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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



the (bee) patriotism of our bee-keopers to any 

 but a very small extent. 



Without pledging ourselves to exact details, 

 it may be said that, in substance, the plan is to 

 invite contributions of honey — good, of course — 

 in quantities of five pounds and upward, to be 

 forwarded in bulk or otherwise to a depot at a 

 given center (probably Liverpool, as the port of 

 departure), where it will be received by repre- 

 sentatives of the B. B. K. A., for bottling, pack- 

 age, and transhipment to Chicago. An impor- 

 tant point to be borne in mind by gentlemen 

 interested in the project is, that the honey sent 

 need not be tJte product of the exibltor^s oivn 

 bees; the only proviso being that the locality in 

 which the honey is gathered must be stated, so 

 that many who would have sent their own 

 honey in a good season will, by purchasing 

 from those less able to give av.ay their produce, 

 be enabled to further the scheme at a very 

 small cost. Further, the name of each donor 

 will appear on his portion of the exhibit. 



Seeing that an opportunity of staging British 

 honey alongside that of other countries, in so 

 prominent a manner as the Chicago Exhibition 

 offers, is not likely to occur again in our gener- 

 ation, we hope that our readers — with whom 

 the matter may be said to entirely rest — will 

 rise to the occasion and lose no time in making 

 known to the secretary of the B. B. K. A., or to 

 ourselves, the extent to which they are willing 

 to assist. The exhibit will, no doubt, be seen 

 by several millions of persons of all nationali- 

 ties; it also goes without saying, that Auii^rican 

 bee-keepers will welcome a good display from 

 the mother country; and as all cost and trouble 

 connected with it will, as already stated, be 

 borne by the B. B. K. A., we trust to hear with- 

 out delay from intending donors, in order that 

 an approximate idea may be ai'rived at with 

 regard to the amount of space to be applied for. 

 Preliminai'y inquiries maybe addressed to this 

 office, or to the Secretary of the B. B. K. A., at 

 Kings Langley. — British Bee Journnl, Sept. 29. 



A LITTLE FOLIK-YEAR-OLD DAUOHTKK OF MRS. 



.JENNIE ATCHLEV WHO CAN CAGE BEES 



AND QUEEN IX A MAILINOCAGE. 



I must tell you of a visitor. It, was a little 

 wee tot of a four-year-old baby girl who came 

 to see me not long since. She astonished all in 

 the apiary by coming up to where I was caging 

 queens. She took hold of a cage, and, almost 

 too fast for the eye to perceive what was going 

 on, caged the bees and queen. I learned from 

 her how to put the bees in a cage; but we just 

 had to console ourselves by considering the 

 source whence she came. She was a daughter 

 of Mrs. Jennie Atchley. W. R. Graham. 



Greerville. Texas, Oct. 8. 



[Well done I If Mrs. Atchley will send a pic- 

 ture of the little girl we will introduce her to 

 our readers.] 



WHY DO THE BEES KILL MEMBERS OF TIIKIK 

 OWN FAMILY? 



Prof. Cook: — I mailed you some dead bees 

 from a colony that kills numbers of their own 

 family. I asked Bro. Root, of Medina, about 

 them. He says that I must be mistaken — that 

 they must l)e drones, referring me to the A B C. 

 What do you think is wrong with them? The 

 colony is strong, active, and has lots of stores. 

 I am positive they are not robbers, as I have 

 only one colony of blacks or hybrids, as they 

 are. All my other colonies are pure Italians. 

 or nearly so, and can easily be distinguished 

 from this. This is why I send from this 

 colony for examination. My Italians act the 

 same way. They pull them down from the 

 combs, and drag them out in the same manner 



as they do the drones, but they sting, very near- 

 ly all of them, which they do not always do 

 with drones, as they often carry out drones and 

 let them look out for themselves, guarding their 

 entrance well, and not permitting them to en; 

 ter. But the samples I send you are nearly all 

 killed by the bees themselves. I wish you 

 would examine samples, and give result through 

 Gleanings. J. M. Fisher. 



Reading, Pa., Oct. 3. 



[Prof. Cook replies:] 



These bees seem very small. I presume that 

 they are ailing in some way. and so are rejected. 

 Such bees should be fully studied by a compe- 

 tent bacteriologist. He, perhaps, could show 

 cause. A. J. Cook. 



TWO GOOD POINTS IN FAVOR OF THE NAR- 

 ROWER SECTION. 



This question came up twice at our State 

 convention, but no discussion on the subject 

 was made. Eugene Secor thought that wide 

 sections are not capped ovei- as soon when 

 nearly two inches tiiick — a thing of consider- 

 able importance — while W. C. Frazier felt quite 

 sure that eight to the foot would be the nearest 

 right. D. Benton, my neighbor, uses seven to 

 the foot, and I feel sure that his sections are' 

 capped sooner than mine, which are IX inch, 

 and do not stand so much in need of separators 

 as do mine; and if sections were eight to the 

 foot would they not be built much straighter, 

 and be ripe and capped nearly as soon as built? 

 To be sure, if full sheets of foundation were 

 used this would be one point against these very 

 narrow sections. I think that quite good combs 

 might be built in them by using starters only; 

 but I presume that the untasty drone comb 

 would, with the latter plan, be built. The 

 grocers here will pay only 10 cts. apiece for 

 sections of comb honey; and if they were built 

 eight to the foot then we could sell our honey 

 at home at a fair profit — about as good as 1.5 cts. 

 per lb. I know it has been claimed that it 

 would not be an honest pound; neither are V4 

 sections an honest pound; and I can .see no 

 dishonest act about selling sections by the 

 piece. I have sjient much thought on this 

 matter, and I hardly know which wonld be best 

 for us. Frank Coverdale. 



Welton, la.. Oct. 11. 



[We can't discover that there is any cheating 

 when honey is sold by the section. If you can 

 get more money for narrower sections, use 

 them.] 



A GOOD season FOR BEES. 



This has been a good season for bees in this 

 vicinity, where they have had the necessary 

 care and attention that bees have got to have 

 to make a success with them. Our principal 

 honey- flow has been from basswood and buck- 

 wheat, some from goldenrod and other wild 

 flowers. I have managed my bees for increase 

 and comb honey. I had four swarms in the 

 spring. Three were quite weak. I now have 

 1:3 strong swarms, and have taken off 350 lbs. of 

 comb honey. The honey season was over here 

 Sept. 15. R. S. NoDDiNs. 



Fenwick, Mich.. Oct. 12. 



BEES NEVER IN BETTER SHAPE FOR FALL. 



There has been no frost to kill fiowers yet. 

 and bees are still making their living. They 

 have never been in better shape to winter than 

 they are this fall. Hives are full of good thick 

 well-sealed honey, and plenty of young bees 

 ;ire hatching now, and some of the queens are 

 ^Till laying. I got a fair crop of honey, and fine 

 ;i- to quality, mostly extracted. I have been in 



