1S8.5 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



99 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



HONEY FROM BANANAS; MOSQUITO - HAWKS IN 

 FLOKIDA. 



SNE of 3'our correspondents says in Gleanings 

 that either the rivers of California and Flor- 

 ida flow with honey, or bee-journals are sadly 

 in need of a department for our friends who 

 re liable to err in statements. We can not 

 speak of any of the rivers but the St. John's, which 

 is a pretty fair place we think. We have not been 

 able to give our bees very much attention, and can 

 not complain, though we can not give as big reports 

 as some have done. Ours are all blacks, and we 

 have averag-ed 40 lbs. pei- colony. The honey is here 

 not in the river, but about as near as it could well 

 be, for the bees collect it from plants and trees that i 

 grow in the water, besides a great many that grow 

 on the land; but our industrious little workers have 

 a great many enemies, and at times the havoc 

 they work among the hives is dreadful. The i 

 dragon-fly, or mosquito-hawk, is one of the worst. 

 Sometimes there seem almost as many mosquito- I 

 hawks as bees flying, and the way they do pounce . 

 down on the bees and carry them oft' is astounding, 

 and there are many other enemies of which we will 

 not speak at present. ; 



We raise some bananas, but do not think much of 

 them as honey-plants. The sweet fluid that drips I 

 from the bloom is not thick, but (juite watery, about i 

 the consistency of the maple sap; nevertheless the ■ 

 bees seem very fond of it, and do not slight it when 

 honey of better quality is abundant. When we get 

 all those new appliances, drone-e.xcluders and 

 queen-excluding honey-boards, and il' some invent, 

 ive genius will invent some method whereby we 

 can beat the niosquito-hawks and a few other bee- 

 destroyers, then you may hear a big report from us. 

 Ostccn, Fla., Jan. 13, 188."). Mauv Z. Kussel. 



KINI)IN(; DI.Al) IJEES IN FUONT OF THE HIVE. 



Why do so many bees die off in the winter? We 

 have seen large numbers before our hives this win- 

 ter, dead, and yet the colonies are very large, and 

 doing well. It seems to be common among bees, 

 and I should like to know what causes their dying 

 ofl" so. Mks. Wm. Swic.akt. 



Dixon, III., Jan.li, IHS.j. 



Tliis (luestioii seems to come up fre(iueiit- 

 ly, my friend, uiul we have given frequent 

 answers, lam inclined to think your bees 

 are nil right ; and the fact that it 'is a hirge 

 colony, and has been well, would seem to 

 strengthen that idea. AVitli a iiopulation of 

 40,(10(1 it would be uotliiiig strange if forty or 

 lifty should die daily, fi-oiu natural causes ; 

 and if you see these scattered about on the 

 snow in front of the hives, you would be 

 likely to thiidv something was wrong. Of 

 course, you would see most dead bees in 

 front of the most powerful colonies. Is not 

 this all the trouble? 



lect on one end of the frames near their entrance. 

 Do you think it is caused by dampness? 

 Fairfax, Mo., Jan. 12, 1885. G. M. Shaver. 



I think there is nothing wrong about your 

 bees, friend S. The frost is tlie perspiration 

 from the cluster, and it is almost always 

 found in hives made of a single thickness of 

 boards, unless the colony is so very strong 

 that it fills the hive so completely as to keep 

 the frost out. " When the weather moderates, 

 this frost will melt and run down, often 

 running out at the entrance. If it collects 

 on unsealed honey it dilutes it, and some- 

 times we liave sweetened water running out 

 of the hives. As a general thing it does no 

 particular harm, unless so much ice collects 

 as to wet the bees, or dampen their stores. 

 The remedy is to use a chaff hive, which we 

 always recommend for wintering, although 

 bees usually winter all right in simplicity 

 hives. 



UONEV FROM THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



I send you by this mail a sample of campanilla (or 

 bellflower) honey, which is just as thrown from 

 combs to-day. Please sample it and report. Will 

 give you flnal report after a while. A. W. Osburn. 



Cuba, W. I., Jan. 8, 1885. 



Thanks, friend O. The sample of honey 

 sent is of a beautiful light straw color, very 

 transparent, of good body, and of a fine 

 aromatic flavor that we sholild think entitles 

 it to a place on an ecinal with either bass- 

 wood or clover. We should be glad to hear 

 further reports from you. 



.MV UEES AND C.VIU'. 



I have three stands of bees, all in chaff hives, put 

 away with chafl division-boards, and upper storj- 

 with sack ttlled with chaff. I got only about 40 lbs. 

 last summer. The drought cut short the white 

 clover. As to carp, I built a small pond, I think 

 about 1880. It contains about Vi acre. I received 

 from Washington about IB German carp; intro- 

 duced them in fall of 1881. I did not see them any 

 more until last June, when I discovered my pond 

 was alive with small flsh. I commenced to feed 

 them, and also advertised them in our county paper, 

 and succeeded in selling 1450, from one to two inch- 

 es long, and have a goodly number yet remaining 

 in the pond. Noah Hohx. 



Koseville, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1885. 



I'liOST INSIDE OF THE HIVKS. 



1 lun e inj- bees in Simplicity hives bought of you 

 last spring. Each has 7 frames of honey and chaff- 

 cushion division-boards, and chaff' cushions over the 

 frames; all are on their summer stands. During our 

 coldest weather the frost collects on the ends of the 

 ,tTamns and mptal ri.i;)bets. I find the bcoe all col- 



WHAT TO DO WITH HIVES C()NTAIXIN(! OLD 

 Itr.ACK CO.MBS, ETC. 



In the spring we had 12 stocks, which have in- 

 creased to 20. In the fore part of the season, bees 

 did pretty well. I took about 300 lbs. of extracted 

 and 125 lbs. comb honey. My hives ai-e all frame, of 

 my own make. Most of the comb honey was taken 

 from two-story hives, the second story being about 

 six inches deep, containing frames that hold about 

 5 lbs. This is the most satisfactory size to my 

 neighbors, and are handy to extract from. I have 

 sold my whole crop right at our door, at prices 

 ranging from 10 to 15 cts. per lb. I use a home- 

 made extractor, made out of a barrel, which cost 

 me f 1.34, besides my own labor. 



I have several hives in which the combs are so 

 thick and black that it is unfit for use; how am I to 

 get rid of it without sacrificinsr the brood? What 

 would you do with light swarms at this time of the 



