930 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



dark in color after a few years' exposure to the 

 weather, and appear more weather-beaten than 

 those in which yellow ocher was used. A very 

 good grade of ocher at 3 cts. per lb. will answer; 

 and if a dainty light yellow is wanted, chrome 

 yellow can be used in the second coat instead 

 of the ocher. Our hives thus treated show no 

 more discomfort to their inmates than the ones 

 painted white. Jno. Neijel & Son. 



High Hill, Mo. 



[Yes, sir; there is no disputing, the fact about 

 the sticking qualities of yellow ocher. We 

 somewhat question the advisability of using 

 chrome yellow. It lacks permanence, and 

 thereforore ought not to be mixed with a hive 

 paint.] 



AN UNFAVOKABI-E REPORT FROI THE FIVE- 

 BANDED BEES. 



You do not seem to be booming the tive-band- 

 ed bees for gentleness as you did a while back 

 in your c>dvertisements. I purcliased 14 In 

 August. ISiK), and have wished all summer that 

 some one else had them. I will not have them 

 after next spring. Jam going to give them to 

 a friend who has th(> rheumatism. If there is 

 any thing in the theory that bee-stings are good 

 for rheumatism they will cure him. I do not 

 expect to be troubled with it; for if there were 

 any rheumatic microbes in my system the five- 

 banded doctors thoroughly paralyzed them dur- 

 ing the past season. Wm. L. Ewing. 



Vincennes, Ind., Nov. 2. 



[We never boomed the five-banded bees in 

 any pai'ticular. You must have some other 

 fellow in mind. It is but fair to remark, that 

 not all five-banded bees are bad stingers. Those 

 we saw at Mr. Doolittle's were very gentle. 

 Those extra yellow bees bred from Cyprian 

 stock are vicious, or apt to be so.] E. R. 



SPARE THE BIRDS. 



I have taken quite an interest in the king- 

 bird talk, and must say that, in our country, 

 they don't seem to make* bee-killing an especial 

 business. They are mostly abroad in the fields, 

 intent on picking up bugs, crickets, etc.. like 

 other birds. Other birds, too, seem to prey 

 upon the bee-hive. The cat-bird is evidently 

 as active an enemy of the bee, for I have seen 

 them fly about my hives even more than the 

 king-bird. I think we ought to spare the birds, 

 for it is plain to be seen that they are becoming 

 scai'cer every year; and before we pass the sen- 

 tence of death on any species we should ask 

 ourselves which are of more consequence, the 

 birds or the bees. 



Preston, Minn. F. A. Cummings. 



"done splendidly;" closed-end frames. 

 I have done splendidly with my bees this 

 year, and I attribute my success to Gleanings 

 and your A B C. I am using the closed-end 

 standing frame with the Bristol bottom-board. 

 and several other parts of hives that I have 

 combined together for a double or single walled 

 hive and cheapness combined. The old bee-men 

 of this section say they have not seen any thing 

 to surpass it for comb honey; of course, it would 

 be nothing new to you, as it was mostly taken 

 from Gleanings. Chas. Howell. 



Hackettstown, X. J., Nov. .5. 



A PRACTICAL TEMPERANCE SERMON ESPECIAL- 

 LY FOR FARMERS AND MARKET-GAR- 

 DENERS. 



A man in this city, located next door to a liq- 

 uor-saloon, sells over 1.50 quarts of milk every 

 day, by the glass. We know that many men 

 drink this ice-cold milk who would otherwise 



drink beer. The sale of milk by the glass has 

 largely increased during the past few years, 

 and this increased trade is about the healthiest 

 temperance sign we know of. Any one who 

 knows tfie life of our large cities must under- 

 stand that a harmless substitute for the saloon is 

 necessary if real tempei-ance progress is to be ex- 

 pected. Theoiy is one thing, an actual factis an- 

 other. There are thousands of men who drink liq- 

 uors, even to excess, because they do not find a 

 non-intoxicant that they like. Pui'e cold milk 

 suits them, and they will drink it in place of beer. 

 Let the temperance organizations spend some 

 of their money in locating these milk-saloons 

 close by the door of every rnm-shop in the city. 

 They will thus do practical work for temper- 

 ance, and at the same time provide a new mar- 

 ket for mUk.— Rural New-Yorker. 



A NOVEL METHOD OF FORMING SEED-BOXES. 



The inclosed was received rather too late last 

 year to be seasonable. Our friends who raise 

 plants on a small scale will probably find it con- 

 venient. 



Mr. Root: — Inclosed find a rough sketch of a 

 novel little hoibed kept warm with hot bricks 

 — soapstone would he best — I am using in my 

 window to force a few tomato-plants. Shallow 

 cigar-boxes are very convenient for holding the 

 soil: and as they are about .5 inches wide and 

 S}4 long. I would suggest that the inside of the 

 main box be 16x9x(i deep, so a 10x18 window- 

 glass can be laid over the top of all, to retain 

 the heat and moisture until the seed have 

 sprouted through the ground. We can readily 

 see that most of the heat must pass up through 

 the shallow boxes of dirt if they are fitted close. 



AVINDOW HOTBED, TO BE KEPT \\^ARM BY 

 THREE HOT BRICKS UNDER THE PLANT- 

 BOXES. 



or raw cotton can be pushed down between and 

 around the boxes to close the vent. The bricks 

 can be warmed easily on top of the stove, and 

 will retain the heat some time. All seed-beds 

 should be kept quite moist until the delicate 

 little plants have straightened themselves up 

 through the soil. .L S. Reese. 



Winchester, Ky. 



EPILOBIUM, OR GREAT WILLOW HERB. 



From my front door, looking over the valley 

 of the Jordan River. I see 100 acres, a solid pur- 

 ple sea of the beautiful Indian pink, purple fire- 

 weed, or. correctly speaking, Epilohlum (OH/h.s- 

 tifoUxin. or great willow herb. It is not only a 

 feast of beauty to the eye, but a flow of lioney 

 to the greedy bees, who neglect even the loaded 

 linden bloom for the delicious white nectar of 

 this grand honey-producer. Happy indeed is 

 the apiarist who lives in the land where this 

 plant reigns supreme among weeds. — Rural 

 New-Vorlier. 



