84 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTtJtiE. 



Feb. 



ed from 3 to 15 by natural and artificial swarming; 3 

 ran away; cause, press of farmwork. All are in flue 

 trim, in Simplicity hives. I have Italian queens, 

 partly bought and partly my own raising. I intro- 

 duced 12 queens for others and myself, and have not 

 lost a single one. Some cross swarms of them tried 

 my patience for eight days, but 1 was glad to get the 

 queen at last. I sold $:i0.00 worth of honey, and my 

 family have sufficient to last till spring. I myself 

 am now an enthusiastic ABC scholar. 



I know, friend Boot, that you have received many 

 better reports; but mine is so satisfactory to mo, es- 

 pecially if I take the year before in comparison, that 

 I feci myself under obligation to Dr. Lay, of Hal- 

 lettsville, for first calling my attention to A B C and 

 Gleanings, and for much kind advice, and espe- 

 cially to you and other writers for spreading the 

 knowledge of modern bee-keeping. A. Meyer. 



Sweet Home, Lavaca Co., Texas, Jan., 1883. 



Thanks, friend M., for yonr kind letter, 

 and I wish you woukl tell Dr. Lay we should 

 be very glad to get a line from him ; for aft- 

 er hearing him talk at the Cincinnati con- 

 vention, we feel sure he could entertain as 

 well as enlighten the " brethren.'' 



A MILLER AND ROACH EXTERMINATOR. 



Yes, sir; and a complete success every time. I 

 know that, whenever a man mentions a moth-trap, 

 bee-men are ready to cry "humbug," "put him out," 

 etc. 1 will say to all who are not acquainted with 

 my method, hold on, as I will give you something 

 very valuable, but not patented. Well, here it is: 

 Inclose your apiary with a close fence, and then 

 keep as many ducjks as bee-hives (mine are mallards). 

 My word for it, during the season of the year that 

 the millers and roaches bother your hives, your 

 ducks will work for you every night as long as they 

 can see, catching millers and roaches. But they 

 win never touch a bee, I call your attention to the 

 profitableness of this moth and roach exterminator. 

 Try it and you will be pleased. 



WHERE "WILL O0R FRIEND FIND THE BEST PLACE 

 TO KEEP BEES? 



As this is not a good locality for honey, I want to 

 ask the readers of Gleanings if any of them can di- 

 rect me to a first-class place to locate an apiary and 

 hennery. I wish to run about 200 stands of bees, 

 and keep from 500 to 1000 chickens. I should like to 

 locate near a good market for fowls. To any one 

 who will point out such a location I shall be under 

 lasting obligation. Mr. Editor, have you not some 

 place to call my attention to? A. L. Foreman. 



Milton, III., Jan. 8, 1883. 



Thanks, friend F.; but while reading of 

 your remedy, I got to wondering if I was sure 

 I wouldn't rather have moths than ducks, 

 if I must have one or the other in the apiary ; 

 but perhaps many of the brethren would ra- 

 ther have ducks, and I am pretty sure they 

 would " oust^'' the moths, after they once got 

 the trick learned. — In regard to a loca- 

 tion, I might advise you to open aranche be- 

 side some of our Western friends, Oatman, 

 Miller, the Dadants, and others Avho have 

 made such immense yields this past season ; 

 but if I did, next year they might all have a 

 failure, and then you might blame me. To 

 tell the truth, after reading the reports so 

 many years I am very much at a loss to say 

 where is the best place. Sometimes it is 

 here, and again it is there ; and in the end 



it seems to be where we have the most en- 

 terprising men located. Why not go and 

 settle down by Doolittle? If you shouldn't 

 find his locality so much superior, you could 

 doubtless learn how of him, and that would 

 eventually amount to the same thing. Then 

 comes the question, couldn't you do it 

 cheaper, and stay where you are ? I am in- 

 clined to think you could. ■!« 



bees in WYOMING TERRITORY. 



Last spring I brought the first honey-bees to Wy- 

 oming Territory that were ever tried in this new 

 and wild region. People have heretofore supposed 

 that no honey could be made here, on account of the 

 short seasons and nothing but wild flowers to gather 

 it from; but my two stands of bees did remarkably 

 well; in fact, as well as I ever saw them do in Wis- 

 consin, and they are all right up to this date. They 

 filled several boxes full of splendid surplus honey, 

 and worked well till the first of October; and when 

 I had occasion to move them, it was all two men 

 could do to lift each hive into a wagon, so great was 

 the weight. I did not divide, but think I lost some 

 natural swarms. G. G. Mead. 



Rawlins, Wyoming, Jan. 12, 1883. 



at how low a temperature will or can bees 



FLY ? 



A few nights ago we had a light fall of snow; the 

 next day I took the broom and my hook to clear the 

 snow away. I hooked into one gum to haul out (at 

 the entrance) the snow and dead bees, if any, when, 

 behold, out came 2 or 3 dozen bees, and flew off quite 

 a distance, and circled around, and went back in the 

 hive, and only one fell on the snow, that I could see, 

 and that I helped in the hive. It was still and clear, 

 and I stepped to the tree where the mercury was, and 

 it was just 10° above zero, and no mistake. I was 

 surprised. John W. C. Gray. 



Atwood, Piatt Co., 111., Jan. 14, 1883. 



flax straw as a substitute for chaff, etc. 



In the fall of 1881 1 packed four good strong colo- 

 nies in flax husks, taken from the flax while scutch- 

 ing. I believe this is one of if not the best absorb- 

 ents we have in Canada, and mice or other vermin 

 will not work in it; packed similar to friend Jones's 

 plan. All came out strong in the spring. One lost 

 their queen (mentioned in July Gleanings) ; though 

 I tried hard to get a queen early for them, it was 

 late before I succeeded, and my strong colony was 

 reduced, so that I had only three to get honey from. 

 However, I was favored with about 160 lbs. of beau- 

 tiful comb honey in 1 and 1}^ lb. sections, which I 

 succeeded in getting first prize for at our fall fair. 

 I also increased to nine. One swarm that issued on 

 June 37, made in Hi sections over 40 lbs. This is the 

 best I ever heard of around here for a first swarm. 

 I bought one swarm, so now I have 10 nicely packed 

 in flax chaff and dry sawdust, and all furnished with 

 young queens. All are Italians, except one Holy- 

 Land queen. Wm. Hasty. 



Brussells, Ont., Can., Dec. 18, 1882. 



TWO varieties of native bees in MISSISSIPPI. 



We have two varieties of the common bees in this 

 section of country— one small, dark, and extremely 

 cross; the other, larger and yellower, and better 

 natured. I found a tree of the latter variety this 

 past summer, from which I obtained about 30 lbs. 

 of honey, very white and well flavored. I succeeded 

 in saving the bees, and am feeding them this winter, 



