194 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. 



Apr. 



'arft#' §^fiar'ttff_mt' 



i^ELL, friend Root, I want to talk to you a lit- 

 tle while, just as a scholar does to his teach- 

 er. On page 403, J. G. P. speaks ot wingless 

 bees, and you say that they are so because they 

 have worn their wings out; but he says they are 

 young bees, and I think he means bees that have 

 never flown because they could not, as they did not 

 have good wings to fly Avith, as that was the way 

 with a good many young bees from my hive. They 

 never had any wings to fly with. You ask in an- 

 other place what it is that bee-keepers want to breed 

 for. There arc three points that I should think 

 would be wantf d. First, best honey-gal herers, as 

 that is what they aro ktpt for; second, prolificness; 

 as the more bees there aro, the more there are to 

 gather the honey when there is any to gather. 

 Third, gentleness. Am I not right so far? Who 

 could want a larger swarm than that four-foot one, 

 or larger yields of honey than we read of in Glean- 

 ings? and these qualities, with the gentleness of 

 Italians, would, I think, suit any one. Perhaps a 

 cross with the Italians and Cyprians, as this, you say, 

 removes the vicious habits of the last named. 



GLOVES OR MITTENS. 



Why not make linen miltens instead of gloves? 

 Every woman could make her own, if she wished. I 

 tried to work with gloves the first time I tried to 

 handle my bees; but I soon took them off and rolled 

 my sleeves up to the elbows, and I work that way 

 whenever I handle them. All the stings I got was 

 when I pinched one accidentally. 



Some one (I do not remember who now) wants a 

 carpet for the tin slides to queen-cage. I sent one 

 to you that I thought would do. The paper was not 

 very clean, but It was the only piece that I could 

 find, of the kind I wanted. Why not put wax on all 

 of the wood part of the cage? 



Mrs. Clara S. Lockwood. 



Canon City, Grant Co., Oregon, Feb. 10, 1883. 



BEES IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 



Oh! I think if you could only see our bees fly it 

 would make jou feel quite young and lively. It 

 is the 2d day of March, with the thermometer T0° 

 above zero; sun shining as warm and bright as in 

 May. Grass and all vegetation is showing signs of 

 life and activity. Our bees have been at work every 

 day since the 25th of Feb. on balm-of-Gilead and wil- 

 low, gathering dark-brown glassy-looking wax. Can 

 you tell me what they do with it? 



EIREWEED SEEDS, ETC. 



Now about this flreweed biisincss. I am besieged 

 on all sides for seeds; and as you have got me into 

 the scrape, I think it only fair to help me out. The 

 flreweed seed Is exhausted until June, when it begins 

 to ripen. Then I will save seed for all who want, 

 If they will inclose a three-cent stamp; but I can 

 not pay postage. Here is a man (card inclosed) who 

 wants seeds or roots, but sends no stamps. The 

 roots will cost 30 or 40 cts. postage; but he expects 

 me to send them free, to advance bee culture! Do 

 you think that is right? When I wanted seeds of 

 honey-plants sent from Texas I paid 50 cents for 60 

 seeds, ajjd was glad to get them at that ; but they 

 would not grow here after I got them. 



Mrs. Nelson Kelley. 



Ferndale, W. T., Mar. 2, 1883. 



I think, my friend, the dark-brown glassy 

 wax is propolis, although it seems strange to 

 have them gather propolis so early in the 

 spring. I am glad to know you have so 

 pleasant a locality. 



Do not be in haste to think evil, my good 

 friend. I know the man who wrote you the 

 card, and I assure you he will cheerfully 

 pay for all he asks for. Very likely the 

 friends are a little thoughtless about asking 

 for seeds or roots; but where tliey know 

 you have the seeds, I am sure they will will- 

 ingly inclose the stamps needed. If they 

 are not sure you have them, it would be 

 quite natural to first send a postal of inqui- 

 ry, as in the above case. 13ee-men, as a rule, 

 are fair and liberal, and ahoays gentlemen. 

 Are they not, friends V 



from 5 TO 16, AND $87.00 WORTH OP HONEY. 



As our loved one (our boy Homer) is gone, I will 

 try to send a report of what the bees with his care 

 did last summer. We had 5 stands in spring; In- 

 creased to 16, and sold honey at 15 cts. per lb., to 

 come to .187.00. We new beginners have many trials. 

 One of ours was bees gathering so fast that we had 

 no place for them to store it, and Homer had to go 

 to Striker, 18 miles distant, to get sections, which we 

 buy in the flat, and he was to borrow Mr. Rogers* 

 extractor; but as there was another man there to 

 borrow it, he bought it, and had to give $10.00. It is 

 a very old one he had got of A. I. Root. We extracted 

 75 lbs. of honey. We buy our hives In the flat; 

 bought 30 for one dollar each, and two wide frames 

 with sections for each hive. This made $10.00 more. 



BEE CULTURE FOR GIRLS. 



Our daughter Alice, nearly 18 j'cars old, is making 

 the hives. She is to have half of every thing that 

 she makes. She is to be our bee-keeper. You must 

 send Gleanings to her. Mrs. M. C. Zeller. 



Pioneer, Williams Co., O., March 19, 1883. 



We extend to you our sympathy in your 

 affliction, my good friend.— Bee-keepers, 

 as a rule, are not in the habit of classing 

 floods of honey among the '' trials ; " but, on 

 the contrary, the trials are when the honey 

 doesn't come. We welcome Miss Alice into 

 our ranks, and shall be pleased to hear from 

 her. 



i$€l^s and §mrle4. 



chickweed pollen. 

 ^D^EES wintered well; no loss so far. I wintered 

 J™ in li4-story hive, with 3 inches of chaff on top. 

 First honey and pollen were gathered yester- 

 day from chicliweed. The day was pleasant, and I 

 found some of my Italians over two miles away from 

 home. The pollen from chickweed is a very dark 

 brown. W. A. Hammond. 

 Richmond, Va., Feb. 25. 1883. 



a hedge-plant WANTED THAT BEARS HONEY. 



Can't you furnish me with hedge-plants of some 

 sort that would be good for bees, and make a good 

 cheap hedge-fence for a garden too, such as the Ja- 

 pan quince, or something else as good. 



C. W. KENDALL. 



Mooney, Jackson Co., Tnd., March 23, 1883. 



[Who can supply the honey-bearing hedge-plants?] 



