1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



743 



bees worked very little on the Japanese, while they 

 were fairly swarming- on the silverhull. From what 

 I can learn by observation, tastes differ in the dif- 

 ferent races of bees. I should like to know if there 

 is a difference in the quality of honey made by the 

 two races; and if so, which is the best? In looking 

 over my bees last week I saw two queens in each of 

 two hives— one old one and one young- one. I knew 

 the old ones, for their wings were clipped; but they 

 were much smaller than the young- queens. Is it a 

 common occurrence? B. S. Hanson. 



La Otto, Ind., Aug. 7, 1K89. 



It is not uncommon to see black and hy- 

 brid bees gathering dark buckwheat honey, 

 while Italians are gathering light honey 

 from clover. 



HONEV-POISONING IN NEW ZEALAND. 



I send you a clipping from one of our papers, on 

 honey-poisoning. It is the first case of the kind I 

 have heard of in New Zealand. Thomas Dixon. 



Masterton, New Zealand, July 12, 1889. 



A few days ago a northern telegram gave partic- 

 ulars of a remarkable case which had occurred near 

 Matata, in the Bay of Plenty, where three brothers, 

 who had gone into the bush in search of honey, 

 were poisoned, and two of them died. It was sup- 

 posed that this fatal result had been because they 

 had eaten of honey which contained some poison- 

 ous ingredient. Mr. Hopkins, who is our best au- 

 thority on the subject of bees and honey, wrote to 

 the New Zealand Herald, stating that the only plant 

 which had ever been known to convey poisonous 

 qualities to the honey was the wharangi, but it 

 could not have caused these deaths, and, besides, 

 this was not the season when the bees could gather 

 any thing from it. Mr. R. de Thierry has given the 

 Herald some important information on the subject. 

 He states that on one occasion he was traveling 

 along the sea-coast with some Maoris when they fell 

 in with a store of honey accumulated by some wild 

 bees. Mr. de Thierry and one of the natives ate 

 heartily of the honey as they found it. Soon after 

 Mr. de Thierry was affected with giddiness, and fell 

 down, feeling very ill. The native who had eaten 

 with him was similarly affected. The Maoris 

 promptly adopted remedial measures, such as they 

 had probably tried before in similar cases. They 

 kindied a fire, piled some seaweed upon it, and held 

 Mr. de Thierry amongst the fumes till he became so 

 sick that he vomited freely. By and by he got bet- 

 ter, and the native, under similar treatment, also 

 recovered. Mr. de Thierry says that the poisoning 

 arises from the bees having access to the karo 

 {ptttosporum crassifolium), a tree or shrub which 

 grows all around the coast of New Zealand. At a 

 certain season a kind of gum exudes from the karo, 

 which the bees use for the wax of the combs. The 

 poison is in the wax, not in the honey. This matter 

 is of importance, for bee-keeping is now general, 

 and the karo is being generally planted, as it makes 

 a pretty and useful hedge. Tt can stand any 

 amount of stormy weather, and also the spray of 

 the sea.— Evening Post, Wellington, New Zealand. 



shall the bee-keeping industry be repre- 

 sented AT THE WOKLD'S FAIR IN 1892? 



It is now a pretty well-understood fact, that in 

 1892 we are to have a grand " World's Fair " in New 

 York, and in that case it is important that the ex- 

 hibit of bees, honey, and supplies, be the finest 

 ever seen in this or any other country. A grand 

 exhibit of this kind would do wonders in increasing 

 the market for honey, and would do our whole in- 

 dustry a world of good. Let us therefore put our 

 shoulders to the wheel by recommending some one 

 to act exclusively for our industry, on the proper 

 committee, and have an exhibit that will show the 

 world that we are the foremost nation in bee-keep- 

 ing. It would be well for our conventions to rec- 

 ommend some one who has the welfare of the 

 whole industry at heart, and who is within reach of 



the city. If the several conventions will send me 

 their i-ecommendations I will see that they reach 

 the proper authorities, as I am constantly in New 

 York. I have already written to the Mayor, urging 

 the appointment of some one to look after bee- 

 keepingand beekeepers' supplies; but the recom- 

 mendation of our different conventions would be of 

 far greater weight. Let us start the ball rolling, 

 and we shall see such an exhibition in our line as 

 was never seen before. John Aspinwall. 



Barrytown, N. Y., Aug. 26, 1889. 



Your suggestions are good, friend A., 

 and we heartily indorse the scheme. Why 

 wouldn't Dr. A. B. Mason, the president- 

 elect of the N. A. B. K. A, be the man? 

 He has had more experience in this line 

 than any one else we know of. He is big 

 enough in every sense of the word to talk 

 down the comb-honey slanders. Let's vote 

 for the doctor. 



A CHEAP SUBSTITUTE FOR ENAMELED CLOTHS, 

 ETC. 



In a late issue of Gleanings you say that the 

 bees will always cut out paper. I have used manil- 

 la tag-board, 100 sheets, 24 x 36, 100 lbs., worth $2.25, 

 for a number of years, for covers, in place of cov- 

 ers or enamel cloth, and I very much prefer them. 

 The bees never cut them unless I am careless and 

 let them get at the edges, by leaving, say, % inch 

 bee-space. I paint the board with oil andi ocher. 

 From the above you will see they are cheap. Sev- 

 eral issues back you speak of sulphur. Have you 

 tried melting it in an iron kettle or ladle, and dip- 

 ping in it strips of strawboard or several folds 

 of coarse wrapping-paper? This was the way my 

 grand-paronts used it in England, and I have failed 

 to have an improved way pointed out. Nail one or 

 two uprights on a block; set the block on some- 

 thing not combustible; lay in the sulphur; match 

 and fumigate as you wish. 



Our bees are doing the best they have done for a 

 number of years; though our best harvest (golden- 

 rod and fall flowers) is not yet opened. 



Erametsburg, la. J. C. Bennett. 



No doubt, manilla tag-boards as heavy as 

 you mention would answer the purpose nice- 

 ly. They are very apt to get injured, how- 

 ever, and can not be peeled over the frames 

 like the enamel cloth, and therefore they 

 have not found much favor. 



RAISING CELLS ABOVE A QUEEN-EXCLUDING HON- 

 EY-BOARD ; WHO HAS THE PRIORITY OF THE 

 IDEA NOW? 



In the spring of 1882 I adopted a plan of artificial 

 swarming by shaking the bees off the combs on to 

 frames filled with foundation, and placing the 

 brood in a third story on top, or over the wide 

 frames. I found, by cutting out the ends of the 

 wide frames, that enough, bees would go up to care 

 for the brood, and that they would build queen- 

 cells every time. I used a queen-excluding honey- 

 board over the frames in the lower story. 1 com- 

 municated the above facts to Mr. W. J. Rasin, of 

 Jenkintown, Mont. Co., Pa. (since deceased). He 

 wrote to Mr. Heddon, asking his opinion of the 

 plan. Mr. Rasin told me that Heddon did not think 

 very favorably of it. I am not sure, but I think he 

 also wrote to Mr. Hutchinson about it. I mention- 

 ed it in a letter to Doolittle, and I also wrote to you, 

 stating that J would describe the method in an or* 



