GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mail 



THE SIMPSON HONEY PLANT. 



I have had it under cultivation for two years past. 

 I planted seed in a hot-bod, about Apr. 1st, 1878. It 

 came up well, and was transplanted about the middle 

 of May. It bore transplanting as well as tomatoes, 

 and grew finely to about 6ft. In hight. It commenc- 

 ed to bloom Aug. 1st. I watched the lirst flowers 

 anxiously, and there stood the honey; the flowers 

 were full to the brim. For two days they were to be 

 seen so, after which the bees would get there before 

 I did, and they kept the honey almost out of sight all 

 the time. It ceased blooming about Oct. 1st. 



Last year, it came up early and strong, grew well, 

 and commenced blooming a month earlier than the 

 year before, and attracted lots of hornets, wasps, 

 and flies, but no bees looked after it until about the 

 1st of Aug., although there was very little to gather 

 elsewhere. But after Aug. 1st there was no more 

 room for wasps and Hies, for the bees took posses- 

 sion of every flower and held possession as long as it 

 bloomed, which was until Sep'. 5th. 



GOLDEN ROD HONEY. 



After Sept. 1st, we had an abundance of golden-rod 

 that gave large quantities of honey, not only keep- 

 ing- the bees breeding late, but giving them plenty 

 to winter on, and quite a large surplus for me; and 

 it was the richest, toughest stuff of any thing in the 

 honey line which I ever saw. This was probably 

 owing to the very dry, warm autumn we had. Dur- 

 ing Oct., we had some very warm weather, and I 

 tried extracting some of it, but it didn't work at all 

 well; I couldn't get the combs clean, even with a 

 high velocity, and it would fly out over the top of the 

 extractor in fine spray that covered every thing near 

 with a film of honey, and looked like dew on the 

 grass (this certainly was "honey dew" J. I had as 

 good success in raising queens in Oct., as I had in 

 July. There were lots of drones until the middle of 

 Nov. 



THE RED CLOVER QUEEN. 



I must have a queen from that stock that gives so 

 much honey. I have one colony of the same kind. 

 For two years they have given me more than double 

 what the yard has averaged, and I don't keep any 

 poor stocks either. It never seems to be very strong 

 in bees, but the honey comes right in, and is as 

 beautiful as the best. The queen is pure, and the 

 daughter of an imported queen. 



SIZE OP ENTRANCES TO HONEY BOXES. 



Can it be that the great majority of us are on the 

 wrong- track in reference to the size of entrances to 

 the boxes (see Bee-notes in American Agriculturist, 

 for last Oct.). If more honey will be stored with 

 larger entrances, larger they must be; for it is the 

 honey we are after. That is where our bread and 

 butter comes from, and the wherewith to pay our J 

 debts. I should like to hear what others have to say 

 about the size of the entrances. C. H. Rue. 



Manalapan, N. J., Jan. 30, 1880. 

 If your extractor is of recent make, I hard- 

 ly think it will produce any "honey dew," 

 even if you have thick, golden-rod honey, 

 friend R. The red clover queen is nil right so 

 far, and bids fair to become the mother of a 

 great family, if we are enabled to fill all the 

 orders for her daughters. I think it very 

 likely that some of the honey boxes used are 

 badly deficient in giving the bees entrances 

 large enough, but I am sure our arrangement 

 of section boxes and separators gives all the 

 entrance that can be of any possible advant- j 



' age to the bees. They go all over the upper 

 story almost as well as if there were no divi- 

 sions at all. 



AN A 15 C SCHOLAR'S REPORT. 



I commenced in the spring of '79 with 14 colonies, 

 part of them being weak. I transferred one of them 

 to make sure that I could do that kind of a job; in- 

 creased by 15 natural and one artilieial swarm, and 

 lost the first natural one. It was quite cool nights, 

 so I put on the entrance blocks at night, and did not 

 I take them oil' the next morning, and "roasted" 

 I them our, to my sorrow. I doubled the rest up to 

 25, all told. Of 2 dollar queens, I lost one introduc- 

 ing (your moral, "Do not introduce the bees with 

 the queen," did not get into Wisconsin soon enough), 

 but the other one I put into the artificial swarm, and 

 it was received with smiles. I have some doubt 

 whether she is pure or not. I gave the queenless 

 stock eggs from her, and they reared a queen that 

 showed four hands and a rinij (the mother had five 

 and a ring). Most of her bees show three bands 

 plain^'. I have seen two or three, however, that 

 looked doubtful, but they were too quick for me, so 

 I did not get a char.cc to test them. I got 3 lb. of 

 fdn. at Ihe same time I got the queens. I had bees 

 that would build straight combs without comb- 

 guides, and some that would not with them. I tried 

 starters in the brood frames, from 1J4 in. to half 

 sheets, and every one were worked straight. So I 

 have come to the conclusion, that if a person can 

 not afford to use full sheets, it will pay him to use 

 narrow strips, for the bees take to them with a will, 

 and build straight comb-;, as far as my experience- 

 goes. 



TRIANGULAR STARTERS. 



I tried pointed and straight starters in the sec- 

 tions, but the flow of honey stopped just about then, 

 so I did not have a chance to test them; but all the 

 difference I can see in favor of the pointed is, that 

 its lower edge has a longer line thau the straight, 

 therefore more bees can attach themselves to it at 

 the same time to build comb. I believe I will try 

 some in the brood frames next season, where the 

 length of line will be enough greater to detect any 

 difference which there may be in building them out. 



We have had two very poor seasons, and if next is 

 no better, I think I shall have to speak for a stall in 

 Blasted Hopes; but will not blast the bees if I do. 



I have had a notion in my head since last fall; 

 viz., a machine that will take a board the right 

 length for half a hive, and when it gets through it 

 will be all ready to put together. If it can be done 

 (and I think it can), it would send the cost of hives 

 clear down cellar. Perhaps you and Mr. Gray could 

 produce the kind of machine that would do the 

 work. F. O. Polleys. 



La Crosse. Wis., Jan. 31, 1880. 



It is well for us to have a caution every 

 now and then about smothering bees, as well 

 as about introducing queens. I fear you are 

 a little hasty in saying your bees have four 

 bands and a " ring." Read what the A 13 C 

 says about it. and then take another look, 

 friend P. Your idea in regard to the ad- 

 vantage of triangular starters may be cor- 

 rect. Mr. Gray and I have talked a great 

 deal about a "machine that would take in 

 rough boards and turn out finished hives, 

 and there is no great difficulty in doing it. 

 But suppose, after we get it built at a great 



