1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



599 



$&§?> and §mriq$. 



NEW l*SE FOR A SMOKER. 



PJiFIE smoker you sent c.une all right, smd sooaer 

 than I looked for it. It gives perfect satis- 

 faction, and I must say it is a doubly useful 

 article, for it is one of the best things out io blow 

 and start the tire with, and so much fun for Albert 

 that he is willing for me to lie and rest while he 

 makes the lire. What an invention I 



L. K. MUNDUENK. 



Rise Hill, Darke Co., Ohio, Oct. 30, 1880. 



[Well, I declare, friend M. ! I am heartily glad you 

 have found out that the smoker is good for starting 

 fires, and I don't know but that all the women will 

 be wanting one when it gets to be known; but I 

 really can not approve of your lying in bed while 

 the boy builds ihe tire. Why don't you get up and 

 "flax around" at something else? If my boy should 

 get up before I do, I do not know but that I should 

 be offended— at myself.] 



ISKKS AND GRAPES. 



Bees never puncture the skin of the grape. I have 

 watched them myself, and had others watch them. 

 They suck the juice after the grape is punctured by 

 birds or wasps. Owen II. Wily. 



Lees-port, Pa., Nov. 3, 1880. 



WILLOWS; WHICH KIND ARE BKST FOR HONEY? 



Which kind of willows are best as a bee plant, and 

 how close should they be set for fence? 



F. S. Paddock. 



Perry Center, Wyoming Co., N. Y., Oct. 19, 1830. 



[I do not know which willows are best for bees; 

 but I seldom see bees on those used for hedges about 

 here. A species taken from the woods sometimes 

 yields large quantitiesof honey, apparently; butthe 

 finest specimen of willow for bees that 1 have ever 

 found was a tree bought of a nurseryman. It was 

 budded with a killmonark, but the top died, and the 

 stock made a tree that was a perfect roar with bees 

 lor several days. Can any of our nurserymen read- 

 ers tell us what it probably was? I should like a 

 half-dozen trees for our grounds.] 



Has any one invented an uncapping machine? 

 Would su'-h a machine be a valuable invention, if it 

 would uncap both sides of a comb at once, and re- 

 tail for about $2.00? O. H. Hyatt. 



Farragut. Fremont Co., la., Oct. 10, 1880. 



[The idea has been many times given, and some 

 machines made, I believe, but all are now discarded.] 



Bees have done very pnorly this yenr; increased 

 from 1 to 7; not one taste of honey. Pleaso don't 

 put me in Blasted Hopes. I have been feeding all 

 summer, aud will feed all winter. I am full of hope 

 for the future. Kdwahd Tunnicliff. 



Kewanee, Henry Co., 111.. Oct. 22, 1880. 



[Why, friend T., ti at seems to be the way with 

 you all. You have had bud seasons and no honey, 

 but still you seem hopeful. That is right; and one 

 who trusts God, has a good reason to be always hope- 

 ful] • _ 



SKINKS EATING BEES, AGAIN. 



My red-clover queen, got of you, has been losing 

 some of her family by skunks. I shot two in my 

 apiary. F. W. Comings. 



East Berkshire, Vt, Oct. 1C, 1880. 



HOW TO FEED EVEN HONEY OUTDOORS. 



There is not the least difficulty in feeding honey 

 or sugar syrup in the open air, if it is sufficiently di- 

 luted. I have fed honey thus for the past year, fre- 

 quently with no robbing whatever. 



S. W. Morrison, M. D. 



Oxford, Chester Co., Pa.. Nov. 2, 1880. 



PROCEEDS OF 2 COLONIES IN 5 YEARS. 



Five years ago I bought !) linn gums, bark includ- 

 ed, cavities filled with black bees, etc. I soon intro- 

 duced them to sash hives and gold-banded mothers, 

 and have been selling bees fall and spring ever since 

 gums went out of date with me. I have HO left yet, 

 and they are in good shipe for King Zero; 100 colo- 

 nies gave me, this poor season, 2000 lbs. section honey, 

 and 1000 lbs. extracted. The above is nearly all sold, 

 and I have the gold for it. J. B. Murray. 



Ada, Hardin Co., O. 



We have only six stands of bees; but one new 

 swarm this year; two stands made 150 lbs. of sur- 

 plus; the other four made enough for winter use. I 

 make my own hives, like Simplicity. 



J. W. BOWEN. 



Turkey Creek, Ind., Oct. 15, 1880. 



Season bad; swarms on hand, 130; surplus, 7000 

 lbs., mostly extracted. Have fed back 500 lbs., and 

 will have to feed in spring. Jas. Scott. 



Farley, Dubuque Co., Iowa, Oct. 29, 1883. 



A CAUTION IN ADDING OTHER BEES. 



We built up a colony for the queen you sent. She 

 laid a quantity, but in adding a last frame of bees 

 aud brood, we got a queen iti, and she killed yours. 

 Tho young are beautiful, and thorough-bred. 



Gadsden, Ala., Oct. 22, 18S0. A. W. Bryan. 



[Glad of the caution, friend B. Many a queen has 

 been lost in this way, and I presume many a misun- 

 derstanding has arisen from just such occurrences.] 



WHEN BEES FIRST CAME TO AMERICA AND WHERE 

 FROM. 



I Ihink that "Hayden's Dictionary of Dates" states 

 that bees were first introduced into Boston from 

 Holland in 1767. 



1 may be mistaken in some of the above points, as 

 it has been a long time since I have seen a copy of 

 the book. (See letter of W. B. Terry, on page 220, 

 May Gleanings.) D. H. Kelton. 



Mackinaw, Mich., May 20, 1880. 



NEW COVER, ETC. 



I don't wish to find fault, but, after reading friend 

 Watt's comments on new cover, I will tell you what 

 I thought when Tttrst saw it. I think it is lacking 

 in a mechanical point of view. Tho ladder has 

 either a terrible kink in it, or is a short one, resting 

 on the limb which is supposed to be hidden behind 

 "Bee Culture." The "wigwam" hive should show 

 the third post on the outside; and the beo in tho 

 'dome" looks as if it might be on its last wings, and 

 few of them, goinsr for something: it could not quite 

 reach. However, I think tho design is quite neat, 

 and much better than 1 could do myself.— I am at a 

 loss to know how friend Dalzell can get s'ung and 

 not know it. I think I should know when a bee 

 stung me without having to be told of it, for it hurts 

 considerably and a little more sometimes.— I had 39 

 colonies last May; took 2500 lbs. honey; 1-5 extract- 

 ed, 1-5 comb, in winter quarters, with 46 colonies 

 now. James A. Nelson. 



Wyaudott, Kansas, Nov. 3, 18S0. 



