1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



859 



for human food any thing which they decide 

 is tit to be placed in their hives. Of course, 

 this remark would not include poisonous 

 substances used to kill insects, etc. What- 

 ever nature furnishes, and the bees gather 

 and store in their hives, I think is, as a rule, 

 fit for food. I should be careful about dis- 

 carding any honey that is nicely ripened 

 and sealed up. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



AWAY FKOM HOME WITHOUT YOUR BIBLE. 



1 am much interested and refreshed from time io 

 time in reading- your pieces for Our Homes, and 

 have been especially struck to-day with what you 

 say on page 751, respecting the difficulty you expe- 

 rienced in getting a Bible. I remember about two 

 or three years ago. when going- from home to visit 

 some relatives for a few days, my bag being rather 

 closely packed I omitted taking my Bible, thinking 

 there would be no difficulty in getting three or four 

 if necessary; but to ray surprise and grief I found I 

 caused some unpleasantness in getting the loan of 

 one to take to chapel with me on the Sunday morn- 

 ing. It taught me this lesson: Never to leave my 

 own " Sword " at home again, and expect to borrow 

 from others. It reminds me of the ten virgins say- 

 ing, "Give me of your oil," and getting refused, 

 while we are gone to buy oil (or a Bible). We may 

 lose the opportunity for using it. Better leave our 

 night cap or Sunday bonnet at home than our 

 Bible. 



My other half is known as " Amateur Expert," so 

 you had better put me down as 



Yours sincerely, Mrs. A. E. 



1 am exceedingly obliged to you for your 

 very kind words. The parable you refer to 

 (the ten virgins) surely does seem to hit the 

 point exactly. Since that time, when I have 

 been away from home I have been provided 

 as you suggest. 



SUGAR-MILLS IN THE SOUTH. 



I have left my little farm, and am at work on the 

 Valley R. R. as lineman. It is funny to see the 

 planters cutting cane in one part of the plantation, 

 and planting it in another. They start to make up 

 the cane this week ; from the top of a telegraph pole 

 I can see a dozen or more sugar-mills. An im- 

 mense old brick mill is going to ruin. The roof had 

 tumbled in on one part. The appliances were be- 

 hind the times. It has not been used since the war. 

 Although it was Sunday, three men came from the 

 swamp, with a fawn. I have not seen Gleanings 

 in three months; but the queen-bee at home reads 

 it. R. R. Williams. 



Baton Rouge, La., Oct. 16, 1889. 



MOVING A WHOLE APIARY WITHOUT A SINGLE 



ACCIDENT. 



I moved my whole apiary, of about sixty colonies, 

 without a single accident— not a comb broken 

 down. I moved them on a wagon without springs. 

 I put about 6 or 8 inches of hay in the bottom of the 

 body, and I think it better than springs. I have no 

 fall honey, as we have had too much rain. 



J. W. MARTIN. 



Greenwood Depot, Va., Oct. 5, 1889. 



ANOTHER COLONY OF BEES LIVING AND PROSPER- 

 ING IN THE OPEN AIR. 



I send a rough pencil-drawing of a swarm of bees 

 which I took from the under side of an oak limb 

 about three inches through, where they had begun 

 building their home. The tree stood on my neigh- 

 bor's place. He found them about two or three 

 weeks before I got them, August 20. They could 

 not have been there long before he found them, 

 for he passed the place nearly every day. They had 



A COLONY OF BEES IN THE OPEN AIR. 



three cards of comb, about 6x9 inches, and a nar- 

 row one besides. They had no honey, and not much 

 brood. I think the swarm was small, because there 

 was not much honey to be had at this season. I 

 have heard of such cases in California, but this is 

 the second case I have known of here. I send the 

 drawing, thinking it might be something of a curi- 

 osity. It is not a common thing. If any one else 

 has seen the like, I should like to hear about it. 

 Sarasota, Fla., Aug. 21, 1889. Joseph Costello. 



THE FOUNTAIN PUMP, AND HOW TO " DOCTOR IT." 



My fountain pump does not work very well. It 

 catches, and the pitman will not move readily. 

 Then when it does go it goes with a rush. I have 

 tried to get the thing apart to see What is the trou- 

 ble with it, but have not succeeded. I want to take 

 it to Cuba with me, to use in swarming time; but I 

 should like to have it work all right. Can you sug- 

 gest a remedy? A. W. Osburn. 



Dehesa, Cal., Sept. 3, 1889. 



P. S.— Hold! Since 1 wrote the above I have fixed 

 the pump. 1 took off the nozzle and poured the 

 pump full of castor oil, and now it works like a 

 charm. No charge for this. A. W. O. 



The above is an extract from a letter of 

 friend Osburn 's. As others may have expe- 

 rienced a similar trouble, we give it to our 

 readers. 



NOT YELLOW QUEENS, BUT QUEENS FOR HONEY. 



It turns out that the yellow queens that we have 

 been paying such a bountiful price for are only 

 second or third class queens for the production of 

 honey. Well, that is just my experience; and the 

 decision of thatquestion in Gleanings will produce 

 a revolution in the queen-business. 



La Otto, Ind., Sept. 25, 1889. E. S. Hanson. 



We don't deny but there are nice yellow 

 bees that are likewise good honey-gather- 

 ers ; but the tendency on the part of queen- 



