754 



GLEANIKGS IN Bk^ CULTURE. 



Dec. 



From Different Fields. 



THE CLIMATE OF CANADA. 



fjlHERE seems to be an opinion among moat 

 people in the U. S., that the whole of Canada 

 has an arctic climate. A writer in a late num- 

 ber of Harper's Magazine, in describing the climate, 

 customs of the people, etc., of the village of St. 

 Pauls, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, 

 brlow the city of Quebec, conveyes the impression 

 that it is a type of Canada in general; it would be 

 quite as sensible to go to Northern Maine to as- 

 certain the climate of the U. S. The fact is, that 

 the average temperature of the greater part of the 

 Province of Ontario is as high as it is Id half of the 

 territory of the U. S. east of the Rocky Mountains. 

 South-western Ontario has a much milder winter 

 temperature than Southern New iTork and Northern 

 Pennsylvania, while the mean annual temperature 

 of the western peninsula of Ontario is about the 

 same as that of Kansas and Missouri. 



On Sunday and Monday, Nov. 4th and 5th, the bees 

 were gathering honey from sweet clover and mig- 

 nonnette, and the air was filled with the perfume of 

 the flowers. Butterflies were also sporting as in 

 midsummer; and today, Nov. 8th, the bees were 

 busy bringing in pollen. 



1 weighed 50 hives to-day that I intend to put in- 

 to the cellar. I have been guessing at weights long 

 enough — too long for proUt. You may hear more 

 about it in the spring. 



P. S.— Nov. 9.— The bees are wo) king on sweet 

 clover again to-day. Temperature in shade, 56°. 



Niagara, Out., Can., Nov. 8, 1883. Geo. Cork. 



MORE ABOUT DRONES BUILDING COMB. 



You made me say that drones build comb (see p. 

 581). I did not say that. Now, please look at my 

 letter of Oct. 8 and see what I did say. I suppose 1 

 had it bad enough, and you made it worse. This 

 was what 1 said, or intended to say. If drones don't 

 build comb, I am saiisfled that they help. I will tell 

 what I saw, and let it drop for awhile. I noticed 

 some of the worker bees putting their heads and 

 shoulders in the cells that were nearly full of honey. 

 They would put their heads in and take them out, 

 and pass to the next cell, leaving their heads in the 

 cell about a second, and then pass to another cell. I 

 saw one bee go to 150 cells, and never stop. I got 

 tired watching him. This work they were at every 

 time I looked at them. I spent a part of three dayS. 



Now I will leave it to some one to say what these 

 bees were doing. They could not have been taking 

 the honey from one cell to the other for the purpose 

 of ripening it, for they took their heads out too 

 quickly. From what I could see with the magnify- 

 ing-glass, they were drawing the cells. 1 could see 

 the edges of the cells spring every time the bee 

 would insert his head. You may think this does not 

 have any thiog to do with drones building comb; 

 but whatever those bees were doing in that honey- 

 box, the same thing the drones were doing in the box 

 that had the drone comb in. Now if you will tell me 

 what those bees were doing, you will oblige a novice. 

 I did not intend to say, that the bees carried their 

 wax on their legs, or get it In the field. The letter 

 explains liself, and this was what 1 was at: That 

 the oomb-bullders don't secrete the wax, but they 



get the wax from the seemingly idle bees in the 

 box. I will excuse you; but please be more careful. 

 This is your advice always, and you ought to heed it 

 yourself. I know you will. Wm. Malone. 



Oakley, la., Nov. 13, 1883. 



Friend M.,it seems to me you intimate 

 that drones build combs, even if you do not 

 say so. Now, 1 have seen bees put their 

 heads in the cells in justthe way you describe; 

 but while 1 am not sure what they did it for, 

 1 can hardly accept your idea that they do it 

 to stretch the cells. My impression was, 

 that they drew out the thin honey, and by 

 some process, either known or unknown to 

 themselves, extracted a part of the water it 

 contained, and then put it back. To confess 

 the truth, we are all a good deal in the dark 

 in this matter. 1 am glad you had the per- 

 severance to spend five days in watching 

 them. And now haven't we another phi- 

 losopher who will take up the work, and find 

 out what it is they do? Were the honey- 

 combs built against a pane of glass, you 

 could easily see whether they licked up hon- 

 and put it back, or not. JSI o doubt the comb- 

 builders get wax from idle bees. I beg par- 

 don for misunderstanding you. 



honey FRO.M orange-blossoms; see page 685. 



As I live right in the home of the orange, I think 

 that I can give some light on the above subject. 

 Bees do work on orange-blossoms when in bloom, at 

 all times of the year; the seedling orange blooms 

 from April 1 to June 1; the budded orange, from 

 Nov. to May. Blooming as they do out of the gen- 

 eral honey season, it is diflicult to obtain any imre 

 orange honey, except from the seedling, which is in 

 bloom when the honey seasons opens. The first ex- 

 tracting will sometimes be somewhat flavored with 

 the orange; but as the sages are then in bloom, and 

 other plants, I think it would be a little difficult to 

 obtain honey that could be truthfully labeled 

 " Orange Honey." See page 578 in regard to bees 

 working on orange-blossoms. The orange-blossoms 

 are of a waxy white, and resemble -the tube-rose In 

 both looks and fragrance. W. W. Bliss, 80. 



Duarte, Cal., Nov. 10, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend B., for the informa- 

 tion you give in regard to orange-blossom 

 honey. Une reason why we wanted to know 

 about it was, it has been a kind of fancy name 

 for bogus honey-dealers to put on their la- 

 bels. 



some observations on poor seasons. 

 This season is in striking contrast to that of 1882 

 in this locality (see my report, page 608, December 

 number Gleanings). I commenced this season 

 with 11 colonies; increased to 32, mostly by natural 

 swarming; sold3; united 3; have now 26, about one- 

 third of which are in poor condition for winter. 

 The fore part of the season was good. Bees gather- 

 ed a great quantity from white clover and linden. I 

 have never known bees to swarm so much before, 

 some colonies giving as many as four swarms. This 

 state of things was followed by a very severe 

 drought, commencing about the middle of July. 

 Bees used up their honey; some have already starv- 

 ed, where their owners have neglected to feed. I 

 let some of mine run very near the point of starva- 

 tion; but I have learned by experience what I be- 

 fore knew only by precept, to be ready with the 

 sugar-barrel; and while experience keeps a dear 



