414 



^LEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



at the enterprise, and I am glad to see you 

 eager to try these new races, but I do not 

 want to see you disappointed in thinking 

 you are going to get sornetliing greatly supe- 

 rior. I will send you some of the light, Ho- 

 ly-Land, worker bees, in a cage, for 20c, if 

 you have a curiosity to see them. 



21ih. — Just at dusk last evening, I happened 

 to take a look at a small spider plant that 

 came up self-sown, in the garden, during 

 the latter part of the summer. Although it 

 was scarcely dark, each of the dozen flowers 

 contained a surprisingly large amount of 

 nectar. The evening was very warm, and 

 as I hurried off to our Thursday -evening 

 prayer- meeting, I mentally decided to be 

 down in the Spider-Plant held next morning 

 before daylight; for, if one little plant was 

 yielding so much, what would the whole plat 

 do ? I was up and passed through the apiary, 

 before scarcely a trace of dawn appeared, 

 but it was bright moonlight. Before I was 

 fairly on the ground, I heard bees humming, 

 and by stooping down I could see them run- 

 ning up to the tops of the hives, where they 

 took wing, and off they were in the darkness. 

 To be sure that the rush was for Spider 

 Plants, I walked clear around the outside 

 gravel path that encircles the apiary, and 

 found, by the sound, that they went only one 

 way. I went that way too. Was ever a 

 sight so beautiful ? Here was business in- 

 deed. What a roar, and what a happy roar ! 

 I watched them awhile as they drank in the 

 nectar, saw, as it became a little lighter, the 

 heavy stream of laden bees as they went 

 back to the apiary, and then I followed them 

 back. I wanted to see what bees were thus 

 enterprising. I looked at the Holy-Land 

 and Cyprian bees, but there was no stir at 

 their hives. I then looked at some favorite, 

 strong, Italian stocks; not a bee moving. 

 Then at the red-clover queen ; bees at the 

 entrance, but none moving. I went to the 

 heavy colony of blacks mentioned before, 

 and one would have been sure that they were 

 robbing. Bees were piling out and in at 

 such a rate, the entrance was hardly large 

 enough. I pondered. If these were only 

 Holy-Land bees, or Cyprians, or even from 

 the red-clover queen, a hundred queens 

 should be started from her to-day, and what 

 a story we would have for Gleanings. 

 The queen was sold for 25c. more than 6 

 weeks ago, and these were her old, ragged- 

 winged bees, with a few younger Italians 

 helping. Were there no more stocks doing 

 as welly At the thought I made my linen 

 coat tails fly, as I rushed over the apiaries to 

 see what hives were working. Perhaps 50 

 out of the 300 were out, — some a little, and a 

 good many nearly equaling the black stock. 

 Just one excelled it, and they were beauti- 

 fully marked Italians. This colony outstrip- 

 ped anything I had ever seen, in the way of 

 bringing in honey. The slate showed the 

 mother of the bees had just been sold a few 

 days ago. I opened the hive, for no smoke 

 was needed, and found the Spider-Plant hon- 

 ey all through the hive. It had the taste of 

 the plant, unmistakably, in the unsealed 

 honey, but the sealed was a pure, simple 

 sweet, with scarcely any flavor to be noticed. 

 Later they were at work on the Simpson 



i'lant, and during this morning hour, I 

 learned to tell which plant a bee was at work 

 on. Prom the Simpson, they get small pel- 

 lets of pollen almost white ; from the Spider 

 Plant, they get pollen the nearest to black of 

 any you ever saw. They seldom gather 

 this, until after they have licked up all the 

 honey. The sun is now up, and the Spider 

 Plants are deserted except by the pollen 

 gatherers. The apiary, too, is so still and 

 quiet that a lazy bee-keeper would never 

 dream of the bustle and din that we had two 

 hours ago. 



g«n«g f duiffn. 



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 pos- 

 sible. As a general thing, 1 would not advise von to send your 

 honey away to be sold on commission, if near home, when- 

 you can looK after it, it is often a very good way. By all means, 

 develop your home market. For 85 cents we can furnish little 

 boards to hang up in your dooryard, with the words, "Honey 

 for Sale, " neatly painted, [f wanted by mail, l" cents extra for 

 postage. Boards saying "Bees and Queens for Sale," same 

 price. 



I have 500 lbs. of extracted honey that I will sell at 

 9c per lb. It is Basswood and White-Clover, and is 

 very nice. G. M. Deek. 



Riga, Mich., Aug. 23, 1880. 



I have 2 half bbls. of 200 lbs. each, and 2 bbls. of 500 

 lbs. each, of nice, thick white-clover and basswood 

 honey, that I will sell for 9c, per lb., and throw in the 

 barrels, and deliver at the railroad station. 



F. W. Holmes. 



Eastmansville, OttowaCo., Mich., Aug. 19, 1880. 



I should like to buy 500 lbs. of Basswood or White 

 Clover Honey and will pay lie per lb., delivered at 

 railroad freight depot, Southport, Fairfield Co., Conn. 

 It must be of good quality and light colored. 



Aug. 2(5, '80. George E. Nokthrop. 



I have 2,000 lbs. of White-Clover and Basswood, 

 Extracted Honey, for which I will take 9c, delivered 

 on the cars here, barrels thrown in. It is in 10, 12, 

 32, and 44 gal. kegs and barrels. 



I also have 1,000 lbs. White, Comb Honey, in 2 lb. 

 sections; boxed and delivered on cars here, at 15c. 



ItOBT. QfJINN. 



Shellsburg, Benton Co., la., Aug. 16, 1880. 



CITY MARKETS. 



Cincinnati.— Honey.— Scarce, both Extracted and 

 Comb; demand slow. We pay 10c per lb. for Ex- 

 tracted Clover Honey, and 16c for choice white Comb 

 Honey. 



Beeswax— Is 20@25c per lb. on arrival. 



Cincinnati, O., Aug. 21, '80. C. F. Muth. 



Chicago.— Honey.— Is quite plentiful on the mar- 

 ket now, and prices have had a tumble. Comb Hon- 

 ey, fair to choice, brings 15@17c; Dark 10@,12c. Ex- 

 tracted Honey, 6@8c. 



Beeswax.— Fair to choice, 20@23c. 



Alfred H. Newman. 



972 West Madison St., Chicago, 111., Aug. 24, '80. 



New York.— Honey. — Best white Comb, small 

 boxes, new, 18@20c; fair, ditto, 15@,17c; buckwheat, 

 ditto, ll@12c; large boxes, 2c per lb. less. White 

 Extracted, 9@10c; fair, ditto, sasuc; Dark, ditto, 

 6@7c. Southern strained honey, 75(?e80e per gal. 



A. Y. Thurber. 



158 Duane St., New York, Aug. 26, 1880. 



St. Louis. — Honey. — Wc quote Comb Honey 

 scarce, and considerable inquiry at 20@21c for nice, 

 bright clover, in 1 and 2 lb. sections, and 15®17c for 

 darker grades in sections. Large packages comb 

 not wanted at over 10@13c. Extracted dull, but look 

 for better inquiry with cold weather; salable at 

 8@9c for bright, and 5@7c for dark. 



We will say to a great many letters asking what 

 we give for honey, that "toe do not buy honey at all;" 

 we handle honey on commission alone. 



July 22, 1880. K. C. Greer & Co. 



No. 117 North Main St., St. Louis, Mo, 



