1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



I2d 



thereby. As to its honey-producing power, I now 

 place It at the head of all plants that I have tested. 

 Blue thistle first, flgwort second, and white clover 

 and basswood next. Its chief value is the extraor- 

 dinary length of time of its bloom. Contrary to my 

 expectations, when basswood bloomed, the bees did 

 not desert the blue-thistle patch, but kept right on, 

 and seemed as much pleased as before and after. 



May I not suggest, that many of the discouraging 

 letters that have been written have been owing to 

 the fact that this plant is called a thistle, they con- 

 cluding that all thistles are bad and noxious weeds? 

 My experience so far is, that it is just as harmless as 

 flgwort, motherwort, or mullein. If plowed under 

 or pulled up, that ends it; and as it seeds only the 

 second year, it can be easily overcame. The word 

 thistle carries with it a settled conviction of thorns 

 and jaggers; but not so with this plant; yet it is 

 covered with fine short bristles, but they will not in- 

 jure the hands while In a green state. 



Bloomdale, O., Feb. 10, 1883. R. B. Eobbins. 



WATER FOK BEES. 



A PRETTY DEVICE FOR A WATER- FOUNTAIN, SENT 

 US BY A BEE-FRIEND OVER THE "WATER." 



Q] INCE beginning bee-lieeping, many years ago, I 

 ^^ have always regularly supplied water to my 

 ' bees by various modes, and send along with 

 this a photo for your acceptance. 



copies reproduced in polished white earthenware. 

 They require great pains in firing, to preserve a true 

 level, but are much superior, and do not split off 

 like wooden ones. The bottomless water-bottle, or 

 barrel, set thereon, is fern engraved, and has a nice 

 cool refi'eshing effect to the eye in hot weather. 



J. M. McPhedron. 

 Craigbet, Renfrewshire, Scotland, Dec. 7, 1882. 



Perhaps I should explain to our readers, 

 that we have cut down the height of the ped- 

 estal some in our engraving, but it shows 

 pretty well the handsome design our friend 

 McPhedron has furnished us. I know wood 

 is hardly the thing for the base of our wa- 

 tering-jar, and some of the friends may re- 

 member I first used a stone washboard, with 

 the sides of the grooves stopped with wax ; 

 but the grooves were too large, and the bees 

 pushed under, and rose up into the jar, and 

 were drowned. The grooves need to be so 

 small that a bee can not even wedge his head 

 in one of them ; for if he does, many will get 

 fast and die ; and who wants to see dead 

 bees sticking around a nice feeder? After 

 this I had a block of sandstone hewed out, 

 and set the water-jar in a cavity in the top 

 of this ; but to my surprise I found the 

 sandstone would take up a whole pail of wa- 

 ter in no time, and during a dry atmosphere 

 it would absorb and give off water about as 

 fast as I could bring it. I should be very 

 glad of some stone china grooved feeding- 

 boards. Who can furnish them in our own 

 country? 



A WATERFOUNT.ilN FOR THE BEES, FROM FAR-AWAY 

 SCOTLAND. 



The watering-stage on top, with gutters from a 

 common center to a circular one, outer circumfer- 

 ence, I had originally cut in marble ; but being too 

 expensive for general use, I applied to a large pot- 

 tery establishment, and from It had a mold made and 



PUTTING THE SECTIONS TENDER THE 

 BROOD-NEST. 



HOW FRIEND SHANGLE GOT 204 POUNDS OF HONEY 

 FROM ONE HIVE. 



^^-OU wanted to know how I got that 20t lbs. of 

 W honey from that swarm of bees. I waited till 

 — ' my bees got their hives full of bees and brood 

 and honey; then I raised them, put another story 

 under, full of sections, when they commenced work- 

 ing in the sections. I extracted the brood-frames, 

 and got 34 lbs. The queen filled them with eggs. 

 She did not bother tho sections. 1 kept watch of 

 the sections, and when they got them full I took 

 them out and put more iu their place. 



David Shanolb. 

 Judd's Corners, Mich., Jan. 19, 1883. 



This idea of putting the sections under 

 the bees is hardly a new one; yet I doubt 

 if many have made it work as well as friend 

 S. did. One of our English friends some 

 time ago said we would get lighter honey by 

 this means ; but my experience has been 

 rather to the contrary. Where we have 

 strains of Italians that are so determined 

 not to go up into an upper story to store 

 their surplus, this plan might work admira- 

 bly, only it seems to me it will be a little la- 

 borious to raise heavy stocks of bees every 

 time we want to put on or take off— beg par- 

 don ; every time we want to put under, or 

 take out filled sections, or case of sections. 

 Who can tell us more about it ? and is the 

 honey whiter than that stored above, or to 

 the contrary V 



