520 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



We have sent him the money once or twice, to see 

 whether his goods caaic up to representation. The 

 money was returned, sayinji' he was at present out 

 of the article. The advertisement below we find in 

 the Farm and Fireside, Springfield, O. 



TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR KEEPING BEES 



on new plan, and no .stings. Also, how to raise good pork at 



2 cts. a pound, net, without grain. Particulars sent tree. 



Address K. P. Kidder. 



Burlinglon, \'t. 



The heading is, as you must admit, exceedingly 

 taking, and we wrote at once and asked Mr. Kidder 

 to please give us further particulars; and as the 

 pork we raise costs us quite a bit more than 3 cts. 

 a pound, we are quite anxious to learn all about 

 the new plan. Up to date, however, no reply has 

 come to hand. Have any of our i-eaders been more 

 successful? 



IS THE nEE-STING USED FOR ANY f)THEK PURPOSE 

 THAN AS A WEAPON OF DEFENSE? 



Our good friend M. H. Tweed, of Allegheny City, 

 Pa., sends us the following, clipped from the Pitts- 

 burg Chronicle of June 7: 



At a meeting of the Physiological Society iif Berlin, it was 

 given out as a fact, that, when tlie bee has tilled his r-ell. and 

 has eomiih'ted the lid, a droii id furmic acid, dhtii incd from 

 the iioisou liag rviniiectcd with the sting, is added (u tlic honey 

 by perforating the lid with the sting. This fcnnic acid pre- 

 serves honey and every other s'igar solution from fermenta- 

 tion. Most of the insects that have a stinging apparatus simi- 

 lar to that of bees are collectors and storers of honey, so that 

 the sting has a double function— it is a weapon and a pickle. 



We are not much acquainted with the Physiologi- 

 cal Society of Berlin, but it seems to me they had 

 better be sure their facts are facts before they give 

 them out. The item above will probably have some 

 such a run as did Prof. Wylie's " scientific pleasant- 

 ry;" but until somebody can give us some positive 

 facts, gleaned from direct observation, we shall re- 

 fuse to believe that honey needs to be pickled, and 

 that the bees use their stings to pickle it before it 

 will keep without fermentation in the hive. 



STILL ANOTHER BEE-BOOK. 



We have just received from Ivar S. Young, of 

 Christiana, Norway, a copy of his work on bee cul- 

 ture, entitled "Practical Manual of Bee Culture." 

 The book contains 100 pages, 5x6 inches in size, 

 German type. The printing is exquisitely beauti- 

 ful— in fact, the best we have seen in any bee-book, 

 with the exception of Frank Cheshire's. In the 

 book there are 61 cuts of the highest order of en- 

 graving, printed to correspond. Those represent- 

 ing the different parts of the bee, as well as those 

 showing parts of bee-plants, are beautiful indeed. 

 One thing which seems odd to American bee-keep- 

 ers is the "heavy part" which straw plays in the 

 apiculture of Europe, even as far north as those 

 countries intersected by the Arctic circle. On the 

 other hand, some of the most universally adopted 

 principles of American apiculture are alluded to 

 by our European friends more as things of curiosi- 

 ty than as something demanding serious attention. 

 In one respect, however, we think they are far be- 

 hind the age; and that is, in the use of the tobacco- 

 pllie while handling swarms of bees. Here, at 

 least, we are sure tobacco is a detriment; and 

 would it not be .lust as well, friends, not to go to 

 the expense of engraving so useless an appendage, 

 even though you should prefer to use it while work- 

 ing in the apiarj? The price of the book is not 

 stated. The language is Norwegian. 



bees and flies on the WINDOWS. 



My friend, are there any dead bees or dead tiies 

 lying on the sill of any of your windows, in the 

 house, garret, down cellar, on the window of your 



honey-house, the windows of your shop, barn, or 

 any out-buildings that contain windows? If so, let 

 me tell you that it Is against the laws of God, if not 

 the laws of man, to let the little creatures die thus, 

 when the matter is so simply remedied. Raise the 

 window just enough so the bees can creep under 

 the lower edge of the sash, and they will get out 

 themselves. The same is true of files. A great 

 many times I have seen big green flies spotting and 

 soiling the windows badly, when just a little aper- 

 ture at the bottom of the sash would let them out 

 Into the open air. Why, it is a pleasure to me to 

 raise the windows just a little, and let the bees, 

 flies, and other insects shoot out and enjoy their 

 God-given liberty. Another thing, it is painfully 

 untidy to me to see dead insects accumulating on 

 window-sills. I presume that, as a matter of course, 

 a good wife will take care of the windows in the 

 house unless it is some room that you claim espe- 

 cially for your own. But please do take time 

 enough yourself to see to the other buildings I 

 have mentioned. When I go into any of the rooms 

 of our factory, and see a great lot of bees on the 

 window-sill that have buzzed themselves to death 

 while big men and women stood right near day aft- 

 er day, who could not take time or thought enough 

 to let them out, it has almost made me feel indig- 

 nant. I try to attend to all of these things; but 

 sometimes when we have severe storms it is neces- 

 sary to shut the windows clear down, and after 

 that nobod.y seems to take pains to open them un- 

 less I see to it personally. Now take a careful look, 

 will you? and see if there are any windows that are 

 murdering and torturing God's creatures in your 

 vicinity. As a matter of dollars and cents it will 

 also pay .you, for it is a great deal cheaper to let out 

 the insects than It is to scrub off the stains that 

 they make on the glass; for 1 suppose every win- 

 dow gets scrubbed once in a year or two, (?) if not 

 oftener. 



gPECI^Ii ]S[0¥ICEg. 



honey-jumbles. 



The last ten barrels of these delicious cakes for 

 lunch are greatly superior to any thing we have 

 had heretofore. The manufacturers seem to have 

 beaten themselves this time. As tasting Is, how- 

 ever, much ahead of any description, we will send 

 a dozen by mail, as samples, on receipt of 20 cts. If 

 you want more, you can have a whole barrel for an 

 even *5.00. 



FULL COLONIES AND NUCLEI AT GREATLY RE- 

 DUCED PRICES. 



The bees and nuclei referred to on page 347, 

 issue for June 1, will be sold during this month at a 

 discount of 10 per cent from prices given there. 

 This will make a full colony of full-blooded Italians 

 for only f4..50, and a two-frame nucleus, tested 

 queen, $1.8(1. Surely they should all go off' nt these 

 prices where anybody is in want of bees. Remem- 

 ber, this offer is onl.v on this special lot, to be 

 shipped from Quitman, Nodaway Co., Mo. We 

 guarantee them to be fully up to representation. 



circuIjARs received. 



The following have sent us their price lists: 



Stair^iS Cather, Ashville, Ala., send us a 4-page list of I lalian 

 ciueens. 



H. H. Brown, Light Street. Pa., sends us his list of queens. 

 bees, foundation, etc. 



J. H. Houaril, H(dnic, England sends us two catalogues of 

 ever.v thing iii itaining to bee culture. They are very attract- 

 ively printed, one being lithographed. 



