1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



909 



bly one or both of these plants are the ones 

 referred to b}' your correspondents and Dr. 

 Miller. The enclosed letter from Mr. C. R. 

 Ball, Agristolog-ist, U. S. Dept. of Agricul- 

 ture, leaves little to be said as to the use- 

 fulness of any member of the group for for- 

 age. J. Ford Sempers. 



Aikin, Md., Sept. 16. 



[The letter referred to is as follows:] 



Mr. J. Ford SetHpers: — So far as known 

 there is no species of Phacelia which is 

 known to have any forage value in this 

 country, nor have I found a record of any 

 species of this genus being used in Europe. 

 With regard to the native range of Pliacelia 

 congesta and P. parryi, I will say that Pha- 

 celia congesta is a native of Texas, and P. 

 parryi a native of Southern California. 

 Carleton R. Balt., 

 Assistant Agrostologist. 



Washington, D. C, Sept, 4. 



SENDING QUEENS TO AUSTRALIA. 



Kindly inform the Australian readers the 

 best and safest way to send queens to Aus- 

 tralia. Joseph Kneebone. 



Mt. Cole, Vic, Aus., August 21. 



[We use a large Benton cage, and it may 

 contain three, four, or six holes. We have 

 also had good results w-ith the three-hole 

 cage with holes about an inch in diameter 

 and % deep. We have also had good re- 

 sults with a larger cage having six to eight 

 holes, the holes being about )i to =i deep. 

 There should be provision made for ventila- 

 tion, and the candy should be just right. It 

 is impossible to describe just how this 

 should be made; but a few general direc- 

 tions may be helpful. In the first place, a 

 pure pulverized sugar should be used. Be 

 careful not to make the mistake of getting 

 confectioners' sugar, as that has a large 

 percentage of starch mixed with it. Such 

 sugar will be death to the bees. If you can 

 not get pure sugar, take ordinary granu- 

 lated sugar, and powder it up in a mortar. 

 Next select the nicest, thickest, and whitest 

 honey you have. Mix enough of this honey 

 with sugar to make a stiff dough. Let it 

 stand a few days; and if it begins to run — 

 that is, if the dough begins to flatten out 

 like a pancake — knead in more sugar. Let 

 it stand a few days more in a warm place. 

 If the dough flattens out again, put in a 

 little more sugar, but be careful not to over- 

 do it. A candy that is too dry is almost as 

 bad as candy that is too soft. The point to 

 be observed is ventilation, and a candy that 

 is just moist and just soft enough. — Ed.] 



the value of cotton in MISSISSIPPI AS A 



HONEY-PRODUCING PLANT; HONEY 



FROM FOREST-TREES. 



The season of 1901 was extremely back- 

 ward, owing to the cold spring rains. 

 June and July proved exceedingly dry, and 

 I began to despair of any honey- flow, when 

 I discovered the bees gathering most deli- 

 cious honey in July. From close observa- 



tion I found that they were working on the 

 bloom of the cotton-plant, and could discov- 

 er them on no other flowers. I heretofore 

 deemed the cotton-bloom of little value as a 

 honey-producer until convinced by this close 

 examination during the drouth. The se- 

 cret is, that the cotton-plant has an exceed- 

 ingly deep tap-root extending down into the 

 moist soil, making the blossoms rich in 

 nectar. The honey is of a light amber 

 color and excellent flavor. 



In my long observation I have found that 

 two- thirds of the honey here is gathereil 

 from the forest-trees and from vines, as in- 

 stanced in the great overflow of 1897, wheti 

 there was not a flower to be seen on the 

 surface of the earth until the first of Aug- 

 ust. That season the honey-flow began 

 early, and I gathered two-thirds of a crop 

 of excellent flavor. Many years ago, when 

 I gathered from 200 colonies, spring count, 

 14 gallons to the colony, there were im- 

 mense forests close to the small village of 

 Greenville, and the season was remarkably 

 favorable — a mild winter and early spring 

 with gentle showers throughout the season, 

 with late frost in fall. The fruit and many 

 forest-trees took on second bloom. Now the 

 forests have been cut away, the result be- 

 ing a decrease of the honey crop. 



Northern bee-keepers soon tire of this 

 country, owing to the miasmatic diseases 

 the}' are liable to in becoming apclimated, 

 especially when locating in a heavily tim- 

 bered place with decaying wood around 

 them. O. M. Blanton. 



Greenville, Miss., Feb. l. 



RENDERING HORSES IMMUNE TO STINGS. 



On page 522, June 15, a subscriber com- 

 plains that some of his bees were greatly 

 disposed to attack his horses "ten or twelve 

 rods from his colonies." If he will make a. 

 weak decoction of anise seed and wash the 

 head, neck, and back of his horses, the bees 

 will not be likely to trouble them. It has 

 an aromatic odor, and a warm pleasant 

 taste. It is sometimes used in domestic 

 cooking. When the writer was a boy an 

 old bee-hunter used to mix a little of a weak 

 extract of anise with his honey, as the bees 

 were extremely fond of it. A decoction 

 freshly applied to the hands and face will 

 prevent bees from stinging when swarming. 

 Chewing the seed also aids. . 



D. S. Hkffron. 



Washington Heights Sta., Chicago, 111. 



[A decoction of anise seed might answer. 

 But if bees are disposed to sting a horse, I 

 do not believe that any thing that can be 

 smeared on the animal will keep the bees 

 off. A weak solution of carbolic acid might 

 be even better than anise seed. If horses 

 are very sweaty, and are compelled to do 

 plowing or other heavy work near a bee- 

 yard, it might be advisable to neutralize 

 the odor of the sweat with a spray of car- 

 bolic acid in weak solution or the anise- 

 seed preparation. But I should iittach no- 

 importance to either except for the purpose 

 of neutralizing the animal smell. — Ed.] 



