942 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15 



sheets of foundation if wired suffciently to 

 prevent breakage. Ordinarily I consider 

 it unprofitable to use foundation, perhaps 

 nearly always except with very rapid flows; 

 and if full combs are used instead there 

 oug-ht always to be a very strong- swarm 

 hived on the combs so they will be sure to 

 enter the supers. Observe this rule: Al- 

 ways have strong swarms, and the more 

 comb or foundation in the brood-chamber, 

 the more bees should be piled into the hive. 



If the swarms are to build from starters, 

 each queen should be either young- or in her 

 prime and vigor; if not, there will be an 

 undue amount of drone-comb built. Swarms, 

 whether natural or forced, will build some 

 drone comb that must be culled out, but 

 usually not much drone brood is reared the 

 first year, and such comb can be removed 

 the next spring before being used. 



Some advocate making the swarm when 

 the colony is already preparing to swarm, 

 but I must surely say no to that proposi- 

 tion. Do not let the swarming fever come 

 on at all if possible to prevent (and it is 

 possible); and when the season is ripe for 

 the work, do it and produce a condition 

 that is adverse to swarming. If anybody 

 will put down a carload of bees in Love- 

 land just in time for me to make swarms, 

 and hive them just as my flow begins, I 

 will guarantee that 49 out of SO having vig- 

 orous queens will go to work and give a 

 good account of themselves if each has bees 

 of all ages and plenty of fielders. 



Loveland, Col. ni, 



[Nearly all the writers so far who have 

 referred to the question of drone comb being 

 built with a forced swarm, emphasize the 

 importance of young queens. The fact that 

 all the testimony seems to be to the same 

 effect goes to show that the excess of drone 

 comb can be largely avoided, and at the 

 same time the foundation bill can be cut 

 down very materially. — Ed.] 



«t» ■ 



PEAR=BLIGHT. 



Additional Pro«f that, by Proper Management, Pear= 

 blight Can be, to a Great Extent, Prevented. 



BY J. E. JOHNSON. 



I wish to thank Mr. Gray, who criticised 

 my statements in Gleanings for Oct. 15. 

 It is, no doubt, discouraging for any one to 

 plant and care for an orchard and then 

 have it ruined by blight. Before I planted 

 a commercial orchard I read every thing I 

 could find on pear culture, and asked many 

 questions through different papers, some 

 being answered by professors in horticul- 

 ture. I also visited many orchards, large 

 and small. 



Some growers said that, if I had never 

 planted a Bartlett, Idaho, or Leconte, I 

 would never have been bothered with the 

 blight, or at least not so soon. I arrived 

 at these conclusions: 



1. That pear-blight is a contagious dis- 

 ease, and when once started in an orchard 



it will spread if not cut out very promptly. 

 2. That it is a disease of the sap, and 

 that lots of supposed blight is death to the 

 tree only from overbearing and other causes. 



Pear-trees are rapid growers, and the 

 wood is very sappy. If I cut off a limb 

 from any healthy pear-tree in June or Jul}', 

 and lay it in the sun, it will turn nearly 

 coal-black, so that even experienced pear- 

 growers would say blight when there was 

 no blight. 



When I said I planted only such varieties 

 as are not subject to blight I did not mean 

 that they were entirely proof against the 

 disease, as you will see if you read further, 

 Sept. 15th issue. I also said Kieffer, Gar- 

 ber, Dutchess, etc; and the "etc." seems 

 to have been left off in printing. I have 

 also Lincoln and some others, but did not 

 wish to confuse a beginner with too many 

 varieties, as I considered these three the 

 best. I found where Kieffers blighted on 

 clay land. They had nearly always been 

 heavily fertilized, and from many other ob- 

 servations which are too long to discuss 

 here I finally decided that, if I planted 

 only such varieties on high clay land as 

 are not so apt to blight, give them no ma- 

 nure, nor cultivate late in the season, and 

 not plant any varieties that are bad blight- 

 ers, I should not get the blight started; or 

 if it did start, I could control it better. So 

 far my orchard proves I am right. 



This has been the worst year for blight I 

 have ever seen; but I have to-day examined 

 my orchard of 900 trees, and now make 

 this offer if Mr. Gray doubts statements 

 concerning it: I will deposit money in the 

 bank at Williamsfield, sufficient to pay his 

 fare to and from that place, meet him at 

 the station, and show him my orchard; and 

 if he can find one single twig on any of my 

 900 trees blighted, then I will pay all his 

 expenses; but if he finds them all entirely 

 free from blight, then he pays his own ex- 

 penses. I can also take him to an orchard 

 of several hundred trees only a mile from 

 Williamsfield, on rich black soil, nearly 

 ruined this year by blight. I make this 

 offer in good faith. 



Many have made the mistake of planting 

 all kinds at high prices — among them a few 

 Lecontes or Bartletts, which started blight 

 and gave it to others. I got nearly all my 

 trees of Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Mo., at 

 from 7 to 15 cents each. I plant only one- 

 year two-foot trees, as they will, I believe, 

 make healthier trees than larger ones. 



Prof. Cook would, no doubt, consider Mr. 

 Gray and myself both wild, as he says 

 bees spread blight. Possibly they do; but 

 if we had not bees or other insects we could 

 not raise pears successfully. I say, "Why 

 blame the bees? " 



I did not wrap a single tree last winter, 

 and did not have one hurt by rabbits. I 

 paint with Otwell's tree-paint. Although 

 rabbits are numerous I shall not wrap a 

 single tree this winter. I do not believe in 

 planting large trees except apple. 



Williamsfield, lU. 



