1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



503 



]\[ote£ TijYD Queried 



We solicit for this department short items and questions o£ 

 a practical nature; but all questions, if accompanied by oth- 

 er matter, must be put upon a separate slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



THE MINORCAN BEES. 



'ILL you please inform rae about Minorcan 

 queens or bees? Are tbey docile, like the 

 ] talians, or are they like the blacks? What 

 race of bees are they? Are they any good? 

 Bees are working on maple; no winter 



lOSS. JOSIAH EASTBURN. 



Fallsiogton, Bucks Co., Pa., Apr. 8, 1889. 



[Not much is yet known respecting the Minorcan 

 bees and queens. Mr. F. F. Andreu, of Port Mahon, 

 Island of Minorca, Spain, says they are fairly good- 

 behaviored bees, though, if we are correct, not 

 quite so gentle as the Italians nor so vindictive as 

 the Eastern bees. They arc fairly prolific. Mr. 

 Andreu can furnish such particulars as you require. 

 He writes English.] 



BEES JUST BOOMING. 



Bees are just booming out here. I have had two 

 swarms, and every hive in the yard is working in 

 the sections. John Blodget. 



Flag Springs, Mo., May 25, 1889. 



SNAKE IN A BEE-TREE. 



Not long since I found a bee- tree; and when I cut 

 it, in the hollow with the bees I found a good large 

 black snake, but very few bees, and no honey. 

 From the looks of the comb I thought they must 

 have gone in the tree last season. S. L. Medlin. 



Moltke, Teun., May 18, 1889. 



feeding inside or odt of tqe hive. 



How far away from my two hives must I put syr- 

 up to feed them (I suspect their honey is getting 

 s jarce), so that they won't begin to " rob ?" 



Red Creek, N. Y. A. D. McIntosh. 



[Do not put the syrup outside at all. Put it in a 

 pan, or, better, a regular feeder inside of the hive. 

 If there is not room in the hive, put on another 

 super or body, and place the feeder on the frames.] 



WHY ARE BEES CROSS DUIUNG SWARMING TIME? 



Why is it that bees are so cross in swarming this 

 year? I never had trouble before. 1 know of oth- 

 ers the same way. 1 have the Italian bee. They 

 have been well fed this spring, and they are strong 

 and healthy. W. N. George. 



Mechanicstown, O., May 30, 18811. 



Lit" you have had such weather during the month 

 of May as we have had here, I do not wonder that 

 the bees are cross. A great part of the time it has 

 been too cold for the bees to fly, and too cold for 

 them to secrete honey, besides being rainy to an 

 unusual extent. Cold storms always cut off the 

 honey-supply, and make the bees cross.] 



HIVING IN 30 SECONDS. 



Prepare a one-story hive by lightly nailing the 

 bottom to it with large entrance; leave out the 

 frames. Prepare a one-story hive with frames for 

 the bees to occupy. Place all convenient to where 

 the bees have settled; shake the bees into a large- 

 mouthed tin pan; dump them into the story with- 

 out frames; place the one with frames on top of it; 

 tap lightly on it and the bees will go up into it, and 

 the work is done. I was timed, a week or two ago, 

 and I hived a swarm in 30 seconds. 



HornhilL Texas, May 17, 1889. G. L. Jennings, 



Every boy or girl, under 15 years of age, who writes a let- 

 ter for this department, containing some valuable fact, not 



GENERALLY KNOWN, ON BEES OR OTHER MATTERS, will receive 



one of David Cook's excellent five-cent Sunday-school books. 

 Many of these books contain the same matter that you find in 

 Sunday-school hooks costing from 81.00 to $1.50. If you have 

 had one or more books, give us the names that we may not 

 send the same twice, we have now in stock six different 

 books, as follows; viz.: Sheer Off, Silver Keys. The Giant-Kill- 

 er; or. The Roby Family, Rescued from Egypt, Pilgrim's 

 Progress, and Ten Nights in aBar-Room. We have also Our 

 Homes, Part I., and Our Homes, Part II. Besides the above 

 books, you may have a photograph of our old house apiary, 

 and a photograph of our own apiary, both taken a great many 

 years ago. In the former is a picture of Novice, Blue Eyes, 

 and Caddy, arid a glimpse of Ernest. We have also some pret 

 ty little colored pictures of birds, fruits, flowers, etc., suitable 

 for framing. You can have your choice of any one of the 

 above pictures or books for every letter that gives us some 

 valuable piece of information. 



MY BROTHER'S BEES. 



My brother has six stands of bees. He got 128 

 pounds of honey last year. We ate over half of it, 

 and sold the rest. Maud Chadwick, age 10. 



Lorings, Kan. 



turkeys. 



I saw your notice in Gleanings. I don't know 

 much about bees, so I'll write about turkeys. Every 

 one knows that they are easily drowned, and they 

 must be kept out of the water when they are little. 

 This fact every person may not know: That some 

 who have the best success in raising them feed 

 them quite often broken dishes pounded into small 

 pieces. Martha Wright, age 11. 



Cooperdale, O., Feb. 26, 1889. 



BEES AND TURKEYS. 



Papa had 120 colonies last fall. He doubled up 

 some of the weak ones, and now has 114. He makes 

 his own foundation with the machine he bought of 

 you. We also raise turkeys. We have the bronze, 

 and we have a pair of wild ones. Last year we 

 raised some half-bloods that weighed 20 lbs. when 

 six months old. They were the finest in the mar- 

 ket. The wild ones are the prettiest, and will tly 

 much higher aud further. Ray C. Johnson. 



Venice Center, Mich., Mar. 6, 1889. 



SWEET POTATOES, HOW TO KEEP. 



Father has been keeping bees for 20 years. He 

 caught his first swarm when he was 16 years old. 

 The winter of 1870 they all died, and last winter all 

 died but three stands. He has eight stands now. 

 He uses Simplicity hives. I believe it is not gener- 

 ally known that sweet potatoes wrapped in paper, 

 each one by itself, and kept in a dry place, free 

 from frost, will keep all winter. 



Oxbow, Ills. Albert Forrest, age 13. 



A SNAIL AND A "POISON THING." 



Papa hasn't any bees, and so I can not write 

 about them, only that he is going to get some as 

 soon as he can. One day I found a snail. It was 

 all like glue, and had a cap on^his head; and it 

 could raise it up and stick its head out. I liked to 

 watch it crawl. My sister and I went to get some 

 wood, and we found a poison thing. G It had two 

 feet in front, like a crab's feet, and had a tail, on the 



