4Sli 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



June 



ing tho trials of a new country, living' in a dug-out 

 on a treeless prairie, beneath the scorching rays of 

 the sun, breathing the heated air from the broad 

 prairie, cooking their food, and warioing in winter 

 their dug-out witli hay or cow-chips for fuel, drink- 

 ing alkaline water, vainly endeavoring to be happy 

 in the thought that, in after years, they'll own a 

 quai-ter-seetion, I think how much more happiness 

 In a ten-acre lot, back in civilized life— a home, 

 purchased and made lil^e a little corner cut out of 

 paradise, with no more cost than has been expend- 

 ed in going west and one year's living. There is 

 not a single State in the Union west of the Alleghe- 

 nies, that is one-half developed yet. Young man, 

 remain where you are, and assist in developing 

 your native State. " Make not haste to get rich," 

 but, rather, enjo3' life as you go along. 

 Ramsay, III., June V, 18Sr>. L. V. Stoddaud. 



Friend S., I agree with you exactly, and I 

 am abundantly satisfied that there is a field 

 wide enough for all who care to explore it in 

 developing the latent resoni'ces of a little 

 patch of ground ; the new agriculture, for 

 instance, and the possibilities that are open- 

 ing out tlu-ough the modern system of mar- 

 ket gardening. Our new-agriculture beds 

 are now furnishing green peas, new i)0ta- 

 toes, beets, and lettuce, in great abundance, 

 and, most of all, these things are grown 

 without the aid of glass at all. Peas sown 

 in February now yield three good pickings, 

 and they were never covered, even one night. 

 — Now, in regai'd to going west, 1 suppose 

 the same rules would ai)ply in a measure 

 out west that aytply here, oidy this must be 

 considered : If you want to get good prices 

 for your stuff after it is raised, you must 

 have a thickly settled community, or else be 

 in the immediate proximity of villages, 

 towns, and cities. To get good i)rices you 

 need to be in a cliaiate where frosts and 

 snow prevail, or where severe drouths are 

 common. Strange, isn't it, tliat a locality 

 where unseasonable frosts and drouths are 

 prevalent is the one to make money? Uut 

 so it is. The educated and up-with-the- 

 times cultivat()r of the soil will have good 

 crops any way, and where almost every- 

 body fails in common slip-shop culture, 

 there will the progressive man get rich. 

 Again, this bright Monday, June 14, a dozen 

 boys and girls are picking strawberries. On 

 one patch, where so much manure was put 

 on that everybody said I ^^■olTld never get 

 my money l)ack iii the world, they are get- 

 ting enormous berries in enoimoiis (juanti- 

 ties. The pickers are happy, the men who 

 are selling the berries front the wagon are 

 hapi>y, and our customers are happy ; and 

 it all came about by fixing a litlle si»ot of 

 ground thorougldy. 



HONEY-PLANTS OF TEXAS. 



AT,SO VARIOUS OTHER MATTERS. 



T SEND you a resurrection plant like the one de- 

 |J[ scribed by the little girl on page 417. It is from 

 ^i Monterey, Mexico, but is (luite common along 

 '*■ the llio Grande, in Texas, and is no novelty 

 here. This one has been out of tlie water 

 about six weeks. I think tlie plant will grow after 

 being out of water for a long time, but just how 



long I do not know. It is sometimes called the 

 "rose of Jericho;" but according to an article re- 

 corded in one of our agricultural papers several 

 years ago, it is quite another plant. 



I also send you a specimen of another shrub for 

 naming. It is plentiful in some localities. It grows 

 to the height of fi or 8 feet, and one to two inches in 

 diameter near tfhe ground. I think it of considera- 

 ble value for bees, as it is not affected by the 

 drought. The disk of each of the little flowers is 

 covered with honey, which can be both seen and 

 tasted. It is swarming with bees at the present 

 time. One tiling that is perhaps against it is, that 

 the honey is so easy of access that it is visited by 

 wasps, flics, and all kinds of insects; but the leaves 

 seem to be free from lice and other parasites. 



Not long since I noticed the bees working on hon- 

 ey-locust. There were literally thousands of them. 

 Is the honey-locust considered of much value? The 

 mesquite, which predominates throughout Western 

 Texas, is valued highly by some bee-keepers, but 

 the yield of honey is uncertain, though it usually 

 blooms two or three times during the summer. The 

 cat-claw, another of the same family, is also highly 

 prized, and the yield of honey more reliable, but I 

 do not like the flavor. 



It is verj' diflicult to ascertain the proper name of 

 any plant or tree here, as the names are derived 

 fiom the Mexicans, who call every thing "chap- 

 aral," meaning brush. 



Some years ago I saw what was called a petrified 

 wasps'-uest, and it very much resembled what it 

 w;is claimed to be. 



I have heard of a great many attempts being 

 '.nade to steal honey, but the thieves invariably left 

 behind evidences that they were not skilled in 

 handling bees. Do you think a true lover of bees 

 would be guilty of such an act ? 



Wild sunflowers, some of them nearly as large as 

 the cultivated varieties of the North, are very abun- 

 dant here, but I do not see many bees working on 

 them. 



In one of my colonics a large number of the young- 

 bees have defective wings, and perhaps a dozen 

 perish before the hive every evening. I hear the 

 same complaint from others. What is the cause ? 



On page 401, Mr. DooUttle tells how he strength- 

 ens weak colonies. Would not this be a reliable 

 way of introducing queens? 



1 have one serious objection to offer to Glean- 

 ings. That is, it does not come often enough. I 

 would ratlier have it half the size and ever.y week, 

 at a little advance in price. 



The outlook for honey is very discouraging at 

 present. 15ees are at a standstill, with but little 

 disposition to swarm. It is unusually dry for this 

 season of the year. T. F. McCamant. 



San Antonio, Texas, June 1, Ifc'SU. 



Thanks for the resurrection plant, friend 

 M. ^Ve are going to try to see if we can 

 not make it grow in real carneM as well as to 

 xi'cm like growing. The other plant you 

 send is different from any thing heretofore 

 submitted. We have sent it to our botanists 

 to name.— The defective wings you men- 

 tion, I think are caused by the ravages of 

 the moth-worm. — The plan you mention for 

 strengthening weak colonies is sometimes 

 used for introducing queens, and .probably 

 succeeds as well as any otlier way, but it is a 

 little more trouble. 



