1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



2.59 



that liead in your A B C book. 1 have 

 sometimes seen colonies affected with dys- 

 entery, which appeared- wet, or "sweaty,'' 

 as you express It. \Vhen tiiis condition of 

 affairs is observed, the colony is pretty bad- 

 ly affected. The other colony you speak of 

 is probably likewise affected with dysente- 

 ry. They are doubtless uneasy, and you 

 will possibly find them scattered pretty well 

 throughout the brood-nest. A few warm 

 days, so that they can fly. will be about as 

 good a remedy as they can have. A colony 

 may be queenless; if so, tliey will hum, 

 about as you state it, and not be diseased 

 either. Very recently we found one such. 

 These we united with another C()h)ny, as 

 we feared they would die before warm 

 weather. 



TASMANIAN MEDICINAL HONEY ; IS THE STORV 

 TOLD ON PAGE 875 OF LAST YEAR THUE ? 



Mr. Boot.— Gleanings of Nov. 15 has a paragraph 

 on Tasraanian medicinal honey, and you ask, "Can 

 any of our readers tell us if such trees exist?" Is 

 it necessary to ask the question? If it took 40 

 Kanakas joining hands to reach round one of these 

 trees, that tree must have had a circumference 

 of at least 300 feet, as most men can easily stretch 

 5 ft. Now, sir, how did Mr. Guilmeth cut two or 

 three of these ti-ees down? and how long did he 

 take for the job? Fancy cutting down trees 60 feet 

 in diameter, to get at a honey-nest I This "cutting 

 down " statement seems to me to spoil the story 

 entirely. That eucalyptus honey has certain me- 

 dicinal virtues I believe is true; and many people 

 here can vouch for its excellence for throat affec- 

 tions. But I much question the value of the state- 

 ment of Mr. Caraman, a copy of which I inclose. 



F. A. JOYNEH. 



Adelaide, South Australia, Jan. 14, 1888. 



Many tlianks, friend J. I am ashamed of 

 myself to think that I let that paragraph go 

 into print without noticing the point you 

 make. I did protest some, you may remem- 

 ber, and I thought the wliole story looked 

 fishy. Is it not possible that this number 40 

 is a misprint, and that they meant only four 

 men V And I tell you I should hate to chop 

 a tree down that would take even four men 

 to reach around it. 1 do not think I should 

 cut very many of them the same day, espe- 

 cially if I had to do it by chopping. Many 

 thanks to you also, for the additional facts 

 you furnish. 



DANIEL M'FADDEN'S METHOD OF WINTERING 

 PUT TO THE TEST. 



Friend Root:— J was greatly interested in Daniel 

 McFadden's plan of wintering bees without stores, 

 and thought I would sacrifice one swarm to see if I 

 could make it work. So when feeding up my weak 

 swarms for winter I left a large light one without 

 feeding. When the first snow came, or when it was 

 about six inches deep, and it was very cold. 1 took 

 off the cover of the hive in the forenoon, thinking 

 that the bees would soon freeze; but they com- 

 menced a roaring noise, and kept it up all the after- 

 noon. Is that not their way of warming up their 

 hive? I went to them after sunset, and they were 

 still roaring. I carried them to the cave I had fix- 

 ed, and set them in and put the cover on, but did 

 not put it down tight. I left them till morning, 

 when I found them quiet. I then covered them 



with snow carefully, and they are now under about 

 three feet of it. 



You have mentioned the canning of tomatoes 

 several times in Gleanings. Can it be done on a 

 small scale, and by one who is not an expert at the 

 business, and be made profitable? 



A year or two ago you were asking for some 

 method to keep green corn. If 1 remember cor- 

 rectly, I ate some a few days ago that had been 

 boiled and then put in brine. It was just as good 

 as when fresh, so far as I could sec. 



Bees are wintering well, I think. They are pack- 

 ed incliatf, and are in a bee-cellar where it has not 

 frozen any this winter. How much will you give 

 me for the one under the snow? A. B. C. 



Woodville, Wis., Jan. 16, 1888. 



I am glad you tried tlie experiment, my 

 friend ; but 1 liave not I'aitli enough in it to 

 make you an offer for the bees. — Tomatoes 

 can not be canned on a small scale very 

 well, so as to pay expenses, at the prices we 

 buy them for in the market. As those we 

 canned ourselves are already sold out, we 

 are now buying very nice ones at a little 

 less than 10 cts. per can ; and unless you 

 work very closely, the labor and cost of 

 cans will amount to the 10 cts., so you see 

 you get nothing at all for your tomatoes. 

 These things have to be done in a systemat- 

 ized way, in a factory, or something equiva- 

 lent. 1 do not quite understand how you 

 could put your boiled corn into brine with- 

 out getting it so full of salt that it would 

 spoil it for use. Can you make it a little 

 plainer for the readers ()f Gleanings V 



]S[0¥EJ$ ^]\[D ^UE^IEg. 



THAT CALIFORNIA HONEY. 



F any one wants any reference for your Cali- 

 fornia honey, just send him to me. I was 

 where it was produced, and had a taste of the 

 mountain-sage honey from friend Wilkin's ta- 

 ble, and it was as good as our white-clover hon- 

 The blue sage is not quite as good. I found 

 friend Wilkin a very sociable bee-friend. I went to 

 California to make it my liome, if every thing could 

 have worked to suit; but I had to leave for the east 

 soon, and did not get back to see triend Wilkin. 

 Jewett, Ohio, Mar. 16, '888. David Lucas. 



ey 



Is ventilation from the top of a hive necessary to 

 safe wintering? D. A. Townsend. 



Portageville, N. Y., Mar. .5, 1888. 



[The matter of ventilation is a mooted one. Top 

 ventilation is not absolutely necessary, if a large 

 entrance is allowed. We use both in outdoor win- 

 tering — that is. such top ventilation as is afforded 

 through 6 or 8 inches of loose chaff. 1 



FOOT-POWEH and hand-power, VERSUS STEAM 

 FOR hive-making. 



Which is the best or most convenient for hive- 

 making— a Coot or hand power buzz-saw? 



Fowlerville, Mich. N. T. Holmes. 



LIf you have got a good strong man to turn the 

 crank of a Ijand-power machine, and yourself do 

 the cutting, you can get along very well: but a lit- 

 tle online would be cheaper. Foot-power and 

 hand-power both are (|uite unsatisfactory if you 

 have very much hive-making to do. Small engines 

 are now sold so cheaply that it is much better to 

 use Bteara. 



