159(J 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



CAUCASIANS NOT EXCESSIVE SWARMEKS. 



I bought an untested Caucasian queen last 

 year, but I think she was mated with an 

 Italian. They are fine workers. They did 

 not swarm, although the Italians were crazy 

 on swarming. They are the bees for our 

 cold windy Aprils. J. S. Patton. 



Havana, Ala., Sept. 36, 



[There have been very conflicting reports 

 regarding the Caucasian bees. Apparently 

 some of the strains imported last year have 

 not been equal to some of those imported 

 two or three years ago. As there must be a 

 good many of these bees in the hands of bee- 

 keepers we should be glad to get brief re- 

 ports. Tell the bad as well as the good 

 qualities; and if they have nothing in partic- 

 ular to recommend them, let us know the 

 fact as early as possible. — Ed.] 



COVERS FOR HONEY-EXTRACTORS. 



I am sending you a drawing of a cover for 

 a honey-extractor. The illustration shows 

 the idea clearly. It takes three pairs of 

 hinges at 3 cts. a pair, with screws complete, 

 and about half a sheet of galvanized iron, 

 costing about 50 cts. 



Such a cover is always ready in an instant; 

 is dust-proof, mouse-proof, and bee-proof. 

 It is not in the way when both sides are 

 turned up and hooked together with a string. 

 It can be closed while running when extract- 

 ing outdoors in the wind. Elam Moyer. 



Blandford Station, Ont. 



[Usually a cloth hood with a rubber cord 

 inserted in the edge is just as good and much 

 cheaper. This is what most bee-keepers use. 

 —Ed.] 



I wanted. One of them had a fair golden 

 color, but the other was the color of a queen 

 of the three-banded strain of Italians. 



I have read various articles in Gleanings 

 about goldens not being very hardy, but we 

 have had them for the last four years and 

 have found them as hardy as any we have 

 ever had in our yard. 



I have noticed some queer freaks among 

 the goldens. Among these are bees with 

 worker heads and thorax and abdomen of a 

 drone, and vice versa. They are always from 

 young queens. I should like to know what 

 you call these freaks. 



Boonville, Mo. Chas. H. Mayer. 



[In rare cases a queen will rear hermaph- 

 rodite bees — that is, bees with drone heads 

 and drones with worker heads. They are 

 very interesting curiosities to show bee-keep- 

 ing friends. Their presence, however, in 

 the hive does not appear to interfere with 

 the general work of the colony. — Ed.] 



hermaphrodite 



to know something about 



bees. 

 I am anxious 

 the bees of a queen I have. They do not 

 look very much like goldens, for that is what 



GUAJILLA — derivation OF THE WORD. 



Mr. Root: — In reply to your request in 

 your Nov. 1st issue I would say that the 

 word guajilla or huajilla is evidently meant 

 for a Mexican word ; but having 

 made a great many inquiries here 

 among the natives I can't find any 

 one who has ever heard it. I have 

 come to the conclusion that it is one 

 of those half-breed words so com- 

 mon along the border — neither Eng- 

 lish nor Spanish. 



The bush you mention is very 

 common here and all through the 

 southern parts, but is called "uilas 

 de gato," meaning cat-claws. It is 

 very similar to the mesquite, only it 

 has these hooks all over the limbs 

 and even small twigs. 



L. H. Morrison. 



Nacazari, Mex., Nov. 10. 



[In reference to the spelling of the 

 word "guajilla," the matter was 

 laid before the publishers of El Co- 

 mercio (Spanish) who say:] 



Mr. Boot: — We would say that we 

 would not hesitate to choose guajilla 

 as the proper word to use — that is, 

 the word so spelled is just as we 

 would spell it if we had occasion to do so. 

 J. Shepherd Clark Co. 

 New York, Sept. 34. 



Mr. Root: — Referring to an article on page 

 1370, entitled "That Bee Paradise in Tex- 

 as," and to your footnote, I will say the 

 word is spelled "guajilla," commonly pro- 

 nounced " wah-/ie-ah, " the II being an en- 

 tirely separate and distinct letter. The h is 

 always silent in Spanish, so that the written 

 hua would be pronounced wah, and the en- 

 tire word wah-heel-yah. 



Mrs. J. A. Pruitt. 

 Vancourt, Texas, Nov. 6. 

 [From this it appears that "guajilla" is 

 the proper spelling of a word variously pro- 



