22 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



persuaded that they were being robbed. I 

 contracted the entrance, but it seemed to 

 make little difference ; I finally closed it al- 

 most entirely, compelling the bees to squeeze 

 out and in, in a way that must have been 

 quite uncomfortable , at least. After awhile , 

 they calmed down, and we had only the or- 

 dinary number of bees going out and in. 

 "There," thought I, "if I had not read the 

 hooks and known how, I might have lost my 

 bees," and I presume I felt very wise, if I 

 did not look so. On turning my head, behold 

 the robbers were at another colony, and they 

 had to be put through the same programme; 

 then another, and another; and I concluded 

 a host of robbers had come from somewhere, 

 and made a raid on my apiary, and that had 

 I not been on hand, the whole of them would 

 have been ruined. I had got very nervous 

 and fidgetty, and when I found the whole 

 performance repeated the next day, I began 

 to think bee-culture a very trying pursuit. 

 Well, in due course of time, I figured out 

 that there was no robbing at all, but that it 

 was just the young bees taking their after- 

 noon play spell. Since then, I do not know 

 how many of the ABC class have gone 

 through the same, or a similar experience, 

 and it is but a few days since I saw our min- 

 ister and his wife out by a hive, closing it up, 

 to stop the robbers that were making a raid 

 on it. On my suggesting that they were 

 mistaken, they replied, "Why, the air was 

 full of them, and we could see them circling 

 about away up in the air," proving conclu- 

 sively to me, that it was the young bees play- 

 ing, as I have said before. The directions I 

 have given for distinguishing robbing bees 

 from the ordinary inmates of the hive, will 

 enable you to tell whether it is playing or 

 robbing ; but, as the books had not described 

 the afternoon play spell that young bees al- 

 ways take in suitable weather, I was some- 

 what excusable. 



B.AFE (Brassica). This plant is a near 

 relative of the turnip, cabbage, mustard etc. 

 All of them yield honey largely, where' 

 grown in sufficient quantities. As rape is 

 the only one of which the seed is utilized for 

 purposes other than for increase, it should 

 play a prominent part on the honey farm. 

 It would seem, in fact, that it is almost the 

 only plant that should stand beside buck- 

 wheat, or rather perhaps above it, for the 

 honey from the rape is very much superior 

 to buckwheat honey. The great drawback 

 is the lack of hardiness of the young plants, 

 when they first come up. In our locality, 

 the black flea is almost sure to eat the ten- 



der green leaves when they first make their 

 appearance. Our neighbors have several 

 times tried considerable fields of it, but 

 though it would come up nicely, this flea 

 would take off almost every plant. In other 

 localities, we have had reports of bountiful 

 crops of seed, and honey enough so that the 

 bees worked beautifully in the surplus re- 

 cepticles. Like buckwheat, it commences 

 to blossom when quite small, and continues 

 in bloom until the plant has gained its full 

 height. As it will bloom in 20 days after 

 sowing, it may be sowed almost any time in 

 the simmer; but it is said to escape the rav- 

 ages of the flea best, when sown between 

 the ;X)i.h of June, and the first of July. The 

 ground should be very finely pulverized, for 

 the seeds are very small. It is sown broad- 

 cast, 3 lbs. of seed to the acre. There is a 

 steady and good demand for the seed, for 

 feeding" canary birds, as well as for the man- 

 ufacture of oil. Bee-keepers should contrive 

 to induce seedsmen to have all these seeds 

 raised near them, or on their own grounds. 

 Dealers in bird seed should also be furnished 

 in the same way, for these things are often 

 raised in large quantities, where there are 

 few, if any, bees to gather the honey. 

 From what I have said on pollen, you 

 will understand that both parties would be 

 benefitted by the arrangement. 



RASIV ERRY Where this fruit is 

 raised largely for the market, it is quite an 

 important honey plant; but it would hardly 

 be advisable to think Oil raising it for honey 

 alone. The bees work on it closely in our 

 locality, but we have not enough of it to 

 judge of the honey. If bee-keepers and 

 growers of small fruits could manage to lo- 

 cate near each other, it woidd probably be 

 an advantage to both. Langstroth says of 

 the raspberry honey: "In flavor, it is supe- 

 rior to that from white clover, while its deli- 

 cate comb almost melts in the mouth. 

 AVhen it is in blossom, bees hold even white 

 clover in light esteem. Its drooping blos- 

 soms protec t the honey from moisture, and 

 they work upon it when the weather is so 

 wet they can obtain nothing from the up- 

 right blossoms of the white clover." 



In our locality, it comes in bloom just af- 

 ter fruit blossoms, and just before clover, so 

 that large fields of it would be a great acqui- 

 sition indeed. 



RATAN This plant has been several 

 times spoken of by our southern friends, and 

 it is probably quite an important honey 

 plant. Some seed has been sent me, but no 

 plants have as yet been raised. I will give 

 farther reports, as soon as I can. 



