660 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



along. But we got used to all such, because — 

 business Is foremost, and pleasure and conven- 

 tional ways of doing things secondary. 



He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city. 

 -Pro V. 16:32. 



BOBBING SICK PEOPLE. 



It is exceedingly encouraging to have such 

 excellent authority as our good friend IVof. 

 Cook back us up so solidly as he does in his re- 

 marks on page 65.5 in regard to wasting our 

 hard earnings in response to traps for the un- 

 wary, in the shape of enticing newspaper ad- 

 vertisements of some new patent medicine or 

 useless trap. 



We had no swarms at our out apiary, and 

 yet the colonies were boiling over with strength. 

 Why didn't they swarm? Because we gave the 

 bees and queen unlimited room. Oh, yes! it is 

 easy enough to control swarming when running 

 for extracted honey, we know; but when run- 

 ning for comb honey the problem is entirely 

 different. There are lots of ways to do it; but 

 somehow they are either a good deal of trouble 

 or else fail so often as to be practically good for 

 nothing; hence most comb -honey producers 

 will let their bees swarm. 



We have just learned from Mr. Francis 

 Danzenbaker, who is visiting us again from 

 Washington, on his way to California, and who 

 has recently obtained letters- patent on a new 

 hive that he has invented, that the Patent 

 Office is divided up into departments, and that 

 each department has its expert who makes a 

 special study of all inventions coming in said 

 department. Well, it seems that bee-keeping 

 was a subject of too small importan'.e to be in 

 a department by itself, and so it was put with 

 —what do you think? Tobacco- growing! This 

 same expert, who has charge of all apicultural 

 inventions, is also versed in every thing that 

 has been done in the way of inventions for 

 n^aking cigars, cigarettes, etc. Said Mr. Dan- 

 zenbaker, with a sly wink, " The Patent Office 

 puts bees and tobacco together; but A. I. R. 

 separates them." 



THE BICYCLE AS A DKAY-WAGON. 



Yes, we have been using our machine, the 

 Victor Flyer, for that very purpose. We have 

 been carrying down upon our back, packsaddle 

 fashion, two or more hives filled with frames of 

 foundation, so as to give those basswood bees 

 more room. (We wish we had to do it just 

 now.) We managed, on the different trips, to 

 carry nearly a one-horse wagonload, and with- 

 out any great inconvenience either, except that 

 passersby on the road stared at us as if wonder- 

 ing what sort of "thing" that was, going 



HALF DRONE HALF WORKEK. 



The accompanying postal card came to hand, 

 and will explain itself: 



Mr. E. R. Root:— J found a curiosity yesterday— a 

 bee with a worker's head and chest, and a drone's 

 posterior parts— no sting'; one pollen-l)asket. This 

 may not be any thing- new to you, but I never saw it 

 before. I liave read about hermaphrodite bees. 

 The bee has a crippled wing. You can easily pick 

 it out from the rest. Willie Atchley. 



Beeville, Tex., Aug'. 1. 



The cage came before the card. Upon first 

 examining the bees, we did not notice any thing 

 remarkable ; but upon reading the card we find 

 that there is indeed a drone among the bees, 

 having a worker thorax, the legs of a worker, 

 and the tongue of a worker. The only feature 

 that shows he is a drone is the abdomen. It is 

 no larger than that of the worker-bee; but it is 

 rounded at tlie end, and shows in every respect 

 that it is unmistakably a drone abdomen. 



AVORKINC4 WITH BEES AFTEE DARK. 



The robbers have been so extremely bad of 

 late, and not having any old combs tilled with 

 honey, which we desired to empty by the slow- 

 robbing plan, we thought we would try work- 

 ing with bees by lantern light. With the aid of 

 an assistant we got along "swimmingly " for a 

 while; but in a short time the temperature of 

 the air began to fall, and the temper of the bees 

 began to rise; and, oh what nasty stings they 

 would give usi They had a fashion of crawl- 

 ing down into the pockets, up the sleeves, etc., 

 until we finally gave it up as a bad job — actual- 

 ly routed from the field. Years ago we worked 

 with bees by night very successfully; but on 

 this particular evening it was any thing but a 

 success toward the last. At first we thought we 

 should get along nicely, remarking at the time 

 tliat Doolittle and a few others seemed to have 

 a great deal of trouble with nightwork — but ive 

 never did. The words were hardly out of our 

 mouth before we began to wish we had not said 

 it, and the result was finally as stated. 



SMOKER FUEL — WHAT KIND 18 GENERALLY 

 USED ? 



A CORRESPONDENT of the American Bee 

 Journal i)refers dry planer shavings for smoker 

 fuel. Our boys use this fuel when they can not 

 get the fuzzy kind of sawdust that comes from 

 sawing out handholes in bee-hives and ship- 

 ping-cases. This latter we much prefer because 

 it gives a much denser smoke, and burns longer; 

 but planer shavings are more available to the 

 majority of bee-keepers, hence they are more 

 generally used, perhaps, than any other fuel. 

 They are easy to light, and can be had for the 

 asking at any of the mills— yes, bushels and 



