230 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



(Selected.) 



RECEIPTS FOR DESTROY- 

 ING ANTS. 



Henry T. Williams. 



1. Tuke four ounces of quassia- 

 chips; boil for ten minutes in a 

 gallon of water, dissolving in the 

 liquid while cooling four ounces of 

 soft-soap. 



2. Take one pound of black soap, 

 dissolve it in four gallons of water, 

 and sprinkle the solution through 

 a fine hose over the runs and nests, 

 taking care, however, not to water 

 the roots of the plants with it. 



3. The following is a successful 

 poison : Ferrocyanide of potas- 

 sium, one drachm ; raspings of 

 quassia, one drachm ; sugar in suf- 

 ficient quantity to form a syrup. 

 The ants are said to devour this 

 greedily and die almost immedi- 

 ately. 



4. Fresh Peruvian guano will 

 drive ants from any spot, however 

 firm a hold the}^ may have obtained 

 on it. ParafRne and benzoline oil 

 are said to have the same effect. 



Turpentine, gas- water, flowers of 

 sulphur, lime-water, a decoction of 

 elder leaves, chloride of lime dis- 

 solved in water, and camphor have 

 all been used. 



5. For ants in a lawn put a large 

 flower-pot over their hole or place 

 of operations. The ants will build 

 up into the pot, and in a short time 

 it may be lifted up and carried 

 away and dropped into a vessel of 

 water, which will be the end of 

 them. 



6. For ants on fruit trees put a 

 line of gas-tar all around the tree, 

 and that will stop their progress. 



Ants in flower or garden beds 

 may be destroyed as follows : 



Take two ounces of soft-soap, 

 one pound of potash, and about 

 two and one-half pints of water. 

 Boil the whole together for some 

 time, stirring the ingredients oc- 



casionally. The liquor ma}' then 

 be allowed to cool. 



With a pointed stick or dibble 

 make holes wherever the soil is in- 

 fested. Drop the mixture, filling 

 the holes once or twice. 



Fill small vials two-thirds with 

 water, and add sweet-oil to float 

 on the water to within half an inch 

 of the top. Plunge these upright 

 in the ground, leaving only half an 

 inch standing out, near the nest or 

 runs of the ants. The ants will 

 come for a sip and go home to die. 

 No insect can exist with oil stop- 

 ping up its spiracles, or breathing 

 pores. 



Boiling water and arsenic are fa- 

 tal ; coarse sponge dipped in trea- 

 cle-water, and afterwards dipped 

 in scalding water, will catch thou- 

 sands. 



May be destro3'ed b}'^ a few fresh, 

 unpicked bones being placed for 

 them, or sponges wetted and filled 

 with sugar, or treacle in bottles or 

 pans. 



FOREIGN. 



HOW COUSIN JONATHAN GETS COMB 

 HONEY. 



Most of our readers have beard of 

 Mr. Henry Alley, of Weuliam, Mass., 

 of queeu-rearing fame; lie Is the 

 present editor of the American Api- 

 CULTUIUST, a moiitlily bee-paper that 

 is second to none in tlie value of its 

 articles on points of real practical in- 

 terest to beekeepers. The number for 

 June h;is live articles on comb honey 

 from the pens of the following well- 

 known American beekeepers : — G. M. 

 Doolittle, Dr. G. L. Tinker, A. E. 

 Mannm, Dr. C. C. Miller, and G. W. 

 Demaree. To reprint them in extenso 

 would be beyond the limits of these 

 columns, so I will endeavor to give 

 you a digest of them : the information 

 is too late to be of benetit for the pres- 

 ent honey crop, but as our minds are 

 now occupied with honey-getting, the 

 facts will probably be more lirmly fixed 

 in our memories at the present time 

 than they would be in the winter when 

 bees are quiet. — Amateur Expert in 

 British Bee Journal. 



