26 



GLEA^i^GS lA BEE CULTU'UE. 



Jan. 



UO BUMBLE-BEES SWAKM ? 



Will you be kind enough to tell us how the colo- 

 nies ol' bumble-bees increase? Do they swarm as the 

 honey-bees do. or not ? And hornets also. 



KECIPE POR HARD HONEV-C'AKE. 



It is first rate; improves as it g-ets older: ti lbs. 

 flour; ;S lbs. honey; r/2 lbs. sugar; lu lbs. butter; 

 •/2 do/,, egg's; '» oz. saleratus; ginger if you like it. 

 Roll out in cards. E. D. Howell. 



New Hampton, N. V. 



I think Prof. Cook will be tlie best man to 

 tell US about bumble-bees. Ff I mistake not, 

 he lias already given us something on the 

 subject, but we want something plain and 

 clear, and covering the whole ground. As 

 the nuitter of different races of foreign bees, 

 including the stingless, is now prominently 

 before us, a brief history of their methods of 

 propagation would also be interesting. Can 

 we not have it soon, friend Cook V 



WHY BEES B.iLL QUEENS. 



C. C. Miller asks, on page 938, " Is it not possible 

 that, in this case, the bees ball their queen for the 

 sake of protecting her? " I have thought of this 

 very point. Such might be the case, but 1 no lon- 

 ger think it possihlc. The act of bees " balling a 

 queen " is not one of protection, but one of ag- 

 gression on the part of the bees. That they do in 

 some instances kill the queen, even if we do nt once 

 shut up the hive and leave them alone, is another 

 fact that goes to show it is aggression. In most 

 cases, as the doctor says, if the hive is at once 

 closed when we find the bees balling their queen, 

 and they are left alone for a few days, she is uftuaUy 

 released, and we find her in no way apparently 

 damaged, e.Kcept the wings are ragged fi-om being- 

 gnawed by the bees. 



4— Abbott L. Swinson, 71—70. 



(ioldsboro, Wayne Co., N. C, Dec. 13, llSSti. 



CAR p. 



I want to ask you if you are sure the small fish in 

 the carp-pond are carp. Here a species of sunfish 

 get in all our ponds, and many persons are deceived 

 by the little fellows, and some have sold them for 

 car}) before learning their mistake. 



OLD BEES AS NURSES. 



The question is asked, "Can old bees act as nurs- 

 es?" Eaj-ly last spring I moved 12 colonies about 7.') 

 yards, and enough bees returned to fairly cover two 

 Simplicity frames. They were furnished brood for 

 queen-raising, and raised one; but she was lost, 

 probably on her wedding-ttight. Afterward they 

 raised another, bvit they then had young bees from 

 a comb of hatching bi-ood Daniel E. Kobbins. 



Pason, 111., Nov. 2."), 188fi. 



Friend 11., our small carp may be suntish, 

 but I hardly think they are. Our pond has 

 no communication with any stream contain- 

 ing lish of any kind. — I have been satisfied 

 for a good while that old bees could act as 

 nurses. 



HINTS TO GARDENERS. 



To destroy the striped bugs on cucumbers and 

 other vines, fill a bucket two-thirds full of the con- 

 tents of the henhouse, then fill up with water; ap- 

 ply the water after it has soaked a while, to the 

 vines. 



If you want to plant cabbage-plants when the 

 groiHid is dry, dig a hole abnut H or 4 inches deep. 



with a lu)e. Pour in a pint of watei". press the roots 

 down in the mud, and pack the loose dirt on top. 



If you want to keep cabbage from bursting, pull 

 up on them till the main roots crack. This might 

 also work with lettuce. 



Should you not be heavy enough to pull, put a 

 2r)-lb. rock in your right and left coat pocket. 



Pleasant Valley. la. C. H. Ehlehs. 



Friend E., I am very much in favor of such 

 remedies as the one you mention for striped 

 bugs ; for if it does not hurt the bugs it will 

 make the cucumbers boom until they out- 

 strip the bugs. Your suggestion in regard 

 to transplanting in dry time is a good one, 

 but it takes a good deal of time. — We have 

 tried the plan you recommend, for keeping 

 cabbage-heads' from bursting, but it always 

 seemed to me like locking the stable after 

 the horse was stolen. Our cabbages some- 

 times burst with a pop, even while holding 

 them in the hands. iSTow, then, if anybody 

 can tell when a cabbage-head is liable to' 

 pop, he is a smarter man in that respect 

 than I am. 



FUEL FOR SMOKEKS; DO BEES REQUIRE WATER 

 WHILE IN THE CELLAR ? 



My wife wishes me to ask you one more question; 

 and that is, what kind of sawdust, or what materi- 

 al do you use in your smoker ? 



Do bees require water in winter when in the 

 cellar? Can bees be moved a mile or two safely 

 at this season of the year ? F. F. Hill. 



Barton, Vt., Oct. 26, 1886. 



The sawdust used in our Clark smoker is 

 bass wood, of a rather stringy nature. It 

 must not be too fine. For further particu- 

 lars in regard to fuel for smokers, see back 

 issues in the department of Our Own Apia- 

 ry, particulai'ly page s,S;j. 



The question in regard to Avater for bees 

 while wintering in a cellar has been fully 

 discussed in our back volumes. Prof. Cook 

 tried giving half of his bees water, and the 

 other half no water ; and while those that 

 had water seemed to want it, and took it up 

 readily when offered, the result was that 

 they did not winter as well as those that had 

 no water at all. 



SUNSHINE FOR HORSES. 



That barn— yes, that barn that so many judges 

 have pronounced the most convenient barn and 

 stable that ever was— oh, where can the free sun- 

 light of heaven get into those stables? They should 

 be so arranged that the sun could shine in to purify 

 the air and warm the stock. You built your hen- 

 house so as to give them plenty of sunlight, and 

 your horses and cows none (if I understand the 

 plan as shown in Gleanings). It would save feed, 

 and your stock would be in better health if confined 

 to the barn much in winter. G. M. Horton. 



Smithboro, N. Y., Nov. 27, UXi. 



Friend II., our horses are out almost every 

 day in the year, winter as well as summer ; 

 and while" it is true that there are no win- 

 dows that give them the sun, the doors are 

 quite often left open when the weather is 

 mild, so that the afternoon sun comes right 

 into their faces. The largest doors of the 

 tool-house, where the manure - spreadei- is 

 kept, are seldom closed unless the weather 

 is cold or stormy. Then there is a pretty 



