1073 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



nature. This is the opinion of his well- 

 wishers. 



Now that the law is passed by both Houses, 

 this society, being a State bee-keepers' as- 

 sociation, urges every county in Ohio to or- 

 ganize l^ee-keepers" societies for the promo- 

 tion of fraternity among all men and women 

 who keep bees. 



The Ohio foul-brood law does not pertain 

 to this dread disease only, but to other 

 diseases of the bee also. Further, it pro- 

 vides for the appointment of an inspector of 

 these diseases, in eveiy county where bees 

 are kept, whose duty it is to see that all bees 

 are kept in movable-coml) hives, which is a 

 great stride toward the improvement of the 

 bee in every particular. 



Henry Reddert, 

 Sec. Southwestern Ohio and Hamilton Co. 



Bee-keepers' Association. 



THE BEE S SENSE OF HEARING; THE EFFECT 

 OF THUNDER. 



I notice on page 333, where Prof. Bigelow 

 wants facts from Dr. Miller as to why he 

 thinks bees hear. My experience says they 

 do hear, and that without a doubt. Natural 

 conditions give me this knowledge. Whether 

 bees can hear sounds inaudible to the human 

 ear I do not know; but I do know that l)ees 

 can distinguish some sounds better than we 

 can. There are several stone-quarries south 

 of my residence, the nearest being half a 

 mile distant, and the furthest two miles 

 away. Blasts are made three and four times 

 a day. When a good blast is made, the jar 

 is felt a mile away; and the rolling sound or 

 thunder that accompanies these blasts is 

 heard for miles around, often fooling me in 

 the summer months, as these sounds are 

 hai'd to distinguish from thunder of an ap- 

 proaching storm. 



For the last two years, when hearing these 

 sounds I always consult the bees, for they 

 can tell better than I. If it is a blast they'll 

 continue work as usual; but if it is the thun- 

 der of a distant storm, you ought to see them 

 coming in from the fields, pellmell, entering 

 their hives. This seems to show clearly that 

 they can hear, and distinguish better than 

 we, for both these blasts and natural thun- 

 der cause vibration in the air. 



Findlay, Ohio. W. H. Dreyek. 



[It seems to the editor that the arguments 

 you advance in favor of bees hearing are 

 negative rather than positive. Apparently 

 the blast which sounds like thunder, and the 

 real thunder itself, have no apparent effect 

 on the bees. But a very black sky with a 

 heavy atmosphere will, as we know, drive 

 bees home pellmell. So I should say it was 

 not the noise, but the sense of sight and 

 feeling that induces them to rush home. 

 If, on the other hand, they would tly home 

 every time there was a blast at the quarries, 

 and there was a good clear sky at the time, 

 then we might assume they either heai'd or 

 felt the concussion. In saying this I do not 

 mean to say that bees do not near, for I ))e- 

 lieve they do. — Ed.] 



THE VALUE OF SWEET CLOVER AND OATS 

 FOR HAY. 



I have a correspondent in Alabama who 

 owns a farm of 640 aci-es, who gi'ows 160 

 acres per year of oats and sweet clover, and 

 cuts the combination crop expressly for hay. 

 He has blooded stock (cattle) and" keeps no 

 bees. He says the hay when baled and mar- 

 keted in Birmingham, Ala., sells readily at 

 $15 per ton. M. M. Baldridge. 



St. Charles, 111. 



[Farmers and ranchmen as well as State 

 legislators will some day recognize the value 

 of sweet clover as a forage-plant. Some of 

 the more progressive of them do recognize it 

 now. Pity that the average run of farmers 

 will not follow moi-e in the wake of our ex- 

 periment stations manned by practical and 

 scientific men. — Ed.] 



IF I were TO START ANEW^ PAINTING 

 HIVES, ETC. 



If I were starting anew I would adopt the 

 hive holding eight Hoffman frames with |- 

 inch entrance. I should want one super of 

 shallow extracting-frames for each hive, to 

 be used at the opening and closing of each 

 season; but for the main crop I would work 

 for comb honey, for the reason thei'e are so 

 many who extract before the honey is ripen- 

 ed (and your honey must compete with his), 

 that the production of honey has become 

 drudgery. 



I would paint lids white on one side and 

 red on the other — red side up in winter, and 

 the hive white at the corners, say 3 inches, 

 leaving 14 inches not painted; but if one side 

 must be exposed to the noon or afternoon 

 sun, paint it all white or you may wish you 

 had. There are probably a few people who 

 do not know the value of painting, say, three 

 inches of each end of a ten-foot board. To 

 such I would say, try it. I did so five years 

 ago, rather unconsciously, but am much 

 pleased with the result. The boards do not 

 warp nor look old — probably do not take 

 water to any extent. 



As to handling comb honey, I think J. A. 

 Green's plan is ne ])Ius ultra. Any one who 

 can handle that plateau comb honey without 

 granulation in twelve months is all right; 

 and R. C. Aikin wears the laurels for han- 

 dling extracted alfalfa honey cheaply. 



The slogan to-day is, ••How and in what 

 shape can we furnish good honey, at prices 

 which the workingman can stand?" They 

 will not take poor honey at any price, and 

 the price of fancy honey is too rich for their 

 blood. ' E. Porter. 



Miramai', Cal. 



NEW QUEENS FOR SHAKEN SWARMS. 



AVould it be advisable to introduce a queen 

 into a newly shaken swarm in place of the 

 old queen? Wm. Pearce. 



Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. 



[If the queen is old or otherwise undesir- 

 able you can make the substitution, but it 

 would be necessary to introduce her in the 

 regular way, of course. — Ed.] 



