621 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



us rich as old manure will make it. Under 

 this stimulus, before freezing weather we ex- 

 l)3ct to have plants pretty nearly equal to 

 what yours would be by next June ; and 

 tlien we have all the spring months to push 

 them still. However, you may be a good 

 deal in the right ; and to test the matter I 

 have 1000 layered plants and 1000 potted 

 plaiits, both started on the most approved 

 principles. If I understand you, it seems to 

 me your point is rather between fall and 

 spring planting, instead of between potted 

 and layered plants. ]}y the way, I shall be 

 doing no harm if I c.ill attention to the re- 

 mirks on strawberry cultur* in friend D.'s 

 circular, which he publishes annually. 



And here is something from another friend 

 about strawberries: 



STIiAWBERRIES FOR CHILDRBN. 



Bro. Root Yms not had all the fun i-aising straw- 

 berries this summer, for we have had a nice time 

 rai^ng: them in another way. In the spring we 

 bought si.T plants each, of eight or ten difTerent 

 kinds, and put them in rows in our garden. The 

 ground was made rich, sand scattered on, and we 

 can pretty nearly sec them grow. The rows were 

 too far apart at first, but now they are "just crowd- 

 ing," as our little boy says. I guess we shall have to 

 put a board fence six inches high between them. 

 But the most fun will be ne.\t spring, when we can 

 have Manchesters for breakfast, Windsor Chiefs for 

 dinner. Big Bobs for supper, and other kinds next 

 day. So when they are well tested we can plant out 

 a big bed of the best kinds, and we shall have straw- 

 b«?rrie8 and plants both to give to the boys and girls 

 when they come to see us. Now, who will try this 

 way? But, don't forget to feed them well, for they 

 will eat what a hog wouldn't touch. Just clean out 

 the pi^r-pen, brush out the chicken-house, sweep up 

 the yard, pull the weeds in the garden, put them in 

 a pile, and throw the soapsuds over thera till they 

 rot; then when all is mixed together you will have 

 a fertilizer equal to the hest purfumtd hone dust ; 

 and you don't know how much nicer the whole place 

 will l®ok for feeding the strawberries that way, nor 

 how much better you will feel if you have plenty of 

 strawberries to make you grow, instead of fat pork, 

 and other greasy food. Mrs. M. A. Shepherd. 



Many thanks, my good friend Mrs. S., and 

 especially do I commend the idea of gather- 

 ing and utilizing all tilth and rubbish about 

 the premises. Studying the habits of the 

 strawberries, and learnmg just what they 

 like, and how to feed them so as to make 

 them thrive, has been to me a wonderful 

 pleasure. 



m -•^ ^ 



WHAT IS THE TROUBLE? 



TROUBLBS IN INTRODUCING. 



VM puzzled. I raised a fine queen this summer, 

 ij; and left her in the nucleus hive until she began 

 to lay; then I took a black queen out. The 

 next day I caged the Italian queen, left her in 

 the cage till next day, and let her out. The 

 bees balled hor. I caged her again the next day, 

 and let her out again. The bees balled her again, 

 so I continued this way for six days. The next day 

 I told my wife I would try another plan, so I got 

 the smoker and put tlio queen at the entrance of 

 th9 hiTo. TtjiQ beos made g,t ^er. I smokec] tbofn 



for some time, then left the hive. In about si.v 

 days I opened the hive, and saw from one to four 

 eggs in a cell, so I began to look for a fertile work- 

 er, and soon found the beautiful Italian queen that 

 I raised. There are several queen-cells in the hive. 

 Glenola, N. C, Sept. 4, 1884. J. W. Davis. 



Making beesj receive a queen when they 

 seem detcnnined not to, by use of smoke, is 

 a common practice, friend 1).; in fact, queens 

 may be introduced at once, if you stay by 

 the colony, and watch them by smoking them 

 as often as they commence "attacking her, 

 and I believe that, in the course of a few 

 hours, they may generally be made to let the 

 (jueen alone. The process is. however, some- 

 what risky, and may take a great deal of 

 time. It is a little singular, that the queen 

 should lay several eggs in a cell, if she is in a 

 full colony. I should expect her to come 

 out all right eventually, however ; that is, if 

 she laid all right in a nucleus. They per- 

 haps persist in raising queen-cells because 

 they are not quite reconciled to her ; and 

 perhaps she has laid in the way you state, 

 because of their persecution. I have known 

 a colony of hybrids to worry a queen for over 

 a week after they had apparently accepted 

 her, and then destroy her as soon as they had 

 time to hatch out a queen more to tiieir own 

 liking. 



PYRETHRUM TOR ANTS AND OTHER 

 INSECTS. 



.ITTLE MORE INFORMATION 

 SUB.TECT. 



WANTED ON THE 



T|p FTEK sending you my last article, about the 

 ^tt^, use of ijyrethrum, I conceived the idea of 

 ^S* making small blocks, covered with pyre- 

 ■*-''^ thrum, to be placed under anything from 

 which it is desirable to keep ants away. 

 Having used up my old lot of pyrethrum, I went to 

 the store where I obtained it, and asked for some 

 more. The grocer told me he did not keep the old 

 kind any more, but had something n ew, called 

 " buhach," which was more effective, and cost 35 

 cts. more per pound than pyi-ethrum. I bought 

 some of that. Now, the two articles look and act 

 exactly alike, as far as I can see. 



In a last-year's number of Pacific Rural Press is 

 an advertisement of buhach which I send you. As 

 you will see. Prof. Cook is in several places quoted 

 as recommending the article. Will Prof. Cook 

 kindly tell us what difference, if any, there is be- 

 tween pyrethrum and buhach, and why there 

 should be such a difference in the price? 



Well, I got out, with my circular saws, a lot of '«- 

 inch cubes of pine lumber, covered them first with 

 dextrine, then with buhach. After di-ying them for 

 a day or two I placed them under different articles 

 in the honey-room. If they proved a success, I 

 thought I might earn a little by manufacturing 

 them for- sale. But while in most cases they kept 

 the ants away, in several instances the ants travel- 

 ed right over them. The attraction of the honey 

 was greater than the objection to the powder. The 

 difficulty seems to be in getting enough powder to. 

 adhere to the blocks, t« prevent the ants from get- 

 ting a foothold. Placing a small heap of the pow- 

 der round each block will keep them away, but 

 ashes will do tho same. My pbjeot in view was tQ 



