548 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1. 



dwindled stocks, all tlii'ee not making more 

 than half a good colony. 



The escape is a great help, both for raising 

 comb and extracted honey. All the different 

 styles of escapes have worked well with me, on 

 an average. 



K. P. Kidder, in his " Secrets of Bee-keep- 

 ing," 1868, says that Langstroth did not invent 

 the movable frame — only made it more mova- 

 ble by adding bee-spaces betweeij and around 

 the frames. We have given Mr. L. the praise 

 for years for having given us th# readily mov- 

 able frame; but now we are going back, doing 

 away with bee-spaces, etc. Isn't it queer? 



Doolittle says: " Size of queen-cell indicates 

 quality of queen." Dzierzon and Vogel agree 

 tnat the size of the cell has nothing to do with 

 the quality of the queen. They assert, that the 

 smallest cell allows the development of a large 

 queen — amount of proper food being the only 

 governing factor. 



In the following I may disagree with many 

 of our authorities; but I find ready sale for 

 dark honey in the comb; no sale for dark ex- 

 tracted, and I find it advisable to run my bees 

 for extracted honey in th<', early part of the sea- 

 son. After clover and basswood are past, I use 

 section cases. By following the method above 

 I gain two points: L I harvest a salable arti- 

 cle; 3. I get the brood-chamber well stocked up 

 with dark honey, which is fully equal to bass- 

 wood and clover for winter food if sealed. I 

 have never been able to get a sulficient amount 

 of honey for winter use stored in the brood- 

 combs when running for extracted honey, ex- 

 cept by feeding after the harvest, or by taking 

 the supers off befoi'e the close. 



Feeding for winter stores, I dislike. I do not 

 want to meddle with my bees after the honey 

 season is over. Give me chaff' hives, or onie 

 packed with almost any material— moss, planer 

 shavings, sawdust, cork, hair, etc., for outdoor 

 wintering; light single-walled hives for cellar 

 wintering; closed-end frames for out-apiaries. 



Naples, N. Y., June 33. F. Greixkk. 



HONEY-DEW AND THE APHIDES IN 1891. 



SOMETHING FKOM PROF. COOK. 



Prof. A. J. Coofe.-— The trees here are covered 

 with a sort of plant-louse, a sample of which I 

 send you by mail to-day. The bees are simply 

 swarming on it. Is it the aphis that gives the 

 so-called honey- dew? The honey is any thing 

 but nice. Would it do to extract and feed to 

 bees for winter? Randoi>ph Cuylek. 



Alexandria, Va., June 30. 



[Prof. Cook replies:] 



The insects sent by Mr. C. were so broken 

 that I could 'make out only by their wings that 

 they were plant-lice, or aphides. These insects 

 are very common this year, the counti-y over. 

 I have lived in this place twenty-five years, and 

 I never saw so many before. Pium-trees, 

 cherry-trees, linden-trees, and many others, 

 are literally covered with th(>se little pests. On 

 the plum they first caused the leaves to roll, 

 and now they have migi'ated to the stems of 

 the fruit, which are often invisible, so fairly 

 shingled are they with these green plant-lice. 

 Not only in Vii'ginia, but here and elsewhere, 

 the bees have secur(>d much honey-de\\- from 

 these aphides. Our plum, cherry, and other 

 trees have been roaring with the hum of the 

 bees for days. Now the evergreens, especially 

 the arbor-vitie and our oaks, are infested with 

 a scale or bark louse. These are lai-ge, brown, 

 and plump. These also secrete nectar, and are 

 humming with the noise of bees, even before 



four o'clock in the morning. The leaves 

 are fairly coated with sugar seci-eted by the 

 scale-lice. Of course, it is evident that, if this 

 nectar gives strong rank honey, it is a calamity. 

 We are going to test it often, and so know just 

 the effect. We now have a great ai'ea of c1ov<m- 

 bloom, and I hope this will counteract the rank 

 flavor that may come from the honey-dew. It 

 behooves all to be most watchful this year, 

 that they do not get a quantity of unsalable 

 sweet mixed with their honey. I hope the sea- 

 son will have no such evil in store for us; but 

 to be forewarned may be to be forearmed. Let 

 us watch, so that, if the evil does come, we may 

 make it the least possible. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College. INIich. 



THE UNITED STATES EONEY-PRODUCERS' 

 EXCHANGE. 



A REPOUT IP TO .JUNE 



189L 



The season so far (in most localities) has 

 been more favorable for bees than last year, 

 and they are generally reported to be in much 

 better condition. The per cent of increase 

 averages .5 greater than last year at this time, 

 although in a few States the season is reported 

 to be two or three weeks later than usual. In 

 most of the States the reports seem to indicate 

 that the prospect still continues good for a fine 

 crop of honey; and all that is lacking is the 

 right weather for the secretion of nectar during 

 the coming month. 



The following are the questions sent out to 

 the respondents corresponding to the tabulated 

 replies below: 



1. What per cent more of good honey-gather- 

 ing colonies are there in your section than last 

 year at this date? 



3. Per cent of increase up to date ? 



3. Per cent of an average crop of white hon- 

 ey gathered up to date? 



4. How does this compare with last year, 

 same date ? 



In column No. 3. under Qu. 1. the dash before 

 a number indicates less than last year. 1890. 



The tabulated answers correspond to the 

 questions by numbers above, and are as follows: 



STATE. 



Qu. 1.;Qu.2|Qu 3 I 



Alaliania —5 .50 



Arizona i 10 



Arkansas 20 



California 10 



Connecticut 



Colorado j 15 



Georgia I —25 



Idaho I 60 



Iowa —10 



Indiana —5 



Indian Territory.. 



Illinois —10 



Kansas 20 



Kentucky i 26 



Louisiana ' 15 



Maine —60 



Massachusetts i — iiO 



Maryland 13 



Mich gan -10 



Minnesota — 5 



Mississippi 



Missouri j —10 



Nebraska 5 



Nevada ' 25 



New Hampshire .. I 5 



New Jersey 15 



New York 10 



North Carolina....! 5 



Ohio 10 



Pennsylvania —5 



Rhode" Island 25 



South Carolina.... 20 



Tennessee 10 



Texas 25 



Vermont i— 10 



Virginia — 15 



West Viruinia i 10 



Washington > 25 



Wisconsin —15 



P. II. Ei.wooD, Pres. 

 G. H. 



90 



Question i. 



Very much better. 

 About the same. 

 Some better. 

 Two to four weeks later 



About the same. 

 About double 1890 crop. 

 Much better. 

 About the same. 

 About the same. 



Prospect rather better. 

 Season wet. backward. 

 About the same. 

 Much better. 

 Not as go<id 

 Same, but fewer bees. 

 Much better. 

 About the same. 

 About the same. 



Same, season later. 

 About the same. 

 About the same. 

 About the same. 

 Much better. 

 About the same. 

 Little better. 

 Much better. 

 Little better. 

 ! Better. 

 Jlucii better. 

 Much better. 

 Some better. 

 About the same. 

 Late; about the same. 

 Much better. 

 About the same. 

 Dry; compares well. 



KNICKKRBt)CKER, SCC. 



