Isas 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUETUUE. 



1>73 



tain patch there is no reluctance whatever in mak- 

 ing- a clean sweep of the stalks at once. 



Another important matter we must mention, not 

 generally understood or thoug-ht of. Instead of 

 planting long rows, plant each variety as compactly 

 together as possible, that it may fertilize its own 

 ears more perfectly. 



The earliest may be planted in hills 3x3, or in 

 drills 3 feet by one in the row, the second S'^ x 3'j. 

 and the Mammoth and later varieties, 4 .\ 4, or in 

 rows 4 ft. apart and I ft. in the rows. 



About peas, we would say there has not been as 

 much improvement, with the exception of Amer- 

 ican Wonder, for first early; but these, although a 

 Very nice pea, are really only a few days earlier 

 than Gems, but no better in quality. There is also 

 a new dwarf, Strataproni, to take the place of Cham- 

 pion as third, which requires no brushing, growing 

 only 2'/i ft. How the quality will compare witii 

 Champions, this season's experience will determine. 



You can not do better than plant all at one time. 

 American Wonder or Little Gems for the first, Ad- 

 vancers for second. Champion or Stratagem for 

 third, and Yorkshire Hero for fourth. When Strat- 

 agem are used, no sticks or brush will be required 

 . for any, and they will follow each other in regular 

 and happy succession, giving you the very choicest 

 peas in their very prime, from the beginning of the 

 season to its close. All we have said about coi-n 

 will apply with equal force to planting peas in this 

 manner; even the use of the vines in their green 

 state as fodder is a small item worth saving. 



The price of corn and peas is lower this season. 



Cleveland, O., April 3, US.'). A. C. Kknuei-. 



l^EPe^'Ff^ Dif^cenR/iGiNG. 



full colonies, and for queens of every shade 

 and color. What is our loss will be their 

 gain. Again, the successful ones who have 

 learned by experience and hard work how 

 to winter their bees safely will this year reap 

 the harvest they deserve. It reminds me of 

 wliat friend Terry says in the new potato- 

 book. A neighbor of his prepared lialf C)f 

 his potato-tield just as he knew it ought to 

 be. then he got behind witli his work, and 

 short of hel)). and lie tixed tlie tield in tlie 

 usual way. The result showed tliat he would 

 have made money to have paid five or even 

 ten dollars a day "for sufficii nt lielp to have 

 the icork done ^iyht : and this was at a time 

 when plenty of excellent men could have 

 been had for Sl.cO per day. Neighbor II. 

 was in just that predicament last fall. He 

 was building, and neglected his b?es, and the 

 loss by this neglect will run up into the 

 hundreds of dollars. We employed a care- 

 ful hand to care for ours, and he had all 

 the time and lielp lie wanted, and all the 

 granulated sugar he needed, and now we 

 have booming colonies to meet the demand 

 that has come for bees by the pound already. 



WHAT IS TO BE DONE IN REGAKDTOTHE FEARFUL 

 LOSSES OF BEES, ETC.? 



NOTICE in an old number of Gleaninos your 

 advice is to pay more attention to the depart- 

 ment called Blasted Hopes, so as to keep fi-csh 

 in the minds of the novices the uncertainty of 

 bee-keeping. Well, I sitpijose this is good ad- 

 vice, but it is wholly unnecessary just now, in this 

 vicinity. We have some of us rcalizol it to be a 

 fact, that bees are sometimes an uncertain quanti- 

 ty. Our empty hives and moldy combs are unan- 

 swerable arguments to prove that bees will die 

 sometimes ; and a glance around our apiaries demon- 

 strates more forcibly the " uncertainty " of the bus- 

 iness than whole volumes of advice. Well, nearly 

 75 ?u of the bees in a radius of 5 or 6 miles have suc- 

 cumbed to the inevitable this winter. Bee-keeping 

 has been " put back 20 years " by the recent cold 

 winter, so " they " tell us, but we don't believe any 

 such thing. One or two good seasons will repair 

 the losses, and it will " boom " again. By the way, 

 we should like to hear from other neighborhoods 

 and localities, in reference to the losses. 

 Economy, Ind., March, 24, 1885. G. W. Williams. 

 Thank you, friend W., for your kind words. 

 There is one thing we should not overlook in 

 regard to these losses. It is going to open up 

 a trade during the year 188o in bees and 

 queens, never heretofore known ; and our 

 friends in the South will probably have a 

 brisk demand at good prices for every thing 

 in Xhe shape of bees by the pound, in nuclei, 



REPORT PROM INDI.^NA, ETC. 



We put up for winter about lOJ colonics in single- 

 walled hives, chaff division-boards on sides, and 

 chaff cushions on top; left on summer stands. 

 Fed S'o bbls. of sugar late In fall. Considerable re- 

 mained uncapped. Colonies alive now, 30. That 

 begins to look a little like " progressive bee-keep- 

 ing." How are yours, friend Root? I have noticed 

 closely for your report, to sec how that young man 

 succeeded you told about last fall. The past winter 

 has been the closest I ever knew here. Bees flew 

 but little for nearly 3 months. Fred F. Roe. 



Jordan, Ind., March 24, 1885. 



See April 1st number, page 248. 



ONLV 2 WEAK ONES LEFT OUT OF fi5. 



i I have lost 31 colonies out of 51. and a neighbor of 

 I mine saved 2 weak ones out of 65 colonies; and as 

 j far as I can hear they have wintered poorly. 



A.WOUTMAN. 



Seafleld, Wliite Co., Ind., March 2, 1885. 



ONLY 16 LEFT OUT OF 96, AND CHAFF-PACKED. 



Bee-keepers in this vicinity are wearing very long 

 faces just now, and, indeed, there is every reason to 

 feel blue. Small beekeepers have genei-ally lost 

 all. An idea maybe arrived at from neighbor Dick- 

 enson's report, 16 left out of 96, chafif-packcd on 

 summer stands. I can not give an account of my 

 own at present, but know iny loss to be heavy. 



J. L. Cole. 



Carlton Center, Harry Co., Mich., Mar. 27, 1885. 



LOSSES IN INDIANA. 



I estimate the number of colonies of bees within 



2!i miles, fall count, 175; spring, 75. My own, fall, 



23; spring, 20. Thanks for the teachings of the A 



1 B C. Beyond the above limits there are Reynolds 



I Bros., of Williamsburg, our supply-dealers, who 



i have had very little loss; number of colonies kept, 



' about 60. Mr. Replogel, near Hagerstown, one of 



the most experienced bee-keepers in the county, 



lost 12 out of about 9J; his are in chaff hives. The 



heaviest losses were where the extractor was used. 



[ A. G. Mendenhall. 



I Economy, Ind., March 25, 1885. 



