1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



579 



so great are the advantages of the fence and 

 plain section over the old style section with a 

 beeway part way across the top and bottom. 



Sections are bound to shrink after giving to 

 the bees. Bee heat is a very dry heat. Two 

 or three days after the supers are put on the 

 hives I make the round and tighten the screws 

 in the supers, with no disturbance whatever 

 to the bees. This is the secret of getting 

 clean sections — sections that you can put into 

 the shipping-cases without scraping (fall hon- 

 ey excepted in this locality). It will surprise 

 one to see how many times he can turn the 

 screws around a day or two after putting on 

 the supers. It seems the bees evaporate every 

 particle of moisture. Bees are natural mois- 

 ture-expellers, in summer at least. 



Eden, N. Y., June 14. E. W. Brown. 



[We are not worrying about the future of 

 plain sections and fences. They are more 

 than holding their own. — Ed.] 



GROWING BASS WOOD-TREES FROM THE SEED. 



In the fall of 1893 I put some dirt in a pan, 

 and some basswood seeds ; then covered with 

 an old mat, and covered the mat with dirt ; 

 then left the pan outdoors all winter. In the 

 spring of 1894 I looked at the seed, and not 

 one had sprouted. In the spring of 1895 it 

 commenced to sprout. I planted them out, 

 but the dry weather killed them, and I sup- 

 posed that was the last of my basswood seed ; 

 but in the spring of 1896 there were 40 or 50 

 of the seed that came up. In the spring of 



1897 they came up very thick. It seemed as 

 if every seed grew. Then in the spring of 



1898 there were a few more that came up. 

 Last spring I wanted to plant them in a 

 nursery-row, and the seed was still coming up. 



My experience is, if the seed is put in dirt 

 in the early fall, and put in the cellar, and 

 kept wet all winter, a few will sprout the first 

 spring, and the next spring most of them will 

 come up ; but it has got to be where the mice 

 can't get at them, or they will eat them all up. 



The way I like to raise basswoods from the 

 seed is to plant them in drills with peas, then 

 the next spring there will be enough that 

 come up so we can see the rows ; then the 

 spring after, most of them will come up. 



I had four rows, 26 feet long, that I got 

 over 900 basswoods from, 4 to 6 feet tall. Two 

 or three had blossoms on. 



I have no basswood-trees for sale, as I want 

 to plant a grove of basswoods. 



Lamont, la., July 22. Chas. Blackburn. 



[The point made in the above seems to be 

 that basswood seeds may lie in the ground 

 several years, and finally grow. If all these 

 freezings and thawings and length of time are 

 needed to break or rot the hard shell inclos- 

 ing the seed, may not the whole matter be 

 hastened by cracking the seeds with a suitable 

 machine, or immersing them for a proper 

 period in boiling water or something of that 

 sort? I believe nurserymen practice both 

 methods with certain kinds of seeds that are 

 slow in germinating. Who can tell us about 

 it?— A. I. R.] 



THE SERIOUSNESS OF BEE-PARALYSIS. 

 Dr. C. C. Miller : — In June Gleanings I 

 noticed the inquiry of Mr. F. D. McMurry, 

 and your answer thereto. As I have had some 

 experience with bee-paralysis I volunteered to 

 give the gentleman some advice, and wrote in 

 regard to it ; but I will copy the letter, as 

 follows : 



If you follow Dr. Miller's suggestion, "quite possi- 

 bly the disease will disappear of itself." and meet 

 with success, well and good; but let me caution you 

 that, if you find the disease appears again next spring, 

 be sure to adopt prompt measures to stop it. I have 

 battled with it since 1891, and, though I tried every 

 procedure that came well recommended, the disease 

 spread until, a dozen years ago, I began to destroy 

 every colony that developed it; and this season, though 

 I lost over half of my bees last winter, I destroyed two 

 colonies that showed signs of paralysis, and hope I 

 have throttled it now. What puzzles me is, how my 

 bees got the disease, as no other bee-keeper is troubled 

 with it. I had obtained some from queens from the 

 East, previous to the advent of the malady in my 

 yard, and am inclined to attribute it to this. How do 

 you account for it in your case? I should be glad to 

 hear. 



From the above you will discover the esti- 

 mate I put upon the gravity of bee-paralysis ; 

 and though I do not in the least doubt your 

 experience, and as much as has been said of 

 the disease north or south, the latitudin-d 

 danger-line seems not to be very sharply de- 

 fined. I would beg leave to offer my experi- 

 ence as a caution in advising bee keepers in 

 this Slate upon this malady. 



H. O. Vassmer. 



Excelsior Springs, Mo., June 12. 



I am very glad to send this word of caution 

 from Mr. Vassmer. What is true of the dis- 

 ease in Northern Illinois is by no means neces- 

 sarily true in Missouri, and Mr. McMurry will 

 be wise to consider the experience of one 

 nearer home. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111. 



\\ r . A'., Pa. — There is no one species that 

 has been denominated a " bee-bird." Perhaps 

 the nearest that comes to it is the ordinary 

 king bird that sometimes proves to be a nui- 

 sance in a queen-rearing apiary, and they, ac- 

 cordingly, have to be shot. 



G. W. C, Ohio. — I do not think it would be 

 practicable to prevent the candying of honey 

 by the use of glycerine unless so large a quan- 

 tity were used as to make it practical adulter- 

 ation. I would advise you to let the method 

 entirely alone. 



J. J. M., Iowa. — In the back part of the 

 ABC book you will find a glossary that gives 

 nearly all the technical terms. If you will con- 

 sult that vou will be able to understand much 

 that is said. Perhaps you have been reading 

 the book too much in snatches. If you read 

 carefully "Hive-making" you will get an 

 idea of many of the technical terms, and to 

 what they apply. Each subject must be read 

 through carefully. 



