96 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



comb and honey to catch next season's swarms 

 in, thus giving them the advantage that an 

 old hive would have. John Camm. 



Lynchburg, Va., Dec. 21. 



[Without seeing your hives and knowing 

 your methods of work, it would be difficult to 

 tell exactly where the trouble lies. Perhaps 

 your brood-nest is small for your locality; and 

 it is possible that you do not give them room 

 soon enough. I would put the sections on a 

 little earlier than you really think you need 

 to have them on (see Mrs. Axtell's article in 

 this issue ). I would also enlarge the entrance 

 just at the approach of the honey-flow. This 

 can most easily be done by placing four blocks, 

 Ys inch thick , under the four corners of the 

 hive, and resting on the four corners of the 

 bottom-board. Don't let the bees get into 

 the fashion of clustering out, because if they 

 once get into the habit of it they are likely to 

 keep it up till they swarm. If these methods 

 already given fail to reduce swarming, then it 

 may be you have a strain of bees that are rath- 

 er more given to that habit than they ought to 

 be. In this case it will be well to change 

 queens; and while in this connection you can 

 in any case do something to reduce swarming 

 by keeping nothing but young queens in the 

 hive — certainly those not over two years old. 

 —Ed.] 



mrs. harrison again in florida ; japon- 



icas; southern cemeteries; bees 



visiting cut flowers. 



While waiting at Mobile, Ala., for a steam- 

 er to cross the Gulf of Mexico, to my win- 

 ter home, St. Andrews Bay, Fla., I visited 

 Magnolia Ceme ery, in company with a 

 traveling companion, Dec. 29th. The sun 

 was shining, and the thermometer was at 55 

 degrees when we took an electric car. One of 

 the inducements to visit this cemetery was the 

 many varieties of japonicas in bloom ; sweet- 

 scented violets, narcissus, sweet olives, and 

 roses of various hues ; japonicas in various 

 hues of red, pink, and white of delicate puri- 

 ty. A lady at the cemetery told us that some 

 large japonicas, that had been trained to a sin- 

 gle stem, and were more than one foot in di- 

 ameter at the base, had been brought from 

 France by her grandfather, many years ago. 

 His remains repose in their shade, and the 

 beautiful blossoms pay tribute to his memory. 



I sat down to rest upon the stone coping, 

 near the head of a grave covered with Christ- 

 mas decorations. Near me was a wreath of 

 japonica, with variegated bloom, pink and 

 white, in stripes running from the center to 

 the circumference. A bee was working upon 

 this wreath, and it was well loaded with pol- 

 len. A number of bees were working upon a 

 bouquet in a glass vessel. This is the first time 

 I ever noticed bees working upon cut flowers. 



There is a legend that, when the queen of 

 Sheba visited king Solomon, she placed artifi- 

 cial flowers and natural ones at a distance from 

 him, and requested him to inform her which 

 were the natural ones. Solomon ordered a ser- 

 vant to open a window, and bees came in 

 and flew to the natural ones. 



I noticed several things in this cemetery, 

 new to me. A tent was erected over an open 

 grave, and I was told that this was the custom 

 during interments, and it remained there to 

 protect the floral offerings from sun and rain 

 for one week. Other graves had light frame- 

 work, covered with awning, to protect bou- 

 que s placed there. Headstones named the 

 disease, the cause of death, such as consump- 

 tion, yellow fever, or killed in battle. 



One corner of this cemetery is consecrated 

 to the burial of Confederate soldiers, and is 

 kept in order by the State of Alabama. The 

 graves are in rows, with headstones in gray, 

 inscribed with name, or " Unknown." A 

 large monument, with carved soldier on top, 

 with knapsack and gun, is a silent sentinel 

 over the remains of thousands. 



In another part of this cemetery the United 

 vStates government has inclosed with a brick 

 wall the graves of those who fell in defense of 

 the Union, and marked their resting-place 

 with white marble headstones. A large flag- 

 staff is in the center of the grounds, and a 

 commodious brick house within the inclosure, 

 where the keeper resides. 



Mobile, Ala., Dec. 30. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



THE FENCE AND PLAIN SECTION. 



I too am very much interested in the new 

 separator and sections, if you so call them 

 new; your one piece section 4'4x4,'4^xl j^ thick 

 is new; but the fence was made ten years ago. 



The fence I first made was o^ inches wide, 

 3 slats in it, y inch between slats. This I 

 found was too narrow for the fence, and the 

 space \ inch between .slats too wide; for large 

 colonies would build the combs at top and bot- 

 tom wider than the section. The 3>^ fence 

 makes % inch to the top and bottom of a 4 '4 x 

 4 '4 section, and this is too much. I make 

 mine now o}4 wide. 4 slats, slats j\ apart. 

 The 334;^ fence gives "s at top and bottom of 

 4 '4 section ; the cleats ^x'-4 ; end cleats, Jx^. 

 I think i''g thick would be better. We in Jef- 

 ferson are glad to know that you can furnish 

 this style. W. S. Andrews. 



Jefferson, O., Dec. (i. 



[Yes, the fence is at least ten years old, and 

 I have repeatedly said so in these columns. 

 The fence that you have adopted, if I under- 

 stand correctly, is about the sort of fence that 

 we are putting out on the market for this sea- 

 ton. If this is true, your own experience, 

 friend A., shows that we have strvick pretty 

 nearly the right construction. — Ed.] 



ANOTHER BLIZZARD IN FLORIDA. 



This section is again sorely stricken. We 

 had frosts — in fact, ice — for four successive 

 nights ; but only one did us damage — the one 

 of the 3d inst. Our hopes here on the St. 

 Lucie River, for a crop of pineapples this sea- 

 son, are practically gone. How much damage 

 is done to the plants themselves will not be 

 accurately known for some weeks; but we hope 

 the most of them are alive. 



I have heard but little or no definite news 

 from the orange localities, but hope from what 



