1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



811 



liteiature in tlie kingdom, it is stiangf that we 

 have uevei- found such a race alluded to. The word 

 Punic means faithless, treacherous — neither of 

 wliicli sliould be considered giwd qualifications for 

 hces. Punic bees are said to come from Africa, but 

 the only varieties of Afiican bees we know of are 

 those alluded to above, liesides the various species 

 mentioned on page 366 of B. B. J. for 1SH«. 



As so little Is really known about these bees we 

 hai-dly tliink it necessary to advise our friends in 

 tlieir own interests to wait for reports from experi- 

 enced and well-known bee-keepers. We shall take 

 c'are to give any reliable information that may 

 come to hand and be of value to ovu- readers. 



COLORADO NOTES. 



HOW THEY WIXTER IX TH.\T STATE 



Frioid /?oof.-— Here I come again with a few 

 notes from Colorado, that land (tlinoxt flowing 

 with milk and honey. The honey-flow is now 

 over, and it has beeii only fair, nothing extra. 

 We had too many rains during the season, which 

 greatly hinders the work of gatlieiing honey. 

 Wintering bees in this locality is something 

 which I wish to speak to the readei's of Glean- 

 ings about. We winter on our summer stands 

 by simply setting the hives C) to 10 inches apart, 

 and placing old straw between, over, and be- 

 hind them, and leaning a broad board up be- 

 hind them and laying one on top to keep the 

 straw from blowing off; then our work after 

 that is comparatively light the rest of the win- 

 ter. Some do not go to tiie trouble to put them 

 ■down in as good order as I have described, but 

 you are very apt to hear some grumbling about 

 the time when almost everybody else is getting 

 some flne large early swarms, and they none at 

 all. You will hear them saying, "Why. my 

 bees don't seem to be doing any thing at all. I 

 think they dwindled a rigiit smart this spring." 

 It is no uncommon thing to hear such com- 

 plaints, and I for one am ready to cry out, " For 

 shame for such dire negligence! they don't de- 

 .serve to have any thing on their farm that is as 

 busy and industrious as the honey-bee." 



TATCK NOT NECESSARY FOR PROFITABEE BEE- 

 KEEPING. 



Now. right here I say, how often it is tliat we 

 hear men say that they never have any luck 

 with bees I Why? let me ask. How many times 

 is it that they have let their bees remain out all 

 winter with not one paiticle of protection round 

 them? How many times dui'ing the summer 

 have you been to see how they were doing? 

 Once, twice, perhaps three times. Once a man 

 told me he had bees to sell. As I wanted to 

 buy I dropped around to see them. Well, now, 

 where do you think they were? Fully one hun- 

 dred yards from the house, on the bank of a 

 ■ditch, with sweet clover and weeds higher than 

 the hives. When we mashed the weeds down, 

 the bees rushed out like mad, but soon settled 

 back after a ray of sunlight had passed into the 

 «mall entrance. In fact, they were scared. 

 Now, what an absurd statement to hear a man 

 say "'luck"! Oh fallacyl how foolishi .lust 

 let me say this to all who read this: There is 

 no luck in bee-keeping. Did you ever plant a 

 field of potatoes or corn, and then expect as big 

 a yield without cultivation as your neighbor's 

 that was cultivated right up to the handle? 

 Nol that's what you say. Well. I should like 

 to ask A. I. Root, or Hutchinson oi- Prof. Cook, 

 whether a colony of bees doesn't need to be cul- 

 tivated in just the same manner, according to 

 its needs, to give good returns, that a field of 

 potatoes or a Held of corn does to make it yield 

 up to your expectations? 



Now. to such bee-keepers as these (for that is 

 all they are, just bee-keepers and not honey- 



producers) let me say. if you keep bees and do 

 not take cai'e of them as you should, if you do 

 not get any honey, don't complain ; but select 

 some good place for your-bees, keep the ground 

 clean, and free from weeds and clover; put your 

 bees into some good hives; attend to them reg- 

 ularly, supply their wants, and see how much 

 better they will work for yon. Also select some 

 good bee-journal. Study it carefully to see 

 what the latest novelty in bee-keeping is. Don't 

 be a natural imitator, but strive to devise some 

 plans and methods of your own, and put them 

 into practical use if possible. Some prominent 

 writer. James Heddon, I believe, once said that 

 it is rarely that a person will succeed in busi- 

 ness by being a mer6 imitator; so, now, let us 

 not think that it's all "luck" that makes this 

 busy world move. It is he who keeps posted in 

 regard to the occupation he follows, and puts 

 the theories of his own mind into active opera- 

 tion who shall win. 



THE PORTER BEE-ESCAPE. 



I will say that the Porter spring bee-escape 

 has proven to be a very acceptable addition to 

 ray apiary, and I feel like recommending it to 

 all bee-keepers. Buy one or two for trial; and 

 if they prove as satisfactory to you as they have 

 to me, you will never have cause to regret your 

 investment. T. V. Jessup. 



Greeley. Colo., Sept. 19. 



KING-BIRDS— REGURGITATION. 



OTHER enemies OF BEES AMONG THE BIRD 



tribe; indisputable evidence THAT 



KING-BIRDS DO REGURGITATE. 



In your note after Mr. McDonnell's article in 

 Gleanings for September 1.5, on king-birds, 

 you ask for further testimony in regard to the 

 regurgitation mattei'. suggesting that it may be 

 "all a hoax." Without citing further lay tes- 

 timony, which could be readily done, the writer 

 suggests a reference to those great ABC books 

 on ornithology, the writings of Audubon, Wil- 

 son, Nattall, and Buonaparte, whose authors 

 devoted their lives to this one study, and weeks, 

 nay, months, in learning the habits of a single 

 species, not only in its native haunts, but also 

 with the bird in captivity, and hence constant- 

 ly before their eyes. These books, particularly 

 Audubon's, if not often obtainable in private 

 libraries, can be found in all or most public 

 ones; and with its magnificent illustrations, 

 copies from life by that masterly hand, will re- 

 pay many fold the time taken in a visit to such 

 an institution. The plates were lost by fire, 

 and now so greatly are these bird-portraits ad- 

 mired and valued, that the volumes bring the 

 highest prices when sold at auction or at sec- 

 ond hand, however much the text may be de- 

 faced, if only the illustrations are uninjured. 

 In the large edition, found in public libraries, 

 only the largest birds are represented under 

 life size. 



I feel sure that Audubon refers to the regur- 

 gitating habit of the king-bird. Nuttall cer- 

 tainly does, whose work is before me. After 

 miniitely describing its habits generally, he 

 writes, of a captive bird of this kind, "which I 

 had many months as my pensioner :" "At length 

 the pieces of beetle were swallowed, and he 

 remained still to digest his morsel, tasting it 

 distinctly .soon after it entered the stomach, as 

 became obvious by the ruminating motion of 

 his mandibles. When the soluble portion was 

 taken up, large pellets of the indigestible legs, 

 wings, and shells, as likewise the skins and 

 seeds of berries, were, In half an hour or less. 



