504 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



bees did not work on it to any extent till Septem- 

 ber, at M'hich time there was a regular line of bees 

 Ironi the apiary to the field. 



As soon as it was ripe we cut it with a grass- 

 mower, and, later, hauled it in, thrashing it at the 

 same time. We had ten bushels of buckwheat, and 

 the straw was put on the orchard as a mulch for 

 winter. While the yield was nothing extraordina- 

 ry, it should be remembered that it was very dry at 

 the .start, and that the cliicUens had free range of 

 the field, of which they readily took advantage. 

 The buckwheat was led to the chickens during the 

 winter by way of a dainty, and was greatly relished 

 by them. , . , . , , 



When the field was sown the soil was m very bad 

 fonlition, owing, as before stated, to the dry weath- 

 er: but after harrowing it once with a .spring-tooth 

 harrow, after the removal of the buckwheat. It v,'as 

 as fine and loo.se as necessary; and at this writing, 

 the wheat (now nearly ready to harvest) is up to 

 that put in in the usual way. So in summing it up 

 it can be seen to be quite profitable, the expense 

 being only for the seed and labor. 



Lititz, Pa., .July 10. C. B. Snavely. 



Brushing all the Bees on the Ground to Get Rid of 



Laying Workers. 



on page 37(5, June 15, W. "W. Durham tells how he 

 got rid of a laying-worker colony. He said: On 

 looking at them the following morning I found a 

 few dead bees in front." My view would be that, if 

 he had looked around on the ground, he would 

 have found more than a few dead bees, and that he 

 .simply destroyed his old hive, and had a swarm to 

 replace them: ,so, except for getting a new queen, 

 he was no better off than before. To be sure, he got 

 rid of the laying workers, but also of all of the rest 

 of the colony. Am 1 not right? 



\ short time ago we had a laying-worker colony 

 that refused to start queen-cells, so we took the col- 

 ony some distance away and took out all of our 

 frames and brushed the bees on the ground, then 

 put back our frames and exchanged places with a 

 strong colony. As the laying workers can not find 

 the location of their hive they were left on the 

 giound to perish, while the rest of the bees flew 

 back to their old location where we had placed a 

 strong colony. We then gave the hive that had 

 the laying workers a chance to make a queen, 

 which they did. and to-day it is one of our strongest 

 colonies. Is not this an easy way? 



Mrs. L. B. Campbell. 



Santa F^, Isle of Pines, W. 1., .July 6. 



Prairie Clover as a Honey-plant. 



I am sending you a sample of flowers which are 

 all over the hills and prairies here, and from which 

 my bees gather a large amount of honey. The last 

 of the alfalfa was cut a week before sweet clover 

 came in bloom: but in the mean time a heavy flow 

 w as on, and 1 was puzzled. While bringing home 

 our tractor we ran out of gasoline, and were obliged 

 to take a crosscut of two miles to the valley: and 

 all the way I found these flowers, and bees working 

 on them everywhere. Many of my hives have four- 

 comb supers on, and the flow is not more than half 

 over Please let me know what kind of flower this 

 is There is another just like this, only the petals 

 are bright red. The pollen is the same color. 



Elmo. Mont., July 19. A. II. Bell. 



[The plant inclosed with the above letter is what 

 is commonly called "" prairie clover." Gray's Bota- 

 ny tells us it belongs to the pulse family. From 

 tliat book I quote: "Prairie clover: family, Pulxe; 

 genus. PeUdoxteinom: species, Macrostachyus." I 

 think that, during the pa.st few years, this plant 

 has been sent us several times, as I find we have a 

 specimen of it in our herbarium. It does not fol- 

 low that it yields honey every season, as above de- 

 .scribed. There are many jjlants that give a large 

 amount of honey occasionally, when every thing 

 .seems to favor, while they may not give another 

 like it in some years.— A. I. R.] 



The Cause of the Beeswax Explosion. 



