190 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



the bottle. I made a ease of tin, about 5 in. high, 

 and so large that it would just fit inside of a brood 

 frame. Over the top, I placed a box to hold the 

 sugar and flour. I have a hole through the top of 

 the case for a lamp wick, and a larger hole to till it 

 by when empty. It can be filled without taking it 

 from the hive, and will last the bees for several 

 days. J. R. Anderson. 



Washington, Ky., Apr. 15, 1879. 



THE FRUITING YUCCA. THE PLANT TH.VT BE \RS "TEA- 

 CUPFULLS" OP HONEY. 



Enclosed you will find speds of the fruiting yucca, 

 mentioned on page 100 of March Gleanings. I ate 

 the fruit the day before I received Gleanings for 

 March. If I can get more fruit, I will send you 

 some, as I suppose it would be quite a novelty to 

 yon. The yucca does not grow wild here, but 80 

 miles south of Palestine it is often seen. 



James G. Smith. 



Palestine, Texas, March 8, 1879. 



[Many thanks, friend S. The seeds have been 

 planted, and, in due time, we hope to have seeds to 

 give you all. I should be very glad indeed to re- 

 ceive a specimen of the fruit. 1 



FRIEND J. P. MOORE S OPINION OFTHE BEE MALADY. 



Snow is now about 3 inches deep this morning, and 

 still coming. Chaff packed bees are all in good shape, 

 but many are dying in cellars and bee repositories. 

 Having studied the causes of dysentery, of bee chol- 

 era, or spring dwindling, for several years, I have 

 arrived at the conclusion that the cause is always to 

 be found in the diet, aggravated by confinement in 

 the repositoi'3 r , or by want of protection on the sum- 

 mer stand. J. P. Moore. 



Binghamton, N. Y\, April IT, 1S79. 



OUT DOOR VERSUS CELLAR WINTERING. 



I am pretty well posted in regard to bees in 1 his 

 vicinity, and they average ? 3 ' dead with prospects of 

 more dying. Some have lost 9-10 now. I wintered 

 23 stands out doors, all of which are very strong. I 

 also wintered 90 in bee repository, and lost some, 

 while some are so weak that I am afraid they will go 

 up. Others are very strong. I have experimented 

 on some swarms every winter for 22 years. I put 

 up some in a different way each winter, and I find, 

 when properly put up out of doors, that there is less 

 danger in wintering them than in wintering sheep 

 or cattle. W. H. Balch. 



Oran, N. Y., April 15, 1878. 



ONE OF MANY. 



Send me an Italian queen right away. A queen- 

 less colony has lit on a fence post. I do not know 

 where they came from, but they act as if they would 

 like to live with me. It has been a bad spring here 

 for bees, and many have died. Send her majesty as 

 soon as you can. Clark D. Knapp. 



Albion, N. Y., April 25, 1879. 



[From letters like the above, and we have many of 

 them, it seems that our apiary is not the only place 

 where queenless stocks are to be found, since this 

 spring dwindling and swarming mania have gone 

 over our land. In trying to supply our customers, 

 we have made our apiary nearly queenless. It is a 

 very difficult matter to supply queens in April, es- 

 pecially during a backward spring, and I am very 

 sorry we can not get up queens to order, at any sea- 

 son of the year, as we do smokers and other things. 

 There is no way, my friends, that I can see, but to 

 wait patiently until the new "crop" comes, even 

 though swarms do hang on the fence post queenless.] 



LOSS OF QUEENS DURING THE '•DWINDLING" SEASON. 



Now, tell me, in May No., why [ should lose 18 

 queens, out of 59 swarms, each hive being packed in 

 ti in. of c h aff all around except in front, on summer 

 stands. Bees all came through the winter but 3 

 swarms; one of them was queenless, but full, and in 

 the other two, the combs broke down in the winter 

 and drowned the bees in honey. The hives were 

 clean where the queens were dead, and most of them 

 showed by the brood that the queen had not been 

 dead long. They had plenty of honey, and most of 

 them plenty of bees. There is a loss of about % to 

 v 2 of the bees in this part of the country. 



