1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE, 



809 



rounds, marked on cag-e, "Not called for." I of 

 course thoug-ht them dead; but when I inspected 

 them I found them all alive but one worker. He may 

 have been an old bee, and might have died during- 

 the time had he remained in the hive. Candy made 

 of this fine sugar and honey is nice for winter feed- 

 ing-. Just lay it on top of frame, under cushion. 



Columbia, Tenn., Nov. 12, 1884. C. C. Vaughn. 



Friend V., your process is exactly the 

 same as ours, and your icing sugar is what 

 we call pulverized sugar. It is now worth 

 by the barrel 8 cts.. and we retail it at (i cts. 

 per pound. 



HONEY-DEW THAT IS NOT PARTICU- 

 LARLY UNPLEASANT. 



FKIEND CAKROLl/S REPORT OF [T IN TEXAS. 



f^ HIS being: one of the dryest and hottest sum- 

 |7 mers ever known in Texas, no rain from 

 >^ June 16 to Oct 24, to see bees gathering hon- 

 ey during our hottest weather was rather 

 unusual. About the first week in August 

 my bees began to work heavily on something, from 

 the early peep of dawn until 8 or 9 o'clock A. m. 

 the little fellows came in so heavily laden they 

 would turn summersaults in front of the hives, and 

 I began to fear they would break their little necks. 

 I had a negro man cleaning up a pond of willows, 

 and he told me it was difficult to work for fear of 

 being stung by the bees. I went down to the pond 

 about 6 o'clock a. m. and found this nectar not only 

 on the leaves, but actually dripping from the bark, 

 and in the crevices between the rows of the rough 

 bark; and hundreds and thousands of bees were 

 crawling franticallj- up and down the body of the 

 trees, and insects of various kinds l>y the millions 

 assisting to gather this grand How of nectar, 

 while the plant lice, or aphides, could be seen by 

 the millions, and by a close watch with a lens I 

 could see these same lice depositing this honey-dew 

 (SO called) in the crevices of the bark; aud in some 

 crevices they would accumulate in such quantities 

 that this stuff would actually run for an inch or 

 two along the crevice. 1 send you a sample of the 

 stuff, with about one-fourth cotton honey mixed, as 

 the bees were getting a little honey from the cotton 

 at the time. 



No frost yet; bees will have to be fed early in the 

 spring, on account of the long di-ought of four long 

 months 



Spring count, 50 colonies and 2.5 nuclei; fall count, 

 120 colonies and 60 nuclei. Honey, 140 lbs. per 

 colony, spring count. Best yield from one colony 

 alone, Si" lbs. I am very well .pleased with my 

 year's work. 



MOTH WORMS ON CAKES OF BEESWAX. 



I have this year seen moth larva^ at work in a 

 sack containing beeswax. They work between the 

 cakes. My wife first called my attention to this 

 fact. B. F. Carrolt>. 



Dresden, Texas, Oct. 38, 1884. 



Tlianks, friend C, for the sample. I should 

 have pronounced it willow honey, judging 

 from the specimens I have had "from the 

 South. The color is good, and the flavor is 

 very fair. I think it would retail here at 9 

 or 10 cts.— In regard to the moth worms, a 

 good many times cakes of wax contain quite 

 a little pollen, which has accumulated at 

 the bottom as a sediment. The moths will 



work in this as well as in honey-comb, and 

 may be they will work to some extent on 

 pure wax, although I think they seldom do 

 much harm, unless some pollen also is pres- 

 ent. Under the influence of a little pollen 

 the young worms grow with amazing 

 rapidity. 



RECEPTACLES FOR STORING HONEY. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT SPREADING BROOU. 



GOOD receptacle for holding honey, wax, 

 syrup, and other accumulations around an 

 apiary, is easily obtained by going to your 

 hardware merchant or your druggist, and 

 request him to save you any caslor-oil tins 

 that he may have to spare. These tins hold about 

 40 lbs. of castor oil, and when received by the mer- 

 chant (I speak as a druggist) are opened bi' punch- 

 ing two holes in one end of it, one as an entrance 

 for air, and the other for an outlet for the oil. These 

 tins, when empty, are generally thrown away, un- 

 less given to a customer to carry home machine oil 

 in, so that, if your custom is appreciated by your 

 merchant, he will willingly give you them for the 

 asking. 



The fii-st thing to be done with them is to cut off 

 the top, which is easily done with a hammer and an 

 old chisel, or, better still, by a pair of tinner's shears. 

 Now hammer down the rough edges, and with half 

 a pail of sawdust proceed to clean it out. You will 

 have no difficulty in doing so with this, as it will gath- 

 er up every drop of oil, and leave the can as polished 

 and bright as you could wish. Possibly in opening- 

 the can, the merchant cut the holes in the wrong 

 end, which will make it a little harder to clean. 

 When the can is originally filled with oil, the hole 

 through which the oil is poured is soldei-ed up; and 

 although perfectly tight it leaves a rough ring on 

 the inside, around which the oil accumulates, and 

 is, therefore, a little harder to get out, or to clean it 

 at any time afterward. If your merchant promises 

 to save you any he might have in the future, you 

 could make bold to ask him to open the can the 

 same end as it was filled. These tins are particu- 

 larly useful for holding bits of combs, wax from 

 the extractoi-, refuse honey for feeding-back pur- 

 poses, syrup, etc. lam not aware that any objec- 

 tion could be made against them for evaporating 

 honey, providing you could obtain a sufficient n\im- 

 ber of them; but outside of this 1 find them a cJieap 

 i-eceptacle for various things. 



A good use for one is to lay it flat on a shelf, in 

 which to put your smoker when not in use. It will 

 remove any danger from fire, even though a coal 

 should drop out. I think this precaution is very 

 necessary, as it would be an easy matter for a large 

 fire to originate by a carelessly handled smoker. 



I frequently see recommended, in bee literature, 

 a quill toothpick, with which to clean bits of wax 

 from die-plates and foundation-rollers. A two-cent 

 bone crochet-hook, which has been sharpened to a 

 point, is worth all the toothpicks you can carry, for 

 the purpose described. 



A good indication, when a colony of bees in the 

 spring season may possibly permit any spreading of 

 brood, is when, by placing your hand before the en- 

 trance on a cold day you can readily feel the heat 

 proceeding from the hive. If no warmth is percep- 

 tible you must on no account give another frame. 

 This is not an infallible guide, but it may be made a 



