18S0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



471 



They went to work on the buckwheat and corn in 

 an hour afterwards. Surely you must have put in 

 more than a lb. of bees. Why, it was a very large 

 swarm; and only 31 dead bees among' them. Both 

 hives answer very well, though I like the chaff hive 

 the best. On the 24th, they were bringing- in large 

 quantities of pollen, showing that the queens had 

 laid. I gave them honey every morning, so as to 

 push them forward. Bro. Ware's two queens have 

 arrived safe, and been introduced successfully. 

 There is more talk among the farmers here about 

 getting Italian bees, than about the presidential 

 election. Wm. L. Fontaine. 



Keidsville, X. C, July 27, 1880. 



Moral :— Although one ought not to com- 

 plain very much if he gets his bees in 12 

 days after the order is sent, the above little 

 sketch indicates how much anxiety, trouble, 

 and possibly unkind thoughts and words 

 would be saved, if supply dealers would 

 make arrangements to have such goods as a 

 general thing sent off the very day the order 

 is received. My friends, let us get up a 

 friendly strife, if that is the proper word, in 

 seeing who will be most prompt in filling or- 

 ders another season. And, by the way, sup- 

 pose we commence now, this minute. The 

 first letter or postal card you get after you 

 read this, answer so quickly that your cor- 

 respondent will be pleasantly surprised. If 

 you have to go some distance to "the post- 

 office, carry some cards in your pocket, and 

 answer your letters before you leave the 

 office. Never put a letter away saying you 

 will think about it, or you will answer it 

 sometime when you feel more like it. I 

 have had a great deal of experience in being 

 obliged to decide in regard to difficult mat- 

 ters at once, and I am satisfied that it is 

 about as well to decide at once, and have a 

 matter finished up, as it is to wait, and have 

 it burdening your mind. I would rather de- 

 cide wrong once in a while, than to have 

 several things on my mind which I feel all 

 the while "ought to be seen to." All the 

 advertisements in all the bee journals can 

 not equal the single one of promptness. ■ 



SOME FACTS ABOUT THE ARKANSAS 

 BEE. 



AST winter, I purchased two hives of bees from 

 a neighbor, who has been keeping them for 

 the last 30 years, in the old, box style, with no 

 variations. An Italian bee, so far as I know, has 

 never been within 30 miles of us, until this summer 

 when we procured some queens; and of a certainty, 

 the colonies I bought were what is known as the 

 common lilael; bee, or I would better say, perhaps, 

 as your correspondent, friend G. B. Peters, desig- 

 nates them in Sept. No. of Gleanings, the "brown" 

 bee. Early in the spring, we noticed three kinds of 

 frees in rack hire, for which we, my son and I, could 

 not account. This teing contrary to the teachings 

 of the ABC and Gleanings, my son procured one 

 of each kind, and forwarded to friend Novice, re- 

 questing his judgment of the quality of each, and 

 not letting him know that they were taken from the 

 same hive. Here are his words: "One bee, I would 

 decide; to be full Italian; the rest hybrid." This 

 made the matter worse, for we could not believe 

 there were thric queens in each hive. Knowing that 

 by far the greater portion of the workers were the 



brown bee, with a considerable sprinkling of the 

 full Italian and hybrids in the same hive, we almost 

 came to the conclusion that we had some wonderful 

 queens indeed. 



A few days after receiving friend Boot's card, I 

 chanced to take up Gleanings (July No.), and no- 

 ticed the article from Jerome Wiltse, which satisfied 

 me that he knew what he was writing about, and 

 that he had some of the same identical race of bees. 

 Still the mystery has not been solved. Can the fath- 

 ers in "Beeology" teach us of the ABC class, how 

 the same queen can propagate the Italian, Hybrid, 

 and brown bees? Here is your nut to crack. What 

 say you to this, friend Peters? The bees of these 

 mixed colonies are much larger and more active and 

 industrious than those of the other stands of the 

 brown race, and as honey gatherers I do not doubt 

 but they are equal to the genuine Italian or any 

 of the fancy races. If they defend themseh'es from 

 the moth equally as well as the Italian, I rather 

 think they will be superior in other qualities. 



E. A. Betbune, M. i). 



Snyder, Ashley Co., Ark., Sept. 14, 1880. 



Inasmuch as almost every queen that 

 meets a common drone produces some bees 

 that have all the marks of a full blooded 

 Italian, I cannot see where the mystery is, 

 friend B. Although Italian bees haven't been 

 within 30 miles of you to your knowledge, I 

 am pretty sure you will find pretty much all 

 the bees in the "woods, as well as those in the 

 box hives in your vicinity, show the Italian 

 blood just as those you found in that hive 

 did. 



tmbum 



Pertaining to Bee Culture. 



We respectfully solicit tiie aid of our friends in conducting 

 this department, and would consider it a favor to have them 

 send us all circulars that have a deceptive appearance. The 



greatest care will he at all times maintained to prevent injustice 

 eing done any one. 



MRS. COTTON. 



W REMARKED last month, that we had 

 £1 not heard from her for some time ; but 

 now comes the old circular of her won- 

 derful book again, from several sources, all 

 at once. It would seem that no one should 

 send money in answer to such preposterous 

 claims. Here it is : 



a new book: 



BEE KEEPING FOB PROFIT. 



I have carefully prepared and written a Practical 

 Work on Bee-Keeping, with the above title. 



This Work is the result of nearly twenty-five years 

 practical experience with bees, and a close study of 

 their habits and requirements. 



The work teaches a new system of Bee Management, 

 and renders Bee Keeping safe and profitable. 



Every one who has a farm or garden should now 

 keep bees, at least one or more swarms to furnish 

 honey for the use of the family. There is no great- 

 er luxury than nice white honey in snow white 

 comb. This best of all sweets is now brought with- 

 in the reach of every one who has a spot of land 

 large enough to set a hive of Bees. 



By the new system of Bee Management taught in 

 this book, 



swarming is controlled, 

 no increase by swarming unless desired, but the 

 bees all work in the boxes storing box honey, in- 

 stead of swarming out. 



