1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



103 



say nothing of 8 and 10 cts. Enthusiasm is 

 a good thing, but it does not always pay 

 debts and get us out of cramped places. 



GETTING THE MOTH OUT OF COMBS BY MEANS 

 OF SUN HEAT. 



Moth worms may not trouble you any, but here 

 they are very troublesome as soon as the combs 

 are away from the bees. Picking- them up with a 

 pin is a long- job, and sulphur fumes are not al- 

 ways handy. As there may be some who, once in a 

 while, will ha\e combs with worms in, I will g-ive 

 you my way of killing them. 



When the sun shines bright and warm! take my 

 combs, two or more at a time— this depends on how 

 warm the sun is, and set them where it will shine 

 directly in the cells. In a short time the worms 

 will begin to hunt the shady side, when I turn the 

 combs over and repeat the operation till the worms 

 have all left, or are dead. By being- careful, not a 

 cell will be injured, even if the sun is warm enough 

 to melt the comb entirely, if left a few minutes too 

 long. Aug. Leyvraz. 



Francis, Fla., Dec. 24, 1886. 



I have noticed, that when combs were set 

 out in the sun, the worms crawled out of 

 the cells, but it never occurred to me before 

 that it was the heat of the sun that made 

 them vacate. If your plan will scare them 

 all out, it is certainly quite an item, espe- 

 cially where black bees are kept. 



tenement plan of wintering. 



When spring opened last season, we had 58 colo- 

 nies with which to begin the season. Fifty of the 

 number were in gooil condition to gather honey. 

 Our crop, 3000 lbs. of comb honey in one-pound sec- 

 tions, and 1.500- lbs. of e.vtracted, was of extra qual- 

 ity. 



Twenty-three colonies were wintered in chaff 

 bee-houses, nmde to winter four and eight. They 

 came out in fine condition. I think this plan of 

 outdoor wintering is one of the cheapest and safest 

 plans known, and one of the most convenient. 

 As they are made adjustable, all bulkiness of 

 hives in the summer time is avoided, and they are 

 also a great protection in spring, against the cold 

 wind. Mj' apiary of 123 stands will be arranged on 

 this plan in fours, two facingjjthe east and two 

 facing the west. 



We have tried to see how much honey we could 

 sell here at home, and I think we did well, consid- 

 ering that the number of inhabitants is less than 

 one thousand. When we began to sell honey we 

 held ours at 15 cents. In a short time the farmers 

 began to bring in honey, selling it at 10 cents in 

 the comb, but we have managed to get 10 cents on 

 an average for it, and have sold 1.500 lbs. at home, 

 and expect to sell more. W. S. Dokman, .58—133. 



Mechanicsville, la., Jan. 12, 1887. 



LICKING stamps. 



See here, friend Root; don't object to people rub- 

 bing postage-stamps on their hair, as Mr. Waller 

 suggests at the bottom of page 27 of Gleanings for 

 Jan. 1, to prevent their sticking together. Your 

 objection is, that if hair-oil is used the stamps will 

 be greasy, and won't stick, and that " t'other fel- 

 low " might " lick his tongue on the stamp after it 

 had been rubbed on greasy hair." Now, a better 

 way is to not have that " t'other fellow " nor any 

 one else " lick " postage-stamps at all. Sometimes 



they get licked too much and don't stick well, and 

 get lost from the letter or package. Just let them, 

 that is, that " t'other fellow," and everybody else, 

 lick, or wet the corner of the envelope, and then 

 place on the stamp without " licking " it. If one 

 has lots of letters or circulars to stamp, just lap a 

 lot of them, leaving room for stamps uncovered, 

 and, with a small wet sponge or cloth, wet all at 

 once, and then put on a large number of stamps in 

 a twinkling. A.B.Mason. 



Auburndale, O., Jan. 3, 1887. 



]\[0¥EP -ft^iJ) QaERIEg. 



WILL BASSWOOD GROW FROM CUTTINGS ? 



ILL linden (basswood) grow from cuttings? 

 If so, when should they be cut, when plant- 

 ed, and how should they be treated, from 

 beginning to end? Will they grow as fast 

 as Cottonwood? U. H. Walker. 



Sabetha, Kan., Jan. 10, 1887. 



[They will grow from cuttings, but it requires an 

 experienced hand to do it. The subject is fully 

 treated in our back numbers. I think they will 

 grow fully as fast as cottonw-ood. The cuttings re- 

 quire a special treatment that makes it somewhat 

 expensive; nnd as seedlings are offered for SIO.OO 

 per 1000 or less, the decision was that it would not 

 pay to grow cuttings.] 



ALSIKE FOR PASTURAGE. 



Alsike makes splendid bee-pasture. It is hard to 

 beat for hay for horses or cattle. They prefer It 

 to any other hay. S. H. F. Schoulte. 



National, Iowa, Dec. 29, 1886. 



AN APIARY NEAR WATER. 



If an apiary is located near a river or lake, <>r 

 on an island of 1 acres, would many of the bees 

 be drowned? Chas. F. Clark. 



Cokeville, Wyo. 



[Unless there are high winds or stormy weather, 

 we think there will be very few bees lost, under 

 the circumstances you mention; in fact, a few col- 

 onies have been kept under similar cii-cumstances, 

 with very good results.] 



OMITTING separators, ETC. 



Please let me know if the criticisms of some 

 friends against the practice of omitting separators 

 between section boxes are well founded when the 

 boxes are notched all around, as lately suggested, 

 and I believe practiced, by friend Foster. 



Knoxville, Tenn., Dec. 7, 1886. Adrian Getaz. 



[My iiiii>i-essi()ii is, f ricnil G., that even with friend 

 Foster's jilan of woikiuti-. we can not afford to omit 

 the sepsinitors. if we want to have real nice straight 

 honey.] 



A REPORT IN REGARD TO BARNES BROTHERS' 

 FOOT-POWER BUZZ-SAW. 



I bought a new combined Barnes machine, with 

 treadle, and a crank attachment. It was the 

 fourth machine I have bought of their make. It 

 is very much better than the old combined. I have 

 used both. G. M. Morton. 



Smithboro, N. 1'., Nov. 27, 1886. 



I should like to ask Ernest if he introduces virgin 

 queens to nuclei in the same way as described on 

 page 1000, Dec. 15. Geo. W. Cook. 



Spring Hill, Johnson Co., Kan., Dec. 22, 18S6. 



[[ have never tried inti-oducing virgin queens by 

 the Peet process, as described in Dec. 1.5th issue, but I 

 presume that it could be done. D. A. Jones claims 

 to do it successfully; and if it can be done at all. I 

 believe that the Peet cage will do it successfully.] 



