184 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



been in the case of a colony fed on pure su- 

 gar syrup. It is my opinion thai the loss 

 would have been less than any of the other 

 foods above described. The idea of using- 

 canditd honey as a winter food is a good 

 one. When one is short cf ccmbs cf sealed 

 stores this will make an excellent substi- 

 tute.— Ed.] 



The Fust Time (an' the Last). 



[While on a recpnt visit at Medina, artist Murray took an 

 automol)lle ride with A. 1. R. around town, and finally down 

 to our cemetery. In one of his private letters he sent us a 

 sketch and a few line- of verse de-crihing his sens.itions 

 while on i his ride. For the benefit of our readers we repro- 

 duce the whole here.— KdJ 



ARTIST MURRAY'S SKXSATIONS WHEN RIDING IN THE 

 AUTOMOB LE WITH A. I. R. 



Whew ! Yer leel .sorter dizzy round the legs, 



When autoing first takes hold. 

 An' kinder shiverj' down the spine 



Wilh -pells of hot an' cold. 

 Yer feel the feathers on yer back 



Puff up an' move ahoui — 

 ■yer 'confidence" has taken wings, 



An' yer innards all turned out. 



Things .seem allfired on e-knee, 



An' yer swallnw mighty fast. 

 Fur yer don t know how things '11 end. 



Nor how long the spell will 1 i.st. 

 As yer ^'Ounce 'tween heav'n an' ear'h, 



Yer feel quite serious round the gills, 

 And things go twistiniziiig by, 



Kach one in fancy fiills. 



L,and s-iikes! whv was I ever coaxed 



Into th' tarnal pesky tiling? 

 Thar ain't a bles<-pd thing ler grab 



'Cept that chaflfer with his grin. 

 No doubt he thinks it s awful futl 



Ter jerk the thing about : 

 But I lell yer, yer feci qu te odd 



When ha:f wa\ in an' half way out. 



Gimminy cr^ut ! Mr. Chaffer, 



Don't yi r .see that pond ahead? 

 Monumen s ain i of interest. 



Nor tales where heroes bled ! 

 Great -^cott ! Just let me outen this — 



Ii's no pi ice here for me — 

 An' I 11 put up a p^ter-nostruln, 



An' howl aloud in glee. 



I ain't hank'ring now to fly 



By the D ivius or l,angley wav; 

 Jes' let me feel my fret on ground, 



Ati' there by gum, I'll s'ay. 

 Bet you'll have to take a derrick 



To get m-- on again 

 To sit hes de that chaffer bold, 



' If s" to have a leetle spin !'' 

 Cleveland, O. R. V. Murray. 







WHAT IS BEE-POISON? 



Regarding bee- poison, I inclose a copy of 

 the paragraph I was looking for when we 

 were discussing the topic. It was in an- 

 other book after all — one that I had recent- 

 ly been reading. 



By the way, the book from which the ex- 

 tract was made is particularly interesting. 

 It is entitled, "The Camtyidge Natural 

 History." Arthur C. Miller. 



Providence, R. I. 



According to Carlet, the poison of the bee is formed 

 by the mixture of Ihe Sttret'onof two glands one of 

 which is acid and the ot er alkaline ; it is very deadly 

 iu its effects on other insi cts. We shall ste, howc ver, 

 that the fossorial hymenoptera, which catch and 

 sting living prey for their joung. frequently do not 

 kill luit only stupefy it, and Carlet stales that in this 

 group the alUaline gland is absent or atrophie 1, .so 

 that the poisoti consi.-ts onlv ot the acid ; it is thus, he 

 thinks, deprived of its hthl powtr. Moreover, in 

 the fossoria the needles are destitute of barb-, so that 

 the still? does not ten a n in the wound. Bordas. how- 

 ever, states that in all th-^ numerous hymenoptera he 

 has examined, both aci I ami alka ine glands exsl. but 

 exnibit co siderable differ, nces of form in ihe various 

 groups He gives no explanation of the variety of 

 effects of the poison of diffei eut aculeata. 



[I will explain that Mr. Miller and T met 

 recently in Boston, at the place of business 

 of Mr. F. H. F.irmer. We were disctissing 

 the nature of bee-poison, when Mr. Miller 

 said he had just been reading something 

 bearing on that very question, and would 

 send me the reference later, and here it is. 

 —Ed.] 



V ¥ . .." ■ 



fe-4Q 



OBJECTIONS TO FEXCE.S; BUT PLAIN SEC- 

 TIONS Favored. 

 To produce our crop in the very best way 

 many things have to be considered that even 

 old timers h.^ve not thoroughly mastered. 

 The first step for the next year is 

 taken when you order 5'our sec- 

 tions, and bee keepers are not at 

 all agreed which is best. I had 

 about all kinds the past season, 

 as I ran short and had to use what 

 I could get; and such a conglomer- 

 ation I hope never to have again. 

 Now, while scraping and crating 

 the honey I did a whole lot of 

 thinking. I have used the four- 

 piece 4 '4 sections for many years, 

 and, notwithstanding the higher 

 cost, I sdll prefer them. The same- 

 sized one piece plain sections, how- 

 ever, run them a very close sec- 

 ontl. Indeed, the latter have some 

 advantages that maj' induce me 

 to adopt them exclusivelj'. One 

 reason is that thej' take less space 

 in the shipping-cases. Then, too, 

 thev cost less, and can be put to- 

 gether more quickly. 



