456 



GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Aug. 



From Different Fields. 



HOW FAST CAN A BEE FLY? 



^p|N N page 301, June Gleanings, John Phin argues 

 wM that a bee can fly as fast as a pigeon, because 

 it is stronger in comparison to its size. This 

 Is not a conclusive argument by any means. I have 

 seen a jumping mouse, about six inches long, includ- 

 ing three and a half inches of tail, leap four or five 

 feet at a time, eight or ten times his own length, and 

 yet I could outrun him. So with the bee and pigeon ; 

 though the bee is stronger and swifter in comparison 

 to its size, j'et I think there can be little doubt but 

 that the actual speed of the bird is much the great- 

 er. BunDETTE HASSETT. 



Howard Center, Iowa, June 35, 1883. 



transplanted ; but even now tliere is only 

 here and there a tree which can really be 

 said to be full of blossoms.— I am very glad 

 indeed to see the reputation of apple-tree 

 honey coming up. The great drawback in 

 harvesting the crop seems to be in having 

 the bees strong when it comes into bloom. 



A QUEEN THAT WOULD STINO WORKER BEES. 



I received the queen all right, and put her in a one- 

 frame hive that I had made for a queen a few days 

 before, but they had killed her. They were mostly 

 all young bees, as nearly all the old ones had return- 

 ed home. I put the queen in, and the old bees that 

 were in the hive commenced to bite her. Whenever 

 one bit her she turned round and stung it. Some 

 caught hold of her by the legs, but she soon stung 

 them to death. Do not say I am mistaken, for 1 saw 

 her curl up on them and thrust her sting into them. 

 As soon as they were stung they fell down on the 

 bottom-board. This is the first case of a queen 

 stinging workers that I ever saw. 



John Dallas. 



Sharpsville, Mercer Co., Pa., June 26, 1881!. 



I know, friend D., that we do occasionally 

 have a queen that will sting worker bees ; 

 and it has been suggested that we might 

 Iiave one that could be turned loose in any 

 colony of bees, and fight her way through. 

 It seems, however, that yours did not suc- 

 ceed in doing this, after all, for she was kill- 

 ed linally. I have known only one or two 

 cases where a queen would deliberately 

 sting worker bees. 



basswood; at what age it bears honey. 

 Please tell us how long it takes basswood-trees 

 that are grown from the seed, before they will bloom. 

 Bees are doing A 1 now. There is an abundance of 

 feed — white clover, alsike clover, and red and black 

 raspberry. Basswood looks well; and with favor- 

 able weather I see nothing in the way of our getting 

 more than an average crop of honey. Although the 

 spring has been cold and wet, our bees have not 

 ceased to breed; so at this time, the hives are full of 

 workers, ready for business. 



APPLE-BLOSSOM HONEY. 



A few of the colonies stored 30 lbs. of the very 

 whitest kind of comb honey from apple-blossoms. 



A. W. OSBURN. 



Water Valley, N. Y., June 33, 1883. 



]3asswood-trees will bear at a very early 

 age, perhaps five years from the seed. J3iit 

 it will perhaps be ten years before the bloom 

 will amount to any thing for honey, and 

 very likely ten more on top of that before it 

 is ready to give a full crop. Our basswood 

 orchard is about ten years old, and many of 

 the trees were three or four years old when 



uniting BEES. 



I had a small swarm the first of the week. I had a 

 weak colony, and after taking out the old queen I 

 united them. Any thing wrong in doing this? The 

 next day I looked at them, and they were trying to 

 kill the queen, and did do It. What was the matter? 



Zancsville, O., June 33, 1883. L. Gray. 



And they did exactly as I should suppose 

 they would, friend G. It is never safe to put 

 bee's in with another colony, no matter how 

 few or how many, under any circumstances, 

 without at first caging the queen or watch- 

 ing her to see if they molest her. It is true, 

 bees are often put in thus, without the less 

 of a queen. But there always is liable to be 

 danger. Smoking them well at first when 

 they commence will many times make them 

 behave. Where bees are lifted from combs, 

 and all from one hive, and put in another, 

 there is, perhaps, less danger ; but if the 

 queen is a valuable one, it is always best to 

 look after her for a few hours. 



AN OLD-.STYLE BEE-KEEPER. 



I have had bees all my life, and have £0 stands now. 

 I know nothing about frame or improved hives, but 

 I can handle bees as I please. I have had but one 

 sting in handling .50 or 60 swarms. I would like to 

 have my bees in good shape, and make a business of 

 it. My bees are in nail-kegs, cracker-boxep, llour- 

 barreli sawed in two, log gums, and any thing that 

 I could pick up. W. D. Werner. 



Prairieville, Ark. 



Friend VV., I do not know but it would be 

 lots of fun to handle bees in your nail-kegs, 

 boxes, etc., but it seems to me I would 

 rather have a few more stings, and get a lit- 

 tle more profit from my bees than you prob- 

 ably do by your present mode of manage- 

 ment. We send you the necessary informa- 

 tion in regard to the modern style of work- 

 ing with bees. 



new SWAIIMS ABSCONDING. 



We had our first swarm of bees come out on Sun- 

 day, June 17, 1883, at half-past 9 o'clock a.m. We 

 hived them without any trouble, and then let them 

 stand on a sheet on the ground, under a tree. It was 

 a very warm day, and the sun shone on the hive 

 most of the time, and about two o'clock the bees 

 came out of the hive and went to the woods without 

 saying good-bj', or any thing else, and so we lost 

 them. Now, please tell me if you think it was our 

 fault that they went off; if being in the hot sun; or 

 do you think to clip the queen's wing would have 

 saved them? I don't want to lose any more. The 

 bees begin to hang out some on the other hive. 



Martin V. Hotelling. 



Dansville, Liv. Co., N. Y., June 19, 1883. 



I think it was the heat of the sun, princi- 

 pally, friend H., that made them come out. 

 Besides putting them in the shade, I would 

 put in the comb of unsealed brood I have 

 been telling so much about ; but in any case 

 don't let the sun shine on a colony just hived. 



