1892 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



615 



and then a short honey st^ason and starvation; 

 and there is no excuse for even that if proper 

 care is tal<i'n/" 



Tlie mention of starvation had a wonderful 

 effect upon my y:uitie: and witli a rai)id stride 

 he started for our liasii-tiasUet. It was diinier- 

 tinie: and liis favorit(> cotTee-ni>t. wiiieli. iil<e 

 tiie Irisliman's pipe, tlw l)lacKer it was tli(» 

 better tlu» contents, was soon sininierinjj over a 

 pile of dry greasewood twigs. My friend looked 

 so poetical starting the tire that my piMicil 

 caught him. The sketch is wondrously like 

 starting a western town. The next stage would 

 be a stove, a rude table, and a blanket to sleep 



HOW RAMBLER S COMPAXIOX MAKES COFFEE. 



on: then a cabin would grow around the table 

 and the stove, and by and by a village. 



The land whereon we ate our dinner is owned 

 by the Semi-tropical Land and Water Co.; and 

 afterward, in looking at their maps, 1 found we 

 were anticipated in our starting a town, for the 

 apiary was appropriately located at the end of 

 Linden Avenue. A great amount of grease- 

 wood and other brush will, however, have to be 

 grubbed out before the avenue materializes. 



My Riverside premonition being fultilled, I 

 made that place my headquarters and went out 

 daily and put the apiary in better shape than 

 when I tirst saw it. A great many out-apiaries 

 in this country are run on the slam-bang prin- 

 ciple. Having many to attend t.o, the work is 

 done up in a hurry, and some things are neces- 

 sarily slighted. Then, again, it is only occa- 

 sionally that a hired man understands his work 

 thoroughly and does it faithfully. »Such as do 

 this are in demand at all times. 



The greatest evil I found in this apiary was 

 the waste of bees from drowning in their own 

 sweets. Several 0()-lb. cans, half full of honey, 

 were left with the screw cap off. and, of course, 

 the can was well filled with dead bees. An un- 

 known amount of honey was left in the tank; 

 an insecure cover let the bees in. and over 

 three bushels of the dead were thrown out. 

 The blame for loose covers, etc.. might be laid 

 to meddlesome parties who are prone to examine 

 such things and carelessly leave them open. 

 The Rambler was occupied many days in clean- 

 ing up and in i)uilding a lean-to and workshop 

 by the side of the extractfng-house. When 

 completed, and a spring bed, chair, table, oil- 

 stove, etc.. added. I felt much at home, and 

 have enjoyed living in it many days at a time; 

 but Sunday usually found me in my other home 

 in Riverside among the comforts of civilization. 

 Like Henry Thoreau. the Concord philosopher 

 who retired to a lone cabin in the woods to 

 study the effects of isolation from his kind, 

 I have become quite well acquainted with ani- 

 mal life. The cotton-tailed rabbit, though 

 much hunted, is quite numerous and quite 

 domestic when unmolested. A half-dozen of 

 them will come within 20 feet of my cabin door 

 at evening and gnaw at a pile of refuse thrown 



from the wax-extractor, showing iheir appre- 

 ciation of tlie products of the hive. The gray 

 squirrel also has a taste for the same pile, and 

 gambols around and on the roof of my cal)in. 

 The lark and the mockingliird, especially the 

 latter, lill the air willi the richest and most 

 varied music; and at evening will drop down 

 in front of the door for any stray crumbs I may 

 throw out. Occasionally in the night a band 

 of coyotes have added their discordant notes 

 t)y giving a serenade from the rocks above. 

 The dandy, however, among my numerous 

 companions, is the festive skunk. I have one 

 special pet, with a beautifully mottled back, 

 that comes from his den under the wax- 

 extractor just as the evening shadows fall, and, 

 raising his hind feet and tail high in the air, 

 will waltz back and foith within 20 feet of me, 

 and. with his gracefully waving tail, says si- 

 lently, but plainly, "Come if you dare." But 

 he does it. I suppos<', for the edification and 

 amusement of the lonely Rambler. 



MILKWEED. 



WHAT SPECIES DOES AND DOES NOT DISABLE 

 BEES. 



Mention is made in the A B C of the mis- 

 chievous properties of Asclepias corniiti in 

 gumming the feet of bees and thereby disabling 

 them; and the plant is. therefore, rightly con- 

 demned. The remarks justly apply to the 

 variety in question; but a distinction should be 

 made in favor of Asclepins tuberosa. which is 

 one of the most valuable honey-plants of this 

 vicinity, from the tirst to the middle of July. 

 It is not chargeable with the mentioned objec- 

 tion of the other varieties, and is a rich honey- 

 plant, furnishing a good quality of honey. It 

 grows on sterile soil, and flourishes under con- 

 ditions that would be fatal to most other honey- 

 plants. Bee men should not ignorantly cut it 

 down. If they are not botanists they may 

 know it from the injurious varieties of milk- 

 weed by its rich orange or scarlet colored 

 flowers, which are really ornamental, and from 

 the fact that, when the leaves or plants are cut 

 or broken they show no milk exuding from the 

 wound. 



DLSTURBING BEES TO MAKE THEM BUILD 

 COMB. 



You note on page 17(i, A B C, that disturbing 

 certain swarms of bees resulted in their gorg- 

 ing themselves with honey, which had the 

 etfect to start them to building comb. Will, 

 then, alarming bees frequently — as, for in- 

 stance, pounding on their hive, cause them to 

 build more comb than they otherwise would in 

 case you should wish them to build comb? 

 Would it s(!rve as a reliable method? Some- 

 times bees seem to be averse to building comb, 

 even on fresh foundation, when it is really 

 needed. 



DO BEES TREAT EACH OTHER FOR INDISPO.SI- 

 TION ? 



From my observation I believe that bees 

 treat one another at times for indisposition. 

 You will sometimes see a bee. and often as 

 many as three at once, going all over another 

 and pushing and pressing it with their fore feet, 

 as if they were administering a kind of massage 

 treatment. It, in the meantime, will liold 

 quiet and take the dose in best good nature. 

 They are not cleaning it, but appear to be rub- 

 bing out its rheumatic pains. It reminds me 

 sometimes of a barber shampooing a customer. 

 No doubt many have observed the fact. 



