GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



June 



WHAT AN A B C SCHOLAR DID. 



fRIEND ROOT:— Some two years ago, I sent 

 you the name of S. H. Duff as a subscriber 

 for Gleanings. He was then almost without 

 any experience whatever in bee culture. Last year, 

 he purchased, at reasonable rates, some dozen col- 

 onies in old, dilapidated boxes. This spring, he de- 

 sired me to assist him in transferring them. This I 

 agreed to do, and last week was the time set. Think- 

 ing the apple-tree bloom would be too far gone be- 

 fore I could assist him, he went to work with a will, 

 and, before the day arrived that we had agreed up- 

 on, he had them all, with the exception of three, 

 successfully transferred. He is certainly an apt 

 scholar. But there is an element closely associated 

 with him in the business which I must not omit to 

 mention,— he has an excellent wife. She is a reader 

 of the Gleanings, and has grasped the leading ideas 

 of bee-keeping. She assisted her husband in trans- 

 ferring by cutting out the combs while he fastened 

 them into the frames. AVith such women, men can 

 succeed in almost any business. It is only a veri- 

 fication of the old adage, "They that rock the cradle 

 rule the world." 



I am trying my hand this year on raising queens 

 from an imported mother. I will report results in 

 due time. Wm. Ballantine. 



Sago, Ohio., May, 1880. 



I most heartily agree with you, friend B. 

 Of our 75 hands now at work, fully one half 

 are women ; and while they are far ahead in 

 point of morals, they are also, for many pur- 

 poses, fully equal to a man for intellect and 

 accuracy. I do not endorse the women's 

 rights question by any means, but I do mean 

 that a man should take his wife into part- 

 nership in his business, whatever it is; and 

 the more she knows of the business, in all 

 its minutest details, the better it will be for 

 both of them. May God bless friend I), and 

 his excellent helpmate, and may they always 

 work thus through life. 



THE MAY NUMBER. 



^HE last Gleanings delighted me very much. 

 With all our journals so excellent, what a 

 hard struggle "Co-operative" will have ! The 

 man who can not be satisfied with our journals as 

 conducted at present should look in the dictionary 

 for such words as cynic, pessimist, etc., and see 

 how uninviting a label they would make. How good 

 to take up any of our journals and feel that we are 

 to get instruction, not invective and quarrels. 



Friend Hutchinson, I like frank criticisms; I 

 should despise myself if I did not. They should be 

 kind, and I believe you incapable of making any 

 other. Both you and the editor misunderstood me. 

 I wrote Mr. Nellis that I could see no possible harm 

 from using a small tin bottle, but said, "Send one to 

 Washington to get permit," which we can do if there 

 is no objection. The postal authorities wish to ac- 

 commodate all. I would urge not sending water till 

 we get the permit. Of course, we must keep the 

 epirit of all these laws. I wished to urge the impor- 

 tance of also heeding the letter. 



MICROSCOPIC clubs. 

 I was delighted to hear of your microscopic club. 

 Your cross section of sting is excellent. Such clubs 

 and such work will keep our boys from saloons, and 



other ways that lead down to death. God speed 

 them. 



honey dew. 

 Mr. Editor, why not publish my article from 

 American Bee Journal, present volume, page 30V It 

 sets the honey dew question at rest. We certainly 

 need more light on the matter of honey showers. 



A. J. Cook. 

 Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. 



Many thanks, friend Cook, for your kind 

 words. I have no objection at all to a co- 

 operative journal, and perhaps no other way 

 will determine so well whether it will pay or 

 not, as to try it and see. — Your compliment- 

 ary words to the boys have stirred them al- 

 ready to renewed exertions. — I confess that, 

 with my many cares and calls, I had over- 

 looked the article you mention, and take 

 pleasure in giving it: 



something new about honey dew. 



While at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, I 

 became much interested in some observations and 

 investigations made by Mr. Wm. Trelease, a very 

 talented young man connected with the University, 

 which entirely settles the matter of honey dew. 

 Mr. Trelease has not only tasted the nectar secreted 

 by the plants, but he has discovered the glands 

 which secrete the nectar. These are often so large 

 as to be easily recognized by the unaided vision. 

 Mr. Trelease showed me the glands on species of 

 cassia, acassia. pasiflora— the May-pop of Alabama- 

 prunes, and the cotton plant. On a fine acassia 

 growing in the botanical laboratory of the Universi- 

 ty, I not only saw the gland, but also the drop of 

 nectar, which I found sweet to the taste. I had the 

 pleasure, not only of seeing Mr. Trelease's beautiful 

 drawings, but also of viewing the actual cross-sec- 

 tions under the microscope. The usual dermal cells 

 are enlarged and lengthened at the glands. The 

 cell walls seem more thin, while the enclosed pro- 

 toplasm is much more dense. These glands are on 

 the petioles of the leaves, on the ribs, or on the 

 blade of the leaves. On the Partridge pea which 

 has so often been noticed to be swarming with bees, 

 the glands are large and numerous, and, Mr. T. says, 

 rich in nectar. Let us observe during the coming 

 season, whether the bees get all their gleanings 

 from these nectar glands, or whether some comes 

 from the flowers as well, and if the latter be the 

 case, let us note their comparative value. 



Prof. A. J. Cook. 



This settles the question as to whether 

 plants yield honey except from their blos- 

 soms, but does not help us in regard to hon- 

 ey dews falling from the atmosphere. 



m ■•« — 



LAMP NURSERY AND DOLLAR QUEENS. 



A WORD RIGHT FROM FRIEND HAYHURST HIMSELF. 



SN reply to your inquiry on p. 231, I will say that 

 the lamp nursery is still an indispensable arti- 

 cle in our apiary. I have been using one every 

 season since you first described it in Gleanings, 

 and like it better now than ever. I have repeatedly 

 tried placing the finished cells in the nuclei, and 

 also having them hatched in the chaff hives, be- 

 tween sheet and cushion, but I still prefer the nur- 

 sery. I now keep my nuclei quite weak, place the 

 queen directly on the comb, do not touch her with 

 my hands, and smoke her and the bees. By so do- 

 ing, I rarely lose a queen. 



Most of the queens in my yard were hatched in 

 the nursery. On the first of May this season, my 

 hives (52) contained an average of ten combs (Lang- 

 stroth) of brood, the brood circle extending to the 

 wood, leaving little room in the corners for stores. 

 I thick this does not indicate feeble queens. 



Kansas City, Mo., May 12, '80. E. M. Hayhurst. 



