190 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



M'HAT AN A B C SCHOLAR HAS LEARNED BY EXPE- 

 RIENCE. 



I have just commenced bee-keeping, and I don't 

 expect to make a failure. I have 3 Italian queens 

 that I bought last year, and one I got from E. M. 

 Hayhurst. She was out of the hive 36 hours, and it 

 was 8 days before I could get her to lay, and then I 

 had to give her a frame of eggs and larvae, and had 

 to build her up in the fall for winter. But her 

 daughters are hard to beat. I was over them all, 

 yesterday, and they had sealed brood in 4 or 5 combs, 

 but she hadn't an egg. "Would you breed from her 

 or her daughter? She is very dark, and her daugh- 

 ter very light, and two spotted. Would you raise 

 drones from the same queen this j'ear that you did 

 last, or would you change? I am going to work for 

 honey till I get thoroughly Italianized, and then for 

 queens and honey. 



This has been a hard winter on bees. I think 50 

 per cent of bees in this pait are dead. One neigh- 

 bor has lost 13 out of 16. I have lost 25 per cent. 



CAUTION ABOUT DIVIDING. 



One thing I have learned, and it has cost me 80 lbs. 

 of sugar and 4 stands of bees, and that is, not to di- 

 vide too much. Will it improve Italians to cross 

 them with Cyprian and Holj--Land bees? 



BRINGING FROZEN BEES TO LIFE. 



I found a colony of bees dead, and was anxious to 

 see the queen; and while I was looking at her 

 through my magnifyiug-glass, she came to life, and 

 I fetched the bees in the house and warmed them 

 up, and in half an hour I had a good swarm all right. 



Wm. Malone. 



Oakley, Lucas Co., Iowa, March 7, 1881. 



I should not want to rear queens nor 

 drones from any queen that was not a good 

 layer ; but so far as the latter are concerned, 

 it is quite unlikely your young queens will 

 meet any drones reared in your apiary. I 

 should pay very little attention to the color 

 of a queen, if I were rearing bees for honey. 

 I can not tell whether the Cyprian and Holy- 

 Land strain is going to be a benefit or not ; 

 but I am inclined to think they are. The 

 present season will tell, doubtless. You are 

 not the first one, friend M., who has brought 

 a swarm to life, after they were apparently 

 dead through cold and lack of stores. 



BLUE THISTLE AGAIN; A CAUTION. 



Being desirous of knowing more about the quali- 

 ties of blue thistle (jEc/iiion viilr/are),! sent a number 

 of letters of inquiry to bee-keepers and others liv- 

 ing in New Yo rk, Virginia, Georgia, and other States, 

 and from their kind replies the following was 

 gleaned :— 



That beside "blue thistle" there ai'e two other 

 weeds growing in the U. S., belonging to the 

 Composite family, which are sometimes called blue 

 thistle; that the blue thistle that you sell Is "the 

 most enterprising" of the lot. 



The most of the friends agree that, once in the 

 ground, it is there for ever, and that all efforts to 

 eradicate it will fail; that it spreads rapidly; that it 

 injures oats, corn, wheat, hay, etc. But the greatest 

 damagp is done to pastures. Several writers agree 

 that, if let alone, it will completely cover the ground 

 and choke out all other vegetation except briers. 

 This would be a very serious matter to us living in 

 the North, who depend so largely upon producing 



cheese, beef, and wool. I believe the most of us bee- 

 keepers would rather stick to our splendid yield of 

 white-clover honey than have our pastures covered, 

 or partially covered, with blue thistle, and allowing 

 it to take the place of clover. They all agree that 

 stock will not eat it. 



But perhaps you will say, "Don't let it spread all 

 over; keep it where you want it." Ah! that is 

 where the rub comes, for birds carry it, and there are 

 so many ways of scattering seeds, and then, once 

 disseminated, will it not cost the people millions to 

 keep it in subjection? A farnier living in Virginia 

 writes: "Shun it as you would an approach to the 

 'deadly upas-tree;' it is the greatest nuisance we 

 have to contend with." He sent me a package of it, 

 which proved to be Echium vulgare. I may add, that 

 some do not think blue thistle of much harm ; but no 

 one advises me to sow it, but, on the contrary, some 

 say, " If you want a fertilizer, sow clover; for it can 

 never give trouble." Permit me to say, in conclu- 

 sion, that E. vulgare was brought from Europe, and 

 is now, a weed in fields, from New York to Virginia, 

 and grows profusely in the South and West. 



S. T. Pettit. 



Belmont, Ont., Canada, March 8, 1881. 



OAK LEAVES AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CHAFF. 



I see and hear accounts all around the country of 

 bees dying while there is plenty of honey in the 

 hives. I have been in the habit, years past, of pack- 

 ing my hives in chaff; but in the spring the chaff 

 was moldy and damp, and injured the hive as well 

 as the bees, and had an unpleasant smell. This year 

 (or last fall) I used dry oak leaves with old carpet or 

 quilts laid over the brood nest. I examined them 

 this spring, and find the leaves all dry, and the bees 

 all in good condition. My experience proves that 

 dry oak leaves are the best to pack in, as they will 

 not mold or gather moisture, and will keep out the 

 cold when packed close, and can always be found. 



W. H. Shedd. 



Watseka, Iroquois Co., 111., March 9, 1881. 



Leaves have been frequently mentioned in 

 these pages, but, friend S., I hardly see why 

 oak leaves should be better than any other. 

 "We have had no damp or unpleasant-smell- 

 ing chaff in our hives since we used the tin 

 roofs. 



THE FOSTER FOUNDATION MACHINE, ETC. 



I got a fdn. machine, or mold, of Foster, of Mt. 

 Vernon, Iowa, arid I must say that it is a perfect 

 success with me. No trouble, no slop, no waste, no 

 washing off of soap suds, and no tedious picking off, 

 bit by bit, of wax from the rollers, or imperfect 

 sheets, as I went through last season with the Dun- 

 ham machine. My Dunham cost me over $40.00 

 (with express charges), but to-day I would much 

 prefer the Foster, if compelled to choose between 

 the two. But we must have copper instead of 

 plaster. 



I have gone over my bees in the last few mild 

 days, and cleaned up the hives, removing dead bees, 

 etc.; rather awkward job with the chaff hive when 

 the upper part is filled with loose chaff and planer 

 shavings. I found all but one in good condition, 

 with brood in all stages, but not in large amounts. 

 Placed a frame of candy on top of frames of each 

 one (though all had honey) to induce continued 

 brood-rearing. E. T. Flanagan. 



Belleville, St. Clair Co., 111., March 7, 1881. 



