1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



27 



AVASTE MICA FOR BEE- VEIL FRONTS. 



I notice, in June Gleanings, your remarks about 

 bee-veils bavins' g'lass fronts. Now, there are sever- 

 al objeetions to glass, which are too obvious to 

 mention. I sent for some samples of waste mica 

 from the works here, where it is mined and cut for 

 use in stoves. Would not this material be e.xcellent 

 for the bee-veils? It will not break, and can be pei-- 

 forated with a needle, and sown on to the netting'. 

 It is also cheaper than glass, as it can be got here 

 for a dollar a pound, and a pound would have sever- 

 al hundred pieces in it. You will notice how easily 

 it can be split to any thinness, and can be cut with 

 scissors. If you would like some of it to test I 

 shall be glad to send you some. H. Stewart. 



Webster, N. C. 



Thanks, friend S.; l)ut mica has ah-eady 

 been nsed for the purpose you mention. A 

 few years ago it was advertised in Glean- 

 ings, and tested considerably ; but although 

 it does not break like glass, it has the same 

 objection of being made obscure by damp- 

 ness from the breath, and by getting soiled 

 and dusty, so it must be wiped almost every 

 time a veil is used. On these accounts it 

 has been dropped. Thanks for the beautiful 

 specimens you s end. 



an apology to MRS. COTTON. 



I send you a letter, i-eceived from Mrs. Cotton, 

 asking me if I authorized you to publish her as a 

 humbug. Now, friend Root, I think that I owe 

 Mrs. Cotton an apology. At the close of our cor- 

 respondence in regard to that colony of bees, Mrs. 

 C. made a proposition that she would send nic an- 

 other colony in the spring. I wrote her that I was 

 perfectly satisfied, and I have now no reason to 

 doubt that she will do just as she agreed to. There- 

 fore I had no reason to write what I did, and I feel 

 that I did ISIrs. C. a great injury', and I am willing to 

 acknowledge it. H. Adams. 



Port Austin, Mich., Dec. 14, 1885. 



We are glad indeed to hear so much in 

 Mrs. Cotton's favor; and I agree with you, 

 friend A., that it is a manly thing to do, to 

 make acknowledgment when we fear we 

 have been unwise. 



HOW I RAISED SOME MOTH. 



Now for the moth. I took two nice frames of 

 comb, one containing 3 or 3 lbs. of honey capped 

 over, and I put some sugar syrup into the other 

 card. I have had these right in the house where 

 I live for nearly two months. There was no sign of 

 moth or worms in either card of comb when I 

 brought them in, and the other day I took out the 

 card that I had put the syrup in, and it was destroy- 

 ed by the moth. Some of the worms were over one 

 inch in length, while others were half grown, and 

 still others not over one-fourth of an inch long. 

 Now, how is this? 1 thought that a gray miller laid 

 the eggs that pi'oduced these worms. Had these 

 eggs all been laid while the comb was in the hive, 

 why did they not all hatch at once, and the worms 

 all be of one size? or do the worms produce eggs? 

 which will you have it? There could possibly no 

 miller get at these two cards, for I had them in a 

 close-fltting box, with fine wire over the entrance. 



Mineral Point, Mo., Dec. 16, 188.5. O. F. Deal. 



Friend B., it is well established that moth is 

 almost sure to hatch out from brood-combs 

 when removed from the hives during warm 

 weather. \"ou will tind the same thing 



mentioned in the A B book. Without 

 question, the combs contained eggs that re- 

 mained in a dormant state until the warm 

 temperature of the house caused them to 

 hatch. I believe it is pretty well decided, 

 however, that the worms do but little harm 

 unless tlie combs contain pollen. With 

 plenty of pollen for them to feed on, there is 

 no trouble in getting moth worms an inch 

 long, or even longer. I do not know how 

 long the eggs will remain in the combs with- 

 out hatching, but perhaps a year or more, if 

 the temperature is not warm enough for 

 them to hatch, nor cold enough to kill the 

 eggs ; for the eggs are not always killed un- 

 less they are subjected to a freezing as se- 

 vere as 15 or 20 above zero. 



FRIEND GOULD INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO OUR 

 READERS IN POETIC MEASURE. 



Good morninsf, Messrs. bee-men, and bee-women too, 



For I'm bound to be a bee-man, what else I may do. 



On the sea of bee-fame I've launched my canoe, 



So here is my HW with a "how do you do?" 



As an ABC scholar, about the first of .June 



I commenced handling ticcs. ami f^i-ttiTiK used to their tunc. 



Twelve tour-frame nuclei aiul two full stocks 



Was the shape of my lesson, and size of my Hock. 



Seven divides and fifteen introductions I ve successfully done, 



Including four queenless colonies, with fertile worker one. 



Made twenty-four hives of Simplicity style. 



With inside flxin's, but haven't struck ile. 



The gathering:, in this section, has been so slim 



That the bees havn't biought in the sweets with a vim. 



So that, instead of BIG yields, which so many boast, 



I've hardly enough to spread on my toast. 



But where there is life, they say " there is hope," 



So, if my bees live, I will " give them more rope," 



As I've twelve Simplicities buried in a hill. 



And thirteen on summer stands— they can't freeze if they will. 



While two swarms took wing and got out of my range. 



Counting one, which I sold, and you can see the Increase, 



.iVllowing two, which I doubled, to save me their fleece. 



Of foundation, I've used thirty pounds or less. 



Which has initiated me in most of the manipulations, I guess. 



I've done all this work unaided and alone. 



Without having once been stung— by a drone. 



So, whether I'm well up in my class, or to be placed at the foot, 



I leave the decision to— A. 1. Root. 



Corunna, Mich. J. T. Gould. 



A PLEA FOR THE MUCH-ABUSED MILKWEED. 



I inclose a slip cut from the Planter and Stochman, 

 of St. Louis. Either the editor must be mistaken, 

 or the milkweed acts differently in different local- 

 ities; for I can truly say, that if it had not been for 

 milkweed the writer would have been in Blasted 

 Hopes long ago, for three-fourths of our honey 

 crop is from that same milkweed. Though I have 

 diligently searched for bees that were so loaded 

 down as to be unable to leave the blossom at all, I 

 have not yet found any. I know that the bees go 

 in at the entrance, and out of sight, with milkweed 

 honey, but I do not know that they climb the 

 combs; but I do know that the honey gets into the 

 section boxes in very nice shape. I never yet saw 

 any fighting when milkweed was in bloom, but I 

 have seen quite a little pile of the balls that stick 

 to their feet on the ground in front of the hive, 

 sometimes as much as a small handful. I often 

 see bees come out of the hive fastened together 

 with it, and fly away after more stores, sometimes 

 separating on the bottom-board, and sometimes 

 after flying a few feet, and sometimes going out 

 of sight together. Long live the milkweed ! 



Geo. L. Hubbard. 

 Fairview, Dak., Dec. 26, 1885, 



Friend II., I have long suspected that the 

 damage done the bees by the milkweed was 

 somewhat exaggerated, therefore I am very 

 glad to have you give us positive facts in re- 

 gard to the matter. From your statement I 

 should infer that your bees were troubled 

 about as much as bees ever are with these 

 impediments on their feet. 



