1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE 



893 



and Africa, as I love myself. If the straw- 

 berries I raise have to be sold low because 

 two great bananas can be bought for a nick- 

 el, what is my loss will be their gain ; and 1 

 hope I feel as happy in feeling that their 

 bananas are moving off rapidly (so they can 

 be busy and happy in raising more)— yes, 

 happier, than if I got 15 or 20 cents a quart 

 for my great big strawberries. — Yes, I did 

 go to see those lilies with leaves as big as a 

 small cart-wheel, rieht during convention 

 time. Mrs. Boot has just one brother in this 

 world, and that brother has just one daugh- 

 ter. I have heard more or less about her 

 for twenty years or more, but I never saw 

 her till the first day of the Chicago conven- 

 tion. She was an utter stranger in a 

 strange land — had never seen the great city 

 at all, and had never had a glimpse of Lake 

 Michigan, nor of any other lake, until I 

 went out to Lincoln Park with her. She 

 was to take the evening train home, and so 

 there was almost no way but to take a little 

 time from the convention. I am quite cer- 

 tain that I lost a good deal by being absent ; 

 but I do not believe that the rest of you lost 

 very much — especially when you had so 

 many bright stars in the apicultural world 

 who were also good talkers. I know it costs 

 money to go to conventions. It frightens 

 me sometimes to think of it. But let us 

 avoid the other extreme by being penurious. 

 What did God give us goods and money for ? 

 First, to glorify his holy name ; second, to 

 use for the good of our neighbors and fel- 

 low-men. 



Pe^djs 0F 6rii]s 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



RAT-TAILED MAGGOTS. 



Mr. H. G. Frame, Manchester, Ind., sends me a 

 large fine two-winged fly which he finds about his 

 hives. He asks me to write it up in Gleanings. 

 The only thing of special interest in this insect is, 

 that the larva, or maggot, is not only worm-like, in 

 being without feet, but it is often called the rat- 

 tailed maggot, as there is a long tail-like organ, 

 which carries a spiracle at its end. This maggot 

 lives in filthy water— water containing decaying 

 organic matter— and so finds this tail useful in lift- 

 ing its one breathing-mouth out of the water, to get 

 pure air. The fly that lays the eggs in this filthy 

 water is a plump, brownish-yellow insect, looking 

 quite like a bee. These flies are generally seen 

 about flowers, where they search for honey and pol- 

 len. Of course, their mimicry serves them well; 

 for, as they resemble bees, birds are rarely tempted 

 to catch them. In macerating the bones of animals, 

 when we place them in water in barrels, we often 

 get a large supply of these rat-tailed maggots, and 

 see the flies about, laying their eggs. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



noise made by bees in quick motion; and on closer 

 observation I discovered that they were drones. 

 They would drop nearly to the ground, and then 

 rise again, only to again descend. The queen and 

 one drone dropped at my feet, falling to the ground 

 before they became disconnected. After they had 

 become separated, the queen remained on the 

 ground a sufficient length of time for me to pick 

 her up in my hand and examine her closely. She 

 was a very nice Italian, and I could not resist trying 

 the experiment of introducing her to a colony of 

 mine that I wanted to supersede their queen. I did 

 so with entire success, by caging her in over night. 



We increased from 4 to 21 colonies this season. 

 We had a fine rain to-day, which is the third this 

 season, something out of the common for California. 

 The hills and valleys are quite green. 



The Ignotum seed I got of you last spring is mak- 

 ing fine tomatoes. They are very fine-flavored, and 

 contain a great deal of meat. Thanks for the seed. 



Los Angeles, Cal., Oct. 30, 1889. J. W. Towns. 

 Thanks for the valuable item you furnish, 

 friend T. It corroborates the statements 

 that have already been made. 



SHUTTING THE BEES IN THE HIVES TO KEEP THEM 

 FROM FLYING OUT AND DYING 



IN THE SUN. 



Mr. Henry Leek, a neighbor of mine, is quite a 

 successful bee-keeper. I wish to give you his mode 

 of wintering bees, and ask you and others what you 

 think of it. He uses a telescope hive, with the Gal- 

 lup frame. He leaves them all winter on the sum- 

 mer stand, without any protection whatever— not 

 even a windbreak; and when it gets cold enough for 

 snow to begin to fly briskly, he stops the entrance 

 with wire cloth, so as to prevent the bees from tak- 

 ing a flight until the cloth is removed in the spring. 

 What do you think of it? C. L. Cook. 



Glen Hock, Neb., Oct. 29, 1889. 



Friend C, fastening bees in their hive 

 with wire cloth while they remain on their 

 summer stands might answer in Nebraska, 

 but it surely would not do here. We have 

 days almost every week in the winter time 

 when the bees would crawl around the en- 

 trance so as to injure themselves, and per- 

 haps smother the colony. So long as the 

 weather keeps down to the freezing-point, 

 or pretty near it, the wire cloth, without 

 doubt, will do no harm. Perhaps if a two- 

 inch space were provided above the entrance, 

 where the dead bees could fall out of the 

 way, it might work better ; but I do not 

 think I would advise fastening bees in their 

 hives when wintered outdoors. 



QUEEN AND DRONE IN COPULO, AS SEEN BY AN 

 EYE-WITNESS. 



In Gleanings for Oct. 1, page 774, Prof. Cook 

 desires to know if any one has ever seen the drone 

 and queen fall to the ground in copulo. In June, 

 1888, 1 was fortunate enough to witness a case of 

 this kind. I was first attracted by a considerable 



THE APIARIAN EXHIBIT AT THE WORLD'S EXPOSI- 

 TION FOR 1892. 



Friend Root:— Until last Saturday I did not know 

 that you had said any thing in Gleanings about 

 my taking charge of the apiarian exhibit at the 

 World's Exposition in 1892, and I 6hould not have 

 known it yet had not Prof. Cook written to me, 

 " seconding " what you said in regard to it on page 

 743. Many thanks for your kindly mention of me, 

 and I'm sure I appreciate your good opinion. I 

 was from home so much at the fairs, etc., that the 

 bee-journals were slighted for several weeks. 



I have thovyht a good deal in regard to the fizzle 

 of the apiarian exhibit from the U. S., at Paris, and 

 had come to the conclusion in my own mind that 

 we must make the grandest display, or exhibit, of 



