504 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Oct. 



tains more or less caramel, or burnt sugar, 

 to say nothing of various gummy vegetable 

 matters, I would not risk using it. Some of 

 the worst cases of dysentery last winter 

 were among hives fed" largely with maple 

 sugar. As its price is nearly, if not quite, 

 equal to that of coffee A, there would be no 

 great advantage in it. Better use the gran- 

 ulated. 



A correspondent asks what we think of 

 the following, clipped from a newspaper : — 



CURE FOR RHEVMATISM. 



A German bee journal has an article recomraendingbee-stings 

 as a cure for rheumatism. The wiiter's wife was afflicted with 

 severe rheumatic pains in the arm. The husband held bees to 

 her arm, allowing them to comiiletely empty the poison sacs 

 into the muscles. The succeeding nitilit the lady, for the first 

 time in six months, enjoyed a g'""! slitp- Tlie arm was swollen 

 pretty badly the next day, but this riipidly decreased. No rheu- 

 matic pains have since been felt l>y the lady. Other cases of 

 similar cures are mentioned by this writer. As the average 

 honey-bee is always ready to perform his part of the experi- 

 ment, those inclined to tiy this remedy may do so with " neat- 

 ness and despatch . ' ' 



Our friend will see by back numbers and 

 volumes, that the remedy l;ias not proven 

 equally successful in all cases ; still, enough 

 favorable evidence has been furnished to at- 

 tract considerable attention to the matter. 



A WORD FOR THE LOCUST-TREES, ETC. 



The bees have done pretty well this season. We 

 came through the winter with 11; increased to 1.5; 

 had only 3 natural swarms; one of them went to the 

 woods. One stand of black."?, worked on Doolittle's 

 plan, gave me one Simplicity hive, frames L. size, 

 8 frames to the hive, and IS frames of comb honey; 

 all the rest did well, but this one made the most 

 honc.y. This is a great locust country. Blue thistle 

 and white clover also abound; but the weather was 

 so unfavorable that they worked but little on white 

 clover. They just roared on blue thistle for about 

 10 or 11 weeks, but they worked harder on the locust 

 this year than I ever saw them work on it before. If 

 you were here you would not have to plant a locust 

 grove for your bees, for there are from 3000 to 10,000 

 trees within a mile of us, and last spring they were 

 the most beautiful sight I ever saw. Little bushes 

 not more than 5 feet high were just loaded with 

 bloom; but it is generally said here that if the locust 

 blooms heavily the bees will not swarm much. 

 What can be the cause, unless the bees block the 

 queen at this time? All of our bees are now in L. 

 or Simplicity hives. The Holy-Land queen we got 

 of you is very prolific, and although the bees are a 

 little smaller than the Italians, I am inclined to 

 think they will be good honey-gatherers. The Ital- 

 ians, although they gave me only 60 or 80 lbs. of 

 honey, they gave me two tine swarms that I would 

 not like to take $15.00 for. 



Your Home Papers are a source of pure delight 

 here indeed. I really believe 1 could get along now 

 without Gleanings if it were not for them. 



Samuel D. Rutherford. 



Kearneysville, W. Va., Sept. 10, 1881. 



FRIEND CHURCHILL'S HAPS AND MISHAPS, AND HIS 



QUEEN THAT "CACKLED," AND HOW IT ALL 



ENDED WELL AFTER ALL. 



I must tell you what luck I have had with bees. 

 Last spring I bought what I thought to be a good 

 stock, but only one quart of bees and a lot of honey; 

 as I did not know it would do to look inside a hive, I 

 bought at chance. Well, it had no queen nor drones 

 nor eggs, so I bought an L. frame of Mason, at Mc. 



Falls, and the bees on it, and bought a dollar queen 

 from Massachusetts, which proved not to be mated, 

 as it was quite early, and weather cold; but she 

 soon got to laying in the two combs, on each side, 

 next the division -boards; but one month passed, 

 and the brood that was capped when I bought it did 

 not hatch; then about that time I found my queen 

 dead. But they soon had cells, 7 in number, started. 

 Several bee-men said the brood was dead, so I went 

 to J. B. Mason and got another frame and bees, and 

 Italian queen, but they would not fall in love with 

 her; so I put the frame with cells in another hive, 

 and caged the queen with the new frame, and in two 

 days let her loose, and she cackled and went to lay- 

 ing in a short time. You see, I knew nothing of bees 

 a few weeks previous, but I did not throw the old 

 frame away; and don't you think they all hatched 

 all right? and now I have one hive of 8 frames, and 

 the other has six frames nearly full of brood and 

 honey in L. frames, of yellow and clever bees. By 

 the way, I borrowed some of your GLEANiNGS,which 

 I read after others were all asleep, which gave me 

 an insight. The care of bees is a great pleasure to 

 me, and I mean to make it quite a business. I shall 

 take a large swarm of Italians from the woods to- 

 morrow, and hive them in L. frames, and fasten 

 comb with strips of wood inside. Bees have swarmed 

 well here this summer, I think. 



I forgot to say, that the frame that they said was 

 dead hatched a fine yellow queen, and her bees are 

 very fine and gentle. I have a good smoker, and 

 look my bees over very often, and with care, and 

 work slowly, so I know just how they are getting 

 along. 



There are many old box hives about here, full of 

 old black comb and moths. One man has one 15 

 years old, and has not taken a bit of honey nor bees 

 from it, and the hive will divide itself, as it is nearly 

 all moss, and leans hard the wrong way. Now, what 

 is the use of such a course as that? I think I could 

 have made a number of good ones, and had them 

 Italianized, if I am only a new hand. You may put 

 this in Gleanings if j'ou like, and I wish to know 

 what kind of a bee-man you think I may be in time. 



E. P. Churchill. 



West Minot, And. Co., Me., Sept. 13, 1881. 



I think you promise very well for a bee- 

 man, friend C'.; but, begging your pardon, I 

 want to protest against you, or any one else, 

 saying n queen was sent you that was not 

 f eitilized. As queens often refuse to lay for 

 a week or more after a journey, no one has 

 any means of knowing ; and it is a hard im- 

 putation against the honesty of the breeder. 

 Will you not please bear it in mind, my 

 friends? 



MOLDED FOUNDATION. 



The sample of "thin molded fdn. for comb honey" 

 you mention on page 426 came from us, and was 

 made upon our new plaster fdn. mold, the casts of 

 which were taken from patterns of very perfect 

 and thin fdn. received from C. Dadant & Sons. I be- 

 lieve I sent you my price list, containing samples of 

 both thick and thin fdn. I have used the Dadant 

 style for both, but like the D. S. Given equally well 

 for brood combs. My new metallic molds will work 

 as rapidly and perfectly, I think, as the plaster. 

 They are moistened by means of a pad made for the 

 purpose. I hope to furnish them within two months. 



Oliver Foster. 



Mt. Vernon, Linn Co., Iowa, Sept. 19, 1881. 



