774 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



and a good deal of feeding will have to be done for 

 winter. 



Every neighborhood appears to demand a man- 

 agement peculiar to itself ; and the conflict among 

 bee-masters appears to grow out of this law of con- 

 traries among bees. It appears to be conceded 

 generally, tlnit uniting weak colonies in the spring 

 onlj' aggravates matters. The strengthened colo- 

 nies, being aroused to renewed vigor, exhaust 

 themselves in vain efforts to forage for the young 

 brood that is at once started, the warmth of in- 

 creased numbers contributing to stimulate the 

 queen. These old bees are exhausted by fruitless 

 efforts, and perish rapidly. Unite early and feed 

 heavy, keeping the hives packed close and warm. 

 A good store of food places the doublcd-up colonies 

 on an equal footing with those which have main- 

 tained their strength through the winter. Other 

 methods mayiprove better in other neighborhoods; 

 but in this, weak spring colonies manage to make 

 only a living, -indgrow to be fair colonies by fall, 

 giving no surplus generally. Dr. Morrison is but 

 eight miles distant from vis, and he reported a few 

 days in July the heaviest honey-flow he ever saw. 

 There was a fair yield here at the time, but nothing 

 unusual; and the previous week, when the doctor's 

 bees were starving, mine were living on the fields 

 comfortably. In one thing, however, there is al- 

 most a universal agreement: This has been the 

 poorest honej- season throughout the U. S. in many 

 years. E. E. Ewing. 



Rising Sun, Md.. Sept. 26, 18S7. 



Now, friend E., if it was too wet with you 

 and too dry with us, there probably was a 

 spot somewhere between us — a sort of gold- 

 en mean, as it were — where it was just 

 right, and everybody should have lots of 

 honey. I can not think the extreme heat was 

 unfavorable for the secretion of honey 

 where it was neither too wet nor too dry. 

 Can we not have a report from somebody liv- 

 ing in this happy locaUtyV 



MOBE ABOUT THE BEES OP INDIA. 



A BEE-MAN'S BEAR AND TIGER HUNT IN THE 

 .JUNGLE. 



R. ROOT:— I made the smallest crop of hon- 

 ey this season I ever did before. Had I not 

 adopted friend Hutchinson's plan of hiving 

 swarms on frames with starters, and forc- 

 ing bees in the surplus apartment, I should 

 have made hardly any thing. Most of my crop is 

 from swarms managed in this way; but now comes 

 the rub: The frames are built solid with brood, 

 with very little honey in them— not nearly enough 

 to winter on. Would it be feasible to take two or 

 three frames of bi-ood from each hive, give them 

 frames with foundation, and feed heavy? Would 

 they build comb, fill and cap over this late in sea- 

 son? I shall be greatly obliged for any suggestion. 

 I inclose a letter from a friend out in India, who 

 islvery much interested in our little pets. Put it in 

 Gleanings if you think it worth it. 



R. R. CUYLER. 



Rapidan Sta., Culpeper Co., Va., Sept. 14, 1887. 



Friend C.,'I_^don't believe I would take 

 away brood from your colonies. Tliis brood 

 will be soon ^hatching out; and if the bees 

 are fed they will find a place to put the 

 stores. I have heard about too much brood 



in September, for safe wintering; but I am 

 sure I never saw a hive in all my experi- 

 ence where I would recommend brood to be 

 taken away. If the colonies are very popu- 

 lous, may be they can spare some of the 

 brood without detriment. In your locality 

 I think they could build comb and cap it 

 over without a bit of trouble ensuing, at the 

 date mentioned. Below is the friend's letter: 



Dear Ctiylcr :— It is a long time since 1 wrote you, 

 so here goes. I have been a long time in this part 

 of India now, shooting, and sport has been very 

 poor indeed. I had one shot at a tiger, which I hit 

 but never got; and besides that, I have bagged two 

 panthers, wounded one, and missed another. My 

 best day by far was on the 8th of this month, when 

 I found a bear lying down, and shot her through 

 the head. Not half an hour after this I found a 

 cave with bear-tracks leading in, so I began to make 

 a noise outside. Bruin looked out at once, and 

 went closer into the cave. I then fired a shot in, 

 and badgered her for some time, until, losing her 

 temper, out she came at us with a growl. 1 hit 

 her, and my second-gun man hit her too, and turn- 

 ed her. She did not go far when I put a bullet 

 through her brain, and finished a brace of bears be- 

 fore breakfast— not a bad morning's work, eh? 



We are now in for our rainy season, and the rain 

 is awful. I have not got much beenews for you. 

 I have tasted honey lately from a small bee about 

 I'u inch long all over. It builds in hollow trees in 

 the jungle. Natives cultivate this honey in earth- 

 enware pots, but do not understand the manage- 

 ment of them. The bee is strong on the wing, and 

 makes most delicious honey, really first class, of a 

 beautiful light color. 



There is one other kind that makes a very large 

 hanging nest high up on trees. This honey I have 

 not had a chance of tasting; but I am told it is not 

 as good as No. 1. The bee is much larger, and from 

 the position of its nest I should say very strong in 

 flight. Its nest contains a great deal of wax, but it 

 is far too vicious to be cultivated. The little bee 

 which I mentioned first would, in my humble opin- 

 ion, pay if it were taken up by those who under- 

 stood bee culture in the smallest degree. It is verj- 

 common, and I fancy it depends chiefly on tree- 

 blossoms for its honey, crop. The hives found in 

 the jungle sometimes contain a tremendous weight 

 of good honey, but the natives spoil it in their dirty 

 way of tearing it out with their hands. There are, 

 of course, several other kinds of honey, but these 

 two alone have I seen so far. In the case of bee No. 

 1, if you take a nest in the jungle entirely out, anoth- 

 er lot of bees will occupy the same hollow place 

 in two months' time. From the amount of swarms 

 one hears passing overhead, there must be enor- 

 mous quantities of bees in the jungles. E.xperi- 

 ments of sorts have, I believe, been made with bee 

 culture in India, but I know nothing of the result. 

 All the honey (or nearly all) which is sold to Euro- 

 peans in towns is foreign. California supplies any 

 amount of so-called French honey, and very good, 

 some of it is. Persian honey is imported into Bom- 

 bay ; and my experience of it is, that it is very nice, 

 extremely aromatic, and of a fair color. I believe 

 it would answer to keep the small species of bee No. 

 1 in this letter, and cultivate blossoms for them to 

 a large extent. I am now engaged in collecting 

 specimens for a museum in Bombay, = — ' 



N. Canara, India, June 10, 1887. 



