THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



249 





"duW^ 



Narrow-Top Sections. — My bees 

 came through the winter all right. 

 They li:ive been quite busy gatliering 

 pollen and honey for two weeks. I5ees 

 are in a better condition now than 

 they were the first of May last year. 

 The prospect for a good lioney crop is 

 encouraging and white clover is com- 

 ing in abiHidence. I see in A. II. 

 Newman's price list two kinds of sec- 

 tions or honey boxes— one with open 

 top, like the bottom, are they better, 

 and why are they so V Would you 

 recommend tin corners for frames V 

 Please answer in the next 15ee Jour- 

 nal. D. S. Kalley. 



Mansfield, Ind. 



[In tiering up sections on th hives, 

 as many prefer to do, it is necessary 

 to have insets in the tops of the boxes, 

 as well as at the bottoms, to allow the 

 bees to pass up. When placed on tlie 

 hive, the upper tier or set should be 

 covered with a blanket or cloth of 

 some kind, to prevent the bees escap- 

 ing from the tops of the boxes. We 

 do not admire metal corners for 

 frames, and more especially where 

 metal rabbets are used. — Ed.1 



Laurel Honey Poisonous. — Bees ap- 

 pear to have wintered well this year, 

 if protected on the summer stands. 

 Last season was a very poor one in 

 this locality for any kind of honey. 

 Little or no honey in clover and bass- 

 wood, and but a short supply of sur- 

 plus from buckwheat and fall flowers. 

 The failure was caused mostly by the 

 drouth. Ttiere is a large tract of un- 

 cultivated land on this Island, called 

 the Plains, on viiiich grows extensively 

 the broad-leafed laurel, known here 

 by kill-calf, the same as kill-lamb, or 

 stagger-bush of other places, which 

 blooms about the same time as white 

 clover. In dry seasons the honey 

 gathered in the vicinity of tliis tract 

 IS very apt to be poisonous. Some 

 bee-keepers take no surplus till buck- 

 wheat is in bloom, as the early-gath- 

 ered is the only kind affected. In 

 1880, white clover yielded abundantly 

 for a time, and then a severe drouth 

 commenced, and honey from clover 

 stopped. There were published in 

 the county newspajjers so many ac- 

 counts of poisoning from eating honey, 

 that people in this county feared lo 

 eat it, and the sale was hurt thereby. 

 I believe the plan I adopted that year, 

 of using and selling only white clover 

 honey, that which was capped before 

 the clover supply was cut short, pre- 

 vented any poisoning from mine. The 

 uncapped was left for the bees. If 

 any one knows of another plan I 

 would like to hear from tliem through 

 the Journal. As the white clover 

 appears to have been killed by last 

 year's drouth, our prospect this year 

 IS unfavorable, unless we sow buck- 



wheat early as possible to clear the 

 frost in spring, and continue at inter- 

 viils through the season. The medium 

 and kite was good for the bees last 

 year, but of little use some other 

 years. Samuel Hicks. 



Old Westbury, Long Island, N. Y. 



But One Nucleus Colony Dead. — I 



have not had time and enough good 

 weather since my return liome to look 

 over my bees and clean out all the 

 hives. But there is only one colony 

 dead out of 130 (a .5-frame nucleus), 

 and not more than half a dozen, at 

 the extreme, showing any signs of dis- 

 ease. I found them remarkably free 

 from having commenced to rear brood, 

 considering tlie warm winter. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



Williamstown, Iowa, April 10, 1882. 



For Honey as well as Ornament. — 



We have here a i)lant, called Bacco- 

 nia Japonica, which is a hardy peren- 

 nial, and if once established in a gar- 

 den or lawn it will sprout very rapidly. 

 I have had it in mv garden for many 



years, and my bees work on it all the 

 time it is in bloom. I consider it good 

 for honey and pollen. It would suit 

 your inquirer, Mr. A. Montreville, 

 exactly, as he wants something orna- 

 mental as well as for the bees to feed 

 on ; he would have to get the roots, if 

 he wants it to bloom the first year. 

