460 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



STANDS FOR HIVES — STAKES A'S. HALF-BISICKS. 



In revising- youi- ABC book, instearl of usinj;: four 

 half-bricks to set the hives on, which, I think, was 

 from a sug-g-estion of mine, advise four pegs driven 

 into the ground about a foot. They do not get mis- 

 placed as do the bats, when for any cause the hive 

 is removed, nor do they settle out of level in wet 

 weather; and, if made of some durable timber, will 

 last long enough to not be objectionable in that 

 way. 



WATER INSTEAD OF STARCH FOR ROLLING FDN. 



In rolling fdn. I put the wax sheets in a vat of 

 water, warm enough to keep the wax the rig-ht 

 temperature, and it matters very little about the 

 starch. Sometimes the water runs in the stai-ch- 

 pan until it is all only about water, and we run right 

 along- for hours in that way. G. W. Gates. 



Bartlett, Tenn., May 31, 1884. 



It is a fact, friend G., tliat the frost makes 

 mischief with our )ialf-bricks, and perhaps a 

 stake driven in the <?round about a foot 

 would be better on that account. 1 should 

 object to the stake, liowever, because it 

 would rot— at least, we don't have any stakes 

 around here that don't rot. Tlie bricks have 

 to be leveled up every spring ; liut after that 

 they are all right.— We used water in the 

 same way, friend G.,but we think we get 

 along faster by keeping the rolls pretty Avell 

 lubricated with thick starch. 



EARLY SAVARMING IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 



I see an item in your magazine for June 1, written 

 by Wm. F. Geiger, from Beatty, Westmoreland Co., 

 Pa., saying he had a swarm of bees the 17th of May, 

 and wanted to hear from anybody who could beat 

 that, to come to the front. Now I will give you my 

 experience. I started in last fall with four colonies 

 of Italian bees. I wintered them on their summer 

 stands, packed in chaff, and I don't think I lost a 

 dozen bees during the winter. My first swarm 

 came out May 10th ; my next was one week later, 

 and so on until I had five swarms iii May. The first 

 of June I had another swarm come out. I hived 

 them and the next day there was another came 

 out of the same hive. I put the two together and 

 they arc doing- nicely. If there is any bee-keeper 

 who can beat my record, let him come to the front 

 and I will give in. E. M. Tuttle. 



Eagleville, O., June 19, 1884. 



ARTIFICIAL COMB HONEY. 



A short time since, in a lecture before the Detroit 

 Scientific Association, on "Adulterations of Food," 

 the lecturer stated that " artificial honey-comb had 

 been manufactured, and filled with glucose in 

 so neat a manner as to deceive even the bees them- 

 selves." Has any one succeeded in making artifi- 

 cial honey-comb? And if it were so, is it possible to 

 fill the comb with glucose (or honey, for that mat- 

 ter) so as to deceive a bee-keeper as blind as old 

 Huber? E. F. Albright. 



Detroit, Mich., April 20, 18^4. 



Friend A., the wliole thing is an out- 

 rageous falsehood. INo such thing has ever 

 been ))rodiic('(l. Tin- editor of the ^1. i>. /., 

 with coniniendable zeal, followed up the foul 

 slander, and made tlie i)erpetiator swallow 

 his own words, several years ago ; but the 

 newspapers keep hariung on it, and show a 

 zeal in keeping the falsehood going, in spite 

 of the many exposures it has had. that would 

 better be devoted to some wortluer purpose, j 



GRANULATION NOT NECESSARILY A TEST OF PURE 

 HONEY. 



I send you by mail a small block of white willow 

 wood, containing a small vial of currant jelly which 

 has granulated as thoroughly and evenly as honey. 

 Of course, no one will use cui-rant jelly to adulterate 

 honey; but probably some other syrup which could 

 be used for that purpose might granulate also. I 

 fear this will damage a great deal of talk about the 

 onlij sure test of the purity of extracted honey. 



WOOD OF THE WHITE WILLOW FOR SECTIONS. 



By the way, I think the wood of the white willow 

 will make a good substitute for basswood in the 

 manufacture of sections. It can be grown in a few 

 years, of sufHcient size for the purpose. When dry 

 it is very good fuel. It furnishes our earliest honey 

 and pollen, and is our most useful tree for shelter- 

 belts on the prairie. Burdett Hassett. 



Howard Center, Iowa, March 18, 1884. 



Friend II., I have been aware that other 

 substances than honey will candy much in 

 the way honey does ; but for all that, I 

 think the candying property as it is found in 

 the market a very sure test. — I noticed 

 the beautiful appearance of the white willow 

 some years ago, and i had some (^f it worked 

 out as a sample. It is whiter and handsomer 

 than basswood, but the wood is seldom large 

 enough, and straight enough grain for one- 

 piece sections. No doubt a nice article can 

 be furnished, by making a selection of the 

 willows we haVe, and growing them pur- 

 posely for timber for sections. I am glad 

 you have mentioned it ; for tlie way the bass- 

 wood is l)eijig taken off and out of our forests, 

 is certainly a sad thing for all who are inter- 

 ested in the honey-llow. We must plant 

 basswoods and willows both, if we are going 

 to keep our industry progressing right along 

 at the rate it has been going. 



THE CROSS BETWEEN THE HOLY-LANDS AND ITAL- 

 IANS. 



Holy-Lands are a very hardy bee, standing our 

 cold winters better than the native blacks or Ital- 

 ians, so far as I have seen. I was pleased with the 

 remarks of friend J. H. Schrock, of Goshen, In- 

 diana, as I have been thinking for some time of 

 crossing the two breeds. I know the Holy-Lauds 

 are a little cross, but the best bees to breed I ever 

 saw, and to keep their combs filled with brood, and 

 ai-e splendid honey-gatherers at the same time. I 

 should like to hear from others having crosses— Ital- 

 ian queens mated with Holy-Land drones. I think 

 that would make the bees quieter than Holy-Land 

 queens mated with Italian drones; but that is only 

 my opinion, never having had any experience. 



Edgerton, Kansas^ J. C. Balch. 



A NEW HONDY-PLANT. 



Our greatest honey-plant is the tupelo gum. Some 

 years ago while it was in bloom, I had a hive on 

 scales, and one day it pulled down 15!4 lbs. This, 

 however, does not last long. The honey is as white 

 as clover honey, and very mild in taste. If thrown 

 out right away, I doubt if it would kopj), as it is very 

 thin, running almost like water. When wo extract 

 it, as we do sometimes for home use, we riiien it on 

 the stove. Some time, when 1 am less busy than at 

 present, I will give your readers the benefit of 19 

 years' experience in bee-keeping in the Yazoo Val- 

 ley— a section that will some day become as noted 

 for its bees and honey as it now is for its fertile land 

 and uncqualed timbei-. W. H. MORGAN. 



SheppardtQwn, Miss., Feb. 7, 1884. 



