1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1027 



honey-producint^ plants of the country, their 

 times of blossoming, amount and quality of 

 yield, with notes as to cultural methods, etc., 

 so that in time we shall be able to know ex- 

 actly what period is to be filled in, and what 

 plants will serve the purpose for any given 

 section or region of the country. We shall 

 then be in a position to advise intending 

 bee-keepers, or those already engaged in 

 honey-production or other apiarian work in 

 any part of the country, more intelligently 

 than is possible at the present time; and we 

 shall also be able to know better what for- 

 eign introductions are likely to be valuable 

 in any part of the country. 

 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 

 Bureau of Entomology, Washington. 



[The bee-keepers of the country need to 

 note what the Department is about to do for 

 them in a line of investigation that may 

 mean very much. It is a source of great 

 gratification that our government is taking 

 the interest it is in our pursuit. No small 

 share of credit is due Mr. Benton, its ex- 

 pert, for this recent awakening of interest. 

 -Ed.] 



^^^f^mti 



STINGLESS BEES THAT WOULD PROVE A DE- 

 SIRABLE ACQUISITION IN THIS COUNTRY. 



Mr. Root:— You will be thinking I am very 

 long in sending you the stingless bees; but 

 it is almost useless to try an experiment of 

 that kind from this country. When I get to 

 Porto Rico I will make a trial shipment and 

 see. These bees are very difl^erent from 

 the Cuban sort; in fact, they would readily 

 pass for Italians, the leather-colored kind. 

 They give about two gallons at a " cutting, ' ' 

 say twice a year. They are so tame that 

 any number can be kept on the veranda, 

 with people passing all the while. If very 

 much worried they will bite, but not hard. 

 I have been told of a kind that is "white," 

 but this probably means yellow. These bees 

 have been domesticated for ages, probably 

 since long before Columbus. I wonder if 

 the Carnegie trust would furnish me the 

 money to follow this matter up. I feel ab- 

 solutely certain that in California and Flori- 

 da they will prove a desirable acquisition. 

 W. K. Morrison. 



Prince's Town, Trinidad, Sept. 10. 



[Perhaps we could interest Uncle Sam. — 

 Ed.] 



number-tags made of pieces of sections. 

 Having read descriptions of the different 

 numbering-tags in Gleanings I send a de- 

 scription and cut of tags which I am using 



with much satisfaction, and are certainly 

 cheap enough for any one. The tags them- 

 selves are made of old broken sections, 

 which are usually handy to every bee-keep- 

 er, and are made in my case (since my colo- 

 nies as yet can be numbered with two fig- 

 ures) two inches in length by the width of 

 the section. These numbers are made with 

 a $1.00 stencil set, and are an almost indis- 

 pensable article about the house and shop in 

 labeling signs, bags, etc. The numbers are 

 one inch in height. 



As to the method of fastening on the hive, 

 three small staples are used, slanting inward 

 as in illustration. This leaves the tag free 

 to slip in and out at pleasure. These staples 

 can be purchased at the hardware store for 

 about one cent an ounce. 



If desired, these tags can be used as a 

 hive-record, the same as the small slates, by 

 making them square and then turning to the 

 right, left, and upside down; and, to increase 

 the combinations, drive three more staples 

 in one corner of the hive, or even two cor- 

 ners, as the staples are so cheap. 



Arthur H. McGray. 



Duvall, 0., June 21. 



HOW TO INTRODUCE TO A COLONY LONG 

 QUEENLESS. 



Please give me a method of introducing a 

 queen to a colony which has been queenless 

 for two or three weeks. I have not had 

 much experience with bees. 



Sylvia Miller. 



Conway, Kan., Sept. 21. 



[A colony that has been queenless some 

 two or three weeks may or may not have 

 laying workers. It may possibly be hope- 

 lessly queenless, in which case it would ac- 

 cept any queen that you give them without 

 the formality of caging. First look through 

 the hive very carefully and see if there are 

 any evidences of laying workers — two or 

 more eggs in a queen-cell, or several eggs in 

 worker-cells, the laying more or less patchy 

 comb, in some cells no eggs, in others one or 

 more. It may be a little late to find any 

 eggs, even if the laying workers are present. 

 If there are no indications of such laying 

 worker, let a virgin or laying queen run in 

 among them. If they treat her kindly, show 

 a hum of rejoicing, you will have no trouble. 

 If the queen is balled it may be advisable to 

 unite this colony with some other strong 

 colony, or treat the hive as if it had laying 

 workers. —Ed.] 



