868 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



the act of laying. I, too, have seen them laying. 

 I was looking for laying workers on a comb, when 

 my attention was attracted by a bee walking back- 

 ward. I watched that bee, and was surprised to see 

 her lay an egg, after walking in a small circle back- 

 ward. I saw her do this four times, and each time 

 she either walked backward or turned around two 

 or three times. She did not select a cell and place 

 her abdomen in it carefully, as a queen does, but 

 just pushed her abdomen in anywhere ; and she 

 took only about half the time to lay an egg that the 

 queen does. Douglas Brearley. 



Subiaco, Perth, W. A., Nov. 12. 



Honey xrom Bitterweed 



I have made a few observations during the present 

 season that may be of interest to the beekeeping 

 fraternity. First, the drouth from the last of April 

 to the first week in July was so severe that wells 

 dried up that never had failed before, and farmers 

 had to haul water. 



The bees simply sulked, and subsisted on what 

 they had gathered in the spring. No hive could be 

 opened because of robbers, and my table saw no 

 honey until last week. 



In July we had a few light showers, and the bees 

 went to work on smartweed, Spanish needle, part- 

 ridge pea, and cotton. They stored about one shal- 

 low super to the hive of a very dark but pleasantly 

 flavored honey. Then the drouth returned, and in 

 their desperation the bees worked on the yellow dog- 

 fennel, or bitterweed, that infests our pastures, and 

 makes milk too bitter for drinking. The result was 

 sheets of the most beautiful honey I have ever seen. 

 It is clear, and of a bright canary color, but bitter 

 and uneatable. Fortunately they stored it in sep- 

 arate combs from the dark honey, which rarely had 

 a trace of it. We had to taste every comb before 

 uncapping, so as not to taint the extractor. So I have 

 learned that, at least sometimes, the bees store differ- 

 ent honeys separately. I at once replaced the beauti- 

 ful bright golden comb on the hives for winter feed, 

 three combs to a colony. I know the weed is not 

 unwholesome, for I have often drunk milk that was 

 not quite too bitter from it, and kittens thrive on 

 such milk. 



THE BEES KNEW THEM. 



One mure queer circumstance in line with the 

 color discussion has claimed my attention for weeks. 

 A dark bay mare with black mane and tail, together 

 with her almost grown brown mule colt, grazed day 

 after day among my thirty hives without being an- 

 noyed or stung. My hives stand in pairs with about 

 eighteen inches between them, and I have often 

 seen those animals grazing those narrow spaces, and 

 yet, so far as I could judge, the bees did not object, 

 and they are hybrids. My manager, who owns the 

 mare, thinks it is because the bees have known the 

 horses always, and the horses do not shake their 

 heads nor show fear of them. The most incredible 

 circumstance is that no strange horse or mule can 

 graze near the apiary, though outside the fence, with- 

 out being attacked. As Dooley says, " There ye 

 arre." No, Mr. Editor, you do not have to believe 

 this yarn. I hardly think I would believe it myself 

 if I had not seen it ; but it's true, all the same. 



Florence, Ala., Sept. 24. H. A. Moody, M.D. 



Use of Propolis in Dressing Wounds. 



It would appear that some use has been found at 

 last for propolis, which we beekeepers could more 

 fully appreciate if the sticky stuff could be stored in 

 a mass in some particular place instead of being 

 smeared about. The following is taken from „he 

 Scientific American of Nov. 1, 1913: 



"Propolis tor Sttrgical Dressings. — The resin- 

 ous substance collected by bees from the buds of 

 trees, and used by them to stop up crevices in the 



hives, has just received a novel application in sur- 

 gery, according to L'llhistration. 



" When this viscous substance is distilled in the 

 crude state there is obtained a brownish liquid of 

 unctious consistency known as propolisine. When 

 this is applied, either pure or mixed, with 25 to 30 

 per cent of vaseline, to the surface of a clean wound, 

 this is covered with a sort of isolating (insulating?) 

 varnish which has an immediate soothing effect, and 

 in whose protection healing takes place under the 

 best conditions. Parvel and Meyer, who have been 

 experimenting with it, affirm that it is very useful 

 in surgery, and, when used on battlefields, generally 

 prevents septic and infectious complications." 



I venture a prediction that the supply will always 

 equal the demand. Now, who wants to buy? 



Hoboken, N. J. C. D. Cheney. 



Smoke Plan of Introduction Unsuccessful. 



I note tliat Mr. Miller claims that his smoke plan 

 of introduction is always successful. It has been a 

 failure with me except in a few cases. Here are 

 some of my experiences. 



On the morning of August 21 I removed one 

 laying queen from No. 78, and two laying queens 

 from No. .34. In the evening of the same day I 

 introduced laying queens from nuclei to these two 

 hives by the smoke method. On Aug. 22 I found 

 the queen in No. 34 dead, and queen in 78 balled. 

 I released the queen and smoked the bees and closed 

 up the hive for ten minutes again. 



On Aug. 24 I looked into No. 78 and found the 

 queen still balled and queen-cells about ready to 

 seal. I smoked the bees away from the queen, and 

 she seemed to be all right. 



I then removed the queen from No. 15 and intro- 

 duced this same queen to this hive by the smoke 

 plan ; but on looking into the hive a couple of days 

 later I found the queen missing and cells started. 



I used dry rotten wood for smoker fuel. 



There was plenty of honey coming in, and no 

 robbing was going on ; but there was some swarm- 

 ing. Robert Watt. 



Mt. Carmel, 111., Sept. 8. 



Cane Sugar Better for Candy. 



In regard to the trouble so many have with feed- 

 ing hard candy, let them take a tip from a profes- 

 sional candy-maker, and use o^nly cane sugar — never 

 leet svgar. 



Seattle, Wash., Sept. 11. D. D. Whedon. 



The Honey Harvest 



BV GRACE ALLEN 



Harvesters of wealth of wheat, yellow corn, and oats. 

 Garnered where the heavy heat in waves of wonder 



floats. 

 What have you in all your harvest, what in all your 



fields, 

 Like unto the honey that the soul of summer yields? 

 There's miracle and mystery within your golden 



grain, 

 The earth is in it, and the sun, and all the rushing 



rain. 

 But mystery and miracle and rushing rain and sun 

 Are all within the honey and the tale not well begun ! 

 There's liquid light that shimmered through the per- 

 fumed-haunted hours, 

 -There's essence of the romance and the passion of the 



flowers ; 

 There's fragrant warmth and winsomeness, with 



every drop agleam 

 With the tenderness and magic of a summer-hearted 



dream. 



