November, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTURE 



IT has occurred 

 to me time 

 a n d time 

 again t li a t in 

 the distribution 

 of publicity in 

 bee literature, 

 Mississippi has 

 been unjustly 

 neglected. For 



instance, in the ABC and X Y Z of Bee 

 Culture mention is made of scrub palmetto, 

 gallberry, and titi being present only in 

 Florida. Our own coast country is a vast 

 cut of land covered with gallberry. The 

 streams are lined with titi, and the swamp 

 areas, of which there are many, are full of 

 tupelo gum. From observations that I have 

 made on the coast this past year I see no 

 reason why, if this part of the country were 

 given some publicity, there would not spring- 

 up some commercial apiaries. Is there not 

 some way in which we can introduce into 

 the unborn literature the fact that impor- 

 tant hone}' plants of the Apalachicola re- 

 gion of Florida are present right here in 

 Mississippi in sufficient quantities in many 

 localities to make this State advance in its 

 commercial output? — Eobert B. Willson, Ok- 

 tibbeha County, Miss. 



According to the latest report from Brit- 

 ain, quite a new and valuable use has been 

 found for the sting of the bee. While pre- 

 siding at a lecture at the Scientific Exhibi- 

 tion in the Central Hall, London, England, 

 W. T. Reid, late president of the British 

 Beekeepers ' Association, said he had recent- 

 ly made a most useful discovery. He found 

 that the poison from the sting of the bee 

 was an almost infallible test as to whether 

 a person was liable to succumb while under 

 an anaesthetic. If a person suffered from 

 nervous weakness, a bee-sting on the hand 

 would cause a large swelling and affect the 

 glands of the body. A person so affected 

 should not be operated on. — John Y. Mc- 

 Leod, Ontario, Can. 



On April 28 this year I caught a swarm of 

 bees. They were very industrious little 

 workers, but the little red ants played mis- 

 chief with them so that I had to make a 

 bench to put the hive of bees on. The legs 

 of the bench I put in cans filled with oil. 

 The bees are very friendly and show no 

 fight toward me at all, only toward the ants. 

 They are so friendly that they will light 

 right on my hand and eat out of it. Just 

 now they are very busy carrying yellow 

 stuff in on their legs. My bees do not work 

 until the dew is dried off and then stay at it 

 until pitch dark. The bees are small black 

 ones with yellow stripes on. — George B. 

 Stout, Iberville County, La. 



My winter case is an extremely cheap 

 case, and nothing better, for each hive can 

 be left on its individual stand. I secure 

 large packing cases from a branch of the 

 Wanamaker store. The material is tongued 

 and grooved, usually % inch thick, and 



BEES, MEN AND THINGS 



(You may find it here) 



large enough to 

 make a bottom- 

 board, the case, 

 and a telescop- 

 ing cover. These 

 cases cost 25 

 cents each. The 

 cover is covered 

 with two - ply 

 rubberoid roof- 

 ing at a cost of 14 cents per hive. This is 

 treated with two coats of paint, and will 

 last for years, and is absolutely weather- 

 proof. All this is at a cost of 39 cents per 

 hive exclusive of paint and nails. Can you 

 beat it?— E. M. Barteau, Soffolk County, 

 N. Y. 



The first carload of comb honey sold by 

 the South Idaho and East Oregon Honey 

 Producers ' Association contained three 

 grades, which brought $6.50, $6.25, and $6.00 

 per case, respectively. The carload sold for a 

 total of $8,000. The Association expects to 

 send out 40 carloads of honey this season. 

 The third cutting of alfalfa yielded quite a 

 flow of honey in September, which is some- 

 what unusual, as last year the honey season 

 was pretty much over early in August. — 

 George W. York, Spokane County, Wash. 



We are not in sympathy with V. V. Dex- 

 ter of this State, page 606. There is far 

 more range and market in this locality than 

 there are bees to fill. We can remember 

 when a certain orange-grower of California 

 brought suit against his neighbor for allow- 

 ing his bees to trespass in his orange grove. 

 — J. H. Clark, Snohomish County, Wash. 



I am a novice at beekeeping, but have 

 had fine luck this (my second) year. I in- 

 creased from 2 to 13 stands artificially, and 

 safely introduced three-fourths of my Ital- 

 ian queens, besides taking from one stand 

 2 natural swarms, 60 finished sections of 

 white spring honey and 40 of the dark later 

 honey. — L. W. Derrin, Lane County, Ore. 



There is no honey in this section, and no 

 prospect for clover next year, as for two 

 years it has been killed by drouth. Foul 

 brood is everywhere, and many bees are 

 without winter stores. The inspector is in 

 this county today, and we hope for some re- 

 lief. — M. L. Brewer, St. Joseph County, 

 Mich. 



We have taken a crop of about 5,000 

 pounds in two yards, and the Government 

 reports a crop of over a million pounds in 

 the province, with about 14,000 colonies. — 

 H. W. Sanders, Sturgeon Creek, Manitoba. 



I had two acres sowed in sweet clover last 

 fall, and had a very good stand. I came 

 home too late from "war" to cut the clover, 

 and the bees surely had a harvest. — C. J. 

 VanNieda, Berks County, Pa. 



I successfully introduced a hybrid queen 

 with a Jay Smith introducing cage, to a 

 laying-worker colony that had been long 

 que?nless. The cage is fine. — F. M. Carey, 

 Lake County, III. 



