1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



91 



My 50 swarms of bees are ia grood condition to date. 

 I think this winter will call for another cartoon for 

 Blasted Hopes. L. D. Gale. 



Stedman, Chaut. Co., N. Y., Jan. IT, 1881. 



I began bee-keeping last spring by taking a hive 

 on shares. I got about 30 lbs. of honey, and two 

 swarms from it, which I thought was doing pretty 

 well for last year. We shall probably get more bees 

 in the spring. I use Mrs. Cotton's hive, and, so far 

 as I know, it is a good one. Chas. O. Meloon. 



Portsmouth, N. H., Jan. 8, 1881. 



It has been cold here; 24° below zero has been 

 touched. Box-hlvc bee-men are reporting heavy 

 losses of bees. Mine in chaff hives are still able to 

 raise a whiz-z-z. They haven't had a good fly for 

 nearly two mom hs. How do your Palestinites seem 

 to stand severe weather? J. W. Carter. 



Pleasant Dale, Hampshire Co , W. Va., Jan. i;!, '81. 



[Palestine bees are "O K" so far.] 



REPORT IN BRIEF OF AN A B C SCHOLAR. 



In 1878 T got '.i colonies In box hives, and lost them 

 all by dwindling in March, 1879. I then began again 

 and got my first colony, a swarm, June 28, 1879; got 25 

 lbs. comb honey in 1879, and 149 lbs. ditto in 1880, 

 mostly 1-lb. sections: 81 lbs. extracted in 1880. How 

 is that for an A B C scholar less than two years old? 



Milton Kru.m. 



Hurleyville, SuU. Co., N. Y., Dec. ."?, 1880. 



SCOTLAND HEATHER-HONEY. 



As far as I can lejira from various districts in 

 Scotland here, bees are all in excellent condition, in 

 which I hope they will continue till spring. The 

 last heather-honey harvest here was the best for 

 upward of 50 years. The weather has been stormy 

 for the past 10 days, but more settled and mild to- 

 day. John D. Hutchison. 



Glasgow, Scotland, Dec. 14, 1880. 



I have been looking through my bees, and 1 find 

 they are standing the winter very well. They have 

 a sufficient amount of honey to last them until 

 spring, and I also notice eggs and young brood in 

 the combs. I am glad to tell you that I have been 

 successful. I also profited by giving my attention 

 to them during the leisure hours I have had from 

 my farm. J. W. Traylor. 



Mt. Joy, Delta Co., Texas, Jan. 14, 1881. 



I should like to ask you a question if it isn't too 

 much trouble; that is, will It do to turn bees on the 

 honey or in the hive that our bees died in? 



D. C. Stringe. 



Clinton Falls, Putnam Co., Ind., Jan. 12, 1881. 



[It will do no harm whatever to pvit your bees in 

 the hive where other bees have died, after the 

 weather gets warm.] 



bitter honey. 



Bees last year increased from 14 swarms to 47; 

 sold 13 tested queens, and took 400 lbs. of hone5', and 

 might have taken 400 more, but the honey was so 

 bitter we could not Sell it, so left it for the bees. 

 We think it was made from a yellow weed that 

 grows very plentifully in our streets. I Intend to 

 remove them into the country, 3 miles from Ft. 

 Smith, and see if the quality of the honey will not 

 be improved. Stacy Pettit. 



Ft. Smith, Ark., Jan. 17, ItiPl. 



home-made horse-powers. 



Will H. L. B., who speaks of his Adams horse-pow- 

 er in Gleanings, page 37, please give your readers 

 a description of his power, showing how the rim, or 

 felloes, were made? of what kind of lumber? 

 whether he had to strengthen it with iron rods for 

 ties, etc., so that a person with or without the aid of 

 a carpenter could make one the first time trying? 



Lucius Snow. 



Blakesburg, Wapello Co., Iowa, Jan. 12, 1881. 



[Will H. L. B. please answer?] 



Will you tell us in next Gleanings what are the 

 peculiar properties of the little piece of steel or 

 iron that comes with the magnet? It seems to have 

 ways of its own. J. E. Dart. 



Farmer City, 111., Jan. 8, 1881. 



[It is, or should be, simply a little piece of pure 

 soft iron; it has no property different from any oth- 

 er iron, and is simply put on the magnet to unite 

 the poles, and thus hold or keep the magnetism. I 

 have been thinking of giving some of the experi- 

 ments that may be performed with one of these lit- 

 tle magnets, if we have a sufficient number among 

 our readers who would be Interested in the matter.] 



ALFALFA AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



Do you grow alfalfa clover on your honey farm? 

 If you have not, doubtless some of your readers in 

 Ohio have. Will It pay for bee pasture and feed for 

 stock, or will Alsike pay better? I have about 15 

 acres to sow to clover next spring. 



J. C. Phillips. 



Westchester, Butler Co., O., Jan. 1, 1881. 



[We have a small patch of alfalfa, and It does pret- 

 ty well so far as forage is concerned, especially in 

 the way of standing drought; but although it has 

 been in blossom two seasons, I have never yet seen 

 a bee on it to my recollection. It may be that it is 

 because the plat is small; still, I can not think 

 bees would find very much honey on it, or they 

 would be there sometimes.] 



bees and baskets; more about willows. 

 I here inclose a cutting taken from a small tree 

 growing in my garden. It was in bloom last spring, 

 and the bees seemed to be very busy on it. It was 

 given to me by a Mr. Samuels, of Clinton, Ky., about 

 10 miles from here. Mr. S. is one of the proprietors 

 of the Mississippi Valley nurseries. I also inclose 

 their description of it, cut out of a catalogue: 



Viminalis— Basket Willow. Bee Willow. A rapid growing 

 tree with catkinlike ttoweis in early spring. A grood shade tree, 

 and the Hower.s are valuable for bees. The twigs are excellent 

 tor inakinR ba.skets. 



It is of a very thrifty growth, and blooms young 

 and early. Eli Reeves. 



Cayce, Fulton Co.. Ky., Jan. 15, 1881. 



[Here is the point, friends. We will grow willows 

 to make up baskets during the winter, and to fur- 

 nish the first honey and pollen in the spring. Wil- 

 low baskets are the most durable known, are they 

 not? and there is always a good market for them, if 

 made cheap enough. Who will tell us more about it ?] 



LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. 



One of our little girls got snake-bitten, and all to- 

 gether kept Mr. Mosher so much at home that he 

 could not make a living for his family. Now, we 

 are all well again, and he has not time to write, so 1 

 have to do his writing for him. He told me this 

 morning that he expected we should have to do 



