820 



'Tmm m^mmmi^MM mmw j®wmmmi^. 



nwi 



Odd Notions about Bees.— 



Here are some of them, as enumerated by 

 an exchange : 



It is an old English notion that a quar- 

 relsome family get no honey, keep as many 

 bees as they may. Bees also will not 

 thrive if they are stolen. On the contrary, 

 they will pine and die on account of the 

 crime. In various sections, it is regarded 

 as an exceedingly unlucky transaction to 

 sell them for money, but they may be 

 bartered without objection. They can be 

 traded at will, but to be "guilty of selling 

 them is a grievous omen, indeed, than 

 which nothing can be more dreadful." A 

 bushel of corn was formerly considered a 

 fair equivalent for a swarm, or a small pig 

 might be taken in exchange. The idea of 

 bartering bees is not an alien one in New 

 England. 



There are scores of superstitions and 

 notions concerning the sympathy of bees in 

 human troubles, especially in connection 

 with death. The entrance of a bee into a 

 cottage is in large numbers of districts 

 looked upon as an infallible sign of death. 

 Swarming on dead wood is equally omin- 

 ous. Informing bees of a death in the 

 family is a custom still practiced in various 

 sections of England by the common people. 

 The formalities in making the announce- 

 ment are executed with the greatest pre- 

 cision, for fear of giving offense to the 

 bees. 



A messenger has been known to have been 

 despatched from a funeral cortege, while 

 on the way to the grave, to inform the bees 

 of the household sorrow, which had been 

 forgotten at first, and in the waj' of atone- 

 ment for the neglect, wine and honey were 

 placed in front of the hives. In some locali- 

 ties even this limit is exceeded. On the 

 occasion of death in the family, the api- 

 aries are decorated with crape, and the 

 inmates invited to the funeral. 



R. Laughable Bee=Yarn was 



illustrated last week in that "comic" 

 periodical called "the Judge." We enjoyed 

 a hearty laugh over it, and thinking that 

 our readers might do the same, we give a 

 description of its comical pictures, so that 

 any who have " the blues " may also laugh 

 and enjoy the fun with us ! Here it is : 



A milk-wagon stops at the cottage gate, 

 and the driver hastens to the door, where 

 he finds an ordinary pitcher to receive the 

 usual daily supply of milk for the family. 

 He measui-es out a quart of the " lacteal 

 fluid," pours it into the pitcher,and speedily 

 departs. 



One of the "little busy bees" was out 

 early on that Summer morning, and espy- 

 ing the pitcher, concluded to inspect its 

 contents. Before doing so, the bee circled 

 around it, perchance to admire its floral 

 exterior. 



"Tabby," from the fence-top, saw the 

 milk deposited there, and contemplating a 

 raid upon the defenseless pitcher, said to 

 herself ; " Now, there's a treat for me !" 

 Cautiously she advanced towards it, and 

 then discovered the bee flying around the 

 coveted treasure. Looking about on all 

 sides for a moment, to be sure that, as a 



thief, she was not observed by any one, she 

 lost sight of the bee, and wondering at its 

 sudden disappearance, said : "Where did 

 that bee go ?" 



Feeling sure now that she was unob 

 served, she thrust her head into the 

 pitcher, which, however, was none too 

 large to accommodate it, and lapped up the 

 tempting fluid to her heart's content, 

 exclaiming : " Oh ! but that's good !" 



The bee, on its inspecting tour inside the 

 pitcher, was taken by surprise, and finding 

 itself in close quarters, asserted its rights 

 with pointed arguments for more room. 



Tabby, feeling something sharp, ex- 

 claimed : " Oh ! but there's pins in it !" 

 Her head began to feel funny, but she con- 

 cluded to take another drink before aban- 

 doning the feast— but she found "more 

 pins in it !" Attempting to leave, she 

 found that the pitcher had become too 

 small to allow her to do so, and the pain 

 increasing, she cries out : "Great rats ! I 

 can't get my head out !" 



Then she rolled over and over in agony, 

 and spilled all the milk that was left, but 

 her head was still confined in that terrible 

 pitcher ! She found more " pins," and 

 experienced more pain ! 



She started to run, but not being able to 

 see where she was going, she ran with full 

 force against the stone wall of the cellar, 

 and, with a "bang," the pitcher was 

 smashed into scores of pieces, liberating 

 her swollen and aching head (as well as the 

 now poor frightened bee) from that tem- 

 porary prison ! 



