1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



603 



no time for all this labor and risk. Also, friend 

 Root, how do you nianajre that queens are purely 

 mated, having these black, cross, selBsh btes in the 

 apiary or vicinity with your Italians'? 

 Mechanicstown, Md., July 11. S. P. Rodddy. 



We were short of bees last spring, and ac- 

 cordingly purchased a few colonies of some 

 neighboring farmers, a part of which were 

 hybrid, and of a rather bad sort. How did 

 we prevent the hybrid droLes from mating 

 with our young queens? Easily enough. 

 The old hybrid queens were soon removed, 

 and Alley traps were placed over the en- 

 trances to catch all undesirable drones. All 

 this we have explained in Gleanings. But 

 a few of the old ugly hybrid bees are with 

 us yet. They can't do any other harm than 

 to sting, and next year we won't be pestered 

 with them. We would hardly take hybrids 

 again as a gift for our purpose, though they 

 are just as good for honey. 



WHAT A BOY HAS HEARD AS A REMEDY FOR BEE- 

 STINGS. 



I have heard that, if a bee tries lo sting you, and 

 you hold your hreath, it can U'>t sir g you. If this 

 is true, it is a good discovery. I like bees and like 

 to handle them; but sometimes they sit down too 

 hard to please me. I like to read Gleanings, and 

 some time I expect to raise bees. 



Huron, Cal., July 19. Albert R. Gilstrap. 



Yes, we have heard this before. It is an- 

 other relic of old-fogyism. The best way to 

 prove or disprove such foolishness is to try 

 it when bees are awful cross. Send the old 

 fogy up here ; and if he doesn't recant, it 

 will be strange. 



CAN bees live in NORTHERN MICHIGAN? 



Do you think bees would thrive here where it is 

 not uncommon in winter for the mercury to go 15' 

 below zero, and sometimes 25° to 30° below? It has 

 been known to stand below zsro continuously for 

 nearly a week. E. W. Allen. 



Mai-quette, Mich., July V. 



Yes, bees will do well enough, we think. 

 Perhaps some bee-keeper in the vicinity can 

 inform our friend. The only trouble will be 

 in wintering; but if you use the Ijest meth- 

 ods of indoor, or even outdoor, you ought to 

 succeed. 



TOBACCO AS A BEE FORAGE PLANT. 



I feel rather timid in recommending you to try 

 tobacco. In Its manufactured state it is, of course, 

 used to the injury of many, but in its original and 

 beautiful form I know of but few, if any, plants 

 superior, if one may judge from the vim and indus- 

 try with which the bees frequent it from morning 

 light to close of day, from one year's end to the oth- 

 er, winter and summer. We have a temperate 

 climate here, scarcely any frost, and some of the 

 General Grant Virginian kinds are now growing 

 spontaneously (that is, without cultivation) about 

 my poultry-yards and stock-yards, attaining the 

 size of trees, almost, having stems three and four 

 inches through, and flowering every day in the 

 year. C. T. Wren."' 



Mt. Hobsoii, Remucra, Auckland, N. Z., March :U. 



from work. After practicing upon myself for 

 about two months, with the remedies usual in such 

 ca^es. and getting no relief, I concluded to try the 

 bee remedy, and commenced applying from one to 

 two to the part affected, three times a day. The 

 effect was so very beneficial, that, after the first 

 day, I was enabled to resume my work upon my 

 place, and after two weeks I was entirely cured. 

 I used Italians hypodermically, making them 

 do the work themselves by holding them with a 

 small pair of forceps to the part selected for the 

 operation. It is nt edless to say, that the bees seem 

 to understand this practice thoroughly. 

 Villa Franca, Fla., July 2V. J. V. Harris, M. D. 



IMPOTENT QUEENS. 



Mr. Root: The queen that you sent that lays ster- 

 ile rggs is not very exceptional. I have had many 

 such. Even a microscopic examination shows no 

 defect. The ovaries are plump, the spermatheca 

 full, and all seemingly in proper condition. But 

 the eggs are impotent. Tiiis is interesting as bear- 

 ing on sterility in our higher animals. It is not 

 only necessary that eggs thould grow and pass 

 from the ovaries, but the eggs must be potent. 

 Thus, higher animals may pass the period of oval- 

 lation regularly, and yet be sterile. The eggs in 

 this case are sterile, or impotent. 



SAND BEES. 



I have three more beautiful sand bees from S. H. 

 Crowell, Rockford, III. These are Mdhsodes Pemi- 

 sylvanica. They are much like drone bees in size 

 and form. They are black, beautifully ringed with 

 light yellow. The hind legs are so clothed with 

 hair as to resemble a brush. This enables them to 

 gather and carry pollen. They are mason bees, dig- 

 ging holes for cells in the earth. Here they store 

 pollen, in which they place an egg or eggs. They 

 do good work fertilizing flowers. As Mr. C. re- 

 quests, I write this to Gleanings. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



j^EPei^i^^ Dipc0n^^6iN6. 



BEES FOR rheumatism A SUCCESS. 



A few months ago I was troubled with a very se- 

 vere attack of rheumatism, affecting principally 

 the left arm, and almost entirely incapacitating me 



POOREST SEASON FOR FBEKCHVILLE, WIS. 



Season for white honey is about over, and not 

 one-tenth of a crop. So far this is the poorest sea- 

 son for bees, and bee keepers too, in many years. 



Frenchville, Wis., July 28. Geo. Rall. 



HONEY CROP A TOTAL FAILURE. 



The honey crop is a total failure in this vicinity. 

 It is doubtful whether the bees will gather enough 

 to winter them. If there is a good fall crop they 

 may pull through the winter wi hout feeding. 



Lavonia, Ga., July 2H. J. J. Hardy. 



PROSPECT POOR. 



The winter was severe, and the loss was about 40 

 per cent on account of dry and hot weather, with 

 no dew. Bees gathered scarcely any thing from 

 basswood. Up to date, July 10, only three swarms 

 from 32 colonies. Fall prospects poor; in fact, it 

 looks like a total failure. Geo. W. Baldwin. 



Forest City, Mo., July 10. 



A good SUPPLY TRADE, BUT A FAILURE IN HONEY. 



This has been my very best season in the supply 

 trade. For a time I was three weeks behind with 

 orders; and now to spoil it all. my customers will 

 hardly get a pound of surplus honey to the colony^ 



