16 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan. 1 



other side of the tank. 

 When one five-yard 

 piece is used up we 

 put another one in its 

 place. We never 

 bother with the old 

 cloth again, nor try to 

 clean it for further 

 straining — we use a 

 new piece instead. 

 What is the use of 

 wasting five dollars' 

 worth of time to save 

 twenty-five or thirty 

 cents' worth of cheese- 

 cloth? The cloth that 

 has been used once, 

 we simi^ly put in wa- 

 ter to soak; and when 

 it is washed and dried 

 we cut it up for use in 

 the house for wiping 

 dishes, etc. With us 

 time is a big factor in 

 extracting. We aim 

 to leave the honey 

 with the bees until 

 the last possible mo- 

 ment; and then on, 

 until the last of it Jis 

 extracted, we do very 

 rapid work, making 

 no false motions to 



hinder our progress. Buckwheat is always 

 due August 5, so we have to keep out of the 

 way of it. 



BUCKWHEAT BEING SOWN MORE EXTEN- 

 SIVELY EACH YEAR. 



Buckwheat is being planted here more 

 and more, and probably this is true in most 

 dairy regions, as the great question with a 

 dairyman is what feed gives the most pounds 

 of milk "at the condensory "? I was talk- 

 ing with a farmer who had a ten-acre field 

 of buckwheat across the valley, and he said, 

 "Last year I made a fool of myself by sell- 

 ing my buckwheat for $1.20, and then turn- 

 ing around and paying $1.50 for feed. I 

 should have had the buckwheat ground with 

 corn or oats, and saved the 30 cents per hun- 

 dred." Many dairymen are thinking the 

 same, and on this account more buckwheat 

 is being sown each year, but the increase 

 will go to increase the dairy ])roducts instead 

 of being made into buckwheat flour for 

 "flai)jacks." However, the blossoms are 

 what the bee-keeper is after any way, and 

 so the dairyman and bee-keeper will fill the 

 land with milk and honey. 



Randolph, N. Y. 



WASPS BUILD CELLS IN A SECTION OF 

 HONEY. 



BY S. N. HATHAWAY. 



Last season I found a curiosity in the 

 shape of four cells built by wasps in a sec- 

 tion of honey. The illustration shows this 

 quite plainly. This .section was a middle 



A CASE WHERE BIRDS NOT OF A FEATHER FLOCKED TOGETHER. 



one in the front row, and this is the only 

 reason I can think of why the bees let the 

 intruder enter the hive so many times; for, 

 besides building the four cells, which in it- 

 self would necessitate many trips, the cells 

 had to be filled with tree-spiders as food for 

 the young wasps in the larval stage. 



A HANDFUL OF BEES THAT DEVELOPED IN- 

 TO A NORMAL COLONY. 



The question has often been asked, "Do 

 bees carry eggs?" Those who doubt this 

 would have some difficulty in solving the 

 following: My neighbor has two hives full 

 of combs — one of the two containing a little 

 honey and a handful of bees. These few 

 bees remained in this condition a month or 

 more, when, as there were no more bees to 

 put into the hive, the entrance was closed. 

 Early in October my neighbor looked into 

 the hive, and to his surprise found the bees 

 still alive, with a fine yellow queen. There 

 were also young bees, some sealed brood 

 nearly ready to hatch, and quite a space of 

 comb filled with eggs. 



Waldron, 111. 



[We assume from what you say that nei- 

 ther of the two hives Contained a full colony 

 of bees, and neither one a queen, when the 

 first examination was made, although the 

 one mentioned had a little honey and a 

 "handful " of bees. While we believe that 

 bees under some circumstances may steal 

 eggs, still this case that you cite is not con- 

 clusive proof. We regard it as probable 

 that a swarm from some other apiary, or 

 perhaps even from a bee-tree, might have 

 taken possession of this hive shortly before 



