GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Wild Bees and Their Honey 



I am sending a few of the bees variously 

 called Mexican bees, Spanish bees, and wild 

 bees. The comb is of paper instead of wax. 

 Their honey is said to be very sweet, and is 

 deposited in the comb in layers round and 

 round the circumference of the nest. The 

 nest is built in the branches of some tree or 

 shrub. I do not believe that the honey is 

 any better than that of the domestic bee, 

 but depends altogether upon the character 

 of the nectar obtained, just ihe same as that 

 gathered by any other bee. The report of 

 its excellence comes from the testimony of 

 some boys who robbed out a nest; and the 

 extravagance of their statement is probably 

 the outgrowth of an intense love of honey 

 gratified in an unusual and unexpected man- 

 ner. 



These little fellows stung me up some 

 when I caught them to put them in the 

 cage, but especially when I cut oif a scrap 

 of their nest to send you. The nest looks 

 like a hornet-nest, egg-shaped, about 12 

 inches long by 10 inches thru. 



La Feria, Texas. George M. Plumb. 



[The bees sent by our correspondent are 

 considerably smaller than ordinary honey- 

 bees and are more brilliantly colored. The 

 head and thorax look very much like those 

 of ordinary bees except that they are small- 

 er. The abdomen is quite different. The 

 upper part is not segmented, but bald and 

 jet black. The lower part is segmented, the 

 segments being a brilliant light yellow, ap- 

 proaching somewhat the color of yellow- 

 jackets. The abdomen ends in a sharp point. 

 We have seen similar bees occasionally, and 

 they are found quite frequently in Florida. 

 Sometimes there are strains or varieties very 

 similar in shape and size, but having a 

 greenish luster. 



The nest, as mentioned by our correspon- 

 dent, is fibrous; and, with the exception that 

 the cells are smaller, it looks very much 

 like a hornet-nest, the material being evi- 

 dently made in the same way, and looking 

 like paper pulp. — Ed.] 



Probably Pure Honey 



We are mailing you under separate cover 

 part of a tumbler of honey. This represents 

 some of the contents of some tumbler honey 

 picked up on the market which is put up 

 by a Chicago concern at a very low figure; 

 and while the color is good it does not taste 

 just right. We would thank you to advise 

 us just what you think of this honey. 



Penn, Miss. The Penn Co. 



[We should not be suspicious of this 

 honey, because it seems to have sufficient 

 flavor to justify the belief that it is pure. 

 If it is adulterated at all it is adulterated 

 with invert sugar, and the price of invert 

 sugar at the present time is such that it 

 would bo practically impossible to put that 

 in and make any money, providing the hon- 



ey was sold at a low price. It is our opinion 

 that this is a sample of pure honey; but you 

 will remember that good honey of good 

 flavor is selling at a very low price, and it 

 would be possible to make up a blend of 

 several of these cheap honeys and still keep 

 them all pure. — Ed.] 



Four Untested Queens, but Purely Mated 



After reading Mr. Webb 's experience 

 with untested Italian queens, page 74, Jan. 

 15, and the editor's request for others' ex- 

 perience, I take the liberty to send mine, 

 tho in only a small way. Last summer I 

 sent for five untested Italian queens from 

 four different breeders and succeeded in 

 introducing four, one from each breeder, and 

 all four proved to be truly mated. 



Tuxedo Park, N. Y. E. Wilson. 



Death of Jacob Creighton 

 Jacob Creighton, of New Haven, Hamil- 

 ton County, Ohio, a beekeeper of fifty years' 

 experience, died December 11, 1915, of pneu- 

 monia. He was a veteran of the Civil war, 

 and in his 71st year at the time of his death. 

 He leaves four daughters to mourn his 

 death. He owned an apiary of 103 colonies, 

 and was very successful as a beekeeper, and 

 exhibited bees and honey of his own produc- 

 tion several years at the county fair at 

 Carthage, Ohio. 



Hartwell, Ohio. C. A. Brooks. 



Making Hives 



By Grace Allen 



Oh, it's tap-tap-tap — 

 Hear the hammer striking. 

 Shaping up a thing today for years and years 

 to come, 

 Making of some piney boards, 

 Nails and honest effort, 

 A home for bees to live in and to labor in 

 and hum. 



So it's rap-rap-rap — 

 See the nails drive under. 

 Patient nails to cling and hold while bees 

 throb out and die. 

 While days with tender dawns 

 And pomp of purple evenings 

 Close their scrolls forever as the years go 

 rolling by. 



So it's rap-tap-tap — ■ 

 He and I together. 

 Making hives with patient nails and vision- 

 ing and thought. 

 Nations are at war; 

 Yet not alone in battle. 

 But here in work and wonder too. His pur- 

 poses are wrought. 



