oO 



GLtlANlNGS IN BEE CULXtJltE. 



Jan. 



ter should prove to be a warning to bee- 

 keepers in America, though it is a little 

 strange why it has gotten such a start with 

 you. 



Here is something further on the subject, 

 which we take from the Australian Bee 

 Journal of Dec. 1 : 



In almost every district, from one end of the 

 Australian colonies to the other, that scourge of 

 the bee-keeping- industrj-, foul brood, exists. Eight 

 years ago it was known to be in only a very few 

 widely separated districts, and clean healthy colo- 

 nies were then the rule, whereas they are the ex- 

 ception now. The disease has spread to an alarm- 

 ing extent during the past few years; thousands of 

 colonies have perished, and some districts have be- 

 come so infected with it that it is only with the 

 greatest vigilance and perseverance that bee-keep- 

 ing even on a small scale can be carried on at all in 

 them. Very few apiaries, indeed, can boast of 

 being entirely free from the disease at the present 

 time. It is now a matter of so serious a nature, in 

 fact, that, unless some thoroughgoing steps are 

 taken very shortly to stamp out tlie pest, the bee- 

 keeping industry in these colonies will soon become 

 a matter of history. Hundreds of people have been 

 compelled to give up keeping bees, at considerable 

 loss to themselves, owing to their inability to con- 

 quer the eneni}', and many who looked to honey 

 production as a means of livelihood, or to augment 

 their small means, have been sadly disappointed by 

 their bees dying off. The experiences of Mr. G. 

 Stevenson and " Lamh dearg Erin," so graphically 

 described by them in our last and present issues, 

 are similar to that of hundreds of others, and there 

 are few indeed who would not soon become dis- 

 heartened and give in under similar circumstances. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



WELL FIXED FOR FISH CULTURE. 



T WAS glad to see in your journal something 

 j^ about carp culture, as I am in that business 

 ]ll also. I have 5 ponds, and but one is stocked. 

 "*■ It is a pond of about 2 acres. A year ago last 

 November I put 308 (Jerman carp in, and drain- 

 ed it this last October, and found only l.iO. The ducks 

 were on the pond almost all the time. We shot 

 some of them and cut them open. We found some 

 of the carp in them. The longest, when put in, was 

 about ;{ inches long; and when I drained the pond 

 many were 33 inches, weighing from 3 to 3i4 lbs. 

 The pond (stocked) is from 3 to 7 feet deep. You 

 see I have the carp fever, for this month I sent for 

 and received 3T0 more carp, many of which were 6 

 inches long when received. I am very proud of 

 them. These I put in a separate pond, 90 yards 

 long, 30 ft. wide, and 4 ft. deep. I have perfect con- 

 trol of my ponds, for they are all on bench land 

 above high- water mark. The water is supplied 

 from my cardingmachine race which is raised 13 ft. 

 high to run a turbine water-wheel for the woolen- 

 mill. I can draw all the water out of my ponds, 

 and then fill them again at pleasure. T have an 

 abundance of water for the business. I use the 

 water four limes— from the first to the second, from 

 the second to the third, and forced by a hydraulic 

 ram from the third to the fifth. The ram throws 16 

 gallons a minute. All who have looked at my ponds 

 say that I have as fine a location as there is in Mis- 

 souri. If there is money in the fish-business, I can 

 enlarge my ponds to 10, 1."), 3i>, or 40 acres, Justin 

 proportion to the increase and as we have need. In 

 September last we killed a 30-inch carp. We cut its 



throat. It bled freely, and five of us partook of it 

 to our satisfaction. All pronounced it very good. 

 L. J. Bl.\nkenship. 

 Corsicana, Mo., Dec. 31, 1887. 



It seems to me, friend B., that the duck- 

 business does not work very well in con- 

 nection with the iish-business. The great 

 trouble with carp-rnising seems to be that 

 fish, fowl, and reptile seem to work in con- 

 cert to exterminate them ; that is, they are 

 so good that every thing in this line wants 

 to eat them up. 



DOES IT KEQUIRE MORE STORES TO WINTER IN 

 THE SOUTH THAN IN THE NORTH? 



In this locality there is hardly a week when bees 

 can not have a fly, and therefore are more restless. 

 Will they not need more supplies to winter on than 

 when they are quieter? Is there any danger of in- 

 ducing robbing by feeding sugar syrup out of the 

 hives in a water-jar, as shown in A B C? By feed- 

 ing a thin syrup in this way as soon as the weather 

 is settled, could not colonies be built up rapidly? 



H. R. Talcott. 



Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 23, 1887. 



I believe, friend T., that this question has 

 been fully answered. Perhaps several cir- 

 cumstances would have to be taken into 

 consideration, but 1 do believe that bees 

 consume less stores when they settle down 

 into their semi-dormant state, and remain 

 so for months together. Possibly they do 

 not come out as strong in the spring, but I 

 am inclined 1o tliink it would be more 

 profitable not to have very much brood- 

 rearing until about tiie first of March. 



the matter of statistics. 



The plan as proposed in Gleanings, page 88.5, by 

 Prof. Cook, for gathering and publishing statis- 

 tics in regard to the honey crop, is. I think, a most 

 excellent one, and one that the editor of Glean- 

 ings should not lail to appropriate, and I would sug- 

 gest, as my humble opinion, that it would be one of 

 the most valuable features contained in Glean- 

 ings; profitable and valuable alike to the honey- 

 producer and the dealers in bees and queens 

 throughout the Ignited States. I hope soon to see 

 this progressive feature a fixture of Gleanings. 

 Thanks to Prof. Cook for the suggestion. Consid- 

 er your humble servant free of all cost, should you 

 desire to add this feature to Gleanings, so far as 

 Eastern North Carolina is concerned. 



Abbott L. Swinson. 



Goldsboro, N. C, Dec. 12. 1887. 



Many thanks, friend S. We shall proba- 

 bly avail ourselves of your kind offer of re- 

 ports from your vicinity. 



BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES AND HONEY. 



Noticing your comincnt in Gleanings on buck- 

 wheat cakes and honey as compared with maple 

 molasses, please let me tell how we get something 

 a little extra, and also how to get rid of broken and 

 partly filled sections of honey. Take all the partly 

 filled sections, or any second-class comb honey 

 (with no bee-bread), and slowly melt in any con- 

 venient tin or copper vessel. When it is all melt- 

 ed, set it away until cold, then take off the wax, 

 and your honey is left clear and nice, and will need 

 no straining unless you have some bee-bread in it. 

 In such cases, warm the honey once more, and 



