304 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



May 



FACTS VERSUS THEORIES, AND THE THOMPT WAY 

 IN WHICH FRIEND BROBKS OBEYS ORDERS. 



I notice you say in Gleaninos, April 1, tliat 

 you want us bee-keepers to give you facts from 

 experience, not opinions. Now, 1 have to-day liad 

 some little experience which has taught mo one 

 fact which I will try to remember; and as others 

 may have similar experience, only it might turn 

 out worse than mine, I will give the facts hei-e, so 

 that others may profit thereby. To begin, 1 had a 

 rousing swarm of bees come out about 9 o'clock, 

 April 3, which were duly hived, and are doing well 

 at this writing. Yesterday I noticed that a great 

 number of young though seemingly mature bees 

 Avere crawling out of the parent hive above men- 

 tioned, and were dropping in a helpless condition in 

 front of the hive. I felt suspicious, but let them 

 alone until this morning, when I opened the hive 

 and found the bees were actually starving. I at 

 first thought it might be something else; but to 

 test the matter, 1 tilted the hive back and poured 

 in about a gill of sugar syrup, and in less than half 

 an hour every thing was lovely again, and they 

 have been working all the rest of the day. By way 

 of explanation, I must state that, the night after 

 the swarm came out, there came a north wind 

 which blew for three days, and, of course, checked 

 the honey-flow completely, as we came near having 

 frost; in fact, we did have a little, but it did no 

 great damage. I could give you my opinion about 

 the matter, but that would be contrary to orders, 

 so I give you the facts, and should like to have 

 your opinion. I have never heard of a similar 

 case; and if I had not been on the lookout, I should 

 have lost a good colony of bees; therefore I give 

 the above as a caution to others. I have had six 

 swarms up to date— 41 colonies, 5 nuclei on hand. 



Gonzales, Texas, April 8, 18S6. M. Broers. 



Very ^ood, friend B.; and the moral to 

 your iiltle story is so plain I ihink we can 

 all " catch on," even if you don't give us 

 your views. 



over $500 AVORTH OF GOODS OF US— ALAVAYS SAT- 

 ISFACTORY. 



I have just received a draft for honey and Avax 

 sent you. I am very thankful to you for helping 

 me out on honey. I have sold only S=.500 or .$600 this 

 season, about one-third as much as usual; price 10 

 and 12'2 cts. for extracted, and 13 '2 and 1.5 cts. for 

 comb. I have been looking over our accounts 

 since I began bee-keeping Avith four swarms In 1878, 

 and find I have purchased of you m^er $500 Avorth 

 of goods, and your goods have always given satis- 

 faction. I now have 70 chaff hives, Avith metal -cor- 

 nered wired frames for all of them. I Avould not 

 use any other frame. I am A'ery particular to have 

 the wires imbedded in the frame, as it is less bother 

 Avith propolis. I like the plan of filling the upper 

 tier of wide frames Avith closed-top sections, as it is 

 less woi-k to clean them. After having a good many 

 sections built AVholly on one side, and others stuck 

 to tins, I am particular to have the frames and box- 

 es stored perpendicularly instead of down flat, as I 

 used to. The red-clover queens I got of you have 

 alAvays given good results. Nearly every Italian 

 swartn gathered enough honey to Avinter on, Avhile 

 the fcAV blacks I have had to be fed from 5 to 20 

 lbs., and there has ahvays been about the same 

 difference every year. 



What has given me more pleasure than your 

 square dealing, and the interesting varied depart- 



ments of Gleanings, with your sound views on 

 tobacco, and all other evils, is the education of your 

 children for honorable productive industry, instead 

 of making aristocratic nobodies of them. 



Ceaude Smith. 

 Norwich, Chenango Co., N. Y., Mar. 11, 1886. 



iodine as a remedy for bee stings. 



Noticing your remarks in -ABC booic concerning 

 remedies for t)ee-stings, let mo relate: F'or many 

 years I have obtained a precarious liveliliood by 

 the i)ractic.? of medicine. I once hud sever.il 

 SAvarms of bees, and read "Langstroth on the Hon- 

 ey-Bec." Of course, I got stung. Now, a bce-siing 

 is with mo a rather serious matter. One in the fall 

 Avill closo my eyes (one or both) for two days. 

 When attending medical college. Prof. Braincrd 

 demonstrated to us tho control of iodine over the 

 "woorah" poison, and gaA'e his opinion that the 

 poison of serpents and of venomous insects is 

 nearly or quite identical. 1 tried tincture of iodine 

 on the bee-stings, Avith complete success. If ap- 

 plied bofore the poison has time to get beyond its 

 reach, it (on me) relieves the pain irMantly, and pre- 

 A-ents the subsequent swelling. Let "the boys" 

 try it; and if it proves a success, publish it in some 

 bee-journal as a small contribution to the relief of 

 one of the ills to which humanity is liable. 



O B. Ormsby, M. D. 



Murphysboro, 111., Apr. 4, 1886. 



Friend O., your remedy has been given 

 several times iti the pages of Gleanings ; 

 but as it has been dropped after a time, and 

 apparently forgotten, I can not think that it 

 as a general thing makes any very great 

 difference. If the reniedy can" be made to 

 reach the liquid poison, ho doubt it might 

 neutralize it. 



growing linden fro.m seed, not advisable. 

 In response to some inquiries in regard to 

 raising basswood, or linden, from the seed, 

 the proprietors of the Elgin nurseries answer 

 as follows: 



In reply Ave Avill say, that Ave do not think it 

 Avould be advisable to recommend growing the 

 linden from seed or laj'ers; those Avho do not un- 

 derstand it Avould only make a failure of it; and if 

 they Avauted only one or two thousand trees they 

 Avould spend more time and money than it Avould 

 cost to buy the trees one or two years old; and 

 nine out of ten would haA'c nothing to show for 

 their bother and cost of seed. If you Avant us to 

 grow linden for you on a contract, we can groAv 

 them very cheaply— much cheaper than any one 

 can afford to grow them Avhere only a few are 

 Avanted. The above is the most sensible thing Ave 

 can give you on linden, as you Avant them. 



Elgin, 111., Mar. 13, 1886. E. H. Bicker & Co. 



EUROPEAN and OTHER LINDENS; SOME A'AIiUA- 

 BLE FACTS. 



1 wish to State that the European linden {Tilia Eu- 

 ropcea) ha> not so large a leaf, nor is it so rapid a 

 grower, as the American, but forms a more com- 

 pact head, or crown. The fame may be said of T. 

 moATophyUa. There is, hoAvcA'er, a serious draw- 

 back to the European forms; during our hot and dry 

 seasons, Avhen they are often denuded of all leaA^cs 

 for a long time till the moist season sets in, a small 

 after-growth is produced, which is not always con- 

 ducive to a healthy state. The so-called silver- 

 Icufed linden Oieteropliylla) is a native, often found 



