598 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Aug. 24 1905 



in the center by running the stick down 

 nearly to the grate and giving the upper end 

 a rotary motion so as to form a funnel-shaped 

 hole in the sawdust. Into this hole drop 

 about a teaspoonful of kerosene. I keep a 10- 

 cent oiler with kerosene (coal oil) in it where 

 it is handy, and And it useful in tiring up, 

 even when I do not use sawdust. 



Now light a match and drop it into the hole 

 and set the smoker outside with the cover 

 thrown back, and leave it so for 15 or 3U min- 

 utes. Do not close it too soon or it will 

 smother out in short order. After it is well 

 started put some green grass on top of the 

 sawdust to act as a spark arrester and close it 

 up. Give several puffs to make sure that it 

 is well started, and it you have done every- 

 thing just right, you will be ready for 3 or 4 

 hours' work without replenishing of fuel. 



When it gets too hot and begins to throw 

 sparks it will be necessary to grab up a bunch 

 of green grass and put it on top to keep down 

 the sparks. 



Destroying Queen-Cells 



Nearly every beginner, at some time in his 

 career, conceives the idea that if he persist- 

 ently destroys all queen-cells that are started, 

 there will be no swarming. But he finds in 

 time that bees will swarm in spite of such 

 efforts, and concludes that the destruction of 

 queen-cells has no effect whatever. Yet some 

 experienced bee-keepers declare that in many 

 cases destroying queen-cells one or more 

 times is sufficient to prevent all swarming. 

 Under such efforts some colonies will be pre- 

 vented from swarming, others will not. The 

 seasons may make a difference — undoubtedly 

 do. Some seasons bees seem to have a mania 

 for swarming; other seasons a good many 

 colonies will make no attempt at it. Whether 

 there is profit in destroying queen-cells is an 

 open question. 



(T 



Drone-Brood for Fish-Bait 



Some years ago this was mentioned, and 

 now it comes up again in (ileanings, more 

 particulars being given. The knights of the 

 rod " specify that the age of the brood shall 

 be just before hatching, when the young 

 drones are- white. A young white drone is 

 removed from the cell and strung on the 

 hook. Its color and shape at once suggest 

 to the fish a big, fat grub, and anglers say 

 that fish will bite this bait as they will bite 

 almost nothing else. It is especially adapted 

 (0 all fish with large mouths like bass, blue- 

 gills, and the like." 



4- Some (Sxpcrt ©pinion -f 



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J 



More Honey from the Basswood 

 Leaves or the Blossoms ? 



Ques. 29 — /« it true that the bees gather 

 more from basswood leaves than from basstvood 

 btossofnsf 



S. T. Pettit (Oat.)— No. 



O. 0. POPPLETON (Fla.)— I don't know. 



J. M. Hambaugh (Calif.) — I think not. 



Jas. A. Stone (111.)— I do not think it is. 



E. D. TowNSBND (Mich.)— No, not in this 

 locality. 



L. Stachelhausen (Tex.) — No basswood 

 in this locality. 



Adrian Getaz (Tenn.) — No, unless in ex- 

 ceptional circumstances. 



N. E. France (Wis.) —No. I did not know 

 that basswood leaves yield honey. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE (N. Y.) — Bees gather 

 7iothing from basswood leaves in this locality. 



C. P. Dadant (111.)— I think not. I have 

 never seen much from either, in this locality. 



Dr. J. P. H. BROW>f (Ga.)— I can not an- 

 swer, as I do not live in a basswood location. 



Edgene Secor ( Iowa; —Not in this locality. 

 I never saw bees gather anything from bass- 

 wood leaves. 



E. Whitcomb (Nebr.) — I do not know. It 

 is at least 75 miles from my apiary to the 

 nearest basswood tree. 



J. A. Green (Colo. )— I think not. They 

 may get honey sometimes from the leaves, but 

 ordinarily, at least, not in any quantity. 



Dr. C. C. Miller (111.)— I shouldn't sup- 

 pose so. I've seen many a bee working on 

 the blossoms, but never one on the leaves. 



Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.) — I think not. I have 

 never seen them gathering from leaves, and 

 in my locality I am pretty sure they do not. 



R. C. AiKiN (Colo. ) —I never lived in a regu- 

 lar basswood region, and don't think leaves 

 yield any except in cases of insect honey-dew. 



P. H. Elwood (N. Y.)— I never saw our 

 bees work on basswood leaves. I never sus- 

 pected that they gathered an ounce from that 

 source. 



