02 



THE AMERICi^N BEE JOURNAL. 



stiffen. Frequently when they arrive at the 

 hive it has become so hard that the other bees 

 are scarcely able to gnaw it from their thighs. 

 With propolis bees fasten clown their hives, 

 stop lip crevices to exclude moths and ants, and 

 sometimes use it to narrow the entrance of their 

 hive against the invasion of wasps. Extraor- 

 dinary anecdotes are told of the prompt and in- 

 genious use they make of this substance. Reau- 

 mur relates that a suail having been observed 

 by the bees on the window oV the hive, they 

 proceeded to glue the shell to the glass, and 

 there sealed down the intruder in hopeless dur- 

 ance. In another case, that of a slug or snail 

 Avithout a shell, the bees having slain it with 

 their stings, were quite unable to remove it 

 from the hive. With Avonderful foresight they 

 then proceeded to secure their community from 

 the noxious effects likely to arise from the de- 

 cay of the carcass; and this they did by com- 

 pletely enveloping it with a coating of imper- 

 vious varnish. Huish relates a similar occur- 

 rence in the case of a mouse caught in a hive 

 by bees. Propolis yields benzoic acid, and con- 

 tains some aromatic properties. — Neighb&ur. 



Pasturage for Bees. 



•' Bees work for man, and yet they uever bniise 

 Their master's flower, but leave it, having done, 

 As fair as ever, and as fit for use." 



Apiarians generally agree in the opinion that 

 very little can be done in the way of providing 

 any special forage for bees. Yet bee-fanciers 

 are always interested in observing which the 

 flowers are that the bees prefer ; and there are 

 certain well-established conclusions as to the 

 kind of district and season which are the like- 

 liest to produce a good honey harvest. There 

 is an old saying that a country which produces 

 the finest wool also yields the best honey ; and 

 a pastoral district is decidedly better than one 

 under tillage. The principle of the matter is 

 that the bees are best suited with a long dry 

 season— an early spring, a hot summer, and a 

 late autumn. As not one of these blessings can 

 be commanded by the apiarian, his art must be 

 applied to provide some mitigation of the in- 

 jury suffered by the bees when the season is 

 short or wet. For early spring, the crocus, the 

 blue hepatica, and the violet, all afford good sup- 

 plies of honey, and if cultivated near the apiary 

 will be of great service when the wild floweis 

 are backward. All varieties of the willow and 

 poplar furnish early supplies of honey, as Avell 

 as of the propolis of which we have spoken; the 

 blossoms of the gooseberry and currant are very 

 useful for the bees in May. Wet, when it en- 

 ters flowers of any kind, prevents the proboscis 

 of the bee from reaching the secret source of 

 honey. On this account it is well to know, as 

 does the bee, that the drooping blossoms of the 

 raspberry escape the effect of the showers, and 

 honey is gathered from them when other 

 flowers are drenched withtn as well as without. 

 For a similar reason, the borage (borago offici- 

 nalis) is valuable for bees, and, also, because 

 that plant continues to flower until the frosts 

 set in. The honey,, both from raspberry blos- 



soms and borage is very superior. Mr. Lang- 

 stroth says that " the precipitous and rocky 

 lands of New England, which abound with the 

 wild red raspberry, might be made almost as 

 valuable as some of the vine-clad terraces of the 

 mountain districts of Europe." The "golden 

 rod," and also asters, afford superior honey for 

 autumn gathering. Dzierzon strongly recom- 

 mends buckwheat being sown in the winter 

 stubbles on behalf of the bees, and he tries hard 

 to persuade farmers that it is to their interest 

 to cultivate it. It should be named that all the 

 ordinary fruit blossoms, especially those of the 

 apple, supply abundant stores for bees. 



It is, however, to wild or field flowers that 

 the bee-master must chiefly look for the raw 

 material on which his myriad artizans shall 

 exert their skill. The wild clover of the pas- 

 ture, the Avild thyme on the hill, the heather on 

 the moors, the furze and the broom on the sandy 

 waste, offer cxhaustless stores for a greater 

 number of bees than can ever be located near 

 them. There are also two or three peculiar 

 sources of honey which one would not have 

 suspected, as, for instance, the blossoms of the 

 onion plant, of turnips, and, in still greater de- 

 gree, the flower of the mustard plant. In those 

 districts of England where mustard seed is cul- 

 tivated so extensively, it would be well worth 

 while for the farmers to keep large colonies of 

 bees. Another, but a very uncertain source of 

 honey, is the "honey-dew," which in some 

 seasons appears in large quantities on the leaves 

 of the oak, the lime, and some other trees. 



It is important to mention that bees in the 

 principal breeding seasoji require a plentiful 

 supply of water. Owing either to their care- 

 lessness or eagerness, they are frequently 

 drowned when drinking from any large quan- 

 tity of water ; the becrkeeper should, therefore, 

 place near the hives shallow vessels of water 

 containing pebbles, on Avhich the bees might 

 alight to take frequent but temperate draughts. 



Tl t IglB^ 1 BT' 



Extra Queens. 



In Italianizing my stocks, I have found the 

 old queen and a young laying queen at the same 

 time, in five hives. They had not swarmed for 

 three years. One old queen was in a cluster on 

 the bottom, being worried to death. One of the 

 five was renewed at the swarming season; and 

 there were three cases of a renewal of j^oung or 

 this year's queens. There seems to have been 

 a perfect mania among the bees to get rid of 

 their old queens, as some of them have done so 

 since killing their drones. J. M. M. 



St. Ouarles, 111. 



Difficult as the science of bee-keeping may 

 seem, it is not beyond the reach of attentive 

 perseverance; and the very difliculties, as in 

 most cases, only serve to enhance the pleasure 

 and gratification of the bee-keeper. 



Every village and town can support a hun- 

 dred fold more bees than now have existenca 

 among us. 



