1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



133 



doors in the summer time, running all over 

 the hives, each bee making a mournful 

 noise with its wings, and this happened not 

 long after I had removed the queen ; there- 

 fore 1 took it for granted that it was a lam- 

 entation over the loss of a queen. At 

 such times the colony is pretty certain to 

 accept any sort of queen you have on hind 

 to give them ; and some authors have rec- 

 ommended removing the queen and wait- 

 ing until the bees begin to mourn or " roar," 

 as you term it. The trouble is, however, 

 the greater part of the time they start 

 queen-cells without any roaring at all ; at 

 least, we do not discover any. 



WHITE CLOVER ; WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT FA. 

 VORABLE TO ITS GROWTH ? 



I should like to read a thorough essay on the sub- 

 ject of white clover, particularly as to what condi- 

 tions are most favorable to its growth, and what 

 kills it off so thoroughly some seasons. Five years 

 ago, when I came to this State, it was abundant 

 everywhere, and two tine crops of honey followed 

 the succeeding years. Then the dry August and 

 fall of 1886, followed by a severe winter, destroyed 

 it almost completely. Was it the drouth or the 

 winter, or both, that killed it? Will freezing and 

 thawing kill it as it does wheat and red clover? 



Chillicothe, Mo., Jan. 9, 1889. B. A. Rapp. 



I think that freezing and thawing does 

 kill white clover, but I am not prepared to 

 answer further as to why it is plentiful dur- 

 ing some seasons and not at others. 



THE EFFECTS OF THE RECENT CYCLONE IN A 

 PENNSYLVANIA APIARY. 



Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 9, we had a regular 

 old-fashioned western cvclone. It went right 

 through our bee-yard; and when I went out I 

 would almost have given away bees, hives, and all. 

 The wind upset 15 or 20 hives, dumped the bees on 

 the ground, then carried the empty hives away. 

 Some of the hives were blown 200 ft. I was out as 

 soon as the worst was over, and picked up all I 

 could. From some of the hives we lost over one- 

 half the bees, as it was blowing and hailing. Next 

 morning I went out and picked up bees by the 

 handful, brought them in, and revived them. 

 Within a square of our place, four houses were 

 leveled to the ground, besides a part of a large fac- 

 tory just finished (Demorest sewing-machine fac- 

 tory), but happily no one was hurt. I hope the 

 next cyclone will take another direction. 



Frank W. Lighton. 



Newberry, Pa., Jan. 17, 1889. 



Friend L., we are very sorry to hear of 

 your losses during the storm of Jan. 9 ; but 

 it verifies what I said about the warning 

 the barometers gave us on that morning. 

 Most of you, probably, have heard about the 

 destruction of the bridge just below Niaga- 

 ra Falls, at the same time. I knew nothing 

 about that when I wrote that editorial on 

 page 09. Not only serious losses of proper- 

 ty, but a great loss of life, resulted from 

 that cyclone which our barometers foretold. 



passed that line for the day, leave it and go the 

 next day; and when the sun gets on the line, with 

 your hatchet in your hand start for the sun, lop- 

 ping bushes or marking trees as you pass, and 

 mark the line to the extent of where you think 

 they go. Then retrace your line and find your 

 bees. I have never failed to find them over four 

 rods from my line, and that was where they were 

 behind a high hill, and would pass a low point of 

 the hill, and then take nearly a right angle to get to 

 their home. If you get two or three lines, as I have 

 sometimes, take the early one as the sun comes to 

 it, and then the next, and so on. J. Andrews. 



Pattens Mills, N. Y., Jan. 9, 1889. 



A NOVEL METHOD OF FINDING BEE-TREES, AND A 

 GOOD ONE TOO. 



Although out of season, I thought T would send 

 you a plan for bee-hunting. Get on the north side 

 of where the bees are likely to be, and in an open 

 space if you can. Get a good line. If the sun has 



THE BEST TREES, BOTH FOR TIMBER AND HONEY. 



Do bees get honey from the following: White- 

 ash and elm blossoms? soft maple? walnut-blos- 

 soms? honey -locust? box -elder? larch -blossoms? 

 What trees are best to plant for the combined pur- 

 poses of timber and honey? There are no natural 

 forests here, but we plant our groves. 



Sharon, Kas., Jan. 23, 1889. J. L. Pelton. 



I believe that bees occasionally work on 

 all the trees you have mentioned, and, for 

 that matter, there is scarcely a tree or plant 

 known, that produces blossoms, that is not 

 visited by the bees, say during an occasional 

 season. Probably the best honey-plant in 

 the world, all things considered, is bass- 

 wood, and basswood timber is now bringing 

 a very fair price, for a variety of purposes. 

 I think I would put whitewood (or tulip) 

 next. Perhaps others can help fill out the 

 list, 



DOES SHADING HIVES TEND TO DISCOURAGE 

 SWARMING? 



What effect would a shade over hives have on 

 swarming— shade high enough for an operative to 

 be able to walk under, the same as Casanova's, of 

 Cuba, shade to be put up about June 1st, so bees 

 would have the advantage of the sun nearly up to 

 swarming time? What has been the average crop 

 of honey for the last 10 years in the different locali- 

 ties of your answering correspondents? State 

 coml) and extracted. I. Langstroth. 



Seaforth, Ont., Can., Jan. 28, 1889. 



It has been several times suggested that 

 bees often swarm because their hives stand 

 directly in the sun, and get too hot, especial- 

 ly where the hives are dark-colored. lam 

 inclined to think that the color of the hive 

 and its full exposure to the sun might have 

 some effect in hastening the issuing of 

 swarms.— The average crop of honey secured 

 by the leading bee-keepers in the United 

 States, according to reports in our Question- 

 Box for Sept. 1, 1S87, was 50 lbs. per colony 

 for comb, and from 75 to 100 lbs. of extract- 

 ed. While occasional yields ran away up 

 beyond this, the average is pretty nearly as 

 we have stated. 



QUEENS INJURED BY SHIPPING. 



On page 23, Jan. 1, I find: "If you and friend 

 Doolittle are correct (and you may be to a certain 

 extent), why is it that we have never heard more 

 frequently of such failure of egg-laying before? 

 Now, it is just possible that your last sentence ex- 

 plains the difference in our experiences." That is 

 just it. Friend Root, of the 2000 or 3000 queens 

 which you sell annually, these are all, except about 



