1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



639 



ANOTHER ONE GONE. 



Our good friend and bee-keeping brother J. Van- 

 dervort, of Laceyville, Pa., has lost his beloved 

 wife after years of suffering. She died of consump- 

 tion on the 12th inst. The blow is none the less be- 

 cause our friend was long prepared for it. Our 

 hearty sympathy is extended to him in this sore 

 affliction. C. P. Dadant. 



Hamilton, 111., July 19, 1889. 



SULPHUR FOR FUMIGATING. 



Take a common iron pan; to every teacupful of 

 sulphur put a tablespoonful of alcohol in the cen- 

 ter. The sulphur must be thoroughly dry. It can 

 uot be too dry to burn up clean. Damp sulphur 

 will not burn well, and will run. It is not necessary 

 to have a great draft. It will burn with a little 

 draft. M. H Mendleson. 



Ventura, Cal., July 3, 1889. 



STINGLESS BEES. 



Have you ever seen any stingless bees? Gov. 

 B. F. Flanders, while in Mexico, saw several hun- 

 dred hives (the hives being merely hollow logs piled 

 one on the other, pyramid shape), and the bees 

 were stingless. A. L. Redden. 



New Orleans, La., June 29, 1889. 



I. We have never seen any stingless bees, friend 

 K.; but our correspondents have before mentioned 

 the fact that they were pretty common in Mexico. 

 They are of little practical value, however. The 

 amount of honey they gather is insignificant. Like 

 some human beings in a warm climate they live 

 only from hand to mouth. A Mr. Grouen, writing 

 from Brazil to one of the German bee-journals, 

 speaks of 18 kinds of bees, the greater part of 

 which are stingless. 1 



SWARMING OUT AND TAKING THE HONEY WITH 

 THEM. 



We had a swarm of bees that came out the 26th of 

 June. We hived them, and they went right to work 

 carrying honey from the hive they came from into 

 their own, and kept it up two or three days. Now 

 they are all right. W. Burgess. 



Kansasville, Wis. 



[What you mention, friend B., is very singular, 

 although I believe that such things have been re- 

 corded once or twice before— a new swarm going 

 back to the parent hive and carrying off its sup- 

 plies. It has happened, I believe, however, only 

 when there was a dearth of honey after the swarm 

 goes out. If that state of affairs should continue, 

 of course the parent hive would be likely to starve. 

 When the honey-flow commences again, this bor- 

 rowing from the old folks ceases.] 



SPIDER PLANT, ETC. 



Do you still find spider plant as productive as in- 

 dicated in the A B C of Bee Calture? The cut illus- 

 trating the surprise of Novice, old Sol, and the 

 bees, presents an amusing tableau. What plants 

 are best adapted to rather light sandy loam soil? 

 What of the Simpson honey-plant? J. H. Hoag. 



Waterford Works, N. J., July 2, 1889. 



[We still find the spider plant as productive as 

 mentioned iu the ABC, providing it is on very rich 

 ground, and has good cultivation. Such ground, 

 however, if put into strawberries, would give a 

 yield of 100 bushels or more per acre; and so far 

 the 100 bushels of strawberries has proven to be 

 much more profitable than the honey from the spi- 

 der plant. With the latter, however, the bees gath- 

 er the crop without expense. With the strawberries 

 you have to have a swarm of boys and girls.] 



being refined, crosin, ozo-cerotin, or ceresin. Wax 

 is taken from Myrica cerifera and Myriea Garoli- 

 unisis, etc. There are about six different kinds of 

 vegetable wax. It would make a long and interest- 

 ing article for Gle inings. Paul Peine. 

 Martinsburgh, W. Va., July 22. 1889. 



7IN$WEI^ TO QaEg¥I0NP 



FROM OUR ABC CLASS, 



This department is designed primarily to cover questions 

 either not already an wered in the A B C of Bee Culture (price 

 in cloth 81.26), or. it incorporated in this work, are here dwelt 

 upon more in detail on account of the importance of the 

 question. While these answers are of vital interest to the 

 ABC scholars, they will doubtless he found, in many in- 

 stances, to be of considerable value to the more advanced 

 student. For lack of space, the question itself, instead of be- 

 ing directly stated, is omitted, the same being implied in the 

 answer. It is hoped that the class will first consult their 

 text-book before sending in their questions. 



G. C, Connecticut.— If your bees are lying out, 

 smoke them in and give them a little more room, 

 adding a super, if they have not one already. 

 Sometimes it may be advisable to lift the cover up 

 a little temporarily, to give the bees a little more 

 ventilation. 



TO GET RID OF ANTS AMONG THE HIVES. 



J. K., Mi88owri.—To keep black ants out of 

 the hive, get rid of the ant-hills in the immediate 

 vicinity by pouring on them coal oil. Mr. A. B. 

 Manum recommends putting pieces of tarred pa- 

 per on top of the brood-frames. 



TO MAKE SWARMS STAY AT HOME. 



R. A. T., N. Y.—We can not discover anywhere in 

 your letter that you have taken the precaution to 

 put in a frame of unsealed brood into the hive 

 where you put your new swarm. If you are trou- 

 bled by the swarm leaving, try the unsealed brood, 

 and you will be surprised to see what an effect it 

 has in holding them. It is not infallible, but it ex- 

 ercises quite a stay-at-home effect on the bees. 



J. W. M., Pennsylvania.— We have seen chilled 

 brood that looked in every way like foul brood, 

 with the exception of the dark-brown color and the 

 ropiness. We should rather incline to the opinion 

 that your bees are affected with chilled brood were 

 it not for the fact that you say it is spreading. 

 Taking it all in all, we should say it is foul brood. 

 To further assist you, please read the article, " Foul 

 Brood," in the ABC book which we send you. 



mineral wax. 



I was very much surprised to see your inquiry 



about mineral wax in Gleanings. Near Boryslaw, 



Galicia, 50,000 hundredweight of ceresin is dug out 



every year. It is called, when raw, ozokerit; after 



A. Y. B., Illinois.— The latest edition of our ABC 

 of Bee Culture gives very full directions how to get 

 bees into the sections. A recent article from G. M. 

 Doolittle recommends placing a small piece of 

 drone brood in the surplus apartment. Bees will 

 not enter the sections unless honey is coming in at 

 a pretty good rate. The colony should be strong. 

 When we say "strong" we mean ti or 8 pounds of 

 bees. There should be so many they can hardly be 

 accommodated in a single story. 



A SPECIMEN OF FOUL BROOD. 



J. W. M., Pennsylvania.— Your sample of brood 

 came to hand. After carefully examining it wo 

 can not be sure even now that you have real foul 

 brood. The odor from it is more distinct and per- 

 meating than that from the disease which we have 

 had. It can scarcely be called ropy, yet it has some' 

 what of this characteristic. As you say jt is spread-- 