Holstein, Wis., April 21, '79. A. A. Winslow. 



[Your queens died precisely as in our own hives. 

 They would be all right, combs containing both 



brood and eggs, but when the hive was opened a 

 week after, we would find nothing but sealed brood, 

 and a search for the queen showed her to he missing. 

 At first I thought they might be killed by handling 

 the combs carelessly; but in transferring box hives, 

 we found precisely the same state of affairs. One 

 feature that I cannot quite understand is that many 

 times no queen cells are started. This is so very un- 

 usual, that I can acccount for it only hy thinking it 

 in some way connected with the dwindling troubles.] 



THE BEES THAT "REPENTED." 



Mr. Taylor, of this place, has a colony in an L. 

 hive. On the 7th of last month, the weather being 

 rather warm here for the season, they swarmed, 

 leaving an ample stock in the hive. They were fol- 

 lowed some distance, but were lost. On the 29th (22 

 days after), 1he rest left the hive. Mr. Taylor then 

 examined and found 15 lbs. of nice honey in comb, 

 and the hive in good condition. The weather was 

 then quite cool; the hive was swept out. and honey 

 left. On the 5th of this month, 8 days afterward, the 

 bees returned and a r e now in fine condition and 

 working splendidh - . Now tf 11 us why should they 

 have acted so strangelv? J. B. Cooper. 



Coles Station, 111., April 22, '79. 



[Is your friend sure the bees that returned were 

 the ones that went away? It would be nothing 

 strange that a swarm should desert a hive, and 

 another come and take possession a few days after. 

 Still, it may he the same one came back; the honey 

 they could carry away might last them 8 days, and 

 after that was exhausted in living in some old tree, 

 or other cavity, they might, like the prodigal son, 

 remember the plenty they had left, and return. I 

 have known them to come back next day, but never 

 before after they had been gone so long a period.] 



Mr. Root, I have seen it stated that yon have some 

 very choice queens that yr u would not take $50 for. 



Buchanon, Mich., April 4, '79. Wm. Blake. 



[The statement, I think, was made by one of the 

 friends while arguing against dollar queens. I have 

 not now, and have never had. a queen I would not 

 sell to any one who paid the price published in price 

 list. Our young man who has charge of the apiary, 

 has never had any instructions to reserve any 

 queen. Our highest priced queens are simply dol- 

 lar queens that have been tested, and nothing more. 

 All are reared precisely alike.] 



%ew$ %dnnin. 



Under this head, will be inserted free of charge, 

 the names of all those having honey to sell, as well 

 as those wanting to buy. Please mention how 

 much, what kind, and prices, as far as possible. The 

 prices quoted in our cities for honey are, at present, 

 too low, to make it worth while to publish them. 

 As a general thing, I would not advise you to send 

 your honey away, to be sold on commission. If 

 near home, where you can look after it, it is often 

 a very good way. By all means, develop your home 

 market. For 25cts., we can furnish little boards 

 to hang up in your door yard, with the words "Honey 

 for Sale" neatly painted. If wanted by mail, 10c. 

 extra for postage. Boards saying "Bees and Queens 

 for Sale," :ame price. 



Chicago. -Honey— Choice, in single comb boxes, 

 10@13c. Extracted, 6@8c.- 



Bees-wax.— Choice, yellow, 23@25c. Darker grades, 

 16@18c. 



New York.— Hone y— Best comb, 12@l,"c. Extract- 

 ed, 7@llc. 



Bees- wax. —Choice, 25 to 30c. 



Cincinnati.— Honey— Best, in single comb boxes, 

 10@12c. Extracted, 8@10c. 



California.— Honey— Comb, E@llc. Extracted, 

 4&@6c. 



Bees-wax.— Best, £0@31c. For darker colored, 

 20@22 1 / 2 c. 



New Jersey has a law against the adulteration of 

 honey, which, if enforced, will wind up the business 

 most effectually. Good for New Jersey. I will give 

 the law next month. 



