iss 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULT UK E. 



JUNE 



from the willow is quite similar to that from the 

 apple-bloom, and of a nice aromatic flavor. As the 

 willows give the flrst pollen, and also the first hon- 

 ey each season, it will be seen what a great hel]> 

 they are to all who have them in profusion near 

 their bees. The only drawback ihere is, is in the 

 weather often being unfavorable, for I do not 

 think that more than one year in three gives good 

 weather all through the time the willows are in 

 blossom. So far as I know, honey and pollen are 

 always present in the respective kinds when they 

 are in bloom; but the trouble is, that it is so cold, 

 rainy, cloudy, or windy for the bees to get to the 

 trees so much of the time, at this season of the 

 year, that honey or pollen from this source is not at 

 all certain. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., May 30, 1889. 



Notwithstanding your strong points in 

 favor of the willow, it hardly seems to me 

 that it would pay to plant it for honey 

 alone. If it could be made to serve the pur- 

 pose of a hedge, or to restrain the banks of 

 a creek or river, or something of that sort, 

 then we might afford to do it. In our lo- 

 cality miles of willow were sold years ago, 

 as a hedge-plant. I have never been able to 

 see. however, that they bore very much hon- 

 ey or pollen either, unless it was during 

 special times for a few days. Perhaps you 

 can tell us which class of willow it belongs 

 to. On the banks of the Mississippi River, 

 in the vicinity of New Orleans, I believe 

 they often get considerable yields of willow 

 honey. Perrine, you may remember, made 

 mention of it. The quality is hardly flrst 

 class. It has a taste considerably like much 

 of the Southern honey. 



BEE-STINGS AND RHEUMATISM. 



SOME POSITIVE AND CONVINCING TESTIMONY AS 

 TO THE VALUE OF THE BEE-POISON. 



T N the May 15th issue of Gleanings, F. Brown 

 M; gives his experience with rheumatism and 

 W beestings, and here is mine. 

 **■ About fifteen years ago T sprained one of my 

 knees. I was lame for a few days, and it got 

 better; but the lameness, accompanied with an 

 ache, came again; and as time passed on it contin- 

 ued to come worse and worse until it got so bad I 

 could neither straighten my leg nor bend it up; 

 and if by accident I did move it from just such a 

 shape it was like biting on the nerve of a decayed 

 tooth. The pain not only stayed at my knee, but 

 extended above and below, and acted as if it had 

 come to stay. I tried a magnetic battery some. 

 I used liniment externally, and "sure cure" inter- 

 nally, with but little relief and no cure. Three 

 years ago we bought five colonies of bees, and with 

 them came the stints, and next the relief. I have 

 not suffered as much from my knee in the whole 

 three years, as I have in some three minutes pre- 

 vious to the stings. I have used no other remedy 

 within this time. I am a farmer, and my work has 

 been very much the same. 



Now, 1 am not jroing to say that bee-stings have 

 cured my rheumatism; but if I had employed a 

 doctor, with the understanding of no pay unless 

 successful. I am very sure he would call for his 

 pay. W. M. Stacy. 



Edgar, Clay Co., Neb., May 30, 1889, 



You have given us a very important fact 

 indeed, and one that seems to be pretty con- 

 clusive. However, as rheumatism often 

 " lets up ' 1 of Itself, in about the way you 

 have described, may be the bees have noth- 

 ing to do with it. You did not tell us how 

 it was in winter time. I suppose there are 

 several months when you do not get stung 

 at all, unless, indeed, you get bees and get 

 stung purposely during the winter. 



CLOVER BLOAT. 



CAUSE AND CUBE. 



R. W. W. BOWLBY desires me to explain the 

 cause of clover bloat. He states that thirty 

 mileh cows in his neighborhood— Southern 

 Illinois— have recently died of I his malady. 

 The fields, he says, are carpeted with white 

 clover, and the season has been very dry. 



This trouble it known as " bloating," Tympanitis, 

 and hoven. It is really gaseous indigestion of the 

 first stomach, or paunch. It is attended with great 

 swelling of the paunch, or rumen, f rom the exces- 

 sive formation of gas. The name Tympanitic comes 

 from the fact that the belly swells out, so that it 

 becomes as tight as a drum-head. This disease is 

 most likely to appear in weak and poorly fed cat- 

 tle when they are flrst turned out to clover. They 

 stuff themselves with the succulent herbage, and, 

 not having strength to digest it, gases are formed, 

 and the bloating appears. The Hanks swell up, the 

 left always; the right, in severe cases, till the sides 

 rise even above the back. The animal moans, 

 breathes hard, reaches out its neck, distends its 

 nostrils, grinds its teeth, often bellows and stamps, 

 and at last staggers and dies in a convulsive fit. A 

 greenish foam or liquid oozes from its mouth and 

 nostrils. If the case is not very severe, aromatic 

 spirits of ammonia— the same that is found so ef- 

 fective to cure sick-headache— may be given. The 

 dose is one ounce in a quart of water every half- 

 hour, till the swelling disappears. Sometimes two 

 or three doses will bring relief. In very severe 

 cases, the paunch should be pierced. This is best 

 done by the use of a trochar and canula. The place 

 to puncture is midway between rib and hip-bone, 

 about three inches from the lateral process of the 

 back-bone. When necessary, the tube or canula 

 may be tied in and left for hours. This permits 

 the gas to escape, and so may save the life of the 

 animal. Animals have been saved by cutting into 

 the paunch with a simple knife-blade. If the cattle 

 are fat, sleek, and well fed, as all cattle should 

 always be, there will be less danger of bloating. 

 Again, animals should not be permitted to eat too 

 much of green feed at once. By commencing on 

 slight rations, and increasing gradually, the trouble 

 will generally be avoided. If cattle are turned first 

 on pasture where there is but little clover, and 

 later where there is much, and only for a few min- 

 utes for the first few days, increasing the time a 

 little each day, there will probably be no serious 

 trouble. The clover when wet is still more harmful. 

 Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



Friend C, in the above you give us some 

 real, practical common sense in the way of 

 veterinary surgery. I shall become a strong 

 convert to doctors and medicine if you givn 

 us some more such examples. I wanted 

 you to tell us, however, what gas it is that 