Now, Tabby sat down amid the frag- 

 ments to contemplate the disaster. Look- 

 ing up she discovered the bee just taking 

 wing, and ejaculated : "There's that 

 blamed bee !" And if she could have 

 caught it, there would have been one less 

 bee in the world ! 



">Ve Congratulate Brother Root 

 upon the fact that Glennlngs has reached, 

 and even passed, the ten thousand circula- 

 tion, which it set out to do some months 

 ago. Oleanings richly deserves this mark 

 of public favor, for it is beautifullj' printed 

 and carefully edited. If the reader desires 

 to take another bee-periodical besides the 

 American Bee Jiiurnal, we shall be 

 pleased to send it and OleanhKjs for .? 1.75 

 a year, or both these and the Illustrated 

 Home Joukn'al for.i^2.35. Thisisarare op 

 portunity to secure three good periodicals 

 for about the regular price of two. 



Xhose tVlio Have any honey to 

 dispose of should use the Honey Almanac 

 as a salesman. We have a few left for this 

 year, and offer them at one=third price. 

 See page 831 of this paper. 



^omc (j^uestious. 



ITIiat i!« a Nucleus? 



Will you please inform me what a 

 nucleus is < B. E. B. 



Prairie du Chien, Wis., Dec. 5, 1890. 



[Certainly. A nucleus is a miniature 

 colony of bees, which may be increased to 

 a full colony by careful management. The 

 plural is " nuclei." These small colonies 

 usually consist of one or two frames of 

 comb with a queen (or a queen-cell, if to 

 be used for queen rearing), and a few hun- 

 dreds of bees.— Ed. 1 



Wintcrins' U«es. 



1. When is the proper time to put bees 

 into the cellar * 2. Should they be left out 

 as long as the weather will permit them to 

 fly every few days ; 3. Would it be right 

 to take bees from a cellar in the middle of 

 the Winter, if the weather would permit 

 them to fly ? 4. Is it best to remove the 

 bottom-boards when in the cellar f 



Bangor, Iowa. Novice. 



[1. In this latitude they should be pre- 

 pared to be put into the cellar in the latter 

 part of November — then, when it turns 

 cold and shows signs of Winter setting in, 

 put them into the cellar. 



2. Yes. 



3. Yes ; many do so. 



4. Yes, if they have loose bottom-boards. 

 — Ed.I 



4lueenlessness. 



I send you a piece of comb. Will you 

 please tell me if it contains foul-brood. I 

 took it from a colony that I killed on Nov. 

 a. This colony was wormy, with about a 

 pint of bees in it, mostly drones, and not a 

 queen among them. Will you please tell 

 me what was wrong with the colony, and 

 will any danger arise if the honey from 

 this colony is fed to the healthy bees ? I 

 have 15 colonies that are in pretty good 

 condition for the Winter. There was but a 

 small surplus of honey this year. 



Galena, Ills. Chas. Kxautz. 



[It was simply a case of queenlessness. 

 The moths had been at work some, but not 

 enough to cause trouble. There was no 

 brood in the sample sent, and "foul-brood" 

 was therefore imjiossible. In fact, it con- 

 tained only a few cells of honey, and some 

 bee-bread. There is nothing "wrong" 

 with the honey, except its color. — Ed.] 



4JonTeuti»D Notices. 



CIu1>!i of 5 New Subscriptions for $4.00, 

 to any addresses. Ten for ^7.50. 



^3g~ TheSth semi-annual meeting of the Susque- 

 hanna County Bee-Keepers' Association will be held 

 at Montrose, Pa., on Thursday. May 7, I8yi. 



H. M. Seklet, Sec. 



jy The Carolina Bee-Keepers' Association, will 

 hold the last session of 18tK) in the Town Hall, Pine- 

 ville, N.C., Dec. W, IS). A good proBramme. All 

 who feel an interest in modern bee-culture are cor- 

 dially invited. BrinK or send a full report of the 

 season. Kntertainnient free. 



(Other pa ners please copy.) m 



>. P. Lyles, Sec, Derita, N. C. 



IW The Annual Meeting of the Northern Illinois 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, will be held in the Super- 

 visor's Room of the fourt House, at Rockford, Ills., 

 on Dec. Ifi, 17, 1890. The President has a good Pro- 

 gramme in course of preparation. 



D. A. Fuller, Sec^ 



