GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



THE NAME OF THE BIRD THAT PUNCTURES THE 

 GRAPE. 



You will remember that a neighbor of ours 

 captured a peculiar kind of bird that was 

 caught in ihe act of maiiing pinhole punctures 

 in grapes in Medina Co. One specimen was 

 sent to Prof. Lawrence Bruner, whose bio- 

 graphical sketch appeared in our last issue, 

 and this is what he says of it: 



The bird sent is the Cape May warbler {Dendroica 

 tigrina). While the bird's beak is admirably fitted 

 for such work, that it really is the culprit seems a 

 surprise, since the warblers are supposed to be 

 practically insectivorous in their food habits. Just 

 at present I do not happen to have a life history of 

 this bird at hand. I would suggest that you write 

 to Dr. Merriam, of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Washington, for a statement of grape-punc- 

 turing- birds. Lawrence BKU^ER. 



Lincoln, Neb. 



As Prof. Bruner is a very thorough student 

 of nature I am sure he is right in giving the 

 name.: Moreover, 1 find the Standard Diction- 

 ary gives the following: ^ 



It is an American insectivorous mniotiltoid bird, 

 usually brilliantly colored, and with little powers of 

 song, as the common summer or yellow warbler. '^ 



r The species seems to be somewhat rare in 

 this vicinity; but there are enough of them, 

 from '^ present indications, to puncture cevery 

 grape on a vine. As I pointed out in our last 

 issue, bee-keepers should put their fruit-grow- 

 ing neighbors in possession of these facts, and 

 thus take the blame oflf from the bees and put 

 it where it belongs. 



probably secure the desired information. The fol- 

 lowing is a list of the journals referred to: 



18516, Jan. 1.5, pp. 6L 68; May 15, p. 386; July 15, p. 528. 



1894, Aug. 1.5, p. 661. 



1893, Sept. 15, p. 713. 



1892, Sept. 15, p. 699. 



1891, Sept. 15, p. 748; Junel, p. 486: April 15, p. 306; 

 Dec. 15, p. 961. 



The doctor is investigating the subject very 

 thoroughly, and has promised to send us an 

 article later on, giving the physiological effects 

 of bee-stings, especially so far as they relate to 

 the cure of various kinds of rheumatism. 



BEE-STINGS, AND THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL, 

 EFFECTS. 



n A SHORT time ago Dr. R. S. Lindsay, of Phil- 

 adelphia, wrote us, asking for information 

 regarding the effects of stings on the human 

 system. I spent considerable time in looking 

 over our back volumes; and as the reply I made 

 to the doctor may be!useful to others I decided 

 to put it in permanent form, and here it is: 



Dec. 10. 

 Dr. R. S. L., Philadelphia— 



Dear Sir:— The average bee-keeper is not at all 

 affected by swelling after being stung. He experi- 

 ences the same sharp pain, but no fever or other 

 unpleasant effects follow after two or three minutes. 

 The system seems to become inured. But occasion- 

 ally, when the bee stings along a vein there is an after- 

 effect as explained on page 68 of our issue for January 

 last. We do not know to which school of medicine 

 you belong; but the homeopathists use a great deal 

 of apis melliflca in the form of a tincture. We have 

 been supplying Boereek & Tafel, of New York city, 

 with bee stings in lots of ]0,0<ni at a time. We are 

 supplied with a wide-mouthed bdttlc holding about 

 2 ounces, and filled about t wot hiids lull of sugar of 

 milk. A comb of hees is placed before a window, 

 and from this comb (he bees are picked off one by 

 one with one pair of tweezers, while another pair 

 removes the stings, the latter dropping into the 

 sugar of milk. The bee in each case is crushed 

 Immediately before the removal of the sting. In this 

 way the stings are removed until the whole number 

 are in the jar, when it is corked and sent to the 

 parties named. The apiarist can usually work only 

 about three or four hours a day at removing the 

 stings; and even then he experiences pain in the 

 eyes, and a sort of sickness from inhaling the odor 

 of the poison. 



As you see hy the references below, there can be 

 no question but that the stings do relieve certain 

 kinds of rheumatism; but just what kinds I am 

 unable to say. A letter addressed to the persons 

 whose names are attached to the articles would 



"BEE-KEEPER FRED ANDERSON." 



In all, there have been just three persons 

 who have protested against Mr. Martin's story, 

 out of the large number who have spoken very 

 highly of it. Perhaps these three friends (and 

 there may be others who think as they do) have 

 not even read the story. Perhaps they never 

 read aiiy stories, from conscientious scruples. 

 With such I have no argument at all. While I 

 know there is a class of novels whose tenden- 

 cy is demoralizing and bad, Mr. Martin's serial 

 is both instructive and moral in its tone. The 

 author himself is an earnest Christian and an 

 active temperance man, and believes in incul- 

 cating Christian ideas and principles in every 

 thing that he has; to do with. Only the other 

 day we received a letter from a Christian mis- 

 sionary, congratulating us on the excellent,mor- 

 al tone of the serial. 



I said the^story was instructive. In all that 

 Mr. Martin has written, I do not believe he has 

 ever portrayed California life and incidents 

 any more faithfully and vividly than he has 

 done in this story. Indeed, I believe it is near- 

 ly all based on facts, and that the characters 

 that he writes about have been, in some in- 

 stances at least, real. 



It is impossible to please all. Indeed, a few, 

 very few, object to the Home Papers, and a 

 few also can't see any use of the footnote; but 

 the very great majority have expressed them- 

 selves emphatically in favor of both. 



W'INTERING, AND THE VARIATION IN CONSUMP- 

 TION OF FOOD. 



DooLiTTLE makes the point in the Progress- 

 ive Bee-heejyer, that the consumption of food is 

 very much less during the first part of the win- 

 ter, or when bees are quiet, than later on, when 

 they become uneasy; that it is about a pound a 

 month at first, and from five to eight pounds a 

 month after they have become uneasy. This is 

 entirely reasonable and probable, though I 

 doubt whether there are many other bee-keep- 

 ers who have noticed the difference — certainly 

 I had not. 



I; do know that, when I was sick, some two 

 years ago, and on the verge of nervous prostra- 

 tion, I was starving to death with plenty to eat. 

 It seemed to me as if it were necessary to eat 

 two or three times as much food in order to keep 

 uplmy strength (and then didn't ;do it) that it 



