f [8(5(1 



CiLJKANlJSIGS IN iikE cULTUiii;. 



Nov 



would be lull of brood at one time, and in a little 

 while no brood at all. Would they be siiic to have 

 brood at this season if they had a (]UFenV 



Dalton, Pa.. Sept. 19, 1887. C. W. Plirdy. 



r am rather inclined to tliink your colo- 

 nies were not qneenless at all. It is not un- 

 common to tind no brood in a colony as ear- 

 ly as the middle of September, even Avhen 

 said colony has an old queen. See editori- 

 als on" (^)iieenlessness " in October 1st issue, 

 and asjain in Oct. 15th. 



SOME ADVANTAGES OF A HOUSE Al'IAKY. 



My house apiary is virtually the same protection 

 as the chaff hive, only a little better. I have it 

 plastered on the sides as well as overhead. loan 

 work with them rainy as well as windy weather, 

 and I have not the cross bees to contend with. 

 There is also no danger of robbing, and the cost is 

 not over fifty cents a colony. Geokoe Briggs. 



New Sharon, Iowa. 



Frien<i P>.. I know that all you say is true ; 

 but for all that, we have never found any- 

 body yet who liked to work with a house 

 apiary. Our folks all prefer hives outdoors, 

 one in a place, and that one so you can work 

 ail around it. 



SKUNKS AS A BEE-ENEMY, AND HOW To GET HID 

 , ()F THEM. 



I am interested in all the honey reports, and par- 

 ticularly from ladies, knowing that what has been 

 done can be done again, luider similar circum- 

 stances. JNIj- bees did well, considering the trouble 

 they had from skunks gobbling them up. I was ig- 

 norant of the harm they were doing (as they took 

 none of the little chickens) until 1 consulted my 

 A B C book, where I learned they were not nosing 

 about the bees for nothing. There were two or 

 three seen at them at one evening, and one several 

 other times, until T could notice quite a difference 

 in size of the swarms. I could learn of no help for 

 it in my bee-papers, and I was more troubled about 

 it than the drought prospects; and as I could not 

 shoot them, I tried setting " Rough on Rats." I 

 stirred it in an egg for them at the hives, two 

 nights; and after the second dose was gone they 

 disappeared, to my great relief. I have tried out- 

 door work with bees and in the garden, with a nap 

 before dinner, and think there is no medicine bet- 

 ter. I wish you could teach us how to make laliels 

 for plants, that will stand through a season. 



Watertown, O., Sept. 14, 1887. Maria I.. Deming. 

 Many thanks for your kind words, my 

 friend; and we are also glad to have you 

 give the additional report in regard to the 

 danger that may be done by skunks. We 

 congrattdate you on your success with 

 ••Rough on Rats." No one but a woman 

 would have thought of it.— In regard to the 

 labels, if you will turn to p. 989, '86, you will 

 see tliat 1 discussed the matter at considera- 

 ble length. We have never found any thing 

 that would answer on our grounds, from 

 one season to anotlier, so well as common 

 printing-ink, printed on water-proof manil- 

 la paper. Our seed-bags are all made of 

 this kind of paper ; and after you have sown a 

 package of seed, tack the seed-bag on one end 

 of a stick, drive it in the ground at the end 

 of your row, and you will have a good plain 

 label for a year, or two years, if you want. 

 In labeling strawberries, raspberries, and 



such things, for the past few years we have 

 been cutting enough of the name, with the 

 point of a knife, into the wooden stake, so 

 as to be sure, when spring came, we coidd 

 read the marks on the stake, without any 

 possibility of mistake. 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



\U queries sent in foi- this department should be briefly 

 stated, .ind I'ree from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions slionld be written upon a separate slip of paper, 

 and marked, " For Our Question-Box." 



QuESTjON No. ]<).—/;( what portion of the hands or 

 fair in the pain of the hce-sting the most intense! 



In the gristle of the nose or ear. 



W. Z. HUTCHINTON. 



Around the eyes; in the nostrils; under the fln- 

 gcr-nails. Dadant & Son. 



Under the tingei-nails, and on the edges of the 

 nostril.';. Paul L. Viai,i,on. 



The tip end of the nose, or lips, and tips of the 

 fingers. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



In or neartlie eyes, on the end of the nose, and 

 the ends of fingers. O. O. Poppleton. 



About the roots of the nails on the hands, and on 

 the tip of the nose on the face. G. M. Dooi.iTTtiE. 



Perhaps the tip of the nose, upper lip, and the in- 

 side portions of the hands and fingers. 



C. C. Miller. 

 Under the end ot the finger nails, on the point of 

 the noise, or the outer edge of the upper lip. 



K. Wilkin. 



Where there are the most nerves, and where the 

 swelling is least. I may mention the end of the 

 nose, the rim of the ear, oi- ends of the fingers. 



.James Heddon. 

 In the hollow of the hands, and between the 

 fingers near the hands, and on the forehead. It al- 

 so hurts (luite severely on the edge of the ears. 



Dr. a. B. Mason. 



About the head. First, up in the nose, between 

 the nostrils; then on the ears. It swells most when 

 stung on the lip; on the hands, it hurts most be- 

 tween the fingers and under the nails. 



B. France. 



We can not say. I think why it often hurts so 

 severely is because the sting enters an arteriole, 

 and so the blood receives much poison at once. 

 This may be on hand, face, or anywhere on the 

 body. A. J. Cook. 



All nerve centers are called specially vulnerable 

 spots, I believe. On the septum of the nose is a 

 pretty good place; but beginners in the art of get- 

 ting stung should try the easier spots first. Stings 

 between the fingers and on the sides of the finger- 

 joints seem to me to feel a little worse than else- 

 where on the hands. E. E. Hasty. 



Well done, friends. These answers from 

 so many different people bring out very im- 

 portant points. 1 have had a bee-sting 

 under mv tinger-nail, so painful as to keep 

 me awake nights, when ordinarily 1 wouldn't 



