1885 



GLEANi^'CiS IN JJEE CULTURE. 



olo 



old. The old have the abdomen a bright j-ellow, 

 with narrow black bands, while the young (?) are 

 much darker in color. But I can not speak with 

 much certainty, for I have not studied them long 

 enough yet. They sting, but the sting is not much 

 worse than that of the .1. 7)ir?iP0— at least I judge 

 so; for in putting them into place, my assistant 

 was stung four times, but it was not followed by 

 swelling. The sting is niuch lai-ger than the com- 

 mon bee, of course; and as one of my Karens said 

 last night, " It makes a hole at once." Yet I judge 

 that it is bearable. 



Their wings are beautifully irradiant; and looking 

 at them on their comb by night, with a strong 

 light, they are most beautiful. This morning they 

 are going out and in their hive, and looking all 

 about their home. Will they stay and go to Avork or 

 not? is the question; we shall see. I have saved 

 some of the dead ones to send to you when they arc 

 dry; and as I learn more about them I hojie to have 

 sometliing of iutei-cst and use to report. 



One thing I notice. They are far less excitable 

 tlian »A. Indicn. They move slowly, do not dash 

 about their cage, and struggle for exit like that bee. 

 Tliey impress one, however, with an idea of " re- 

 serve power," if they have a mind to use it. I de 

 not think they arc iiuick on their combs to repair 

 damage, but can not yet speak with deflnitcness. I 

 wish this swarm were safe in your apiary. 1 also 

 have a swarm of the " mclipona " working well. 



Toungoo, I!urm;ih, Mar. 7, 1S>^5. A. Uvskv.h. 



JIOIiK ABOUT THE W I M,l) W- II KH 11. 



For two years I have noticed my Italians working 

 on the willow-herb, or purple lireweed. It is begin- 

 ning to grow in profusion here, and I have several 

 limes been on the point of sending off a sample, lor 

 name; but your description of it, on page 4.s of 

 Glkaninos, is too clear to leave room for doubt as 

 to its identity. We live near the summit of the Al- 

 legheny Mountains, 1403 feet above sea-level, in the 

 pine and hemlock regions; and as the timber is be- 

 ing cut verj' fast for logs and tanbark, the fire 

 overruns the hills every year or two, and hotii spe- 

 cies of flrewced grow abundantly, and both yield 

 honey, as I am informed; but the puri)le is the only 

 one on which I have noticed the bees working; and, 

 by the way the bees "take" to it, and the length of 

 time it i.j in bloom, it must rank ne.xt to white clo- 

 ver here as a honey-plant, and our honey is of ex- 

 cellent quality. It has the peculiarity of sending 

 up a flower-stem, which begins to bloom at the 

 base, and frequently the lower seed-pods are in 

 "cotton" with matured seed, while the flowers at 

 the top are just opening, which makes the honey- 

 How of long duration. I have kept bees but two 

 years, so I suppose I belong to the A B C class. I 

 got of comb honey, 400 lbs. Abel (Jre.su, T— 26. 



Weedville, Pa., Jan. 29, 1885. 



on two combs, and put them between the dead 

 ones. The queen fell on top of the frames, and the 

 live bees rushed up astonished. 



Take her up tenderly, 



Lift her with care. 

 Fashioned so slenderly, 

 Voung and so fair. 

 Well, they warmed her up and fed her, and re- 

 suscitated all her family — twice their number. 

 Querj-— Will a queen that has been starved and 

 chilled produce any thing but drones hereafter? I 

 believe the authorities sa3' she will produce only 

 drones. D. F. S.a.vage. 



("asky, Ky., March 30, 188.-). 



Friend S., your (|ueen will, Avithout doubt, 

 be just as good as she ever was. AV^e have 

 resuscitated a great manj' in the same pre- 

 dicament, and never fonnd them drone-lay- 

 ers, although more severe freezing might 

 perhaps have that eliect. 



CONCEUM.VG UEAU OR TOUPII) BEES. 



The other day I found a colony that had been 

 breeding rapidly, and had e.vhausted their stores, 

 and several cold stormy days had prevented me 

 from supplying their need. They stood thick on 

 three or four frames, all apparently defunct. 

 Holding up a frame to look more closely I breathed 

 on them, and saw a faint tremor of wings and legs. 

 Near by was a (luocnless colony with a lew workers 

 and drones, small dark fellows whose heads I had 

 pinched off a short tinic before. I got these orphans 



tiiLLAH WINTEKIXG. 



J came out last spring with 15 swarms; lost:$J; 8 

 of the 15 were good swarms; increased to 34; got 

 about 20 lbs. surplus to the hive. Last year was a 

 poor one up here. I fed a lew swarms up on sugar; 



j put them in the cellar the 20th of Nov.; my cellar I 

 built last fall on purpose for bees, under my house. 



[ It is veri' dry, but still there seems to be something 

 wrong with my bees. All through December, up 

 to the 15th of January, they were noisy. They 

 would crawl out and dropon the floor, and die. The 

 ground was covered in front of the hives. When I 



^ put them in I raised them off the bottom-board one 



, inch. The 15th of January I let them down on the 



I bottom-board, and shoved the hive back, so there 

 was an o))ening on the back. Since then they have 



I been quiet, and but lew bees dying. I examined 



I them to day, the 17th of Februarj'. There seem to be 

 plenty of bees, and not a damp or moldy comb. 



j The glass stands 36° in the coldest weather, and 

 moderate weather 40. Now, what was the trouble? 

 Will some one tell me through Gleanings? I have 



; been a bee-keeper for 30 years, and thought I knew 

 as much as any man, but find I can learn something 



' yet. L. Keei). 



Orono, Mich., Feb. 17. 1885. 



» Friend 11., I am inclined to think your 

 bees were too warm when they were so noisy. 

 1 do not believe letting them down on the 



' bottom-board, and pushing them back, made 



j any material dillerence. Wlien the weather 

 became cold, your cellar probably got colder, 



I and this was;^Vhat made them quiet. 



I a source of pleasure if not of PROH'IT. 



I am a shingle sawyer, in a mill in the north pine 

 woods of Michigan. Four jears ago I bought a 

 swarm of bees in their natural home, a large pine- 

 tree. The next year I had Ave swarms from them ; 

 but being inexperienced I have not yet derived 

 much proflt from them; still they have been to me 

 a constant pleasure. Though being in a mill at 

 work, I am ver3- anxious to learn how to prevent 

 natural swarming. 



I began this year to take the.lpici</(i(; i.s^ and sent 

 you for a sample copy of Gleanings, thinking to 

 try it for six months. Upon receipt of it I read the 



I article entitled, "The Michigan State Convention; 



I What 1 Saw and Learned, ' and decided at once to 



j take it. ('. F. Johnson. 



1 Deer Lakp, Mich., Feb. 2, 1885. 



