genuine "John Bull," and I think he is sufficiently 

 "English, you know," to prefer being spoken of as 

 such. Canadian, I think, is the appellation he likes 

 best. This is not in a spirit of fault finding, but 

 rather to correct unintentional mistakes. 

 Owen Sound, Jan. 6, 1890. K. McKnight. 



We were under the impression that Mr. 

 Hall said he was a Scotchman ; but whether 

 he be a "Johnny Bull," a Scotchman, or a 

 Canadian, it is all good blood. We certain- 

 ly beg pardon for the use of the term 



$.520 FROM THE BEES. 



We had 50 colonies this spring to start with, near- 

 ly all in good condition, and increased to 69. We 

 lost one this fall by robbing, and now have 68 put 

 away into winter quarters, in good condition. We 

 got 5169 sections of comb honey, and sold the most 

 of it for lU cts. a section. It made us a little over 

 $520. They made an average of 76 sections to the 

 hive. J. A. Kennedy. 



Farmingdale, 111 , Dec. 23. 



HOPEFUL prospects IN CALIFORNIA. 



The heavy rains in California, and especially in 

 this part of the State, have done great damage to 

 all railroads— so much so that no mails have been 

 received at Los Angeles or San Diego from the east 

 for eight days, and none are expected for some 

 time. I am in hopes to send this letter by boat via 

 San Francisco. The Jessie strawberries are now in 

 fruit and bloom. 1 think that, in this climate, they 

 will be perpetual bearers. The outlook for the 

 next honey crop was never better. There is a large 

 increase in the number of acres sown to grain this 

 season over last. Crops are looking fine, and farm- 

 ers are happy. W. G Baker. 



San Diego, Cal., Dec. 27, 1889. 



FROM 82 TO 155, and 4600 POUNDS OF HONEY. 



I commenced the season with k2 colonies, and in- 

 creased to 155. The season was very wet, cold, and 

 backward. Up to June 1.5, bees had to be fed up. 

 I made 2500 lbs. of white-clover honey in 1 lb. sec- 

 tions, which I sold for 12i/4 cents per pound, and 

 2100 pounds of extracted, mostly on hand now. I 

 put 100 colonies into the cellar, November 38, and 

 since then we have had very fine weather. Bees 

 have had a tilght almost every other day, and are 

 in splendid condition. The day before Christmas I 

 united 20 colonies with others having young queens.. 

 It was 60° in the shade. Plowing was going on yes- 

 terday around here. It froze some last night, but 

 it is warm to-day. Those in cellar have kept very 

 quiet so far. W. Addenurooke. 



North Prairie, Wis., Dec. 27. 



