1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



65 



to these great men for the light they have 

 given us; but they were human beings, and 

 the human family may err, even the wisest 

 of them. Delos Wood. 



Santa Barbara, Cal. 



[You and Dr. Miller may be right; but 

 certain it is that many clipped queens I 

 have found near the entrance of the hives, 

 from colonies that had just cast a swarm 

 have had a cluster of bees around them. It 

 may be that I happened on to the "excep- 

 tions that prove the rule." 



You say the text-books say the old queen 

 leaves with the swarm. The ABC has 

 never said this. Indeed, if j'ou will read 

 the two first paragraphs on the subject of 

 swarming, in either the old or new editions, 

 you will find that it says the queen is 

 among the last to leave the hive. I do not 

 know of any modern text-books that have 

 taught that the queen was \\\& first to lead 

 out. 



Again, j'ou say that writers generally 

 say a queen on the combs maj' be found 

 with a body-guard following her. Here 

 again you have it a little too strong. I 

 don't know that there is any such state- 

 ment in the ABC, but it does state that the 

 bees will very often stand about the queen. 

 I have watched the queen by the hour, and 

 there is apt to be a circle around her. She 

 will push herself among the bees, and they 

 will back out of the way; and if she stands 

 still they will circle around her. But in 

 opening the hive it is not my practice to 

 look for a circle around the queen, for there 

 will be no circles of bees just then. The 

 queen is apt to be somewhat frightened, 

 and the bees more or less disturbed; but if 

 the frame be held in the hand for a few 

 minutes she regains her self-possession, 

 and then the bees will gradually circle 

 around her if she stands still — at least, 

 these are m}' own personal observations. 



Yes, I do advocate raising queens from 

 cells where the bees are trying to supersede 

 their queen; but here again you have mis- 

 read. The supersedure queens are not 

 used for supplying the cells with eggs or 

 larvae. Cells grafted from a choice breeder 

 are put into a hive where the bees are try- 

 ing to supersede the queen, because those 

 bees will accept almost any thing in the 

 way of cells given. 



I do not know of any author or writer 

 who advocates using the eggs of a failing 

 or supersedure queen for grafting his cells. 

 Haven't j^ou misread or hastily read some 

 of the authors and writers? — Ed.] 



1. Please state the value of Catalpa speci- 

 osa as a honey-producer. I have set out a 

 number of trees. I notice Frank Benton 

 gives it in Honey-bee, pp. 67, 68, and wish 

 to know if others have found it of value. 



2. Also the Russian mulberry. 



3. Would EchiuiH vulgare (viper's bug- 

 loss, or blueweed ) be of value as a honey- 

 plant to naturalize in waste places? (Not- 



ed in F. Benton's Honey-bee, Plate VIII., 

 opposite page 64. ) 



4. Is asparagus of value as a producer of 

 pollen or nectar? Wilfred Allen. 



Windsor, Ct., Oct. 2. 



[This was sent to Prof. Benton, Washing- 

 ton, D. C, who replies:] 



1. All of the catalpas are visited freely 

 by bees for honey. I am unable to say 

 whether a preference is given to one species 

 or the other. Catalpa speciosa, being the 

 hardy catalpa, is receiving greater atten- 

 tion as a cultivated tree than the other ca- 

 talpas, and no doubt will in the future be of 

 some value to bee-keepers. 



2. I have never seen bees visiting mulber- 

 ry-trees of any kind. It is possible they 

 might work on the ripe fruits under some 

 conditions, although I have not observed 

 this. Certainly the blossoms are not attrac- 

 tive to them. 



3. The viper's bugloss, or blueweed 

 {Echiiim I'ulgare), I do not consider a pest 

 under a good system of cultivation; and as 

 it is quite tenacious of life it can be readily 

 naturalized by roadsides and in waste 

 fields. It is true that it sometimes makes 

 its way into meadows where the grass has 

 been left to stand long; but, as indicated 

 above, wnth a proper rotation of crops, since 

 plowing wholly eradicates it, it is not to 

 be believed that it would be a serious pest. 

 The plant remains in blossom for some 

 weeks, beginning in June and lasting 

 well through July, in middle latitudes. 

 The honey is of most excellent quality, 

 clear and white, with good body, resembling 

 in the main white clover honey. 



4. Common garden asparagus, when per- 

 mitted' to blossom, is eagerly visited by the 

 bees for its honey. I do not recollect 

 whether pollen is collected or not. When 

 grown in large areas it may be regarded 

 as a plant of some importance, especially 

 as it comes in midsummer, when there is 

 often a dearth of other hone5'-producing 

 plants. Frank Benton. 



Is the carpet grass a forage-plant for do- 

 mestic animals, or is it obnoxious to them? 

 Alonzo Knight. 

 Plain City, Utah, Nov. 4. 



[I do not know, but I think carpet grass 

 is not a forage-plant ; neither is it particu- 

 lar obnoxious to stock; but my belief is that 

 they would eat almost any thing else in 

 preference. — Ed. ] 



Is the wax that comes with the honey 

 digestible? Chas. H. Issel. 



Glenville, O., Nov. 18. 



[Probably not; but I never heard that the 

 wax eaten from comb honey did any partic- 

 ular harm. It would simply pass through 

 the alimentary canal, neither aiding nor 

 retarding assimilation or digestion. Of 

 course, if too much wax were eaten it might 

 do harm. — Ed.] 



