1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



5G5 



value of the food for pasture is but a small 

 item compared with those trees. They 

 grow so rapidly that it is going to be one of 

 the most promising trees to raise for timber. 

 Many of ours planted, 18 years ago, would 

 now make a nice lot of sections, and cutting 

 them off would harm the root scarcely at all, 

 for young shoots start out with astonishing 

 rapidity, and these young shoots produce 

 both blossoms and timber in a very few 

 years. 



■ ^ 



SPRAYING BLOSSOMS, ETC. 



ANOTHER CAUTION IN REGARD TO THE USE OF 

 ARSENITE8. 



group. One, Datamia pallipex, is said to feed on 

 bed-bug-8, while we know that the species in ques- 

 tion feeds on bees. The habits of the others have 

 not been described. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich., July 8. 



Geo. E. Hovey, Holland, Lucas Co., Ohio, has a 

 cranberry marsh. The blossoms are still attracting 

 the bees, but the cranberry fruit-moth is already 

 engaged in laying her eggs. He wishes to know if 

 he may spray his vines with the arsenites while the 

 bees are still at work. I should advise never to 

 spray any blossoms on which bees work. It is nev- 

 er safe. The fact that both brood and mature bees 

 are poisoned by such a course makes it seem dan- 

 gerous to do this. Who knows but there may be 

 enough poison to make the honey poisonous to 

 man? I should not wish to purchase such honey. 

 In most cases it will be time enough to apply the 

 poisons after the blossoms cease to attract the bees. 

 I would advise Mr. Hovey to try the kerosene emul- 

 sion. Very likely that would be as effective as 

 the arsenites, and that would be safe. If that does 

 not kill the larva? I would suggest the useof bu- 

 hach. These would very likely effect a remedy for 

 the pests, and they certainly would do no harm. 



THE CALIFORNIA BEE-KILX/ER. 



Some years ago the late Mr. Enos sent me a curi- 

 ous animal of the scorpion group, which he stated 

 was a serious enemy of the bees. Except it is so 

 rare it would be a terrible pest. Now, Mr. R. A. 

 Hadly, of Fillmore, Ventura Co., sends m e another 

 of the same species. He says he had kept it for 

 some days, and fed it on bees. It ate nine in one 

 day, and some of these were drones. He says, "I 

 put several bees into the cage with it, but I sup- 

 pose they will all be disposed of before it reaches 

 you." 



Mr. H. was quite correct. The bees were all de- 

 voured, and the datames was dead. Indeed, it look- 

 ed lank and shriveled, and as though it really died 

 of starvation, which I dare say was the case. I 

 have described this curious animal, with illustra- 

 tions, on p. 431, last edition of my Bee-keeper's 

 Guide. The excellent cut— Fig. 321— gives a very 

 correct idea of this strange specimen. I named it 

 the California bee-killer. It is a datames, possibly 

 Datames Cnlifornicus. It seems to have four jaws. 

 Each jaw is divided horizontally, and these peculiar 

 pincer-like jaws— see figure in bee-book— are very 

 formidable-looking organs. 



This unique specimen belongs to the spider sub- 

 class, as is seen by its eight legs, simple eyes, and 

 the absence of antcnnsp. Its long-jointed abdomen 

 and palpi, which look like a fifth pair of legs, place 

 It in the scorpion order, or pedipalpi, so named be- 

 cause the palpi resemble true legs. Thus the spe- 

 cies and its group are related to the scorpions, whip 

 scorpions, of which we had so much last year, and 

 the harvest-men, or grandfather graybeards. The 

 family is Salpulgidce, a small and little-known 



SELLING SECHETS FOR A SUM OF 

 MONEY. 



A FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE SUBJECT. 



The amount of correspondence, pro and 

 con, in regard to this matter seems to call 

 for something still further on this subject. 

 I may say, however, that the greater part of 

 the communications indorse the stand 

 taken by GLEANiXiiS. Perhaps half a doz- 

 en letters liave been received on the other 

 side all together ; and of those half-dozen, at 

 least four are from ministers of the gospel. 

 These are more lengthy than the others, 

 and some of them take Gleanings to task 

 quite severely. Please let me give you a lit- 

 tle of my experience in purchasing secrets. 



When 1 was a boy in my teens, away from 

 home, I met an agent wlio had a wonderful 

 secret for making burning-fluid. To show 

 me that it was non-explosive he unscrewed 

 the top of the lamp, plunged a lighted match 

 in it, rolled the lamp on the floor while burn- 

 ing, and performed various other tricks, un- 

 til I was so excited that 1 gave him my 

 watch, all the money I had in my pocket, 

 and would probably have given my boots 

 too had he not said that, under the circum- 

 stances, he would let me have the secret 

 without them. When I went to a druggist 

 to have it put up he told me that my com- 

 pound was simply ordinary camphene. 

 Some annotto was added to make it look 

 yellow like oil, and some alum was put in to 

 make it non- ex plosive, which did nothing of 

 the kind. The camphene would explode, 

 exactly like any other camphene or burning- 

 fluid, when the lamp was nearly empty, as I 

 demonstrated to my sorrow, before an au- 

 dience of people. A lamp filkd with any 

 thing can not explode. The agent who took 

 my watch and money falsified, and humbug- 

 ged me in every particular. 



Some years afterward, when I was a jew- 

 eler carrying on a shop of my own, a 

 smooth-tongued chap came into the store 

 with a piece of common iron rod for a cane. 

 On the end of this rod was a coating of sil- 

 ver, perhaps as thick as a silver dime. He 

 informed me that he had a secret for silver- 

 plating that would put silver on to iron or 

 any other metal, in any desired thickness, 

 in a few minutes, and that the silver tip on 

 his iron rod was done by the process. 1 be- 

 came excited as before. As I hadn't very 

 much money I scraped up my money and 

 valuables in the attempt to raise $50.00 to 

 buy the secret. Remembering my former 

 experience, however, I made a bargain be- 

 fore witnesses, that, after reading over his 

 recipe, if I did not consider it reasonable 

 he was to let me off, or coat the other end 

 of the iron in a like manner right before me^ 

 and show me how it was done. He was go- 

 ing to put the things in his pocket, but I 

 bade him hold on. When I came to read 



