900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



the sections were mixed togethei". the qualitj' of 

 the honey in either case being tlie same. It is 

 i[nite possible that you first removed the sec- 

 tions of white capped honey by accident, and, 

 later, pulled out some with darker cappings. 

 In any event, the white capping should not 

 turn yellow in so short a time out of the hive. 



WHAT IS A "HONEY-QITEEN "? 



I should like to know what is meant by a 

 honey-qneen, as I have noticed advertisements 

 in (ri"i:ANiXGS where they have stated that they 

 have such for sale. C. A. Dick.ma>jn. 



Gehm, Mo., Nov. 24. 



What we mean by honey-queens is queens 

 whose progeny rather excel in honey-gathering 

 qualities, their color and that of the bees being 

 secondary, although showing at least three yel- 

 low bands. Honey-queens that are sold are 

 raised from some queen whose progeny has ex- 

 celled the others in the apiary for real work. 

 It is possible that the bees of such queens may 

 not duplicate those of their mother; but as 

 they are bred from that sort of stock the chances 

 are pretty good. 



THE COLUMBIAN FAIK. 



We take pleasure in copying the following 

 from the pen of Dr. A. B. Mason, as it appeared 

 in the American Bee Journal for Nov. 29: 



Friend Neiviium: — I sent a portion of my ad- 

 dress, read at Keokuk, to the Director-General 

 of the VVorld's Columbian Fair, and a part of 

 the reply, received yesterday, reads as follows: 



In response. I have the honor to say, that at the 

 present time it is not possible to give you definite in- 

 formation as to the plan of organization of such a 

 cleparlnH'nt, f vither than to say, tliat the bee-culture 

 in<lustry will be amply provided for in the classifica- 

 tion of exhibits. Your letter will be filed for consider- 

 atii)n at an early date when this subject is acted upon. 

 I remain yours very truly. 



Geo. R. Davis, Director-General. 



I should like to suggest that the President or 

 Secretary of each State Eee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion let me know, at once, about the amount of 

 space the bee-keepers of their State will be like- 

 ly to want at the Columbian Fair. 



I expect to ask for about 3000 square feet of 

 space for Ohio: and if the other States that 

 should exhibit will do so in proportion, we shall 

 need from 100,000 to 150,000 feet of space, and 

 will " astonish the natives" with the magnitude 

 of the display. 



Ill a " P. S.," Gen. Davis says: "We will soon 

 send you classification and ap])lication for space," 

 so it will be seen there is no time to lose. 



Let each State society at its next meeting 

 choose a committee to have charge of getting up 

 the State exhibit, and the securing of an appro- 

 priation by their next Legislature to defray ex- 

 penses, foi- it will take money to make a credit- 

 abb^ dis|)lay. 



If any should write me for any information 

 they will do me a favor if they will inclose one 

 or moi'e stamps for a reidy; and then be sure- to 

 sign thei)' name to tlicii- letter. Yonrs truly, 



A. E. Mason. 



INCENDIAIUEK IN THE HANDS OF THE I-AW. 



Mr. R()<>t:—\ am glad to inform you that I 

 have succeeded in arresting the boy who set tire 

 to our shops last spiing. There were two of 

 them. One is now at the State Industrial 

 School at Waukesha. He made a full confes- 



sion; and as s(X)u as the other boy was arrested 

 he also confessed, telling tiie same story as the 

 Ixty at Waukesha. They say ihey simply want- 

 ed to see a great fire. ()ne"is eleven years of 

 age, and the other thirteen. T am very glad to 

 kiuiw how the iii'e started, and to know it was 

 not done thi'oiigii any enmity. 

 Watertown. Wis., Dec. 4. (J. B. Lewis & Co. 



We are very glad indeed, friends, to kiio\\' that 

 you have got hold of the culprits; yet it seems 

 a sad. sad thing to find that boys only eleven and 

 thirteen years old are abroad in our land who 

 can be guilty of such a terrible crime. Surely 

 these boys have been neglected. My first 

 thought was, " Were they in the Sunday-school 

 and in the day-school?" Do tliey have laws in 

 Wisconsin compelling people of that age to get 

 an education whether they will or not? We, 

 too, rejoice to know that it was not through any 

 jealousy or envy at your success as business 

 men. 



the dovetailed HIVE EASY TO SET UP. 



The Dovetailed hives, etc., have been received 

 in good order. I think I shall like them better 

 than the Simplicities, because they are lighter, 

 cheaper, and easier to set up. 



BISULPHIDE OF CAKBON FOR ANTS. 



I notice in Nov. 1 Gleanings that Mr. W. F. 

 Elliott, of Clio, Tex., desires a remedy for red 

 ants. Let him try the bisulphide of carbon, so 

 often mentioned by Prof. Cook. Directions: 

 Pour about a pint into the hole; cover for about 

 a minute, then explode the vapor that has form- 

 ed, by burning a rag tied to a stick, and close 

 up the hole air-tight. They call it ant-poison 

 here. It is excellent for killing night, or cut- 

 ting ants. 



.JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 



In spring I sowed .5 lbs. of Japanese buck- 

 wheat on about I acre of rich land, fi-om which 

 I harvested 3 bushels. September 12th nearly a 

 peck was sown on the same ground, which 

 yielded almost four bushels. The bees worked 

 on it in great numbers in the morning. 



Yorktown, Tex.. Nov. 29. R. Wp;stphal. 



WAKRANTED QUEENS. 



1. If a queen-breeder guarantees or warrants 

 untested queens purely mated, and some of his 

 queens sent out should show two and three yel- 

 low bands (no black bees at all), would such 

 queens be calletl mismated? 2. Should such 

 queens be replaced, under above conditions? 



High Hill, Mo., Nov. 3. J. N. S. 



Yes. to both questions, most assuredly. Un- 

 less a queen produces (ill three-banded bees, 

 she is mismated. See our ABC book. 



STRAWBERRY-GROWING IN FLORIDA. 



Friend Root: — I would say, in reply to your 

 comments on my letter in the Nov. 1st Glean- 

 ings, that tiie berries bear only one season, and 

 are then turned under, and young plants set 

 again. The long bearing season exhausts the 

 old plants so that they are of no value for 

 another crop. I have nevei- had berries for 

 Thanksgiving or Christmas, but for New Years 

 day we liave had them. We have Jessie. Bii- 

 bach, Indiana, and Nunan — the latter the main 

 variety planted in Florida — all growing finely; 

 and to-day we are having a steady i-ain that 



