1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



143 



ing remark. Now, there is one more bit of 

 comfort in your report. You saved your 

 bees (like a sensible woman) by protecting 

 them with litter from the horse stables ; and 

 that old experiment of mine, where I bought 

 40 loads, was not faulty in theory, bnt simply 

 in practice ; I had not yet got the hang of it. 



$d^§ and §nwi%i. 



COTTON SEED FUR WINTER PACKING, ETC. 



f|HE{lmisinbloom. Queens are laying- nicely. 

 Lost one colony during' winter. Those packed 

 ■ — ' in cotton seed ai-e all iu the best condition. 

 Hurrah for cotton seed I it is the thing for bive pack- 

 ing; it will not mold if it gets a little damp. The 

 busy season is upon us. Oats are being- put in the 

 ground in a hurrj'. Corn-planting will commence 

 in ten days. B. F. Carroll. 



Dresden, Navarro Co., Texas, Feb. 5, 1881. 



Bees In cellar all quiet and right thus far. 

 Coleraln, Mass., Feb. 7, '81. Wm. W. Gary. 



WHICH IS THE BEST SMOKER? 



I have used the Quinby, the Bingham, and your 

 smokers; and for all purposes I like the large-size 

 new Quinby smoker best. J. G. Martin. 



Reidenbach's Store, T.an. Co., Pa., Feb. 7, 1881. 



In reply to Mr. E. Cadwell about smokers, T will 

 say I have tried hot-blast smokers, but they send 

 down sparks, and are liable to set the hive on fire, 

 and are so hot that you can not bare your hand in 

 the smoke. I used one, and I did not lilje it; so I 

 sent for a Simplicity tmoker, and there is none made 

 to beat it. First, it does not blow hot smoke; sec- 

 ond, it gives more smoke than any other smoker; in 

 fact, it is the best smoker in the market. 



West Woodstock, Ct., Feb., 1881. A. S. Myers. 



We are losing our bees in this section, with what 

 seems to be dysentei-y. I am feeding mine candy. 

 They seem better. Hope to save some of them. 



D. B. BuziCK. 



AsLland, Saunders Co., Neb., Jan. 31, 1881. 



DIPPING foundation. 



I think I have got up a dipping machine that is a 

 success. I sent and got a Faris machine, but mine 

 beats it. I have us?d mine two years, but have im- 

 proved on it. Geo. W. Penn. 



Colfax, Iowa, Jan. 24, 1881. 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



My bees, 100 swarms, seem to be doing well in the 

 cellar, and with our steady cold weather I can't see 

 how they would be better off out of doors in chaff. 

 Winter set in about Nov. Uth, and no days since, 

 warm enough for bees to fly. L. Beckwith. 



Berlin, Green Lake Co , Wis., Feb. 4, 1881. 



CALIFORNIA. 



Bees have been working briskly on willow ever 

 since Christmas. I have had some seven-top turnip 

 in bloom since New Year's; will send you some 

 blooms. If some of you had the pollen that my Ital- 

 ians have gathered, and could spare, you would not 

 think of flour as feed. John S. King. 



San Jose, Santa Clara Co., Cal., Jan. 28, 1881. 



WILD CUCDxMBER, ETC. 



Last year was n':»t a good year with us; but by mo- 



ving part of mine out they did very well. I in- 

 creased from 81 to 16.5 colonies, and sold $85 worth 

 of honey. We have a honey-plant here I never 

 heard you mention. We call it wild cucumber; it 

 grows abundantly on the bottom, and bees gather 

 from it extensively. It will do well on any soil. 

 Peru, 111., Feb. 7, 1881. H. S. Hackman. 



FRIEND MUTH AND HIS VICINITY. 



Examined 20 of my colonies, and found them in 

 first-class condition. One of them was rather weak, 

 but will pull through. Some had brood in all stages. 

 Weather would not permit me to finish my examin- 

 ation. From the reports I hear, I have reason to be- 

 lieve that 75 per cent of all the bees in Ohio and Ind- 

 iana are winter-killed. Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, O., Feb. 11, 1881. 



not in blasted hopes after all. 



Notwithstanding you pushed me into Blasted 

 Hopes last summer without my permission, we still 

 survive, having about finished selling the heaviest 

 crop of fall honey we ever had gathered, and pros- 

 pects for the future are at present encouraging, 

 provided our pets get through this extremely cold 

 winter in good shape. Chas. H. Rue. 



Manalapan, Mon. Co., N. J., Jan. 18, 188L 



ROBBING, HOW TO STOP. 



Simply fold a wet rag, and regulate the entrance 

 according to the extent of the robbing. 



Peru, 111., Feb. 9, 1881. fl. s. Hackman. 



[Thanks, friend H. ; but 1 believe the above has 

 been substantially given in our back No's. A wet 

 cloth, or wet grass, seems to have the effect of at 

 least dieeouraging and repelling robbers, when 

 placed near the entrance.] 



GOOD NEWS PROM MR. LANGSTROTH. 



Deir Brother Root .-—It has pleased the kind Father 

 to restore me to health; and, excepting the increas- 

 ing infirmities of age (I was 70 last Christmas), I am 

 in most respects as well as I have been for many- 

 years. L. L. Lanqstkoth. 



Oxford, O., Feb. 13, 1881. 



[Knowing how deeply you all are interested in any 

 word from our friend and benefactor Mr. L., I take 

 the liberty of giving the above brief note.] 



THE FOUL-BROOD QUESTION IN MICHIGAN. 



Several bee-keepers iu this vicinity are consider- 

 ing the feasibility of holding a convention in De- 

 troit this spring. The question of foul brood is de- 

 manding attention, and the elEciency of the law 

 about to be passed in our State in regard to it de- 

 pends on the activity of bee-keepers. Will those 

 who favor the enterprise please send me their 

 names? A. B. Weed. 



75 Bagg St., Detroit, Mich., Feb. 18, 1881. 



How are bees wintering? Mine are wintering very 

 poorly. I have over 40 swarms in cellar. Bees have 

 not had a day they could fly since Nov. 6. 



William Vanauken. 



Wocdville, Jeff. Co., N. Y., Jan. 21, 1881. 



[Ours, at this date (Feb. 8ih), are in pretty fair 

 condition, except the ones in the house apiary. Of 

 those out of doors, we have lost about 5 per cent, 

 and the worst part of it is, this 5 per cent includes 

 two Holy-Land queens and one Cyprian. One of the 

 Holy Land queens had what we called the best col- 

 ony of bees in the apiary, and the best supplied with 

 stores. They seemed to have dysentery, for their 

 well-filled combs were pretty badly daubed,] 



