1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



643 



fEES bave done poorly around here this season. 

 Probably not half as much as last season. 

 Clover dried up prematurely, and basswood 

 did not yield much honey, and it is still very 

 dry, so that fall bloom will not be likely to 

 amount to much. We have had no frosts yet to do 

 any damage, and there is no present indication of 

 any, as the mercury is up in the nineties in the mid- 

 dle of the day. S. H. Malloky, M-W. 

 Decatur, Mich., Sept. 6, 1884. 



FROM 7 TO 30, AND NO HONEY TO SPEAK OF. 



I had 7 stands last spring, and they have increased 

 to 30, which I think very good, but T am disappoint- 

 ed in the amount of honey — only one stand making 

 any to speak of . Hugh Fordyce. 



Moravia, N. Y., Aug. 16, 1881. 



39 COLONIES, AND NO HONEY. 



Bees are doing nothing; rain every day nearly, 

 and very cool nights. I wprk for section honey, 

 but no surplus yet. White clover is nearly all gone. 

 No basswood here, and but little buckwheat. If it 

 keeps on raining a couple of weeks more you will 

 see me in Blasted Hopes, and feeding for winter 

 stores. It is settl.ed now beyond a doubt, that there 

 will be but little honey shipped from this vicinity, 

 as white clover is our chief dependence, and that is 

 about past. I am by no means the only one here 

 minus a honey crop, but I will let you know later 

 how we come out; 39 colonies and no honey! this 

 will show up the "other side" of bee-keeping a 



little. J. F. BOSSEMEYER. 



Dixon, 111., Aug. 8, 1884. 



Recent DEVELOPpEN^fg, 



And Suggestions and Queries Particularly Pertaining 

 to tlie Season. 



IS THE HONEY FROM MANNA GRASS A NATURAL 

 SECRETION? 



[See page 603.1 



fHE grasses sent me have been carefully stud- 

 ied by use of the microscope. I find no signs 

 of insects. The presence of ergot, a species 

 of fungus, is quite noticeable. This is a 

 black substance, and is said to be so poison- 

 ous as to sometimes cause the death of cattle. I al- 

 so saw another fungus of a i-eddish orange color, re- 

 sembling the raspberry fungus. I feel quite certain 

 that either plant or scale lice caused the presence of 

 the nectar. Was not the grass under some lice-in- 

 habited tree or shrub? or may not the lice have 

 been removed in transit? These are points that 

 ought to be considered. That nectar ever falls from 

 the air, or is secreted by plants except as there are 

 special glands for the purpose, has never been 

 shown; that it is often secreted by lice, in so ob- 

 scure a manner that even the expert scientist may 

 be puzzled to find its origin, is easy to demonstrate. 

 While I can not assert positively that this nectar 

 came from insects, I have no doubt that it did. 

 Lansing, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



EXTRACTING CANDIED HONEY. 



In extracting late honey I find much of it sugared 

 in the bottom of the cells, and the extractor will not 

 throw it out. I need the comb to feed sugar for 



winter. Will you please tell me what I shall do to 

 get it out, I have hunted the ABC, and can find no 

 remedy. A. A. Thomas. 



Lewistown, Pa., Sept. 4, 1884. 



Friend T., I do not know how you will 

 throw out candied honey. If I were you I 

 would save the combs containing- it and use 

 them for building up colonies in tlie sprino-, 

 or at some season of the year wlien the bees 

 would work tlie candied honey into brood. 

 In former mimbers tlic jjrocess has l»een giv- 

 en of steaming the combs mitil tbe steam and 

 heat dissolve the honey sutliciently to allow 

 it to be thrown out. Of course, we must be 

 careful about getting- too much heat, or we 

 shall have oiu- combs melted. Hanging the 

 combs, three or four at a time, in the wash- 

 boiler, with the cover on, will answer the 

 purpose, if the caution given above be kept 

 in mind. 



a TRAVELING APIARY OF 150 HIVES. 



I am now near this place with the " traveling 

 apiary " of 150 colonies. I left St. Charles Aug. 33, 

 and came through with bees O K. Shall be here till 

 the middle of October. M. M. Baldridge. 



East St. Louis, 111., Sept. 3, 1884. 



Now, friend B., that is just aggravating. 

 What does it look likeV Are they all on one 

 wagon? Do you travel every day ? How 

 many tons of 'honey have you got? What 

 are you going to stay there till October for V 

 Because you know how to stick to a good 

 place when you get it, eh V 



a new TROUBLE WITH THE BEES. 



Bees in this" locality have a dreadful malady, and 

 are dying at a fearful rate. They act something as 

 if drunk, fly round and round for a little while, and 

 give up the ghost. Can you tell the cause and rem- 

 edy? The trouble is wide spread in this locality. 

 This has not been a good season for honey. 



J. K. M. Allen. 



Green Castle, Ind., Sept. 1, 1884. 



Friend A., I should think they were get- 

 ting something that was poisonous to them. 

 Are you sure they liave not by accident got 

 hold of any mixture containing cobalt (u- 

 Paris green, prepared for killing other kinds 

 of insects? If not, I should think they must 

 have been getting honey from some poison- 

 ous weed, altliough we are not yet sure there 

 is any poisonous honey that is poisonous to 

 the bees themselves. Perhaps others can 

 make a suggestion^ 



SMALL LOCUST-TREES. 



I am a beginner with bees (and a woman too); have 

 16 swarms. I look over my frames every other day, 

 to remove queen-cells. Yesterday I removed five 

 from one frame, all closed up. They were the first 

 I saw in that stand, and to-day they sent out a 

 swarm. Now, how did it happen? I have no ABC 

 to tell me, although I shall get one and make a win- 

 ter study of it. Please tell me what ails my bees. 

 They are very cross. They have three yellow bands 

 around the body ; they do sting beautifully, although 

 I have a good smoker. 



In a back number of Gleanings I see some one 

 speaks of locust-trees. Yes, I have 10,000 that are 

 from 1 ft. to 10 ft. high, and bushels of pods on them. 

 Who wants some trees or seed? I should like to ex- 

 change, or sell trees. They grow 6 ft. in 3' J years. 

 They bloom when 3 or 4 ft. high. I should like to 



