L 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



growth of young plants. These young plants 

 can withstand a dry fall and a hard winter 

 also, and make a good honey-flow the next 

 June, as was the case in my locality in 1897. 

 The fore part of 1897 was favorable. From 

 July 22 until November 1 there was not J 

 inch of rainfall. In 1898 I averaged over 

 100 lbs. per colony of white-clover honey; so 

 you see that, to have a honey-flow this year, 

 we must have had a favorable time to start 

 a lot of young plants the year before. 



The winter has nothing to do with the 

 amount of white-clover blossoms we have. 

 It all depends upon the amount of rainfall 

 that we have in summer. 



Now I want a few words on what causes 

 large and small honey-flows, and when we 

 must expect a bumper crop or a moderate 

 one. I will take four seasons in Iowa to il- 

 lustrate. The year 1901 was about the dri- 

 est on record here. The result was, that in 

 the spring of 1902 the pastures were bare in 

 a great many places. Spots a yard square 

 would not have a sprig of grass on them, 

 with plenty of rain in the spring of 1902, 

 also good warm weather. The white clover 

 filled all of these vacant places. The rains 

 continued all season — in fact, were exces- 

 sive. The result was that, in 1903, there be- 

 ing no old plants in the way, these young 

 plants outdid themselves. It took plenty of 

 ■ rain, though. Now for a moderate honey- 

 flow, or an average one. 



You will find that the bumper crop will be 

 secured the second season after a severe 

 drouth. Then as old plants (that is, plants 

 two years old) will not bloom as profusely 

 as a plant one year old, the third season you 

 may expect only a moderate honey-flow, 

 and the flows will be moderate until the 

 drouth cleans out all the old plants, and you 

 begin over. 



Washington, la., Aug. 29. 



[You have evidently given this subject 

 careful study. If your rule or rules will 

 work out in all parts of the country it will 

 mean much to bee-keepers who, if they could 

 know definitely whether they are going to 

 have a crop or not, will be able to make their 

 plans accordingly. The result will be that 

 they will be able to save in some cases and 

 earn in others hundreds of dollars. 



I should be glad to hear from a large num- 

 ber of our subscribers from many portions of 

 the country as to how well these rules have 

 worked out for the last five or ten years. 

 Possibly by comparing notes we may learn 

 something. I do not know of any more im- 

 portant question for discussion during the 

 winter months than this. 



According to your rule we have thus far 

 for this locality had all the necessary condi- 

 tions for a white-clover honey-flow next sea- 

 son; and now you ask, "How has this rule 

 worked with you in the past?" We have 

 kept here no records; but as nearly as I can 

 remember the rule has held out in practice 

 in this part of this country.— Ed.] 



WHEN CLOVER YIELDS HONEY. 



Bee-stings for Rheumatism; how to find Queens 

 Quickly. 



BY S. F. TREGO. 



An abundance of white clover in the fall 

 is not always a sure sign of an abundance of 

 honey the next June— page 924. There was 

 white clover everywhere around here last 

 fall, and yet very little honey. The ground 

 is again covered with a heavy growth, and 

 we hope for better things in 1905. 



I thmk the sting or poison of wasps, hor- 

 nets, bumble-bees, and yellow-jackets dif- 

 fers from that of our honey-bees. They pain 

 me much more than honey-bees. Even the 

 little yellow-jacket, scarcely larger than a 

 fly, inflicts much more pain than a bee. 



Isn't it more than likely that the colony 

 that refused to build cells when queenless, 

 page 938, was not queenless at all? I believe 

 more often than many think there are two 

 queens in a hive, and of course the removal 

 of one does not render the colony queenless. 



I believe bee-stings are a benefit, at least, 

 to those who are troubled with rheumatism. 

 From childhood I have been troubled with 

 rheumatism in my left arm; but when I be- 

 gan to handle bees, at the age of 18, the 

 trouble was greatly relieved, especially dur- 

 ing warm weather when I was among the 

 bees. Later I was out of bees for two 

 years, and the pain was very severe at 

 times, often keeping me awake nights; but 

 as soon as I began to handle bees again, and 

 get a liberal dose of stings daily, the pain 

 disappeared, and very seldom troubles me 

 except in winter. 



Recently I have had some experience in 

 unqueening black and hybrid bees in a 

 wholesale way. I took a job of requeening 

 56 colonies for a neighbor; and as he seldom 

 handles his combs I had quite a problem to 

 solve. The bees were mostly in Dovetailed 

 hives with Hoffman frames, and gloriously 

 glued; besides this, some of the combs were 

 crooked. Here is how I managed it: I spread 

 a sheet in front of the hive, and on it, about 

 3 ft. in front of the hive, I placed an empty 

 super, I would set the hive on the super 

 crosswise, leaving the bottom-board on the 

 stand, glance over the bees on the bottom- 

 board to see if the queen was there, then 

 remove the cover, smoke well on top of the 

 frames to drive the bees down, and then 

 pick the hive up and give it about ten smart 

 jars, drum out the super, replace the hive 

 on the stand, remove the super out of the 

 way, and with the smoker start the bees 

 running into the hive, and pick the queen up 

 as she traveled across the white, sheet in 

 plain sight. 



In finding a queen in my own apiary I 

 work differently, as the combs are easily re- 

 moved. I decide by a sort of instinct or 

 knowledge, gained from long experience, 

 where the brood-nest is (I refer to late fall 

 work, when there is usually brood in only 

 one or two combs) . I carefully lift out the 



