sm 



GLEANINGS IN 13EE CULTURE. 



May 



\mE^ i5]\[D QaEi^iEg. 



WANTED, IRON-CLAD, FROST-PROOF QUEENS FOR 

 EARLY SHIPMENT. 



I OLD weather, not candy, caused vlic loss. We 

 wish to breed an iron-clad, trost-i)roof bee for 

 the early spring time. Our losses are being 

 made good this week; weather superb. 



J. W. K. Shaw & Co. 

 Loreauville, La., April 21, 1886. 

 [Quite a lot ot queens, received when the weather 

 was cold, trom J. W. K. Shaw & Co., came through 

 in bad order. When we suggested that the candy 

 was too hard, they replied as above.] 



WHITE-PLUME CELERY. 



I find Henderson's White Plume a better keeper 

 than has been claimed for it. I have it in fair con- 

 dition now. E. W. Shattuck. 



Springfield, Mass., Feb. 23, 1886. 



[So do we.] 



DWINDLING IN AUGUST. 



Have you or any of your correspondents had 

 their bees dwindle down in August, September, and 

 October, from a large, heavy, and populous colony, 

 to a very small one, say not more than half a pint 

 to a pint of bees? and if so, what is the cause? 



Dexter, Maine. L. French. 



[We have never had bees dwindle down in Aug- 

 •st and September unless it was from the name- 

 less bee-disease mentioned In Gleanings.] 



THE PROSPECT FOR THE SEASON GOOD. 



My 38 colonies of bees have come through the 

 winter in line condition on summer stands in 

 Quinby closed-eud-frame hives; they were packed 

 with oats chaff, and covered with snow during all 

 the cold weather. The prosi)ect for the season is 

 quite good. Green K. Shirer. 



Greene, Butler Co., Iowa, Apr. 14, 1886. 



" NOT DISCOUR.\QED YET." 



There was neither honey nor money about bees 

 last season. I am not discouraged yet. I com- 

 menced last spring with .59 colonies; sold f 00.00 

 worth of queens and bees, and took oOO lbs. of hon- 

 ey. I have reduced my^stock by doubling. They 

 are in good condition. The peach-trees failed to 

 bloom this year, therefore the industrious little 

 things have to be idle because there are no blooms 

 for them to visit. W. D. Tharp. 



Williamsburgh, N. C, Apr. 9, 1886. 



bark-ltce no more. 



The bark-lice on the maple, I belffeve, are mostly 

 dead. My reasons arc, there was not much of a sec- 

 ond flow of honey-dew last season. The bugs did 

 not fasten themselves to the limbs as they did the 

 year before. Many of them were found dead on the 

 leaves, and the leaves hung on the trees unusually 

 long, compared with the fall before. What arc now 

 on the trees, I am not sure whether they are most- 

 ly dead or alive. William Halley. 



Kockton, 111., Mar. 2J, 1886. 



two uirds with one stone. 

 1 am"constantly more and more convinced of the 

 fact that raspberries should be more extensively 

 planted by bee-keepers, because they are a profita- 

 ble crop, besides the honey they furnish, the latter 

 comingat atime when much needed, and being of an 

 excellent quality. Hansell and Cuthbert, for early 

 and late red varieties, are among the best, I think, 

 while I should prefer Tyler, Souhegan, Ohio, and 



Gregg, for blackcaps, and Shafl'er's Colossal, across 

 betweenthe black and red varieties, to cap the list; it 

 is the most productive variety 1 have ever seen. Its 

 growth is simply wonderful, and the berries delicious. 

 Why search for the half-stunted berries, by miles of 

 tramping, when the waste ground about home 

 would be improved, and your health and comfort as 



well, with an abundance of berries? 



C. Wkckesser. 



Marsliallville, Wayne Co., O , Apr. 12, 138:1. 



THE SUIP.MAN ENGINE .JUST THE THING FOIl 

 KKE-KEEPERS. 



I see that you have m Shipman engine. My pait- 

 ner and myself h.iveono also (a oneliorso power), 

 which we use in making Simplicity bee-hives. We 

 run one of Barnes' loot-power saws, and another 

 7-in. circular saw on one of your S7.0J mandrels at 

 the same time, cutting '« pine— just the thing for 

 bee keepers wanting small power. 



W. J. KlNCHELVE. 



Narrow Rock, Mo., Jan. C, 1886. 



the NEW BARNES FOOT-POWER SAW. 



In replying to your request in Gleanings, I will 

 say that I don't know that I am capable of passing 

 judgment on the new Barnes saw, as I never had 

 experience with that kind of machinery; but I will 

 say that it gives good satisfaction, and does fine 

 work if your lumber is free from any warp; but if 

 it is the least warped, in cutting ott' end bevels you 

 will have trouble. Will T. Zink. 



Nichol, Greene Co., Mo., Mar. 7, 1886. 



ITALIANS GREATLY SUPERIOR TO BLACK BEES. 



I consider that it pays to Italianize. Mine were all 

 blacks and hybrids last spring except 3. I extract- 

 ed from one Italian swarm about 140 lbs. of nice 

 clover honey; while from a black swarm sitting by 

 its side, I got only about 15 lbs. Am expecting bet- 

 ter results this year than last. I should have got 

 three times as much honey last year as I did, but 1 

 was Italianizing my apiary, and had several hives 

 queenless at the wrong time, which 1 will not do 

 again. Wc must live and learn. 



Tho-mpson Brown. 



Clove-.dale, Ind., Jan. 1, 1886. 



THE RESULTS OF REVERSING DARK HONEY. 



There is one thing about reversible frames and 

 brood-chambers that I should be pleased to have 

 explained. How is it possible to prevent the dark 

 honey, which accumulates in the upper corners of 

 brood-frames, from being carried into the sections 

 when the frames are reversed? In some localities 

 quite a little dark honey is gathered before clover- 

 bloom. If, when clover begins to bloom, the rever- 

 sal of the brood-frames results in scattering this 

 dark honey through the sections, it would seem not 

 to be desirable. M. Frank Taber. 



Salem, O., Mar. 22, 1886. 



[Friend T., we have had so little experience in re- 

 versing frames that we can not answer your ques- 

 tion; liut I do not imagine that the dilliculty you 

 mention would occur. often enough to be any great 

 detriment.] ' 



SEEDING DOWN WASTE ROAD-SIDES. 



Honey-producing plants are scarce here, and bees 

 can just about make a living. I am in hopes to do 

 better when I get some alsike growing. I have been 

 plowing the I'oad-side, and now have it in good 

 shape, with deep dead furrows on each side. I will 

 now seed down, e.\pecting to get some honey and 

 hai', besides keeping bad weeds from seeding. I 



