1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



577 



Every boy or girl, under 15 years of age, who writes a let- 

 ter for this department, containing some valuable fact, not 



GENERA LLT KNOWN, ON BEK8 OR OTHER MATTERS, will receive 

 one of David Cook's excellent five-cent Sunday-school books. 

 Many of these books contain the same matter that you find in 

 Sunday-school hooks costing from 81-00 to 81.50. If you have 

 had one or more books, give us the names that we may not 

 send the same twice. We have now in stock six different 

 books, as follows; viz.: Sheer Off , Silver Key.s, The CJiant-Kill- 

 er; or. The Roby Family, Rescued from Egypt, Pilgrim's 

 Progress, and Ten Nights in a ISar-Room. We have also Our 

 Homes, Part I., and Our Homos. Part II. Besides the above 

 books, you may have a photograph of our old house apiary, 

 and a pnotograph of our own apiary, both taken a great many 

 years ago. In the former is a picture of Novice, Blue Eyes, 

 and Caddy, and a glimpse of Ernest. We have also some pret- 

 ty little colored pictures of birds, fruits, flowers, etc., suitable 

 for framing. You can have your choice of any one of the 

 above pictures or books for every letter that gives us some 

 valuable piece of information. 



CONDUCTED BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



TN the last Juvenile Department I called 

 m for your experience in swarming. For 

 M some reason or other we find only three 

 ■*■ or four letters pertaining directly to the 

 subject. We are sure that bee-keepers' 

 children must necessarily have had some 

 experience in hiving swarms. It is not too 

 late yet ; and we hope, in the next Juvenile 

 Department, to have lots of juvenile letters, 

 detailing experience in hiving swarms. To 

 every little boy or girl who will make such a 

 report we will send any mailable article on 

 the five-cent counter, between now and a 

 month from date. 



SOURCES OF POLLEN, ETC. 



My papa has been keeping- bees for 3 years. He 

 has fifteen stands. They have wintered nicely. 

 Their ilrst pollen was March 37. It was from hazel- 

 nut bloom. The polkn was yellow. The next was 

 pussy willow; next, soft maple; the next, elm. My 

 little brother, 8 years old, and myself, went to Ihe 

 woods and watched them. We are to have one 

 stand this summer for our own. 



Glkn Arnold, age 10. 



Danville, Ind., Apr. 10, 1S88. 



COAL TAR ON CORN. 



Put coal tar on corn before planting-, and crows 

 will not pull it, nor hens eat it. We planted a field 

 some time since, with one corner without tarring-, 

 and the crows pulled it in spite of all we could do, 

 leaving the tarred untouched. Soak before tarring 

 it, or it will come slow. My brothers take Glean- 

 ings, and I want to know if "The Boys' Beehive 

 Factory" is true. Herbert C. Kibbe, age 12. 



South Cuyler, N. Y., May 24, 1888. 



It was true, and yet it was not true. In 

 general it was true, but in detail it was not 

 true. 



FROM A LITTLE GIRL WHOSE FATHER WAS A SEA- 

 CAPT.ilN. 



My mother has 20 swarms of bees which are, at 

 present, making honey very fast. They make it of 

 the palmetto-bloom. It is very clear and thick, but 



the market here is i)oor for honey, as it is a small 

 place, and a good many people have bees, so the 

 honey stays on hand a long time. As the former 

 owner of the bees died last September, there was no 

 one on the place to take careof them, conse(iiienlly 

 they were in bad condition this spring, being filled 

 and overpowered by the bee-moth. My mother, who 

 had lived with them several years, had to assume 

 the care of the bees, after having them transferred 

 to clean hives. 



Mother took out, in the past week, over 20 gallons 

 of beautiful honey, and also made 7 poiuids of 

 foundation. She has, in addition to her own lices, 

 20 swarms of bees to take care of for Mrs. N., who is 

 a very feeble old lady, needing much care, being al- 

 most blind. It is my mother's first experience with 

 bees, and she thinks she could do well with them it 

 she could find a good market for the honey. 



This is my first letter. I am 12 years old, and was 

 born in Prince Edward Island, Canada. My father 

 was a sea-captain, and was lost at sea six years ago. 



Manatee, Fla., May ;!0, 1888. Maggie J. Grady. 



SPRINKLING swarms; 11 LBS. f)P HONEY PER DAY. 



My papa is pastor of the Methodist church here. 

 He keeps bees, but has to sell out when we have to 

 move. Last year he had 46 hives. We had to put 

 the third story on several. We caught some black 

 bees, and a neighbor sent four new swarms. Papa 

 sent to Mr. Viallon and got some Italian ijueens for 

 them. It's funny to see the little yellow and black 

 ones together. We get our hive material from Mr. 

 Viallon, as i>apa can't send away off for any thing, 

 as we can get it in our own " sunny South." Mamma 

 and I hive the bees when papa is gone. We sprinkle 

 them well with watei-, and never lose a swarm. We 

 have a fine crop of liorsemint this year, and our 

 hives are nearly full. This "Texas honey-plant" 

 lasts from the 20th of May to the Ist of July. Some 

 of our swarms gather 11 lbs. of honey per da.y dur- 

 ing- this time. We like to read Gleanings, as you 

 give such nice little sermons. Birnia Little. 



Waxahachie, Tex., June 23, 1888. 



Your papa does just right in sending to 

 Mr. A'iallon for supplies when you live so 

 near him We are glad of the little fact you 

 give in regard to sprinkling swarms with 

 water. We have never done it up here yet ; 

 but from the reports given by the little folks 

 it would seem that the sprinkling does have 

 some effect in inducing them to settle. We 

 are especially glad to know that you have a 

 good crop of honey from liorsemint this year. 

 This is very encouraging and gratifying, 

 especially when reports in our Honey Statis- 

 tics are so unfavorable in this issue. Eleven 

 pounds of honey per day is a pretty big yield. 

 Who among our little folks can report a big- 

 ger one as the work of their own bees in 

 their own localityV 



THE colors of POLLEN. 



I am a boy nine years old. Papa has kept bees 

 for more than eighteen years. His bees wintered 

 "right well," last winter; he lost a couple of light 

 colonies and one good one. This is a late spring. 

 The first pollen came in the ;!Oth of March. The 

 color was bi-ight yellow. The next was from ma- 

 pJe. April oth, the color was light green. Elm 

 came the lOth; color, dark grei-n; dandelion came 

 in the 24th; color is light red; the 2(ith, apricot com- 

 meuccd to open. The color of it is brown. The 



