398 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



July 



two men full of energy can be, to force the increase 

 of our tecs, which they had generally failed to do, 

 by natural swarming. The never-failing honey- 

 month of May came, and failed, on account of dry 

 weather and high wind; aud to-day my brother-in- 

 law, with 40, myself with 13 hives, have to resort to 

 feeding. Of 4 queens I raised, I lost 3 in the high 

 wind of the spring. H. Franke. 



Blackjack Spring, Fayette Co., Texas, May 20. 



AVhy, friend F., I can not quite sec where 

 blasted hopes come in, after all. It is true, 

 you were annoyed by dry weather in ISIay, 

 when you would rather have had some rain ; 

 but dry weather hurts other folks as well as 

 bee-keepers, does it not? So far as I can 

 gather from your story, it is not the bees 

 you are complaining of, but the weather, or 

 circumstances, if you choose : and if you 

 will excuse the liberty I take, I would 

 suggest that perhaps a little fault may lie 

 right at your own door. Suppose the wind 

 did destroy three queens out of four; keep 

 on trying. You can have another crop of 

 queens in ten days, and where is there a 

 farmer that can get his crop in that time? 

 Try another ten days, and very likely the 

 wind won't blow then. Have you not made 

 the business pay expenses, in all these ten 

 years ? Surely you do not lose your bees in 

 wintering away down where you are, as we 

 do? Again, the season is not over yet. 

 Suppose you did feed in June; have not 

 hundreds of us done the same, and haven't 

 we had our reward, too, as a general thing ? 

 Look up, friend F., and help your brother- 

 in-law to look up too. High winds and 

 droughts don't hurt any one, if his hopes are 

 anchored where they should be. He whom 

 the winds and waves obeyed is looking on, 

 and knows it all ; and he has said, even the 

 very hairs of your head are all numbered. 



$€l^s and §u^rle4. 



BBES WORKING ON LILAC. 



^pjpS^. ID you ever hear of bees working on lilac? Our 

 lljjl Syrians have done so quite largely this 



Syrians have done so quite largely 



" ^ spring. A. J. Cook. 



Lansing, Mich., June 7, 1883. 



[Honey from lilac 1 Who ever heard of the like 

 before? Wouldn't honey be flue, and wouldn't it be 

 fine to have a lilac orchard? Thank you, friend 

 Cook. Has any one else noticed this? and is it a pe- 

 culiarity of the Syrians only?l 



What is paralBne? 

 Jonesboro, Ind., May 24, 188?. 

 [A. residue from petroleum.] 



C. P. HOCKETT. 



My bees are nearly all hybrids, and worse than the 

 desperadoes and prize-flghters that our State is gen- 

 erally noted for. John Umhols. 



Nashville, Mo., May, 1883. 



My wintering report in brief is as follows: Put in 

 winter quarters, 135, and 31 "on shares." All came 

 through, mostly in good condition; 3 or 4 queens 

 were missing, or had run out of fertility. The bees 

 were united, or made to rear cells. Sold, up to Mar. 

 1, 13. On hand May 1, 133, and 21 " on shares." 



Oliver Foster, 133. 



Mt. Vernon, la., May 33, 1883. 



A CAUTION TO NEW HANDS. 



Charley Hunt's bees came all right, but he lost 

 them in transferring them. The queen came out of 

 the hive, and in looking for her she got stepped on, 

 so he has had bad luck too. S. K. Wilcox. 



Port Chester, N. Y., May 16, 1883. 



THE FIFE PATENT HIVE; A CAUTION. 



Friend Root, I think it would be best to warn peo- 

 ple against being induced to give Mr. Fife any mon- 

 ey. I do not believe that his hive is patented; and 

 if it is, the hive is a worthless concern. 



Nappanee, Ind., May .5, 1883. I. R. Good. 



CUTTING A BEE-TREE. 



I cut a bee-tree yesterday, and transferred them. 

 In so doing, the queen got some bruised, but is still 

 living. They are the pure Italians. They were m a 

 tree nearly four feet through, about 45 feet high in 

 the body. They had 30 lbs. of good honey. 



A. L. Martin. 



Leonardsburg, Del. Co., O., May 4, 1883. 



HOW TO raise BASSWOODS FROM THE SEEDS. 



I would say, plant seeds as soon as gathered, in 

 late summer or fall. They lie over one year, and 

 comes up the next spring, taking two years for 

 seeds to sprout. An c.rpert can make a success 

 starting them from cuttings; but one must know 

 how to make them root so as to pay. 



Rantoul, 111., Mar. 24, 1883. H. M. Monnis. 



a disease of the BROOD THAT IS NOT FOUL BROOD. 



I think my bees are affected with the same disease 

 as Mr. Hewitts' (p. 356, May No.). They had it all last 

 summer. I thought it might be foul brood; but they 

 could raise queens sometimes, and did pretty well 

 maKing honey ; but they came through winter badly. 

 I think I saw bees on exhibition at Michigan State 

 Fair affected the same. L. C. Lincoln. 



Greenville, Mich., May 23, 1883. 



"OLD FOGY " — HE VENTURES TO "PEEP" A LITTLE 

 YET. 



Bees are booming, but no swarms yet. I packed 

 27 colonies in chaff on their summer stands last fall, 

 and all have come through the winter bright and 

 lively. Does a swarm ever issue and go off without 

 clustering? That is right, friend Root; bring on 

 your score of witnesses, and let us have the matter 

 settled. Yes, I read friend Cyula's letter, and from 

 it I inferred that woods is not a good place to keep 

 bees. Old Fogy. 



Allendale, 111., May 7, 1833. 



A QUEEN THAT DIDN'T LAY FOR 8 MONTHS AND 26 

 DAYS. 



I want to know the reason of a queen not laj'ing in 

 8 months and 30 days. Was it old age, or was she a 

 Democratic queen that she would not lay with black 

 Republicans? I want a Republican queen this time. 



Mankata, Kan., May 14, 1883. David Ross. 



[I am not versed in politics, friend R., and can't 

 answer that part of it; but if I had a queen that 

 didn't lay in one month, I think I should hustle her 

 out of the hive, bag and baggage, and install a new 

 housekeeper. I don't think I could give any reason ; 

 but I do know that we have queens cnce in a while 

 that stop laying, and that can't be started by fresh 

 brood and liberal feeding. I would not be in a hurry 

 to discard queens in the fall of the year, however, 

 for they often stop then, but commence all right in 

 the spring. Of course, you gave the colony brood 

 to keep up its strength all this time, and I think we 

 can commend you as a patient man, to say the least.] 



