]89() 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



713 



tliruw out honey that w as ah'oady in tlic rijiht 

 shape for winter stores, and supply its [jhic-e 

 with sugar syrup, have found out to their sor- 

 row what it cost to make the oxchan£?e. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS 



IS Tin-; GAKDEX I'AItSXIP OF MISSOl'KI T!IK 

 SIMI'SOX IIOXKY-I'I.AXT OF THE A I{ C '.' 



On |). 120. A H V. there is an illustration of tlie 

 Simpson honey-plant tliat is as mueli lil<e our 

 common garden parsni|) as two i)]ack-e\-ed 

 pea-. Any way. how is parsnijj for a honey- 

 plant? Ten or Hfte<Mi years ago we let some go 

 to seed, and it came up next year in tlie fence- 

 corners, and iu a little out-of-the way place. 

 and has kept every thing crowded out. and lias 

 not degenerated to this day. In blooming time 

 it is literally coviM'ed with bees, s\\'eat-hpes, 

 dirt-daubers, lightning-hugs. etc. You can 

 see the honey on the little pods, witii one eye 

 shut. I think if that man on page ;.'r)4 of the 

 A H C were to see it some inoi-uiug. he would 

 turn a double stimmei'sault liackward. This 

 spring it crowd(>d the path my wife used in go- 

 ing to the garden: and in oi'der to get rid of it 

 and the bees siii^ took a mowing-blade and c\it 

 off the tops. She is not afraid of a mowing- 

 blade or a hoe-haiulle. When it had been in 

 bloom quite a time, and w Ikm'c it was cut oil', it 

 threw out another set of t)ranches and bloonis. 

 and gave the bees a second crop to work on. 



J. D. VVniTTEXBrKG. 



Marshfield, Mo., Aug. ;.'5. 



Friend W.. this is a little singular. We laise 

 parsnij) seed ourselves, and have for some 

 years, but I do not remember of having evei- 

 seen a honey-bee on the bloom. I think you 

 are mistaken about the Simpson honey-plant 

 being like the parsnip. If you have the two 

 side by side yoi\ will see: but if parsnips should 

 jjroduce honey, somebody should locate near 

 where i)arsnips are grown for seed on a large 

 scal(\ 



A BK; TESTIMOXIAI. FOlt THE DOVETAILED 



HIVE AND THE SECTION-IIOEDEU StU!- 



PiaTS AKHANGEMEXT. 



I will try to get the honey ready to shi|) by 

 the middle of Septemlx')-. The bees are gather- 

 ing honey very fast now . and the prospect is good 

 for a month yet. The second crop of alfalfa is 

 in full bloom now. I haviMi't heli) enough to 

 ke(>i) up with my work. It is hard to get any one 

 here to work with bees. Everyliody seems to be 

 afraitl of them. I have one man to hel|) me. 

 We took off' over 1:.'00 lbs. of very iiicf^ honey to- 

 day, mostly out of the Dovetailed hive. This 

 hive, with sectioii-holdei's. is the best one that 

 I ever saw. If I had had all my bees in tliose 

 hives I should have secuied a third moic honey 

 this yeai'. I se(> but one fault with them: llial 

 is. the bottom-bar. If the section-holder is too 

 light it sags down wlien it is full of honey, and 

 leaves to(j much space on to[) of the section, aiui 

 the bees store in honey. I sluill want ."iiH) of the 

 Dovetailed liive this fall. W. I\. I!.\i.i,. 



Reno. Xev.. Aug. :51. 



Thanks for your kind words for the Dove- 

 tailed hive. We not(^ your criticism, and I'X- 

 pect to make the bottoms of the section-holders 

 a full (luarter-inch hereafter. 



CAX WE KEEP BEES AWAY FROM XEIGHBOK- 

 ING WATEH-TKOUGHS? 



Is there any wa.\' I can kee|) iu\' liees away 

 from my lu'ighboi's well? They keejj w ater iii 

 a trough for their stock. I have tried all I 

 know, but still they go there. I have 45 good 

 strong colonies. Tliey are about r.'tX) feet from 

 tlie well. Jonx HrHK. 



Itraceville. 111. 



I iiresume. friend !>.. a good many of our 

 readers will ask what harm the bees did. any 

 way. at the neighbor's well. Hut I presume the 

 trouble is, they are afraid of them, and imagine 

 the bees came there to sting. It may be. too, 

 that tlie childien get them on their clothing, or 

 possibly pinch them by accident; and as tlu' 

 neighbor feels annoyed, something should l)e 

 done. Well, the only thing you can do is t() 

 provide as good a watering-ijlace for the bees 

 near home: and I would do this, even if it ne- 

 cessitated digging a well of my own. Then cut 

 away all the treys or any thing else that 

 keeps the sun away, and provide a lot of 

 pebbly gravel for the bees to aliglil on 

 whih^ they are di'inking. If you wish to 

 make it handsome, put in some stones and shells. 

 Hx in. also, some varieties of moss, and I think 

 you can run a successful opposition to your 

 neighbor's well. The reason I recommend a well 

 is because nothing else, unless you have a run- 

 ning si)riiig. will afford such a constant supply 

 of just ab!)ut the kind of wetness that bees pi'c- 

 fer. 



BEESWAX FOI! MAKIX(; SfiiEAVS .\XI) XAIES 

 I'EXETUATE WOOD. 



Did you ever try putting a little beesw ax on a 

 screw or nail that you wished to drive into 

 hard wood? If not. it will be a revelation to 

 yoti. S. T. Waekei!. 



Forest (iiove. Or.. Aug. 11. 



Friend W.. what you mention is known to 

 some extent, and has been, I think, before given 

 in our back volumes. It is a very valuable fact. 

 Some time ago we purchased a new and expen- 

 sive machine for punching holes in our ABC 

 hooks for wiring the paper-covered ones. The 

 machine could not be made to work. There was 

 not power enough in the thing to push the awls 

 through such a great quantity of stiff' hard 

 l)ai)er. One of the girls, however, suggested 

 that we lirst i)ush the awls through a very 

 thick sheet of beeswax. I do not know where 

 she got the idea. but. presto ! after they had 

 been waxed they went right through the whole 

 book without anv trouble at all. 



AI.I,KX"s MlVE-srAXD. 



I like voiir phiii of an a|iiary. with a grape- 

 vine trellis at the south itf each hive, very 

 much: l)ut I think F have an improvement on 

 the foundation of the hives. I use a platform 

 :.".,\4 ft. in size, made of 's lumiier. luiiled the 

 short way. on two :.'-inch-sipuire cleats. This 

 plat form is set in the gi'ound .so that the toj) is 

 level with the lawn. The hive is placed in the 

 centi'r from side to side, and six inches from 

 the iiack. leaving, with the hive 1 use. about 1:.' 

 inches in front. The advantage it has is. that 

 it w ill not blow away in a strong breeze, as the 



