566 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



dation from the leaves of certain plants that 

 probably has no connection with any insects. 

 But is this honey-dew? — Ed ] 



AT ONE time I thought the bees were in 

 for a crop of honey. But it has come in so 

 slowly that some have made a little start in 

 supers, and some haven't. At such times it 

 seems to me it must be more satisfactory to 

 work for extracted honey. [But you do not 

 tell us, doctor, definitely, whether the season 

 in and about Marengo is likely to be a failure 

 or not. I take it that it will, as your only 

 source is clover, and that is probably over by 

 this time. From present indications the sea- 

 son over the country generally will be even 

 poorer than that of last year, and we thought 

 1898 was about as poor as it could be. Comb 

 honey — at least a choice article — ought to be 

 sold at a higher price than it has sold for for 

 several years past. — Ed.] 



Mr. Editor, your demands are ridiculous, 

 p. 545. You want a young lady to cut a limb 

 from a tree, said limb having a swarm of bees 

 on it, and said young lady then and there to 

 have an unconscious air of ease and grace. 

 Unconscious air after cutting down a swarm? 

 Not much. If she's the girl I take her to be, 

 a girl worth looking at in a frontispiece, there 

 will be, after she gets possession of that 

 swarm, a conscious air of flushed victory, 

 as who should say, "I'd like to see a 

 man do that job any better ! " [All right. 

 She can have a " conscious air of flushed vic- 

 tory," but she must not have " a conscious 

 air" that some one is looking at her and ad- 

 miring her. Such a state of consciousness, to 

 mv notion, is awful to behold in any one. — 

 Eb ] 



A. T- Wright, in that article, p. 531, shows 

 that he is a keen observer, and his observa- 

 tions are well worth consideration; but when 

 he makes the startling statement that " many 

 animals can see perfectly only in total dark- 

 ness," and that there are " rays of dark " as 

 something distinguished from rays of light, 

 we certainly have a right to ask whether any 

 other scientist believes or teaches any thing 

 of the kind. Friend Wright, please tell us 

 whether any other authority teaches that an 

 animal may see in any way except by rays of 

 light impinging on the retina. [I do not 

 know enough about the question of light and 

 darkness, or "rays of dark," to say whether 

 Mr. W. is right or wrong; but I do know that 

 he has demonstrated that some so-called sci- 

 entists are clearly wrong in some of their 

 " science ;" but nevertheless he may be wrong 

 on the subject of " dark rays." — Ed.] 



As footnote to that item about the bee- 

 escape, p. 545, let me make some remarks. 

 As you give it, you must have taken it in a 

 shower. It's never wet except by rain — pos- 

 sibly being wet wouldn't be a bad thing. It 

 never fits tightly, but hangs loosely, although 

 bee-tight, a very important feature being that 

 it can be thrown on and thrown off, for it's 

 put on the first super of the pile, and taken 

 off and put on again every time another super 

 is added. There's no cone in the case, but a 

 three-sided pyramid, because easier made. I 



don't first shake bees out of super — can't. 

 I smoke 'em out. (Have spoiled honey by 

 smoking too much.) The thing is simply a 

 robber-cloth with a piece of lath nailed on two 

 opposite sides (oftener two pieces on each 

 side), and the other two sides weighted down 

 with shot in the hem, a triangular hole cut 

 out of the center, and the pyramid sewed on. 

 It can be picked up with one hand and thrown 

 on; and while the pile is low I always kick it 

 off to put on the next super. That's about 

 all there is of it, but it's a very convenient 

 thing for one who hasn't a bicycle and doesn't 

 want to make an extra trip to put on Porter 

 escapes. [If you are not the one who wets 

 the cloth that hangs over the top of the hive, 

 then it is somebody else, and that some person 

 told me of this ttick, I am positive. The 

 point is here: Robbers, if there should be any 

 such, hesitate about prying under a wet cloth; 

 but if it be dry, on the other hand, they will 

 squeeze under providing they have physical 

 force sufficient to accomplish the act. Very 

 likely, however, your four edges weighted 

 down would, in practice, accomplish the re- 

 sult, if the skirts, as we might call them, 

 have not been previously soaked in water. 

 The kodak p : cture that I took of the device 

 was not very clear, and I asked our engraver 

 to make a pen-drawing showing a view which 

 I knew would come up distinctly where a 

 half-tone would be a perfect blur. That ac- 

 counts for the cone showing instead of the 

 pyramid. — Ed ] 



0>ICKlJSTG& 



<t/MOM OUR NEIGHBORS FIELDS. 



The blazing sun, with fervent glare, 



Pours down its torrid heat : 

 The flowers wilt, the ground is bare — 



What have the bees 10 eat ? 



ili 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 

 The first page of the issue for July 20 shows 

 a view of the apiary of Miss Ada L. Pickard, 

 wnth the owner in the foreground. It is lo- 

 cated in Richland Co., Wis. She managed 

 an out-apiary of 100 colonies last year, aitd 

 secured 16,000 lbs of batswood honey. This 

 is an unusual record, and Miss P. certainly 

 has a right to assume a "conscious air of 

 flushed victory," as Dr. Miller gallantly puts it. 



In speaking of king-birds, Prof. Cook says 

 there are two kinds that are doubtless bee- 

 eaters, and that they would doubtless eat 

 queens as well as workers. They belong to 

 the Tyrannidce y among which is included our 

 veil-known beautiful little pewee, or phebe 

 bird. In their own apiary he has seen the 

 king bird dart down to the hives, but the 

 stomachs of the birds were found to contain 

 nothing but robber- flies, which are among the 

 worst enemies they have. On the whole, 

 Prof. Cook considers these birds more the 



