sSs 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CtJLTURE. 



Sept*. 



down into the water, and let the other end hang 

 over the edge of your trough; let the longest part 

 of the cloth bang outside, and it will act on the same 

 principle of a siphon, but will keep wet all over all 

 the time, and the bees will soon take to alighting on 

 it for water. Dark-colored cloth is the best, I think, 

 because it looks most like a piece of wet wood. 



WHY ARE BEES AND IMMATURE LARV^ THROWN 

 OUT BEFORE THE ENTRANCE? 



What makes the old bees throw out of the hive 

 the young brood? Sometimes the young bees look 

 as if they were almost ready to come out of the 

 cells, and some look as if they would come out in a 

 week, and sometimes the worm, or larvte, is thrown 

 out. Don't say it is for the want of room to store, 

 because I looked after that, and they have plenty of 

 room to work. 



VENTILATION. 



How shall I ventilate my gums best when I am 

 working the honey-sections? W. L. High. 



McLean, 111., Aug. 19, 1883. 



I do not think it is because they lack 

 room, Mend II., but because the larvse, or 

 young bees, thrown ovit are imperfect in 

 some way. The ravages of worms in the 

 combs often injure a large amount of brood ; 

 and where this is the case you will And they 

 are thrown out of the entrance very early in 

 the morning. Unless you look quite early 

 you may not find them, for small birds have 

 a habit of going around among the hives, 

 and gathering up all this stuff brought out 

 during the night.— See the recent articles by 

 Langstroth and George Grimm in this mat- 

 ter of ventilation for comb honey, friend H. 



SMOKER FUEL. 



I have used the dry " toad-stools" from old fallen 

 timber this summer, with satisfactory results. It 

 holds fire longer than any thing I ever used. I see 

 in yourcomments on page 509 of Gleanings, 1882, 

 that you thought it would be impossible to secure 

 enough of it. I think I could furnish several cords 

 of them to friends who would be willing to pay, say 

 26;c. per bushel here. I do not find any trouble in 

 breaking them when dry. Take a hatchet in one 

 hand, toad-stool in the other; lay it on a hard-wood 

 block near the side of your wood-shed, and let the 

 pieces, as they fly, strike it. Ycu will soon have a 

 nice pile of the very best fuel. I keep the tin oven 

 full of the stools all the time, at the risk of being 

 scolded by the women folks. A. R. Crosier, 12. 



Fair Haven, Cay. Co., N. Y. 



FIREWEED. 



The July No. of Gleanings is at hand, and I am 

 much pleased with it. Bees are doing well. This is 

 my first year with them, and I think I shall have to 

 send In my report when.the season is over. 



I inclose a stem of flower and a few leaves of a 

 honey-plant, which is called elkweed, or flreweed 

 here. I should like to know if you have it, or what 

 you know about it. If you would like some seed, I 

 think I can send you some this fall. There is prob- 

 ably 2000 acres of it within reach of my bees, and it 

 blooms from the middle of June till frost. 



Frank S. Harding. 



Willamina, Yamhill Co., Oregon. 



Thank you, friend H. The plant you send 

 is probably Epilobiuyn angustifolmin, or Great 

 Western Fireweed. Concerning it, the bot- 

 any says : " One of the plants that grow up 



abundantly everwhere northward, where 

 forests have been newly cleared and the 

 ground burned ovei'. Simple - stemmed, 

 smooth, with lanceolate leaves, and a long 

 succession of pink-purple leaves." With 

 2000 acres of it, there is certainly no need of 

 planting honey- bearing plants. I should be 

 glad indeed to see a sample of the honey. 

 We mail you to-day a little block, inside of 

 which is a small vial. I wish you would fill 

 it and mail me a sample. I presume this is 

 the great honey-plant that has been spoken 

 of in Maine, that yields more honey than the 

 bees can possibly gather. 



WHAT BECAME OF THE EGGS? 



In looking over my bees to-day, 1 found one that I 

 had given eggs to raise cells, two days ago. Well, I 

 found no eggs, and I thought here is a case of trans- 

 ferring eggs; but on looking very carefully over 

 every frame in the hive I still can find no eggs. 

 Now, what do you think the bees have done with 

 those eggs? 



caring for swarms on SUNDAY. 



" Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." 

 This is the law, friend Root; and where you find the 

 exception, mentioned on page 467, Aug. Gleanings, 

 I do not know. Will you please inform the ABC 

 class the chapter and verse? D. M'Kenzie. 



New Orleans, La., Aug. 11, 1883. 



I have noticed eggs being gone when they 

 were given to certain colonies for queen- 

 cells ; but I have never been able to explain 

 it. Can any one help us here V 



Friend M., the text I had in mind was as 

 follows: "• What man shall there be among 

 you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall 

 into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay 

 hold on it, and lift it outV" You will find it 

 in the 12th of Matthew. I presume if the 

 fence should be blown down, so the sheep 

 was in danger, the spirit of the text would 

 prompt that we go after him, even though 

 we should go several miles, and then put up 

 the fence. In this case some labor would be 

 necessary on this day, in order to save valu- 

 able property. Of course, we should strive 

 to avoid the necessity of doing any labor of 

 this kind on the Sabbath, as far as possible 

 to do so. If there is any w'ay to prevent 

 swarms coming out on the Sabbath-day, 

 such as Jones's entrance-guards, etc., of 

 course any Christian bee-keeper should try 

 to avail himself of such means. However, 

 if swarms do come out on this day, as I un- 

 derstand the spirit of Christ's teachings it 

 would be right and proper to take care of 

 them. If they are found hanging on a tree, 

 I should say it was a Christian duty to hive 

 them properly. If I started for church, and 

 on my way saw a swarm of bees hanging on 

 a tree near my apiary, I think I should hive 

 them before going further, even at the risk 

 of being late to church. At the same time, 

 I think I should try very hard to avoid the 

 necessity of having any one in my employ 

 kept from going to church on account of 

 bees swarming. Am I not right about it, 

 friends? 



INTRODUCING. 



The queen you sent me came to hand in good con- 

 dition. I had quite an experience introducing her, 



