806 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



ISept. 15 



SLICED ONION FOR BEE-STINGS, AGAIN. 



I can fully indorse the remarks of Mr. 

 E. Webber, of Tolland, Mass., in your issue 

 of July 1, as to the effect of sliced onion for 



acid of the poison — there might be some rea- 

 son for it. I used to have in my young-er 

 days, when earache used to distress me so, 

 person after person tell me that a hot boiled 

 onion, placed on the outside of 

 my ear, would instantly allay 

 the pain. I tried it repeated- 

 ly, but it never had any more 

 effect than any thing else that 

 could hold heat equally well. 

 Still, it may be efficacious with 

 the sting of the bee; and con- 

 sidering the fact that two of 

 our correspondents have sug- 

 gested it, I shall make an effort 

 to try it at the verj' first op- 

 portunity. — Ed.] 



INTERIOR OF JAMES HILBERT'S BEE-CELLAR. 

 ITORIAL. 



cure of bee-stings, or prevention of swell- 

 ing and all after-inconvenience from stings. 

 I first used this remedy some 25 years ago, 

 when living and keeping bees in England, 

 and I have never known it to fail, if ap- 

 plied immediately after being stung. I very 

 seldom find any inconvenience or swelling; 

 but if some little time should elapse and 

 swelling have commenced, the onion soon 

 allaj^s the pain and arrests the swelling. 

 Of course, the sting must first be removed. 

 If I have to handle bees I pull up an onion 

 (I keep my bees in the garden), and place 

 it ready to hand. In my case it is the cure. 

 Arnica, hot water, ammonia, etc., I have 

 tried, but they are not 

 in it with the onion. 

 Try it, my friends. 

 C. E. Norton. 

 Moncton, N. B.,Can. 



[As I said before, 

 I am still doubtful 

 about the efficacy of 

 sliced onion; and with 

 all due deference to 

 you and Mr. Webber, 

 I do not believe it has 

 any effect. In most 

 cases the pain will 

 subside without the 

 application of any 

 thing. If the juice of 

 the onion were strong- 

 ly alkaline — sufficient- 

 ly so to neutralize the 



do all basswoods blossom? 



Can you tell me whether all 

 basswoods blossom, and how 

 old they must be before they 

 will blossom? If there are 

 some that never blossom, how 

 can I tell them from those 

 that do? 



I have a queen that is three 

 years old, and she lays better 

 than a j'oung queen. Would 

 you destroy her on account of 

 her age? 



When bees supersede the 

 queen, do they swarm or do 

 see ED- ^^gy j^.j^ j^gj., ^r reetz. 



Black Creek, Wis. 



[Bass wood-trees will blossom, often, when 

 only three or four years old. Some years 

 even old trees will not blossom at all, and 

 some trees blossom only occasionally, while 

 others blossom nearly every year. There 

 is no way by which you can distinguish a 

 good-blossoming young tree from one that 

 does not blossom profuselj'. 



Regarding the queen, a good deal will 

 depend upon what kind of service she is do- 

 ing. If she is laying well we certainly 

 would not destroy her; but as a rule, three- 

 year-old queens are inferior to those a year 

 old. 



As for superseding, we do not know ex- 



FOURTEEN virgins from fourteen cells IN {STANLEY 



cages, see editorial. 



