146 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



30 acres, and put on not less than 8 to 10 lbs. of 

 unhulied seed and sowed it early in the spring 

 too, and I have never been able to get a good 

 stand the same spring, and the next spring the 

 rest of the seed would come up, and for another 

 year I would still have only a partial stand, so 

 you see that leaves me until the third year before 

 I can have a perfect stand, as the seeding the sec- 

 ond year seeds itself. 



I believe we should sow not less than 20 lbs. of 

 unhulied seed, or 12 to 15 of the hulled per acre; 

 then you may rest assured you will get a stand. 



I have sown several thousand acres of alfalfa, 

 and the ones that are successful in getting a stand 

 are those that are not afraid to put on at least 15 

 to 20 lbs. per acre, and then your ground needs 

 to be in perfect order. I sowed about three acres 

 last spring, and put on about 20 lbs. of the un- 

 hulied seed, and I got a fine stand. Enough 

 will come up from the seed again this spring to 

 give me a good stand next spring. 



Augusta, Kan., Feb. 9. R. L. Snodgrass. 



BEES FIGHTING IN THE WINTER. 



My bees have been killing each other ever 

 since the working season was over. When it is 

 warm enough for them to fly they are slaughter- 

 ing each other just the same as they do sometimes 

 when we unite them. Please tell me what is the 

 cause of this, and what I can do. 



Townline, Pa., Jan. 5. John M. Huffman. 



[It looks as though your bees, on these warm 

 days that you refer to, were inclined to rob. The 

 fighting at the entrances could hardly be account- 

 ed for in any other way. We believe that, if 

 you contract the entrances to the weak colonies 

 so that not more than one or two bees can pass in 

 or out at a time, the trouble will be pretty well 

 overcome. — Ed.] 



ROOFING-PAPER FOR HIVE-CLOTH; ITS CHEAP- 

 NESS, AND HOW IT PROTECTS A COLONY 

 AGAINST A LEAKY COVER. 



I read with interest what Mr. Muth-Rasmus- 

 sen had to say about hive-cloths, p. 936, Aug. 1. 

 I have tried gunny-sacks, enamel cloth, hay, 

 building-paper, etc., for hive-cloths or mats; but 

 I have never found any thing nearly so good as 

 one-half or one ply composition roofing, flint 

 koat, and also mathoid roofing. If there is a 

 leaky hive-cover it will not allow the water to 

 run through on the frames at all, as the bees will 

 soon glue the edges fast to the hive-sides. Then, 

 too, it is cheap, and makes but little trouble. 



The roofing comes in rolls of one and two 

 squares, — that is, 100 square feet, and one 

 ply costs only about $1.80 per roll or square. It 

 is 3 ft. wide, and cuts with little or no waste. 



Lake City, Fla. J. O. Bates. 



I. L. SCOFIELD. 



One more of the veteran bee-keepers has gone. 

 I. L. Scofield died Nov. 15 at his home six miles 

 from Binghamton, Chenango Bridge, N. Y., 

 where he started to keep bees in 1869. Mr. Sco- 

 field loved his vocation, and branched out in 

 bees until he had 400 colonies, all in chaff hives. 

 He was a splendid bee-keeper, very particular, 

 always bought the best strains of Italians and of 



other races; but he tested them thoroughly, and 

 if they did not come up to the standard he dis- 

 carded them. His apiaries were nicely located 

 and tastefully arranged with every thing in order. 



Mr. Scofield was unassuming in his ways, 

 pleasant to meet, a man of good judgment, and 

 willing to give his honest opinion to his brother 

 bee-keeper. He left a wife to mourn his loss. 



Groton, N. Y. W. L. Coggshall. 



THE CLOVERS NOT KILLED BY THE FALL DROUTH; 



A CLOVER-HONEY CROP FOR NEXT 



SEASON IN PROSPECT. 



The prospects for a prosperous season the com- 

 ing year are bright to me. It is natural for the 

 bee-keeper to keep an eye on the condition of 

 things as it is produced by the weather, climatic 

 changes, etc., and so far everything seems good. 

 The clover is not killed, it is naturally fond of 

 dry weather, and you will see it coming on when 

 the time comes. The months of March and 

 April are the ones that try it, freezing and thaw- 

 ing, excessive rains, cold east winds, etc. A long 

 cold rainy spell in the spring seems to create a 

 kind of rust on clover which saps its vitality as a 

 nectar-producer. A few days of drouth in May 

 often does more harm than months of dry weath- 

 er at other seasons of the year. Of course, no 

 one can tell exactly what the harvest will be; but 

 I am laying in unusual supplies for next year on 

 the Strength of my belief that I shall need them; 

 and my advice would be, " Get ready;" there 

 will be something doing. 



Hebron, O., Dec. 24. Frank McGlade. 



COLD KNIFE PREFERRED IF KEPT SHARP AND 

 BRIGHT. 



I used to use a hot knife at all times, bother 

 with oil-stoves, fire, and hot water, even when 

 the thermometer showed 112° in the shade. But 

 since learning how to use a cold knife I would 

 use no other only in extreme cases. To use a 

 cold knife, keep it almost like a razor, sharp and 

 bright. We sharpen and polish our knives every 

 day, and use four knives now instead of two as 

 we used to do. One might just as well try to 

 plow in the black prairie soil in IlliHois with a 

 rusty plow as to try to make a success with using 

 a rusty cold knife. 



Use plenty of water, and do not keep using the 

 water until it gets thick enough to use for vine- 

 gar, for you lose one dollar's worth of time to 

 make ten cents' worth of vinegar. Have a spe- 

 cial pan of water for your hands, and keep hands 

 and knife-handle clean. P. H. Bales. 



Hanford, Cal, Dec. 30. 



MOVING BEES SHORT DISTANCES IN THE SUMMER. 



Having occasion to move five colonies 1 thought 

 I would report results. I placed a board in front 

 of each hive as recommended, and it worked all 

 right, with the exception of one hive, where the 

 board was blown down by wind directly after 

 moving. A great. many of the bees in this hive 

 returned to the old stand, and were lost. At the 

 present time, however (Sept. 24), this one colony 

 has nearly made up for the loss. There is no 

 trouble about moving bees in summer if the prop- 

 er precautions are taken. James H. French. 



Stoughton, Mass., Sept. 24. 



