456 



GLEANINGS i^ 13EE CULTUllE. 



June 



actly,if not quite, tlie same as our three-box 

 case, which we have advertised so many 

 years. To fasten these togetlier, friend Vi- 

 allon uses a couple of wires with a stoat rub- 

 ber c^rJ to draw the side-boards close to- 

 gethei", and to keep eveiy thing tight. Such 

 an arrangement works nicely on liives, but 

 it is not practicable to use it for shipping 

 honey to markets. For home use, however, 

 it seems to answer every purpose. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



OILED CLOTH IN PLACE OF GliASS, FOR HOT -BED 

 SASHES, ETC. 



TN reading- Gleanings i'or Feb. 15, 1886, pages 141 

 M and 142, etc., I should like to say that Mr. Hen- 

 ^t derson's ideas of using cloth well oiled, in place 

 "*■ of glassed sash, is gond. I have practiced it 

 for years. 1 make a frame, something as you 

 do, to put in glass, but tightly draw the cloth across 

 and tack down close. These handle nicely. I alter- 

 nate these with glassed sashes, every other section 

 (or sash) being cloth. They can be changed occa- 

 sionally, placing the cloth sashes over where the 

 glass sashes ha\e lieen, and vice versa. 



liike you, this sort of work fascinates nie, and 

 truly it's a great pleasure to watch your plants, 

 which seem to grow under your eye, while all is 

 cold beneath, and desolate outside. Another thing-, 

 we must i-ealize thai- it is proQtable as well. I have 

 watched j'ou all through this "hobby of yours;" 

 have seen you err, and smiled, but knew j'ou would 

 eventually "get there," and I must tiuthfully say 

 you are fast doing so now, to judge from your writ- 

 ings. Long- may you live to enjoy the " new horti- 

 culture, etc.," is my prayer. K. ('. Taylor 

 (Formerly of Wilmington, N. C). 



Fort Scott, Kan., April 8, lM8ti. 



WHAT made the bees swau.m so ? 



Can you tell mc what ails my bees'.' My first 

 swarm came out March 7. I hived them in a new 

 Simplicity hive, which they seemed to like very 

 well; but after remaining two days they swarmed 

 out; and as the queen was not able to tly I caught 

 her and put her back in the parent hive where the 

 bees all went. Ne.\t day they all swarmed again, 

 and I hived them in a new Simplicity; but not the 

 one I put them in first. They remained in that 

 three days, and swarmed ovit again, «and took 

 French leave. My ne.\t swarm, a week later, acted 

 a good deal the same way, only they left the same 

 day, after being hived twice. The third swarm, 

 which was about a week later still, went off without 

 bcing'.hived at all, and I have had no swarms since, 

 though 1 have 20 colonies, all apparently in good 

 condition. Now; as I know but little about bees, 

 will you be so kind as to tell me the cause of their 

 acting- in that strange way? Bees seem to be gath- 

 ering some honey now from the rattan and grape 

 blooms. I sowed my buckwheat April 20, and I see 

 some blossomslon it to-day, just twenty days from 

 the time of planting. .T. W. Thomas. 



Tehuacana, Texas, May 10, ISKO. 



I think, friend; T., that your bees had a 

 sort of swarming mania. Sometimes it 

 seems to ran in a particular strain of bees. 

 They get swarming on the brain, and they 

 swarm anyhow, no matter how you fix them, 



nor what sort of a hive they are put in. I 

 should assuredly have given them the franje 

 of unsealed brood, recommended so much. 

 If you have yny more such work, suppose 

 yoii try it. 



.ARE YOUNG bees OF THE BLACK RACE SUB.IECT 

 TO CHANGE IN COLOR? 



I have four stands of the native, or wild bees; 

 they have a hazel-colored bod3-, and are black at 

 the extremity of the abdomen. On the 14th of 

 April I hived a swarm and noticed that there was a 

 part of the bees of an orange color. Thinking they 

 were young ones, I did not take notice of them so 

 much; but as they continue the same color yet, I 

 should like some one to explain, if possible,, the 

 cause of said change, as none of my old bees are so. 



Blackville, S. C, April 20, 1886. " D. D. Slater. 



Young bees of any race are lighter in color, 

 because of the peculiar down, or fur, that 

 covers their bodies. As they get older this 

 fur gets soiled, or wears off, and tliey look 

 dark, or sometimes almost black, when con- 

 trasted with tlie young bees'that are for the 

 tirst time taking wing. 1 do not know of 

 any other way in which bees change color. 



IS BEE-SriNO POISON GOOD FOR CROUP? 



1 see you publish what honey is good for to res- 

 tore health. 1 will just say for your readers that 2, 

 3, 4, .5, or honey-bees, or 1, 2, 3, or 4 bumble-bees 

 (according to age of patient) steeped in water, say 

 about '2 to 1 oz., and sweeten to be palatable, is al- 

 most an infallible cure for croup, and produces a 

 pleasant sensation in the throat or stomach instead, 

 of the sickening sensation usually resulting from 

 medicine given by doctors or oui- grandmothers for 

 ci'oup. It only needs to be tried by yourself or any 

 one to full}' appreciate its pleasant taste. This 

 remedy is well worth any one's trial. 1 think the 

 relief comes from the prison of the sting-. I also 

 know the same to be good for a cold on' the lung-s. 



Memphis, Tenn. .7 as. F. Wright. 



If the poison from the sting of the bees 

 were in sufficient quantity, it would i)roba- 

 bly produce sickness at the stomacli, just as 

 lobelia and other similar drugs do ; and this 

 would, without question, relieve the croup. 

 Why it should give relief to the croup, with- 

 out producing any nausea, is something I 

 can not answer. Very likely, however, it 

 may act as a remedy. It is certainly suffi- 

 ciently powerful to act instantly, and this is 

 just what is wanted with so acute a disease 

 as the croup. Mr. House told us, some time 

 ago, about the number of sacks of bee-stings 

 he was selling to the medical fraternity. 

 Now, have these friends who buy the poison- 

 sacks been aware of the curative properties 

 of this remedy for croup and similar dis- 

 eases V 



WHAT AILS MY BEES? 



M3' bees are dying- with plenty of honey in hive. 

 1 am afraid they have some disease among- them. 

 Have you any remedy to prevent disease among 

 bees? or what do you think is the matter with them? 

 I have your ABC. T. W. Moorhead. 



Fairview, Pa., May 10, 1886. 



It is quite unusual for bees to die during 

 the month of May, with honey in the hive. 

 I can think of no explanation, unless .it is 

 that their stores are poisonous, for some rea- 

 son or other. I do not know of any disease 