 From seed it l)looms the second year. 

 Phacelia is also a honey plant ; it is an 

 annual and blooms all the summer 

 and fall until frost. There are two 

 kinds, white and blue. 

 High Hill, Mo. John Nebel. 



Introducing (Jueens.— I have seen a 

 good deal in the bee papers about in- 

 troducing queens, but I think I have 

 a method that beats them all for con- 

 venience at least, and for safety. I 

 would use it in all cases where the 

 queen has not been long confined (as 

 an imported queen just arrived, when 

 I would put her in a closed hive with 

 frames of hatching brood and no bees 

 but her own, as has been often recom- 

 mended). I use an introducing liquid 

 with which I wet the queen 

 thoroughly, and immediately droi) 

 her into "tlie liive among the bees, 

 which I have had queenless at least 



12 hours. In warm weather I often 

 let her run in at the entrance, but 

 must watch fcnafew minutes, for she 

 sometimes runs out again and might 

 get lost. Tliere are doubtless many 

 things that will do for an introducing^ 

 liquid, but from my experience I 

 would say that the liquid must con- 

 tain, 1st, enougli, and no more acid,, 

 to make it about half as strong as 

 good vinegar ; 2d. some substance 

 that will ;idhere for a short time to 

 the body of tlie queen after the vola- 

 tile portion has evaporated, and not 

 be injurious to her ; 3d, some strong 

 scent not offensive to bees. The first 

 requisite is the most important, the 

 second next, and the third least. I 

 have been very successful with a weak 

 solution of citric acid sweetened a lit- 

 tle with sugar or honey, and scented 

 with essence of peppermint. I have 

 also succeeded under most adverse 

 circumstances with the fresh juice of 

 ripe Siberian crab apples. This sea- 

 son I have used weak vinegar (that 

 has not " worked " enough) in a few 

 cases, and succeeded perfectly. The 

 advantages of this method will be 

 recognized by all when once convinced 

 of its safety. If those who wish to be 

 convinced will try it on some cheap 

 queens first, using either of the above 

 preparations (warm of course), and 

 letting the queens go, as soon as 

 thoroughly wet, into the colony that 

 has been 12 hours queenless, and have 

 no queen cells or fertile workers, I 

 think they will succeed every time.. 

 I would advise all trying this method 

 not to open the hive until the subse- 

 quent day, when the queen will nearly 

 always be found laying ; but if not, it 

 is not conclusive evidence that she is- 

 lost, for I had one queen wait a week 

 or so before she began to lay. I have 

 never known a queen to be injured 

 by the bees when introduced in this 

 way, unless they already had a queen 

 or fertile worker, and sometimes not 

 then. T. W. Livingston. 



Ains worth, Iowa. 



High Water's Ravages.— Most all of 

 the bees in our section are drowned 

 out. Mr. M. A,. Garrett has 70 colo- 

 nies wliicli are almost destroyed by 

 the overflow, and Henry Stecla's are 

 ill the same fix. The water is still 

 rising, with five feet where the bees- 

 stood. Bees can gather no lioney. In 

 some places the water is 3 feet above 

 high-water mark. 



Ch. Sonnemann. 



New Iberia, La., April 7, 1882. 



Better Prospects.— The spring never 

 was more promising for bee-culture. 

 Tlie overflow is rapidly receediiig, and 

 good crops of cotton will be made.. 

 Greenville, and a large district below 

 the town, was not inundated — the- 

 only portion of the great Yazoo Delta. 

 O. M. Blanton. 



Greenville, Miss. 



Giithcred Some Honey.— I put 28 



colonies of bees in the cellar last fall, 

 and they all wintered v^ry nicely. 

 Tliey liave gathered a little honey to> 

 this date. Henry Schmadaka. 

 Gernianville, Iowa, April 0, 18S2. 



