730 



GLEANINGS IN JJEE CULTL'UE. 



Nov 



The evening: sessions will be devoted to answering 

 iiuestions. There will be a question - bo.\, and all 

 <luestions that coiue up diirinK the day will l)e 

 written out and dropi)ed into tiie box, and at the 

 evening session they will be taketi out and discuss- 

 ed. Any one who will not be present can send 

 'luestions to me at any time previous to or during 

 the meeting, and I will i>ut tlicm into the box. if any 

 questions are sent to me during the meeting, send 

 them to Detroit, care of Antisdel House. The pres- 

 ent indications are that the coming meeting will be 

 one of the most pleasant, interesting, and success- 

 ful ever held l)y the society, and I sincerely hope 

 that as many of you as i)ossible may l)e present ro 

 participate iii tlie '"good time." 



8— \V. ■/.. HlTC HINSON, '.(1—4(1. 



Kogersville, Mich. .«:ee. N. A. B. K. A. 



Friend H.. I want to encourage you in j 

 liavinp; done at least one good thing in this ' 

 matter ; that is, in choosing a liall that we 

 have to pay for. If the bee-keepers of Nortli 

 America can't raise S40.00 for the use of a 

 hall, they are a rather sorry set. 1 am glad, 

 too, that we are to be entertained at a hotel 

 that does not have any whisky-shop just 

 over t'other side, or back of tiie "desk. The 

 doubling-up won't hurt us in the least. 



HOW TO RAISE BUCKWHEAT. 



II-. pukpahation. ami ik 



MAKVEST. 



T SEE considerable in Gi.EAXi.NCis in regard to 

 0^ buckwheat for bee pasture. The main object 

 'll of buekwlieat is to secure a good crop of grain ; 

 '*■ for if you do this you will secure .\-r)Ur crop of 

 honey also. Now to do this tliere arc several 

 tilings to be considered; to wit, tlte quality of soil, 

 the preparation, time of sowing, etc. Buckwheat 

 will not pay in all localities in tliis county. Xeitlier 

 river bottoms, nor a loose rocky soil is good for it. 

 On this accouiU it produces such a lu.vuriant 

 growth of straw that it falls down and does not till; 

 and the fog along rivers is thought to prevent its 

 filling. As a rule it will not do well on a loose 

 stubble-fleld, although I have known some good 

 crops raised on wheat-stubble by breaking up and 

 harrowing down level, then sowing and harrowing 

 in. 



To insure a good crop, select a good sod on a good 

 clay soil that doQS not lie too level, so that it will 

 drain well; break early in the season— the earlier 

 the better; let it lie until near the time to sow, then 

 cross tlic ground, stirring it well, and tlien let it lie 

 a few days. 



Harrow it down level, and sow l>roadcast, :i pecks 

 |ier acre, and harrow again, being carefnl to have 

 the land i>erfeetly dry when worked; for to work 

 laud when wet, for buckwheat, is to destroy the 

 crop. 'I'he sod may be broken when moist, lnit not 

 too wet. After tliis you may just as well not sow at 

 alias to work the land when wet. Tlie time for 

 sowing here is from tlie 15th of June to tlie Kith of 

 July; but if the locality is inclined to be frosty, I 

 would not risk it later than the 1st of July. If your 

 land is prepared as abo\ e, and sowed in time, if the 

 land is strong enough to produce a good sod you will 

 get a good crop without using fertilizers; but if it 

 is not, a light top dressing of stable manure spread 

 on and harrowed iii witii the buckwheat will pro- 



duce a good crop. If you put it on too thick It will 

 cause it to fall down. Lime is a good fertilizer, and 

 also a good phosphate. 



Now a few words in regard to harvesting: Cut 

 when three-fourths of the grains are ripe; cut, if 

 possible, when damp; let it lie in swaths a few days 

 until the straw is partially cured, then rake in good- 

 sized bunches, and set it up, twisting the tops, and 

 then chuck it down well so that it will not fall 

 down. If it does, it will not dry out; and if it 

 should blow down it should be set up at once. 

 Let it stand until dry, which will take from 8 to Ir.' 

 days, if the weather is fine. ] f you have only a few 

 acres, the cheapest way to thrash it is the old way 

 with the Hail, providing you or some of your neigh- 

 bors have a fanning-mill. If it is as dry as it should 

 be, two men will thrash as fast as one can haul, 

 even if you have your floor prepared in the field 

 where it grows. This is done by shoveling off the 

 loose dirt until you come to solid ground, and let it 

 dry off; you can then thrash with but little loss. 

 If, however, you have a large crop you want the 

 separator; and if you ha\e a good barn floor, there 

 is where you want to thrash. The best |)lan, after 

 raising a crop of buckwheat, is to sow the stubble 

 in oats and grass the following spring, so as to get 

 back to a sod. It may be sown down in rye ami 

 grass the same fall, with good results. 



Wm. D. TlTCHEXEI.L. 



Pleasant Hill. W. Va.. Oit. ril, 188.5. 



Thanks, friend T. I believe I should 

 agree with you in regard to buckwheat, only 

 on our clay land we never have any success 

 without phosphate, which we sow with a 

 seed-drill, just as they sow it for wheat. In 

 our locality it seems" to fill better if sown 

 rather late— just so as to escape frost, for 

 instance. (Jur boys are just now thrashing 

 an excellent crop tiiat was sown about the 

 first of August. A\t' drill it injnstas\Ye 

 drill in wheat. 



OUH OWN APIARY. 



AX IMI'OKTATIOX Of 7.") (JIKKXS. 



fE have just received another importation of 

 To queens. They were shipped the ~8th of 

 Sept., and arrived here the 17th of Oct. 

 There were onlj three dead and two miss- 

 ing out of the whole lot. and tlie rest are 

 all safely introduced. Of all the importations of 

 queens we have ever received, 1 think I never saw 

 any equal to these. They are large and yellow, and 

 at this date (Oct. :J2d), are laying nicely. Including 

 the imported queens we already had on hand, we 

 now MO into winter quarters with about a hundred, 

 all told. This will give us a fine vigorous stock for 

 ne.vt seastin. Taking every thing into considera- 

 tion, the imported stock, season after season, seems 

 to gi\e the best results. 



BEE-VEII.S WITH GLASS FIIOXTS. 



Several have sent us veils with glass fronts. We 

 have given them a careful test; and while they are 

 superior for a short time to any thing else for look- 

 ing at eggs, we find them objectionable on account 

 of the steam from the breath forming on the glass 

 so soon. H the weather is at all cold, the glass be- 

 comes coated like the windows of a room on a frosty 

 morning. Even in a warm day some moisture will 

 collect upon the glass. Again, it is liable to be bro- 



