666 



GLEA^IKGS IN BEE CULTURJB. 



Nor* 



knew they must be "wild bees," so I determined to 

 give them chase. I went home and procured some 

 honey, mixed with water, so that it seemed almost 

 of the consistency of water, and in this way I 

 thought to have them load and unload quickly. I 

 also procured some flour and three small pieces of 

 boards, six or eight inches square. First I put some 

 flour on the backs of a few bees, and found that they 

 returned in from 10 to 15 minutes. I then placed 

 the boards at three different places; poured what 

 honey would lie on them, and then filled my hands, 

 and rubbed it upon the bushes and underbrush near. 

 As there was but little honey to be had from flowers 

 at that time, the whole woods was soon alive with 

 bees. They just fairly covered the little boards. It 

 took about 15 minutes for them to get their courses, 

 and as they all seemed to go toward one point, I 

 soon found them about three hundred yards from 

 the place where I first found them, and from where 

 I had timed them. 



One strange feature I wish to note here is, that 

 after I had gotten them to work at the honey I no- 

 ticed more tbree-banded bees than blacks; and upon 

 cutting the tree I was surprised to find that about 

 one-third were black, and the rest pretty fair three- 

 banded ones. This was the exact characteris'ic of 

 the progeny of a "dollar" queen 1 bad srld to a 

 friend about four miles away; and upon inquiry I 

 found that this same queen had led her swarm 

 astray in the direction of where I lived. 



Greeneville, Tenn. Chas. Kingsley. 



Friend K.,you have have given us at least 

 one valuable fact in the above. That is, 

 to sprinkle honey around on the bushes and 

 underbrush when you want to get wild bees 

 working strong oh the bait. Although I 

 have never tried it, 1 know this would " just 

 doit." 



CHICKENS THAT A%'ON'T EAT BEES. 



CHEAP MEAT FOB BEE-KEEPERS, ETC. 



HAVE read with some interest in the past, re- 

 ports of chickens in the apiary, and complaints 

 of their eating bees. Now, I have found a kind 

 of chicken that will never eat bees. I have been 

 very much annoyed by the grass and weeds growing 

 In my apiary, and some time ago I built a close 

 picket fence around it, and turned in this peculiar 

 kind of fowl I speak of, and am well pleased with 

 the result. The chaps are an English breed, gen- 

 erally gray in color, have large round eyes, four 

 feet instead of two, and when they walk they jn»ip; 

 have ears from 4 to 5 inches long; and when given 

 their own way, they roost in " holes in the ground." 

 They are very prolific, increasing from two to 25 or 

 40 in a year; and when brought upon the table in 

 the shape of a pie, pot pie or roast, are fit to set be- 

 fore a king. They will dress from 3 to 5 lbs. ; flesh, 

 light, tender, and sweet. Mrs. F. says she prefers 

 them to any kind of chicken raised. 



"But the great thing in their favor is the trifling 

 cost of keeping them, as it is about impossible to 

 And any thing that grows out of the ground that 

 they will not eat; every kind of weed and vegeta- 

 ble, both root and top, they eat with a keen relish, 

 so the cost of keeping them sums up about 00. 



Since putting them in the apiary I have not bfeen 

 troubled with any more grass or weeds, and they do 



not keep the ground as filthy as do the dunghill 

 fowls, and they and the bees get along well together. 

 A. A. Fradenburg. 

 Port Washington, O., Oct. 29, 1883. 



Friend F..nn doubt your long-eared chick- 

 ens (?) would keep the weeds cleared away 

 around the house nicely ; but as they don't 

 lay eggs, we shall have to be under the 

 necessity of chopping the heads off the poor 

 innocent-eyed fellows whenever we want to 

 get that cheap meat you speak about. I 

 presume it is all right ; but some way 1 can 

 never get used to killing them, unless they 

 are doing damage somewhere. 



BRUSHING BEES OFF THE COMBS. 



T. J. COOK'S IMPROVED BRUSH. 



l(nj?NTIL within a very short time, bee- 

 lyj keepers did not seem to be aware of 

 '"-"^ the necessity of having a brush espe- 

 cially intended for this purpose, for it was 

 supposed that a bunch of asparagus, some 

 clover-heads, or any leafy branch, was good 

 enough for the purp:)Sft. When the Califor- 

 nia brushes were introduced, I was a little 

 surprised to see with what eagerness they 

 were called for, and more than a thousand 

 were sold last year, before T knew it. Then 

 when our friend T. J. Cook suggested a 

 brush made especially for the purpose, we, 

 in our want of faith and ability to appreciate 

 the situation of things, thought perhaps he 

 might sell a few dozen. But to my surprise, 

 in a little while the trade sprung up so it 

 seemed he would have to have a little fac- 

 tory to make bee-brushes. Well, when we 

 " were in Toronto '' (do you know I told you 

 that was what I was going to say every little 

 while ? ) Dr. C. C Miller, in his happy way, 

 explained the little implement, and remark- 

 ed that the brush was worth four times as 

 much with the handle broken off and put on 

 in another way, and others indorsed his view 

 of it. I guess somebody must have told 

 friend Cook what they said there, for he has 

 just made a new brush ; and to have you un- 

 derstand it, we submit a picture of both the 

 old and the new. 



cook's BEE-BRUSn. 



I believe the price is to be the same as it 

 has been heretofore, and you can order them 

 of us or of friend Cook, as you choose. At 

 the same time, we can tender friend Cook a 

 vote of thanks for having anticipated the 

 need of such an implement, and we hope he 

 will keep it always up with the times, and 

 have the brushes ready to ship. 



