1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



659 



sufficient excuse for all boe-meit to make war 

 upon him. even if it did not touch the worker, 

 for it could easily mistake a queen for a drone; 

 then, too, the cumbrous flight of the queen and 

 drone when united in the air would be a very 

 temjjting morsel for a bird that loves to take its 

 prey on the wing. J. W. Pokter. 



Ponca, Neb., June 30. 



NUBBINS. 



THE AGKICUI.TURAI. COI.I>EGE AT I-ANSIXG PRO- 

 NOUNCES SPECIAL PLANTING FOR BEES 

 ONLY, NOT A SUCCESS. 



This is proving our third poor honey season. 

 Every person says, " What delighiful weatherl" 

 People who have gone north are hastening 

 back, or sending for cloaks and overcoats. Is 

 there any connection between the cool weather 

 and the small honey-flow? 



The matter of " honey-dew " is one of nation- 

 al importance. I am getting scores of letters, 

 asking, "Why is our honey so dark, so strong, 

 and what can we do with it? " It should have 

 been kept from the sections. It can be used for 

 manufacturing — for cakes, cigars, and printers' 

 rollers. Maybe it will be safe for winter. It 

 surely will do for spring food for the bees. 

 What does friend Muth say on the matter? 



I think our experiments have shown that 

 special planting for bees is not advisable. If a 

 plant can be found that will surely grow, will 

 secrete nectar in all weather, will self-sow. and 

 hold its own against weeds, etc., and needs no 

 cultivation, such a plant might pay just for 

 honey ? Is there such a plant? 



We have tried experiments this season that 

 show most conclusively that bees are a blessing 

 to the farmer and fruit-grower. These latter 

 should either keep bees or else beg the bee- 

 keeper to come. I am sure all will be interested 

 in experiments that prove beyond peradventure 

 that bees are very essential in nature's economy. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



SHUCKS. 



Bro. Root:—l see you always have " Straws " 

 to go with your " Heads of Grain," so I conclud- 

 ed to bring you an armload of shucks to be fed 

 to your readers, along with the " Nubbins " fur- 

 nished by Prof. Cook. 



I've been thinking what a grand scheme it 

 would be to get a queen each from friends 

 Nebel and Moore, and raise a strain of bees 

 that would "root ovei' the flowers," spill their 

 contents, and just "I'oll in the honey" like a 

 little boy gathering pumpkins. This scheme is 

 not patented. 



Dr. Miller can have nice nail -boxes cheaper 

 than he makes, by getting a restaurant-keeper 

 to open sonie square oyster-cans, according to 

 the constitution and by-laws stamped on the 

 thin-tinned end. Cut ihem down the side a 

 piece, take part of one side ofl". punch a hole in 

 the long side to hang up by. What better 

 could one ask? Neat, light, cheap and durable. 

 I never lost any sleep " hatching" this inven- 

 tion, doctor, so it is free. 



SNAKEV. 



Yes. I too have seen prairie rattlesnakes 

 swallow as many as seven young ones "way 

 down." but they did not " give them up in the 

 dying act." as friend LaMontagne says. The 

 one with seven didn't give 'em up till our old 

 dog shook her in two. Those little fellows were 

 old enough to light. But a copperhead is old 

 enough to fight befoi'e leaving the eggs. I saw 



a man once who thought his boots were " too 

 snakey " and wouldn't have them on. 



PAINTED APICULTURE. 



I think Dr. Miller put in some hard licks in 

 the right place in speaking about the "rosy 

 hues." It seems, from all appeai'ance. that 

 honey-producing will soon be as badly overdone 

 as the queen-rearing business now is. From 

 the number of advertisers catching on every 

 issue of Gleanings, it looks as if every breeder 

 would soon have to be his own customer. 



Carbondale. Kan. J. H. Markley. 



THE SILK-MOTH. 



its care and culture. 



While there are several larvae of moths that 

 spin good and abundant silk, there are none 

 that equal the mulberry silkworm, or. the Chi- 

 nese silk-moth, Bombyx mori. This insect has 

 been cared for so long that it has become feeble, 

 pale, and nearly helpless, so that, should man 

 fail to care for this valuable insect for a single 

 year, the species would become extinct. 



The moth is white or cream-colored, with ob- 

 scure brownish stripes across the front or pri- 

 mary wings. The moths are about the size of 

 our "common cabbage butterflies, though, of 

 course, the body is much heavier. Curiously 

 enough, neither sex can fly, though the male is 

 the more active of the two. We see here how 

 too much care and fondling tends to weaken. 

 It is not the boys or girls whose parents do 

 every thing for them that set the river on fire. 

 The insects mate very soon after they come 

 from the chrysalis state, and the female com- 

 mences almost at once to lay her 300 eggs. 

 Strangelv enough, the female will lay. even 

 though coitus does not take place. What is 

 still more strange, these unimpregnated eggs 

 sometimes develop. Thus we have here what 

 we see in aphides and oui' drone bees— parthen- 

 ogenesis, or agamic reproduction— reproduc- 

 tion without males. The eggs are glued fast to 

 whatever receives them. It is common to place 

 thick paper by the insects to receive the eggs. 

 The moths lay these eggs in late summer, and 

 soon die. The eggs liatch the next spring or 

 summer. The form of the egg is nearly spherical, 

 slightly flattened. It is small and yellowish; 

 an ounce of eggs will produce 40.000 worms. 

 The eggs are lighter colored just before hatch- 

 ing. The larva is also whitish, rather rough, 

 with a caudal horn, like our tomato-worm and 

 other sphinx larvae. When small it is quite 

 hairy; but as it becomes full grown, the hairs 

 are lost. When mature it is nearly two inches 

 long. It feeds on mulberry or osage orange. It 

 is an enormous feeder, as any one knows who 

 has raised it. It is said to eat its own weight 

 of leaves each day. This may not be correct, 

 but it is not very far out of the way. It is no 

 slight task to care for a large number. The 

 larvcG are usually kept in trays, and the feed 

 must be kept fresh and clean or disease will de- 

 stroy all the insects. The larvie are also help- 

 less. If put out on to the trees, they are blown 

 off and destroyed. Like the moth, loiig care and 

 dependence has made that care necessary to life 

 itself. The larva feeds for nearly a month, 

 wiien it spins its cocoon, which is egg-shaped, 

 as large as a small hen's-cgg, and may be white 

 or yellow. The worm is about three days spin- 

 ning its cocoon; then it rests three days, when 

 it pupates. It remains as a pupa for three 

 weeks, when the moths come forth. If the 

 eggs are not desired, the cocoons are heated, so 

 as to destroy the pupa. It is easier to wind the 

 silk off from such baked cocoons; for if the moth 



