262 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



BEES IN FLORIDA. 



Bees are working well; have increased from S to 

 24 colonies of blacks and hybrids since Feb. 1, 1S83. 

 Orange Citj', Fla., Apr. 11, 'S3. Dr. H. S. Allyn. 



My bees are carrying in pollen from the alders. 

 That is the first thing they have to work on, and I 

 tell you it comes ia well, because it comes so early. 

 In a few days the maple-buds will be out; then 

 comes the first honey of the season. L U. Webb. 



Salisbury, N. C, Feb. 18, 1833. 



GOOD REPORT FOR CHAFF HIVES. 



I have lost but 4 out of 50. Four were put in cel- 

 lar; lost two; 46 were packed in chaff on their sum- 

 mer stands; lost two; all very strong, and will want 

 Gleanings to help me take care of them. 



J. H. Wagner. 



Hudson, Steuben Co., liid.. Mar. 19, 1883. 



I see 'o-lb. sections are fashionable. Just put a 

 hypothenuse in 414 sections, and you will make two 

 three-cornered sections, and they are so perfect a 

 brace that they will stand throwing at rabbits, in a 

 pinch, after bees propolize them, and they exactly 

 fill your surplus supers. J. W. Clark. 



Moniteau, Moniteau Co., Mo., Mar. 24, 1883. 



BEE-CAVES. 



I have to blast into the caves here to get honey 

 and bees to start with, but haven't much time for it, 

 as it takes some time to drill into the rock so as to 

 put in the blast; sol am going to try to have my 

 bees at home, where I can attend to them easier. 



Wm. S. Stoner. 



Bullhead, E Iwards Co., Tex., March 3, 1883. 



I have 22 acres in fruit of every description, be- 

 sides hundreds of varieties of shrubs, roses, etc. I 

 think it would pay me to have a few bees; and as 

 soon as I can spare the money, I will make a start; 

 but I am fearful about the result, as'^I know no 

 more about bees than a hog does about Sunday. 



Sam. Marshall. 

 Ltdonia, Texas, March 26, 1883. 



BEE-SMOKERS AS VERMIN EXTERMINATORS. 



I have just received two smokers for my 

 small apiary, and for one of my neighbors, and 

 still two other neighbor.^ wish me to send for them 

 to use with tobacco in them, to kill vermin on their 

 house-plants. For this they are a perfect success. 



George Pattee. 



Ackley, la., March 5, 1883. 



FRIEND B.\NNON S NEIGHBORHOOD. 



My bees are in very bad shape. I have not time to 

 attend to them; if I had the time, I think I could 

 get lots of honey. There are men here who keep 

 bees, and have lots of time to attend to them: but 

 they were " born tired; " they are loafers, and don't 

 have to work. I would just like to have time to try 

 my hand this summer. James B.\nnon. 



Archie, Venango Co., Pa., Apr., 1883. 



honey vinegar; how to make. 



To R.J. Fox, Natick, Mass. To make honey vin- 

 egar, we rinse our cappings after they have drained; 

 also broken combs that contain honey; settle well; 

 then drain carefully. Then place it where it is warm. 

 It will not pay to take nice honey for vinegar; it will 

 take 3 lbs. to the gallon for a good article that will 

 not dye the washings of all your implements that 

 have honey in. Waste nothing. D. L. Bular. 



Wauseon, Fulton Co., O., April 2, 1883, 



DO bees gather both honey and pollen at the 



SAME TRIP? 



I am convinced that bees carry honey and pf)llen 

 at the same time. I was in our orchard the other 

 day, and saw the bees, after they had got a load of 

 pollen, boring their bills down into the peach-bloom 

 until they were tilled with honey, and off they would 

 go to their hive. J. E. Tharp, Jr. 



Eagle Mill?, Iredell Co., N. C, April 9, 1883. 



honey from tobacco. 



As the frost was late last fall in coming, tobacco- 

 suckers nearly all bloomed, and the way the bees 

 went for them was a caution, and it was good honey 

 for fall honey; but then, you are so opposed to the 

 stuff, I don't believe you would hardly like it; but I 

 will agree with you this far: I don't hardly think it 

 would pay to rai«o tobacco just for the honey, though 

 I have gocd reason to believe my bees got consider- 

 able honey from it this fall. Geo. W. Stites. 



Spring Station, Ind., Dec. 25, 1882. 



SCRAPING WIRED FRAMES (PAGE 137, MARCH NO.) 



I gauge the top and bottom-bar; then I can make 

 the holes for wire in the middle of the frame. The 

 wires are drawn in gauge-mark, and tight, to spring 

 up bottom-bar, which is thinner than top-bar. There 

 is no touching the wire with the scraper, should the 

 bees soil the frames in winter and need scraping. 



J. Lewelling. 



Spiceland, Henry Co., Ind., Mar. 31,1883. 



[Thank you, friend L. Your plan is so simple I am 

 ashamed to think we never thought of it before. 

 One of our 5-cent gauges will draw a line sufficiently 

 deep, without any trouble.] 



BEE GLOVES OF STARCHED LINEN, ETC. 



How will those starched linen gloves work when 

 the thermometer is about 90 in the shade? If the 

 sweat runs off from the person who wears 

 them as it does from me when I take off 

 honey, I rather think a sting would go through; 

 but I find no use for gloves, except in trans- 

 ferring, as a good smoke, and plenty of honey 

 coming in, is the best pjeventive I know cf for 

 stings. J. H. Myers. 



Saratoga Springs, N. Y., March, 1883. 



[I quite agree with you, friend M., only " a little 

 more so." If I wanted to hire a bee keeper, and he 

 went to work with gloves on, I am afraid I shouldn't 

 have a very high opinion of his ability.] 



seedling basswoods. 

 You spoke last spring of getting a quantity of H. 

 M. Morris' seedling basswood-trecs. Did you get 

 them? And if so, how did they succeed? 



WATER FOR BEES. 



You say in last Gleanings that honey seems to 

 contain Avater enough for bees, and yet they some- 

 times die without more. Probably if perfectly 

 healthy they will be all right ; but if diseased a little, 

 and feverish, then they need more. Don't you think 



so? BCBDETT H.4.SSETT. 



Howard Center. los^-a. Mar. 10, 1883. 



[All the seedling basswoods that friend Morris 

 could spare were sent directly to customers to fill 

 orders. So we didn't try any. Will those who tried 

 them please report?— Perhaps you are right about 

 the honey, that it contains water enough for bees in 

 a state of health, but that they need more when con- 

 fined to the hive by weather, or when out of health 

 from other causes.] 



