1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



617 



aud in what way bees are a benefit in fertilizing 



and cross-fertilizing fruit and other blossoms. Also 

 tell about the reported injuries done to fruits, 

 grapes, etc., by bees, and how they have been ac- 

 cused of "eating- young- ducks," etc., and correct 

 tiiese false impressions. It is the bee-keepers' own 

 fault if our business is not properly brought before 

 the public at agricultural, horticultural, scientific, 

 and other gatherings. To be sure, it is not an easy 

 matter for a large majority, perhaps, of bee-keep- 

 ers to prepare entertaining articles on our special- 

 ty; but "there is nothing like getting used to it." 

 If one is not accustomed to it, and does not feel 

 cajiable of preparing an entire article, just let such 

 a one get, if he has it not already, a work entitled 

 "Bees and Honey," by Thos. G. Newman, and the 

 first fourteen pages will make an interesting intro- 

 duction. It has just such information as is inter- 

 esting to the general public, and written in a very 

 interesting way. When the next opportunity pre- 

 sents, make selections from Prof. Cook's Manual of 

 the Apiary, the A B C of Bee Culture, either or 

 both, always giving proper credit, of course, and 

 you will be surprised at the amount of interesting 

 and valuable information that can be thus furnish- 

 ed to willing listeners. And now that the new edi- 

 tion of Langstroth on the Honey-Bee, just revised 

 by Charles Dadant, is to be had, there seems to be 

 no end to interesting matter. New ideas are put 

 forth, and the old ones are put in new dress, so that 

 one is almost " lost in wonder, love, and praise." 



Then the different bee-journals are constantly 

 teeming with things new and old, so that, if one had 

 nothing else to enjoy or do he might almost revel in 

 an elysium of bee-lore. We bee-keepers should be 

 part and parcel of all agricultural and horticultural 

 gatherings, whether for discussion or fun and frol- 

 lic, and also of many scientific and social gatherings 

 and should " let our light shine." In order to have 

 the proper amount of time allotted to us at these 

 gatherings we must be on hand and have a hand in 

 making up programmes, and see that the right ones 

 are put in to fill the bill. A. B. Mason. 



Auburndale, Ohio, Mar. 18, 1889. 



Friend Mason, I can readily imagine how 

 all these conventions succeeded, had a good 

 attendance, and that fun and frolic, as well 

 as education and information, were the or- 

 der of the day, providing you were present. 

 I have attended some conventions where 

 they could not get hold of a Dr. Mason, a 

 Dr. Miller, nor a Prof. Cook, and it was hard 

 work to keep things lively, and to keep up 

 an interest. We certainly should be part 

 and parcel of all agricultural and horticul- 

 tural conventions, and we ought to let our 

 light shine. If we do not it is very apt to 

 burn dim and go out. May God help us 

 along the line which you have mapped out. 



COMB-HONEY SLANDERS. 



THE CATCLAW AND WAHIA, OF TEXAS, ETC. 



{JM R- ROOT:— I inclose you a copy of the Brack- 

 ett News, our local paper. You will notice 

 an article entitled, "A Professor Mistak- 

 en." As Gr.EANrNOS reaches only those 

 who are fully aware that manufactured 

 comb honey is only a myth, we educate the public 

 in this section by writing occasionally to our local 

 papers. Our greatest opposition here is not from 



the "manufactured comb-honey" people, but from 

 the numerous old fogies who Keep a few box hives 

 and sell a pound of black comb containing honey 

 from various sources, good and bad, pollen, and 

 perhaps a few bees, all for 10 cents. 



You will not, I hope, put us down as frauds for 

 claiming on our letterheads that the catclaw honey 

 is equal to clover honey. You perhaps have not 

 tasted catclaw honey. I have tasted clover honey, 

 aud can judge. We hope that, in a few years, cat- 

 claw honey will be as well known in the North as 

 the clover is in the South. At present, bee-keeping 

 in this section is only in its infancy, and we have 

 not yet any Hetherington, Dadant, Dcolittle, or 

 Heddon, although we may have soon. 



Our principal honey crop is in the spring. Bees 

 fly on and off all through the winter. They work 

 on mistletoe in December and January; aiguitain 

 February; mountain laurel in March. This last is 

 very valuable, as it comes at a time when the 

 queens begin to lay. From the middle of March to 

 the middle of April we have various flowers— prai- 

 rie flowers, pysymon, hackberry, grape, daisy, etc., 

 which stimulate brood-rearing, but not enough to 

 show in the hives. Swarming commences about 

 March 20th and lasts until April 30. Of course, it 

 varies a little. Wahia, a short bush with feathery 

 leaves (like acacia), has round white fluffy balls. 

 This opens April 20, and yields half a crop of flow- 

 ers, generally for three weeks. Catclaw, a bushy 

 tree, has a similar flower, but long. It opens up 

 about May 6, and to that we look for the other half. 

 The honey from both these sources is white, and 

 has a delicate flavor, but it granulates quickly. 



From the end of May to October we have a little 

 honey from corn (which we never extract); and aft- 

 er a heavy rain we have honey from white brush 

 and sage; but it is in such a small quantity that we 

 can seldom keep it separate. It is much superior 

 to catclaw. In October we have sunflowers and 

 broomweed. This honey is amber-colored, but has a 

 nice taste, not too strong. 



This year has proven to us very conclusively that 

 it is an advantage to have out-apiaries. 



Wahia and catclaw are plants for a dry climate, 

 and we had so much rain this winter around our 

 apiaries that the plants had very few flowers on 

 them ; whereas, outside a circle of about teu miles 

 in diameter, of which we were in the center, the 

 wahia and catclaw yielded abundantly. The bees 

 from the apiary had to fly four miles and made only 

 half a crop; whereas, if we had had an apiary at 

 Elm Creek they would have made a full crop. 



The rain fails in spots, and next year the condi- 

 tions may be reversed, or perhaps the same; but 

 in a country where one square mile will yield hon- 

 ey in abundance, and the next square mile none, 

 I think it is well to have out-apiaries. When the 

 year is good we can put from 160 to 200 colonies in 

 one yard, without overcrowding. 



We obtained a select tested queen from Paul 

 Viallon, at the end of April, and we have now over 

 fifty young queens laying that were raised from 

 her, and they are keeping three Langstroth frames 

 full of brood, which is good for this time of the 

 year, when there is no honey. 



We can only reiterate the hope expressed by so 

 many other bee-keepers, that next time . you go on 

 a trip, you will manage to pay us a visit. 



St. Longlf.y Buchanan. 



Brackett, Tex., June 20, 1889. 