On p. 31. .Jan. lo, 1 read your account of an explo- 

 sion of beeswax. You are correct in presuming it 

 was caused by the immediate conversion of water 

 to steam. It was found by Faraday that when wa- 

 ter is freed from air the cohesion of atoms is so 

 great that it does not boil until it reaches a mean 

 temperature of 2(j2" F. The wax inclosed the water, 



thus closing off the air. These same conditions (a 

 film of oil surrounding water) is the accepted theo- 

 ry of the cause of most boiler explosions. When 

 water does boil under these conditions we have a 

 terrific rupture or explosion. 

 Joliet, 111. John E. Staley. 



Shipping Bees from a Warmer to a Colder Climate 

 in Midwinter. 



Would it be possible to ship bees in hives from 

 South Boston, Va., to Alberta, Canada, in January 

 or February? How should they be packed— with or 

 without screen on top? 



South Bo.ston, Va., July 29. G. H. Berg. 



[It would be much easier to ship bees from Canada 

 to South Boston, Va., than from the latter place to 

 Alberta. Canada, during the time mentioned. To 

 answer your ciuestion direct, we don't know wheth- 

 er you could ship bees at that time of the year into 

 a colder climate, without bad results, or not. As a 

 general thing, we do not consider it advisable to 

 stir up bees before they go into a long winter sleep: 

 and yet, on the other hand, we have known cases 

 where colonies were moved in midwinter by sleigh 

 and by railway train, then put into winter quarters, 

 and yet came out in the spring in fine condition. 

 If you put the bees, after moving, into a nice quiet 

 cellar, having a temperature not lower than 40° F., 

 nor higher than D0°, the chances are that the bees 

 will come out in the spring in good order, even 

 though they be moved in January or February.— 

 Ed.] 



Massachusetts Convention of Bee-keepers. 



The Massachusetts Society of Bee-keepers held 

 their annual field-day meet at the home of Mr. H. 

 W. Britton. Stoughton. Mass. Situated in a beauti- 

 ful pine grove, gradually sloping southwesterly to 

 Britton's Pond, a large and handsome sheet of wa- 

 ter, and broad meadows with extensive woodlands 

 in the distance, makes the situation of the Bunga- 

 low Apis an ideal one. When we add to this the 

 cordial welcome and genial hospitality of Mr. Brit- 

 ton and his family, an ideal day, and three or four 

 hundred enthusiastic bee-keepers, the instructive 

 address of Burton N. Gates, our efficient .State In- 

 spector, and the competent handling of bees by 

 President Hrittou. Benj. P. Sands, and the "Bee- 

 king." M. W. Barrett, it may be seen that nothing 

 was lacking to make the day a bright memory to 

 all who were fortunate enough to be jn-esent. 



Resolutions were adopted favoring a stringent 

 regulation of spraying, by the coming legislature. 



Several members were added to the roll of the 

 society. 



Everett, Mass. T.J. Hawkins. 



Bee-keeping in Southern Florida. 



Can you give me any information as to the suc- 

 cess of bee culture in Southern Florida below the 

 frost-line? that is. do bees do well in the sub-trop- 

 ics of the I'nited States? 



Richmond, Ind., July 19. F. N. Fagin. 



[You will see by a series of articles now running 

 in this journal, from the pen of K. G. Baldwin, that 

 bees can be kept very profitably in Southern Flori- 

 da. We would refer you particularly to the article 

 in our issue for July 15, p. 42G. There are many lo- 

 cations much further south In Florida that yield 

 considerable amounts of honey. One of the most 

 extensive bee-keepers in the world is located near 

 the extreme end of the peninsula.— Ed.] 



Two Extremes in Treating Foul Brood : Which is 

 Right ? 



The McEvoy treatment of foul brood seems to 

 stand between two extremes. I have a bee-keeping 

 friend who says, " Burn every thing that was ever 

 touched by foul brood— not only the frames but the 

 hive-bodies. Burning them out, charring them till 

 coffee-brown, will not protect you." There is an- 

 other extreme. A certain writer said in Glean- 

 ings .some time ago that he places the affected col- 

 onies on top of a strong colony which will clean 

 house thoroughly. He also says that he will use 

 the extracted combs that were on top of diseased 

 colonies, the following season. Isn't that rather 

 risky? Kindly let me know your opinion on the 

 following question: 



My colonies got foul brood late last fall. The col- 

 onies showing foul brood got the McEvoy treat- 



