1SS6 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



(ilO 



11 c*oes not do will, I fliul, to hive bees at swarm- 

 ing' on Iriuncs of comb I'oundation, as they arc so 

 warm then, thronj;li excitement, tliat they melt 

 the wax of which tlie fonndation is made. I still 

 like the chaff hive; but 1 believe the extra box for 

 the upper chamber would often be an advantage. 

 I think I shall try it and sec. A box, made two 

 sides of pine and the other two of heavy tin or 

 sheet iron, would have room in the chamber, and 

 yet alloAV the frames to run across tlie lower ones 

 as they do. 



She Avhom my children call "ma" is delighted 

 with the bcL's. She sends many thanks for your 

 kind remembrance of her. J. y. Ricketts. 



Hilliard, O., July 6, 1886. 



Fiifiid R., your suggestion of making an 

 ui»|>er story to set inside of tlie upper story 

 of the cliaif liive, of part wood and part tin, 

 is ingenious, l)at tliere would be one trouble 

 Avith it: It would not be conveniently inter- 

 changeable with the regular Simplicity hives. 

 — We are glad to note your enthusiasm and 

 zeal, and we hope it may bear good fruit. 

 We have labored hard to see that nothing 

 goes into Glioaninus retlecting on any oth- 

 er bee-journal ; and we mean to try still 

 harder to let nothing uncourteous be seen 

 on its pages toward anybody. Of course, 

 we expect to expose frauds when nothing 

 but exposure will stop them ; but we mean 

 to do even this in a kindly spirit. 



HOW SOME ABC SCHOLARS SUC- 

 CEEDED. 



niUNGlNG ST.\HVED BEES TO LIFE, ETC. 



E had a swarm of bees come to us about the 

 middle of July, 1883. Mr. L. wentto one of 

 the neighbors and borrowed a box hive, 

 and the hired man hived them. The hive 

 was glassed on one side, so that, by open- 

 ing a wooden door, we could look in and see them 

 work, and we watched them very closely. 



The basswood yield was very good that year, and 

 they made honey enough to winter on. We put 

 them in the cellar in the fall, and every warm 

 spell through the winter we would go and listen to 

 see if they were living; and sometimes, if we did 

 not hear them, we would jav the hive, we were so 

 anxious to know whether they were still alive. 

 But they survived all such hardships. 



Mr. L. sent for an A B C book in tlie spring. 

 About the tenth of April he put the bees out of 

 doors; and during apple-tree bloom he had them 

 transferred to a Laogstrolh hive. The tenth of 

 June they sent out a swarm, and it clustered on the 

 body of a tree; and if we were a little nervous over 

 the first swarm, you will pardon us; but with milk- 

 pan in one hand and wing in the other, Mr. L. soon 

 had them in the hive. The next swarm was not so 

 easily managed, as they came out the second time, 

 and we did not know what to make of that, so we 

 went to the ABC book and found that was a freak 

 of the young (jueen. After coming out two or 

 three times they settled down in their new home. 



The third swarm we sent back. Tlie first swarm 

 made 41 lbs. of nice section honey. Mr. P., who 

 keeps 90 swarms, said it was the nicest honey ho 

 ever saw. Mr. L. bought two colonies In the fall 

 for 55.00 c/j^ck- Tlje next spri'iK' I'O '"Ft iKS origi- 



nal swarm. He had no smoker, so he could not 

 look at them. He thought he would wait and see 

 whether his bees lived through or not before he 

 bought one. Wc watched them to see if they 

 came out on all warm days. One day we noticed 

 that that colony did not come out when the others 

 did, and thei-e was another colony we could not see 

 any fiying from, so I went out there and 1 saw two 

 or three bees at the entrance that could just crawl. 

 When Mr. L. came to the house I told him they 

 were starving to death, and he opened the hive and 

 found a good many of them on the bottom of the 

 hive, and those on the frames could only flutter 

 their wings a little. He said he did not think we 

 could do any thing for them; but he brought them 

 in and put some strained honey in the comb, and 

 in two hours they were flying. The other colony 

 were all dead. Mr. L. got a smoker in the spring. 

 That year we had no new swarms, but had 097 lbs. 

 of honey. One of the colonies bought made 12;i lbs. 

 Last year the four colonies averaged 8;j lbs. apiece, 

 and increased to nine; this year to 20. We take 

 Gleanings, and like it very much. 

 Harford, Pa., July 7, 1886. Mas. H. M. Lindsv. 



LEAF-HOPPEKS. 



Do They Really Secrete Honey? 



PROF. COOK gives US SOME INTERESTING F.\CTS 

 IN REGART TO THIS FAMILY. 



fKlEND ROOT:— We send you, by to-day's 

 mail, some insects which we find in great 

 quantity, producing a sweet substance wc 

 suppose to be honey-dew. They seem to 

 hatch on hemp, and osagc orange. When 

 first seen they arc white and linty until they get 

 their wings. Uces are working all hours in the day 

 on this substance. Can you tell the name of the in- 

 sect, or are they a common thing? I never saw 

 such before this year. Z. G. Cooley. 



Norwalk, Iowa, July 13, 1886. 



Prof. Cook replies in regard to the above 

 as follows:— 



These are not plant, or scale lice, but ai-c leaf- 

 hoppers, which are readily known by their broad 

 heads, prominent eyes, and sharp-crested thorax. 

 The larvje of many species secrete a liijuid in 

 which they live and feed. This liquid contains air- 

 bubbles, and looks not unlike freshly ejected 

 spittle from a clean mouth. These leaf-hoppers 

 are so called, because they live or feed on leaves, 

 and when disturbed they hop away. One, the 

 grape-leaf hopper, is often a serious pest to the 

 vine which gives it its name. Though these are 

 not plant, or bark lice, they do belong to the same 

 Older— HemiTptera, or bugs, as can be seen by the 

 prominent beak or strong sucking-tube, which is 

 bent under the body when not in use. You, Mr. 

 Editor and others, have noticed the frothy liquid 

 surrounding these larval leaf-hoppers on an ever- 

 green-leaf or grass-blade. I have never discovered 

 that those secrete a nectar, nor heard of it before. 

 I am led to wonder if the same plants did not har- 

 bor and provision a colony of ])laiit lice which sup- 

 plied the sweet. The matter should bo sharply 

 looked into. If these Ipal'-hoppers do secrete nec- 

 tar, it is a new and interesting point. A. J. Cooj^, 



Agnculturtjl Qoilege, Mi^;U,. ,]uly SO, l^fH). 



