1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



705 



When several swarms come out together thoy 

 are very apt to unite, and go with the queen or 

 <iueens that are in tlie air. Mrs. (Jolden's 

 swarm-catcher, illustrated in our last issue, 

 might help very much in a case of this kind, 

 provided you have one on hand and are spry 

 enough to' catch them before they all get into 

 the air.] E. R. 



THE MAMMAI-IAN CATEKPII.LAK. 



I have received from Mr. C. H. Longstreet, 

 Mount Dora. Fla.. a most curious caterpillar. 

 It is known in science as Litgoa opercularL^. 

 It is the larva of a moth, and is peculiar in be- 

 ing clothed with long fur-like hair. As it 

 creei)S along one can not but think of some of 

 the weasel family. I showed it to my class as 

 the mammalian caterpillar. The color of the 

 hair is light brown, with some dashes of white. 

 Beneath the hair are stiflf bristles, which sting 

 about as does the nettle. It pupates in an ob- 

 long cocoon fastened in some forked twig of the 

 tree on which it feeds. The side of the cocoon 

 has a raised spot which jeserables marvelously 

 a bud. The moth escapes from the cocoon by a 

 lid much like that seen on a queen-cell after 

 the queen comes fortli. I suppose this gave the 

 uanw, opcrciihtris. This insect larva feeds on 

 oak. and occasionally on orange. Mr. L.. I 

 think, found this one'on the orange — at least, 

 he inclosed an orange leaf in the box which 

 contained the larva. The moth which comes 

 from this larva is pale yellow, lined with gray. 

 It is about the size of the cabbage-butterfly. 

 As this specimen is new to our large collection, 

 I need not say that I received it most gladly. 



Agricultui'al College. Mich. A. J. Cook. 



THE IGNOTUM TO.MATO. ETC. 



Filcnd Root: — Geeanings for Aug. 1 is just 

 received, and its new cover is much admired. 



Your talk about crops, and {)rices you are 

 getting, is very interesting to us down this 

 way. where all vegetables and fruits are raised 

 in such profusion by every family, in town as 

 well as in country, that we might say we have 

 no market, and not miss the truth very far. 

 Extra early vegetables, however, can be sold, 

 and I wish you to know right here how well 

 pleased we all are with the Ignotum tomato 

 seed which I purchased from you last spring. 

 These were sowed under glass, so that the 

 plants were transplanted for outdoor culture 

 by the time other people were sowing their 

 seed: hence I had tomatoes far ahead of my 

 neighbors, and was able to sell large fine Igno- 

 tums at the extravagant price of 10 cts. per doz- 

 en, or about 3 cts. per pound. 



I like it better than the Ruby, Mikado. Tro- 

 phy, or any other kind I have grown: and it 

 surely comes up to the general-piu'pose stand- 

 ard you give it. ^ly vines are loaded with 

 large, round, even-running tomatoes of finest 

 quality of size and flavor, and we have been 

 having them a long time. 



Melons sell here now at from 5 to 20 cts. A 

 .30-pound melon brings what you get for one 

 pound of cauliflower. 



As you say of that potato, and as I wrote you 

 when sending the seed, one season does not 

 always bring out what a vegetable or fruit is. 

 A second year will often change our estimate 

 of a fruit that we have condemned the first. 

 But it is also true, that a valuable fruit in one 

 climate or section proves to be worthless in an- 

 other: and, quoting you again, it seems as if in 

 horticulture aS in other pursuits, to obtain the 

 best results takes constant care, skill, and work. 

 Still, what an incentive there is to have a full 

 variety of all these gifts from the great Giver, 

 around us. and to have each type as near per- 

 fection as we can make it. 



The honey crop is about gathered here. We 

 now let them fill up with bitterweed for winter. 

 My crop was about 100 lbs. per colony, and net- 

 ted 7 cts. for extracted and \'2^., for section. 



I have a novel water- feeder — a plant called 

 water-hyacinth, a succulent plant that will 

 grow in a vessel of water with a little earth, 

 stones, etc., on the bottom. It shoots up many 

 joints with bulblike stems and leaves, which 

 fill a large pan or earthen receptacle very soon, 

 covering the water except in small spaces. The 

 bees find it just the thing, and abandon the 

 well and every thing (^Ise foi' this natural drink- 

 ing-font. But it is a thirsty plant, requiring 

 plenty of water. C. P. Coffin. 



Pontotoc. Miss., Aug. (i. 



bees XECES.SARY tor FERTILIZING PLANTS. 



lu GLEANING.S you Say something about not 

 succeeding with cucumbers. If you should 

 ever come west of Chicago it would pay you to 

 come to Minneapolis, just to see a greenhouse 

 belonging to a Gernum gardener. I do not 

 know the exact size, but I think it covers nearly 

 two acres, besides acres of hotbeds. lie devotes 

 the fall and early winter to lettuce, and then 

 fills them up with cucumbers, and they are still 

 selling from them, although outdoor cucumbers 

 are now in the market. His sales from cucum- 

 bers alone would amount to several thousand 

 dollars. During the winter and spring he is 

 obliged to keep a hive of bees in each house to 

 fertilize the blossoms, or else very little fruit 

 sets. Last April his bees all swarmed out, and 

 he lost all the queens but one. and a few weeks 

 after he came to me for more bees. He told me 

 in that time he had lost more for not having 

 them than the amount he paid me — ^21.00. His 

 cucumbers in the greenhouses do not run on the 

 ground, but on trellises of cord and wire slant- 

 ing up about the angle of the roof of the house. 

 Any one. by stooping a little, can see the whole 

 length of the greenhouse under the vines, and 

 see cucumbers hanging down all around. I 

 have a small farm, and, in addition to my bees. 

 I keep eight or ten cows, and raise some small 

 fruit, chiefly currants and raspberries. The 

 honey crop last year was nearly a failure, and 

 this year does not i)romise moi'e than half a 

 crop. I hope when you come west again you 

 will come this way, and I will meet you and 

 take you around. E. R. Pond. 



Bloomington, Minn., Aug. (1. 



HOW TO MAKE EIGHT-FKAME HIVES OUT OF 

 TEN-FRAME SIMPLICITIES. 



Will you please tell me what is the best plan 

 to reduce my 130 Simplicities to eight-frame 

 hives'? A ten-frame hive is too large. The 

 season is so short that the bees can not fill and 

 seal them. Jno. H. Mullin & Son. 



Oakland, Tex.. Aug. 8. 



[If the Simplicities were nailed together with 

 one board lapping on to the other it would be 

 an easy matter; but, unfortunately for your 

 purpose, they are not. The only practical way 

 is to put in dummies in the extra space. Dr. 

 Miller had originally ten-frame Langstroth 

 hives. These he made into eight-frame by 

 sawing through the ends at the right point. 

 He then removed the short pieces hanging to 

 the sides now loose, and then nailed the side 

 back again. The old ten-frame Langstroth 

 caps he discarded, and made new eight-frame 

 flat covers.] 



DEVELOPING A RED-CLOVER STRAIN OF BEES. 



I want to let you know how I managed to get 

 my bees to work on red clover. For three or 

 four years I have believed they could be graded 

 up to work on led clover. I had the large 