E. S. Lovesy (Utah) — As to quantity, I 

 have had no experience on this question, but 

 as to quality I would say that no real, pure 

 nectar is collected by the bees from leaves 

 !!uch as they collect from the flowers. The 

 prodact on the leaves is produced by a small 



insect of the aphid family; the dew softeos 

 it, and hence it is called " honey-dew," and 

 bees and other insects gather it. 



Prof. A. J. Cook (Calif.) — No, by no 

 means. They gather wholly from flowers, ex- 

 cept there are aphids or scale insects in the 

 trees working on them. 



Morgan Bros. (S. Dak.) — Basswood leaves 

 yield very little. Basswood honey is secreted 

 in the calyx of the flower, and may be seen 

 sparkling in the sunlight. 



Arthur C. Miller (R. I.) — Bees do not 

 work on basswood leaves here. But basswoods 

 are few and far between, the European linden 

 taking their place, and the bees go only to the 

 blossoms of that. 



C. Davenport (Minn.) — This Is something 

 I never heard of until lately. I never saw 

 the bees work on the leaves, and I do not be- 

 lieve they ever do here. I will watch this 

 matter closely in the future. 



R. L. Tatlor (Mich.)— Sometimes I have 

 seen the bees apparently working a little on 

 basswood before the blossoms are open, but 

 not when they are open. But a trifle it any 

 nectar is gathered from the leaves here. 



Mrs. J. M. Null (Mo.)— I would like to 

 know. I don't relish the notion of basswood 

 honey-dew. We don't have it in this neck of 

 the woods. All honey-dew, or at least most 

 of it, is derived from hickory leaves here. 



C. H. Dibbern (111.)— I never knew that 

 bees gathered any honey from basswood 

 leaves. It is not true that they gather more 

 from that source than from the blossoms, 

 otherwise why do many bees visit the bass- 

 woods when not in bloom? 



E. E. Hastt (Ohio)— I don't think it is a 

 common state of things, although it may have 

 happened sometimes, especially in recent 

 years when the crop was small. 'Spects the 

 old-fashioned 10- pounds- a- day basswood 

 honey never came from the leaves. 



Wm. McEvot (Ont.)— No. Spme seasons 

 the bees gather honey-dew from the leaves, 

 but this condition of affiirs happens so rarely 

 that it's not worth counting, and although it 

 is really honey dew it gets spoiled by the 

 countless millions of " stuff " that feast upon 

 and soil this class of honey. 



G. W. Demabee (Ky.)— No, not in my 

 locality. In fact, bees do not gather " honey " 

 from the leaves of basswood, or any other 

 kind of leaves. But under certain conditions, 

 not very well understood, bees gather a dark, 

 sweet substance (condensed sap) called 

 "honey-dew." But in my locality honey- 

 dew does not show uji more than once in 5 

 years. 



I 



-V (£ontributcb -f 

 Special Ctrticlcs 



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Bee-Paralysis and Pickled Brood 



HV ADKI.\N (iKTAZ 



DURING the vnars from 1894 to 1896 quite a discussion on 

 ibee-paralysis occupied the beo-papers. Many articli^s and 

 ^reports were vvritten, and a number of remedies tried and 

 the results reported. It must be remembered that at that 

 time bee-paralysis seomed to have been much worse than 

 usual. In fact, whole apiaries had been wiped out entirolv. 



It is in the early spi ing that the malady is the worst. i\ 

 is shown by a large majority of the bees being hairless and 



shiny, as if they had been polished. \t the same time they 

 are stiff and sluggish in their movements, as if half-paralyzed. 

 Those in which the disease is less advanced show it by un- 

 easiness and frequent scratching and twisting of the wings 

 and abdomen. As the season advances the old, shiny bees 

 gradually die out, young bees emerge in large numbers and 

 take their place. It is possible — even probable — that some at 

 least of the young bees contract the disease when in the larval 

 state, but as bne-paralysis is a slowly developing disease, they 

 do not show the signs of it until some time after having 

 emerged, more or less, according to how bad the case is. 



When the number of healthy, or comparatively healthy, 

 young bees has sulliciently increased so tliat the management 

 of the colony (if I may use that terra) falls into their hands, 

 they soon realize that something is wrong with the old, shiny 

 bees, and proceed at once to throw them out of the hive. This 

 is sometimes done gradually, but usually all at once. That is, 

 when the old bees have not already died out from old age and 

 sickness. 



During the summer the bees do not live long enough to 

 reach the shiny stage, unless it be in exceptionally bad cases, 

 but plenty of them can be seen shaking and quivering. 



