602 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



Spanish needles and heart's-ease are the main plants 

 in the fall. 1 expect half a ton from the 14; and if 

 the fall is as good as it was two years ago, I shall get 

 double that. S. C. Frederick. 



Coalvale, Crawford Co., Kan., Aug. 17, 1884. 



HONEY CANDYING IN THE COMBS, AND WHAT TO 

 DO WITH IT. 



I see in the last number of Gleanings a report 

 from J. A. Dillashaw. of Georgia, of honey candy- 

 ing in the combs. Now, I have had the same expe- 

 rience precisely, and 1, too, noticed that the bees 

 gathered it from the pines, and by close observation 

 I could discover the little particles of candied honey 

 on the beard. Some of this honey candied more sol- 

 id than the rest, so I managed to extract about 500 

 lbs. ; the most of it was so solid that I could do noth- 

 ing with it that way. I was considerably perplexed, 

 as the combs were useless, for 1 could not sell the 

 honey for any thing worth speaking of. I thought 

 of feeding, but was afraid of the results that might 

 follow from wintering bees on honey-dew, as the 

 honey I had taken was of bad quality, being very 

 dark and of bad taste. As the combs would be of 

 no service unless I could utilize the honey, and, hav- 

 ing no alternative but to make the bees take it out, 

 I concluded to winter them on this candied honey. 

 I wintered a good many on this honey exclusively. 

 1 do not know the exact number, but probably fifty 

 hives. This honey was gathered last August, and 

 put into the hive in September. My bees came 

 through the winter in apparently as good order as 

 usual, except that I lost more queens than I ever 

 didlaefore during the winter. 



HOLLY as a HONEY-PLANT. 



Some coiTCspondent has spoken of holly as being 

 a honey-producer in his locality. With us it is one 

 of the greatest producers, as are also the persim- 

 mon, poplar, and locust. This is a very good coun- 

 try for bees, in some localities. Some of my hives 

 havcmade as much as 300 lbs. of extracted honey 

 apiece, in a season. That is not as much as is made 

 in some localities, but it is considei-ed a good yield 

 here. C. E. Friend, 68. 



Chester, Chesterfield Co., Va„ Aug. 9, 1884. 



Friend F., 1 am glad to know that this 

 honey tliat solidilies is safe for winter. 

 Wliere an increase of stocks is desired, I 

 liave always recommended it for use in rear- 

 ing brood— that is, we can work it into bees 

 where bees are wanted. 



the giant white -spiral mignonnette .\s \ 

 honey-plant; a good report fro.m it. 

 I inclose you a sprig of a new giant white-spiral 

 mignonnette. It grows from 2 to 3 feet high, and 

 branches out all ai-ound, until a single plant will 

 cover quite a large space, not unfrequently 4 square 

 feet of ground, or a piece 3 feet square. It is the 

 best honey-producing plant I know of ; and although 

 1 have but a few plants, it is continually covered 

 with bees. By the way they work on mine, I should 

 think an acre of it would be almost if not quite in- 

 exhaustible in its hone.v-supply. I send you a de- 

 scription of it, all of which is not true, as it is far 

 from being even as sweet scented as the common; 

 and the flowei-s, although vei-y pretty, are not as 

 striking as it is made out to be; but an acre sown 

 with it would look really beautiful: and for honey, 

 I believe it has no equal. I think I shall have seed 

 enough to sow an acre, and would dispose of it on 

 very reasonable terms. 1 am a great lover of 



flowers, and raise large quantities of them; have 

 about 50 different varieties of roses. I am never 

 without their beautiful blossoms. 



G. C. Watson. 

 Stoughton, Wis., Aug. 1.5, 1884. 



Friend W., we tried giant mignonnette 

 several years ago, as a honey-plant. It 

 seemed to give a good deal of employment 

 to the bees, just as yonrs has,- but, like you, 

 we could not discover that it was odoriferous 

 at all, and I think the seed catalogues give it 

 altogether too much of a recommend. How- 

 ever, your white spiral is a little ahead of 

 wiiat "we had. It seems to be different, judg- 

 ing from the specimen yon send. Now, very 

 likely you won't want to raise an acre just 

 yet, and therefore I would suggest that you 

 send seeds to our readers at five cents a 

 package, and you can put in any amount 

 you think proper for that sum. A common 

 package will not prol)ably weigh more than 

 an ounce, and so you will not have more 

 than a cent postage to pay. Now, if you get 

 swamped with orders, just set the women 

 folks at work making "little envelopes for 

 you, and then i)ick out someone among them 

 who is a good wiiter. to address them plain- 

 ly. After the friends have tried it. they can 

 decide whether they want to plant more 

 largely of it or nqt^^ 



MORE ABOUT THE MANNA GRASS; IS THE HONEY 

 REALLY A NATURAL SECRETION V 



You asked in the last journal if there was a sign 

 of insects' work to be found upon the manna grass 

 which exuded the sugar. In reply, I would say that 

 at the time I sent you the specimen, I could find no 

 traces of insects; but upon further examination 

 last week I discovered in the white bud from which 

 the flow came, a very small white worm, which I 

 think is the cause of the honey-dew in this case. I 

 will send you a stalk of both kinds. 



Frank T). Culver. 



Quincy, Mich., Aug. 11. 1884. 



Friend C, I hate to give up but that this 

 manna-grass honey is not a healthy secretion 

 of the plant itself.'but perhaps we shall have 

 to. I will mail tlie sample to Prof. Cook, 

 and we will await his reply. 



SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE KIND Ol' SOU, NEED- 

 ED FOR DIFFERENT HONEY-PLANTS. 



Is marsh land good for any honey-plant r What 

 honey-plants will do best on a .stony hillside^ The 

 Simpson plant does well hei-e. I could grow rich if 

 I could sell them at one cent each, but have to fight 

 them out, as they come up everywhere so. White 

 clover does not yield much honey this year. We 

 have no basswood. How many acres of buckwheat 

 are needed for fifty eoloniesV L. W. 



Delavan, Wal. Co., Wis., July ;51, 1884. 



Marsh land well underdrained. 1 should 

 think, would be good for almost any kind of 

 honev-phnit. For a stony hillside, there is 

 nothing c(iual to sweet clover: in fact, it 

 seems to tlirive best on the hardest and most 

 uninviting soil.— It is a hard matter to de- 

 cide how many acres of buckwheat are need- 

 ed to keep tifty colonies of bees busy. J have 

 generall> cstii'nated it ;(t about one acre for 

 each ten colonics, and this would keep them 

 busN onlv dniing the fore part of the day. 

 If the Simpson honey-plant is so plentiful, 

 whv not give it a little encouragement';:' 

 It keeps l)ees busy all day long. 



