270 



GLEANINGS IN 13EE CULTUllE. 



Apk. 



gathered from the same source and at the same time. 

 Three years ago my honey was partly gathered from 

 what we call "jack-oak;" and that year it granulat- 

 ed. R. KOBINSON. 



Laclede, 111., Feb. 15, imi. 



Since yon mention it, friend K., T am in- 

 clined to think that well-ripened honey is 

 not as much inclined to granulate as When 

 it is "green/' as we often term it; and it 

 also occurs to me that honey from Spanish 

 needles is not apt to granulate when it is 

 thoroughly ripened. AV^e have had some of 

 a beautiful ambei' color, so thick that a sau- 

 cerful could be turned over without spilling; 

 and for all that, even zero weather produced 

 no signs of granulation. 



ARE THEY BLESSINGS? 



Though I differ with you in many things, I fully 

 agi-ee with what you said recently in Gleanings, 

 in regard to considering honey-yields as blessings 

 from God, and that it were perhaps safer to send us 

 more of them, if we would regard them as such. 

 By the way, is it quite fair to call the honey-dew we 

 have had, " bug-juice," and the like unthankful 

 terms, when many could have considered it a bless- 

 ing, as it came in a time when bees were getting 

 comparatively no honeys I extracted it mostly, and 

 used it for stimulative feeding; but as I did not 

 know what it was, and did not extract all of it, I 

 had considerable loss, but am the wiser for it. 



Marshallville, O. ('. Weckesser. 



Thank you, friend W. You are right, and 

 we will try to stop using any term that 

 sounds even in a slight degi-ee disrespectful 

 to the all-wise Creator. Tlie honey-dew has 

 indeed been a blessing to us in our business, 

 for it has kept brood-rearing going wlien it 

 would not otherwise have done so without 

 feeding; and with tlie large force of honey- 

 gatherers in our apiary, it is generally all 

 worked up into brood, so it does no harm. 

 Many of tliese things that seem at tirst to be 

 hindrances can be turned into blessings if 

 we handle them rightly ; and through it all. 

 our attitude of heart should be, "Thine be 

 the praise and the glory." 



ROACHES IN bee-hives. 



I liavc a few questions to ask about bee-keeping. 

 Did you ever have roaches in»your bee-hives? I 

 have two hives infested with them. I have changed 

 the bees into new boxes, and they are still in them. 

 I see they pick out the young brood in the combs. 

 Have you any way of getting rid of them? 



Post Oak, Mo. J. S. Buuckart. 



Friend B., the trouble with roaches, I be- 

 lieve, belongs to the Southern and Middle 

 States. We have none of tliem here. From 

 tlie reports given, I liave been inclined to 

 think they did buti little if any harm. If they 

 are picking the brood out of the combs, how- 

 ever, it is a serious matter. Will not a strong 

 colony repel them ? 



LEAVING BEE-HIVES IN A SNOWDRIPT. 



You advise us to leave our hives nearly or entire 

 ly covered with snow in winter instead of keeping 

 the entrances open. Now, have you over success- 

 fully tried that plan for one or two months at a 

 time? I lived the first twenty-five years of my life 



within twenty-flve miles of Medina, O., and can ful- 

 ly realize the diflerence in the snowfall between 

 there and here. I have often resolved to let them 

 alone, with one or two feet of snow over the entran- 

 ces; but my faith in that plan has never held out 

 over one week at a time. This is a question of vi- 

 tal importance in this locality. We use chatf cush- 

 ions in upper story, with an inch hole in each end 

 of the cover for ventilation. This is an excellent 

 locality for bee-keeping, (hough last season was an 

 exception. J. II. M.vn.ning. 



Sun, Newaygo Co , Mich. 



Friend M., we have, ever since we kept 

 bees, rejoiced to see the snow all over the 

 hives so tliat they were entirely out of sight; 

 bat I do not know tliat we have ever had 

 them covered up entirely for as long a period 

 as two months— perhaps not more than half 

 that time ; but 1 have never had reason to 

 think tiiat a colony was injured by being 

 covered with snow, but quite the contrary. 

 Neither have we ever had any reports to the 

 effect that snow would hurt bees, unless it 

 was where the diainage was so poor that, 

 when the sun came to thaw the snow sud- 

 denly, the wet snow, or slush, would cover 

 the entrances. In that case, if the top of 

 the hive were light it might damage them. 



SPEED OF BUZZ-SAWS, ETC. 



When and how can I best move ten swarms in 

 chaff hives ten rods? 



3 -Adam Leister, 7—10, 0—70. 



Brunswick, 6 Ohio. .,(1—3. 3—7, 7 — 10. 



Feb. I'.t, 1886. **"( X— S38, $20-$5, MX— $30. 



Jlxplanation: The 3 here stands for 3 years of 

 beekeeping. The upper row shows increase in 

 successive years. In lower row, first figure in each 

 set shows cash income; second flgui-e shows cash 

 expense for that year; X stands for " experience;" 

 M, for " more." After name, stands for surplus 

 honey in 1885; 70, for pounds of sugar fed; work, 

 not taken into account. At what speed do you run 

 buzz saws and cutter-heads? A. L. 



Friend L., if you can move the hives after 

 a spell of cold weather that has prevented 

 the bees from flying, say from ten days to 

 two weeks, I think you will not have very 

 much trouble. See A B C book, p. 172. There is 

 much difference in the behavior of one colo- 

 ny under such circumstances, compared with 

 that of another. Some bees will take their 

 points and come straight back to their hive, 

 if you should move it every few days; others 

 will remeinber the location, even if they 

 have not had a fly for a month, or perhaps 

 all winter, and go back to the old familiar 

 spot. — Your interpretation of your charac- 

 ters and figures makes one thiiik you liave 

 been recently reading about Nebuchadnez- 

 zar and Daniel. Nevermind. It illustrates 

 how long a story can be told in a small space, 

 and that is a lesson that a great many of us 

 need to learn jtist now.— In regard to the 

 speed of buzz-saws, it is laid down in the 

 A B C book that the points of the teeth 

 should move at the rate of about 8000 feet 

 per minute ; but the kind of work to be done 

 has something to do with it ; also the kind 

 of wood to be cut. But the rule given above 

 will be found to be not far out of the way 

 for the generality of work. 



