664 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



of farmers here is that the price of mustard 

 has never touched so low a figure, compared 

 with cost of production, as other farm prod- 

 ucts, and has far exceeded any or all of 

 them at times. But it must be grown in ro- 

 tation with other crops, and will not pro- 

 duce bountifully two seasons in succession 

 on the same land. It is sown here any time 

 from the middle of February till the end of 

 April. About 10 to 15 pounds of seed is 

 sown to the acre, either broadcast or with a 

 specially devised drill, which, although sow- 

 ing it more evenly, is about the same as 

 broadcasting. No cultivating is needed, 

 and there is nothing to do till your crop is 

 ready for the harvest. 



There are two kinds grown here— the Eng- 

 lish yellow, and the Trieste, or red. The 

 latter is an Austrian product, and gets its 

 name from a town in that country in the 

 vicinity of which it is grown abundantly. 



When the majority of the pods are ripe it 

 is ready for the reaper; but care should be 

 exercised in cutting, or lots of the seed will 

 be wasted. It is better to cut in the early 

 morning or late in the afternoon when there 

 is moisture in the air, which toughens the 

 pods and does not cause it to shell out so 

 easily. The red should be cut somewhat 

 green, for it shells very freely. Both should 

 be left from a week to ten days before com- 

 mencing thrashing. 



The thrashing is very simple. A heavy 

 sheet of hop-cloth, 50X60 feet, is spread out 

 on the ground, and two loads from a tight 

 header-bed are dumped thereon. A rope is 

 so fixed in the wagon that the whole load is 

 dumped at once. It is then spread out in a 

 circle, and a huge wooden roller is run 

 around on it a while. It is then turned, and 

 the operation repeated, when you are soon 

 ready for more. When the seed accumulates 

 it is dragged to the center of the sheet; and 

 when your sheet is full you are ready to 

 commence operations with the fanning-mill. 



The Chinese variety is not grown here, 

 and I don't think it has ever been tried. 

 But I am convinced that, if there were prof- 

 it in growing it, it would have been tried. 



The bees work alike on both yellow and 

 red, which leads me to believe that there is 

 no difference in the amount of nectar secret- 

 ed. The blossoming-period lasts about a 

 month; and where the sowings are made at 

 different intervals it can be strung over a 

 period of ten weeks. 



The honey is mild in flavor and light in 

 color, and commands here the same price as 

 sage. Though not as heavy-bodied a honey 

 as alfalfa, it has the same tendency to candy 

 quickly. I have had it candy in the tank in 

 four or five days; but to obviate this, we 

 have devised a tank with a glass top which 

 is covered with a shutter till time to draw 

 the honey off, when it is removed and old 

 Sol soon does the rest. This idea was one 

 of Mr. Miles, a former bee-keeper of this 

 place. 



I don't know why mustard could not be 

 grown in any part of this country, as it is 

 profitable for the seed alone. It would be 



of much more value to one who keeps bees 

 as aside issue with his farm. 

 Lompoc, Cal., Feb. 1. 



AGE AT WHICH BEES FIRST CARRY POL- 

 LEN. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Referring to the alleged proof that bees 

 five days old carried in pollen, Mr. Samuel 

 Suddaby expresses doubt as to the complete- 

 ness of the proof, and raises the question 

 whether it is not possible that the pollen-carry- 

 ing bees might not have come from elsewhere. 

 The doubt is legitimate, and the question 

 entirely fair. Moreover, there are general 

 principles involved of which at least the 

 younger readers may be ignorant, and of 

 which it is sometimes very important they 

 should be informed; so I am glad of the op- 

 portunity to give the matter a somewhat 

 full discussion. 



Mr. S. asks, " Was it impossible for bees 

 to get into that hive?" I feel warranted in 

 saying that, for the first five days, it was 

 impossible for any bee to enter from the 

 outside. It was closed bee-tight. The hive 

 was placed over another hive containing a 

 full colony, the upper hive having a solid 

 bottom nailed to it (years ago my hives had 

 bottoms nailed on) and in that bottom was 

 a two-inch hole to allow the heat to pass up 

 from below. To prevent passage of the 

 bees, wire cloth was nailed over the hole 

 above; and, to prevent any communication 

 through the wire cloth, another piece of 

 wire cloth was nailed over the hole on the 

 under side. 



Then Mr. S. suggests the possibility that, 

 when the hive was opened at the end of the 

 five days, the bees entering with pollen may 

 have been bees from other colonies, citing 

 this special instance: "Last year I got an 

 Italian queen and put her in one of my hives; 

 and before the summer was over I saw Ital- 

 ian bees in at least two hives other than the 

 one in which I put the queen. They appear- 

 ed to be working the same as the other bees 

 in the hive." 



It is quite true that sometimes— perhaps 

 it should be said oftentimes— bees enter the 

 wrong hive on returning from the field, and, 

 being well laden, they are kindly received 

 and given their naturalization papers. A 

 homeward-bound bee, heavily laden, and wea- 

 ried with its long flight, may be beaten to the 

 ground in front of some hive other than its 

 own. Without rising on its wings to take its 

 bearings, it crawls directly into the hive, 

 and without further ado is adopted as one of 

 the family. 



Put twenty hives in a straight row, six 

 feet apart— ten feet if you like— on a level 

 prairie with never a tree or other landmark 

 except the hives themselves, and you may 

 expect no little mixing. Bees are not good 

 enough at figures to tell for certain whether 

 their hive is the ninth or tenth from the end 



