1884 



GLEAKINGS iN BEE CULTUllE. 



47t 



way, as I expected they would lay by two or three 

 days, any way. I noticed that they were venj large 

 —unusually so, when hatched out— fully as large as 

 many laying- queens, and had the appearance of be- 

 ing-, but no sign of eggs until about 12 days old, in 

 each instance. Abbott L. Pwinson. 



Walter, N. C, July 13, 1884. 



I do, do not let the bees get to robbing, astliey 

 I often will if yon leave the box away from the 

 ! hive, so they can tal<p a load of honey and 

 ! come back again. 



QUEENS ACRO.SS THE OCEAN BY AIAIL. 



You eorroberate your correspondent's views bj' 

 saying you have plenty of flre-flies and v^lenty of 

 honey. We have hai-dly any flre-tlies, and as little 

 honey. I received to-day my Carniolan queen from 

 Frank Benton; every thing pertaining, as neat as 

 the one only from youj- place. F. W. Burgess. 



Huntington, L. I., July 7, 1884. 



~\"ery glad to hear yonr repoit, friend B. I 

 have been watching" for some time to see if 

 friend Benton wonld make it work as nicely 

 this season as last. lias ony one else beeii 

 eqnally successfiUV [ 



ITALIANS AND RED CLOVER. 



For the first time in my life I saw bees working on 

 red clover, and Ihej- were working with a vim too. 

 Do you remember when you took your dog- and 

 went after that gopher, how the dog, after digging 

 a little, would place his nose to the hole, then throw 

 his whole weight (and a little more) on his nose, to 

 try and catch a scent of the game? Well, that just 

 illustrates how the bees went for the red clover. 

 They would alight on a blossom, and go to the bot- 

 tom, and carry great loads of honey. Bees aredoing 

 A^ery well indeed in this section. 



J. J. McWlIOKTEU. 



South Lyon, Mich., July 4, 1884. 



HOW TO GET RID OF THE ANTS. 



If the friends will try the same plan that is often 

 used for rats and mice, I mean poisoning, I think 

 the result will please them. It is a plan T struck 

 upon two y-ears ago. Thoroughly poison, with r,r- 

 senic or strychnine, a small quantity of meat or 

 honej', and place in wire-cloth cages, or manage in 

 some other way to keep it from every thing else, 

 and put it in places that they frequent, and if your 

 result is as mine has been, they will quickly vanish. 

 Walter B. House. 



Saugatuck, Mich., July 8, 1884. 



Please say to the friends who arc so troubled with 

 ants, get some corrosive sublimate; dissolve in alco- 

 hol, and apply with a feather around table and 

 safe legs, and any place to keep them out, and they 

 will never cross it. If applied once a mcnlh it will 

 keep them out. As it is very poi soncus, great cau- 

 tion should be taken in the use of it. 



Mrs. Belle McMahan. 



South Lake Weir, Florida, July 9, 18P4. 



HOW TO GET THE BEES OUT OF THE HONEY-BOXES. 



You will do me a great favor by tellirg me how to 

 get the bees out of 5-lb. boxes, after thev are filled. 

 W. U. Ganse. 

 West Liberty, Iowa, July 9, 1884. 



Friend G., the modern way is to have yonr 

 five-ponnd box, or, in fact, any sort of a box, 

 so yon can take it apart and i)rnsh or shake 

 the" bees off. If yon can not do that, set your 

 box of honey in a tight box or barrel, sp"read 

 a white cloth over the top, and as often as 

 the bees get on this white cloth, turn it over. 

 It may take you a good while, but that is the 

 only way to get the bees all out. If the box 

 is open on two sides, you can sometimes 

 drive them out with smoke. Whatever you 



^EPei^g Di5C0ni^/i6iN6. 



KIND WORDS IN SPITE OF SAD PROSPECTS. 



T is not bee-knowledge alone I have gathered 

 from Gleanings, but pure, true, Christian-like 

 I talks and sermons that equal the majority we 

 hear in this part of the country. I like them 

 well, and wonder how you can get time from 

 your whirl of business to get up so fine a discourse 

 gratis; indeed, I appreciate such thoroughly bal- 

 anced minds that can take time and patience to 

 answer so many thoughtless, fussy, and impei'tinent 

 letters, then at the end of each month calm all our 

 feelings by those Scripture lessons, and with such a 

 masterly hand show forth our Savior in his every- 

 day life, so humble and pure. I believe this is the 

 reason your journal is gaining such a great i-eputa- 

 tion, and I hope you may be blessed in your well- 

 doing, and that seed sown in its pages ma}- not be 

 lost. 



Will jou please tell me how to make candy to send 

 qiieens by mail? T am almost discourr.ged with my 

 luck for three years. It has been such a poor year 

 here I have only 6 stands left from 60 last fall. 

 Want of honey to gather; perhaps I overstocked; 

 do you think so? or did I divide too closely? I start- 

 ed last spi'ing, a year ago, with 23 stands, and in- 

 creased up to CO; then doubled up in the fall to 40, 

 and wintered on summer stands with chaff cushions. 

 We had a mild winter. I went east, so the bees got 

 no attention after November till the middle of April. 

 I had fed them two sacks of granulated sugar syrup. 

 From these 40 stands I got no surplus lioney during 

 the year— not even enough to use on my table. 

 Now Avill you tell me ^vho was to blame— the weath- 

 er, the divider, or the Lees, for not gathering mere? 

 I also raised CO qvicer.s, and replaced all my old ones, 

 and they were very strong in bees. In some hives I 

 had to empty out nearly a peck of dead bees. I 

 prided myself, after 5 years' experience, on being a 

 pretty fair bee-woman; but the last three years, 

 since I began to divide, has taken all that conceit 

 out of me, I believe, and now am contented to hear 

 ray friends say, " You have not succeeded, have 

 you, with your bees?" 



Mr. Root, the question is. Will it be wise to hasten 

 on breeding as fast as I can, in the face of the sad 

 prospect when they are gathering- but very little 

 honey, and I am feeding them now? June is a good 

 month for bees, is it not? and if they have to be fed 

 to keep them breeding, what is the prospect, from 

 your clear judgment, even if you are so manj- 

 miles distant? What is your opinion about Colorado 

 for bees? Do bees need water now, while breeding? 

 Do you divide your bees, or let them swai-m? Do 

 you know which process is being practiced gen- 

 erally? I should like to know what you think best 

 to do with this yard of hives, filled -with comb most- 

 ly, what the mice have not devoured. I being away 

 for four months visiting, the bees received no at- 

 tention. I could possibly have saved a few, but the 

 question now is, as the sjjring so far has been very 

 wet and cold, and they have made no honey so far, 

 except to keep them, and I have also fed sparingly 

 to induce breeding, would it be wise to buy, say half 



