THE AMEBIC AN APICULTUBIST. 



135 



THE FUNICS. 



Mr. Alley : — Thinking possibly that 

 you would feel some interest in the result 

 of the Punic queens I purchased from 

 you last year I will make a report. The 

 first queen you sent me died ; the second 

 was received about Sept. ist and I had 

 to keep her three days| to prepare the 

 hive for her ; then introduced her and 

 she went to business at once. The 

 colony was so strong I divided it in lat- 

 ter part of February. The part that had 

 the old queen I sent out to my apiary. 

 The other part I kept at my home in 

 town for queen rearing. The hive that 

 contained the old queen swarmed twice. 

 The first swarm made 75 lbs. of comb 

 honey. The second was a small one 

 and only filled the brood-chamber mak- 

 ing no surplus. The old hive after 

 swarming twice gave me 50 lbs. of comb 

 honey. The hive I kept at home was 

 divided into nucleus and after raising 

 and introducing five queens into other 

 hives, I have built it up into two strong 

 colonies for winter. All was done with- 

 out any feeding. 



The average in this apiary of surplus 

 honey for this season is about 20 lbs. 

 to the hive. C. J. Parker. 



Fallbrook, Cal. 



NOTES FROM NEBRASKA. 



It is August and the rush of June 

 and July is over. To those who properly 

 cared for their bees in the early spring 

 the season has been a very good one. 

 The abundant rains of the spring made 

 a fine crop of white clover, the best ever 

 known here I think. We did not expect 

 much surplus honey till fall ; but this 

 year we were agreeably surprised. 



My bees have given me between 

 twenty and twenty-five pounds comb 

 honey per colony, on all that have been 

 worked for honey, while those used for 

 increase have more than doubled my 

 number of colonies, Sjjring count. I 

 only wintered one old queen, and re- 

 placed her with a southern queen early 



in the season, so I have had only one 

 swarm by natural swarming. This one 

 came too soon for the self-hiver, but as 

 I expected a second swarm from the 

 hive I thought I should have an oppor- 

 tunity to test it, even if no other colony 

 should swarm ; but, alas 1 for ''the best 

 laid plans of men (and women too) and 

 mice, etc.," they didn't swarm the second 

 time, and the other colonies just went 

 on gathering honey as though there 

 were no such thing as swarming in the 

 world. So all I could do with the self- 

 hiver was to use the trap for catching 

 drones. 



(My bigger half makes a suggestion, 

 that if I had not caught so many drones 

 I would have had more swarms." 

 What do you think about it?) 



I am sure the self-hiver will work all 

 right. It can't do otherwise. 



What beekeeper is there that has not 

 been annoyed by having' the smoker 

 refuse to start when needed in a hurry, 

 either from want of a suitable fuel, or be- 

 cause the fire was out in the kitchen 

 stove and no coals obtainable? I need 

 not dwell over the details of lost time, 

 and temper wasted, in trying to get up 

 a smudge, but will tell you the way I get 

 out of the scrape. 



Take one or two sides of an old section 

 box that has outlived its usefulness in 

 that capacity, split it up fine, light it, 

 put it in the smoker, put in other fuel, 

 and the job is done, as it will seldom 

 go out. 



Mrs. a. L. Hallenbeck. 



Millard, Nebraska. 



A SFECIFIC FOR RHEUMATISM. 



It is not generally known that a de- 

 coction of the common mullein, which 

 grows wild in every part of this country, 

 is a most excellent specific for rheuma- 

 tism. Among the German people so 

 much confidence is felt in it that many 

 of them use no other remedy for this 

 disease, and it is seldom known to fail. 

 — [St. Louis Globe-Democrat]. 



