1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CtJLtUtlE. 



257 



think a carp-pond woiild not be so liable to 

 be molested its bees. I think it would pay 

 to raise tish where one has the conveniences 

 for so doing. 



DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATING BEE-BALM, OR ME- 



tjtSSA. 



In answer to an inquiry to the introducer 

 of this new honey-plant, we get the follow- 

 ing : 



Fririid Root :—Flan\. seeds in open ground in 

 spring, as soon as ground is fit to work; or seeds 

 can be planted in the liill, just before the ground 

 freezes. If a horse is used for cultivating, plant in 

 hills 3 ft. apart each way; not more than one plant 

 should be allowed to grow in a hill; if cultivated by 

 hand, VZ inches apart. Plants should not be crmvd- 

 ed; for if the soil is rich they grow (in this latitude) 

 nearly 9 ft. in circunaference. Keep it free from 

 weeds the first year, then after they will take care 

 of themselves. Enough seeds will scatter to cover 

 the ground the following season, and will spring up 

 before weeds start. A. C. Tyrkell. 



Madison, Neb., Mar. 3, 1«88. 



ITALIANS SUPERIOR ; HOW BEE-JOURNALS SAVE 

 MONEY, ETC. 



Bees have wintered pretty well so far, though I 

 hear of a good many dying, especially in box hives. 

 1 lost 3 out of .50; cause, too few bees and not enough 

 honey. Last year settled for me the question of 

 superiority between Italians and blacks. While 

 the former were strong, filled their hives, and 

 made a little surplus, the blacks did not do any 

 thing, and I had to feed every one of them. All the 

 surplus I got was disposed of at 25 cts. per lb. So 

 much for being posted by reading Gleanings and 

 the A. B. J. Last year I sowed 20 acres of alsike, and 

 I should like to save the seed this year, but do not 

 know how, as I have no experience; could Glean- 

 ings tell me and others how to do it, when to cut it, 

 how to handle the hay, and how to get the seed out 

 of it? Is mammoth clover and peavine clover the 

 same thing? From something said in Gleanings I 

 drew the conclusion that mammoth clover was bet- 

 ter for honey than the common i-ed clover. Is that 

 so? for if it is, we could sow it for fertilizing in 

 preference to the latter. I have never yet seen a 

 bee on the red clover. Have you any Chapman 

 honey-plants for sale— those that will bloom this 

 year, and what is their price? G. Gross. 



Greenville, 111., Feb. 23, 1888. 



We copy the following from the A B C 

 book : 



saving the seed. 



The seed is always saved from the fli-st crop of 

 blossoms, and it should be allowed to stand about 

 two weeks longer than when cut for hay. If you 

 wish to get a good price for your seed, it must be 

 very nicely cleaned. It is thrashed out with a clo- 

 ver-huUer, made expressly for clover seed, and 

 then cleaned bj- a fanning-mill, with the appropri- 

 ate sieves. As timothy seed is very nearly of the 

 same size, it is difficult to remove it all, unless by a 

 fanning-mill having the proper blast arrangement. 

 As the alsike weighs 60 lbs. to the bushel, and timo- 

 thy only 45, there is no great difficulty in doing it 

 effectually. 



Mammoth clover and peavine are one and 

 the same thing ; and a good many reports 

 seem to indicate that this large clover is bet- 

 ter for bees than the common red clover. I 

 suppose it is better adapted to some locali- 

 ties than some others. If you have Italian 

 bees, I am quite sure you can find them on 



red clover if you go through the fields at a 

 time when bees are at work on white clover. 

 We may have a few Chapman honey-plants 

 to send by mail ; but the plant does not 

 seem to make very much headway on our 

 soil unless we give it more care than we can 

 afford. A year ago, a great many little 

 plants sprang up from the seed that drop- 

 ped from our old plants ; and although we 

 gave them considerable care, and trans- 

 planted several hundred, not one of them 

 blossomed last year. If they have not V)een 

 killed out by the hard winter, we will fix a 

 price on them as soon as they are up. 



A dollar a pound for hoarhound honey ; is 



THE newspaper STORY TRUE ? 



Inclosed you will find an article clipped fi'om one 

 of our local papers, the weekly Record-Union. 

 What do you think of that for California? I think 

 it is stretched a great deal. I think we had better 

 all go into the honey-business. C. B. 



Eds. Record-Union:—! notice a telegram in your 

 issue of the 6th inst., from Eedding, mentioning an 

 establishment there of an apiary by W. M. Hoge. 

 This gentleman is establishing an apiary fifteen 

 miles from here, and has twenty acres of hoar- 

 hound under cultivation. Last spring he brought 

 200 swarms of bees through here, and I understand 

 from his superintendent that these increased dur- 

 ing the summer to 275 swarms. 



This hoarhound-plant is the most wonderful hon- 

 ey-producer I ever saw; and the bees cluster in 

 great numbers upon it. I understand that Mr. 

 Hoge (who is from Brooklyn, New York) calculates 

 to average next year 250 lbs. of this hoarhound hon- 

 ey to the swarm, and that he has had overtures 

 made him by a large New York druggist for his en- 

 tire production tor the next twenty-five years at 

 fifty cts. per pound, but his crops have yielded him 

 up to this time fully one dollar per pound. He de- 

 clined the offer. This same man is successfully 

 growing bergamot, and making oil of bergamot 

 right here in this county. James Dawson. 



Oroville, Cal., Dec. 7, 1887. 



Many thanks for the facts you furnish, 

 friend D. Are we to understand that you 

 have seen the bees working on the hoar- 

 hound? and do you know that William Iloge 

 has twenty acres of land under cultivation V 

 Unless you know from personal observation 

 that the item you give us is true, I shall be 

 inclined to think much of it is some sensa- 

 tional newspaper* story. In fact, I very 

 much doubt if any druggist can be found 

 anywhere who will give the price for hoar- 

 hound honey that you mention. Can you 

 give us the postoffice address nearest to 

 Hoge's plantation ? 



thin foundation for TEN MILLION POUNDS OF 

 HONEY. 



If we were not interested in the business of 

 foundation-making, we would state in you paper 

 that we havesoldthin foundation with natural base, 

 enough for nearly ten million poumhi of honey, and 

 have never had a complaint of its beiog too heavy, 

 or, if we did, we have forgotten it. This is in refer- 

 ence to the article of Mr. Elwood. 



Chas. Dadant & Son. 



Hamilton, Hancock Co.. 111. 



Friend D. & Sons, I am not going to dis- 

 cuss fiat-bottom foundation just now ; but I 

 want to say, that the men who manufacture 

 any commodity on a large scale are the very 

 ones we want a report from. Of course, you 

 are interested ; but so long as you have no 

 patent-right to push, nor any thing of that 



