T-H® SMERICSr* BEE JO^KNffil^. 



775 



2. Basswood seed will grow. Plant as 

 soon as gathered, and keep the ground 

 moist with a light covering of leaves. 

 Plant seeds in nursery rows, and trans- 

 plant when large enough. Loeust, 

 basswood and soft maple would an- 

 swer your purpose. — R. L. Taylor. 



Honey-locust {Oleclitschid triacan- 

 lliiis) yields an abundant flow of honey, 

 and can be propagated from the seed. 

 Also poplar (sometimes called tulip- 

 tree) is a good hone3--yielder. But for 

 general use, the basswood cannot be 

 beat. The best way would be to get 

 small trees from the woods. Cuttings 

 would be far preferable to seed. — 

 Will M. Bausum. 



1. Basswood, locust, soft maple, and 

 perhaps tulip trees. 2. No ! Take 

 roots from places where the trees have 

 been grubbed out and have sprouted 

 up again. So far as our experience 

 goes not one seed of basswood in 

 twenty will grow. For M'ind-breaks, 

 etc., all things considered, we would 

 use first, maple ; second, locust ; and 

 third, basswood, — Dadant & Son. 



1. For your purpose I would recom- 

 mend basswood, and next to that, 

 the Linodendron tulipifera, commonly 

 called in this country " poplar." 2. 

 Basswood can be grown from euttings, 

 but I think that success could only be 

 secured on a large scale by using a 

 hot-house. 3. Tliey will grow from 

 the seed, and the seed should be 

 planted in the late summer or early 

 fall.— M. Mahin. 



1. Iowa is a htrge State — 200 miles 

 across north and south. What would 

 do well in the southern part might not 

 in the northern — instance catalpa. For 

 an ornamental tree few excel linden, 

 but iu planting\ I would not confine 

 myself to one variety. While jou like 

 honey, your posterity may like walnuts 

 and butternuts. The lumber from the 

 latter will be four times as valuable. 

 Linden is best raised from the seed 

 gathered in fall. They can be Ijought 

 cheaply from some nurseries. This 

 question needs more space. — Eugene 

 Secor. 



Plant the beautiful American linden. 

 I would not bother with seeds or cut- 

 tings, but go to the forest and get the 

 young trees. They transplant readily, 

 but the young trees must be protected 

 from slock. Nearly all four-footed 

 animals like to browse on the mucil- 

 aginous twigs and bark, and I have 

 even seen bipeds of the genus homo 

 doing the same. — J. M. Shuck. 



Your locality must be tak(m into 

 consideration when deciding your 

 questions. In my locality I would 

 plant the black locust, as it is an extra 

 honey-producer, a rapid grower, and 

 is valuable for fence-posts. A five- 

 acre lot worlli i?40 per acre here, if 



planted in black locust, in my locality, 

 would be worth $250 per acre in 15 

 years from the time it was planted. 

 Perhaps the linden would prosper best 

 in your locality. It will not pay to 

 raise forest trees from euttings. — G. 

 W. De.maree. 



If you want honey, transplant young 

 linden trees (ba.sswood) in the spring, 

 from the woods. They grow readily 

 if sufticient moisture is provided. To 

 grow from the seed is less satisfactory. 

 The poplar (or tulip), black and honey 

 locusts, soft maples, etc., are hardy, 

 easil}' grown, and are very desirable 

 for shade, wind-breaks, and the honey 

 they produce. — The Editor. 



XHA!>"MS«SIVII\G. 



Written for St. Nicholas Magazine 



BY grace WINTHKOP. 



The sunflowers in the garden 

 Are bending limp and low. 



Two cornstalks, brown and withered. 

 Stand rustling in a row. 



" We were so fine," they murmured, 

 "A little while ago !" 



The sky is gray and gloom 

 Without the sunshine's glow. 



There is no smiling anywhere 

 Unless— Oh. gladsome show ! 



Twelve plump and golden pumpkins 

 All beaming in a row ! 



They say, " Why so despairing ? 



We're always here, you know, 

 At this unpleasant season 



Bxpressly sent to show 

 The need of glad Thanksgiving, 



In spite of frost and snow." 



ITALIAN BEES. 



Putting on Sections — Symptoms 

 of Foul Brood. 



Written for the American Bee Jounuxl 



BY G. 51. DOOLITTLE. 



A subscriber to the American Bee 

 Journal wishes me to give a descrip- 

 tion of the Italian bee. While this 

 would seem almost unnecessary at this 

 late day, yet I will try to comply with 

 the request in a sort of a general way. 



This bee belongs to one of the yel- 

 low Tarieties, to which also belong the 

 Cyprian and Syrian. The Italians are 

 very quiet and gentle, in their purit}-, 

 while the other two varieties named 

 are very cross and vindictive. Ital- 

 ians were imported to this country 

 about I8G0, while the other two were 

 not brought to our shores until about 



1880. So far nearly all apiarists agree 

 in placing the Italian bee at the head 

 of all others, both as to ease of ma- 

 nipulation, beauty, and honey-gather- 

 ing qualities. 



As comb-builders the Italians are 

 not quite as good as the black or 

 German bee, neither do they use as 

 much wax in capping their surplus 

 hone}', which causes it to have a little 

 darker, or watery, appearance. They 

 cling very tenaciously to their combs, 

 while the black bees often fall ofl' or 

 run about in a frightened way, making 

 it a nuisance to handle them, es- 

 pecially if a little too much smoke is 

 used. The tenacity of the Italians 

 makes the handling of the hives and 

 combs very pleasant, but when we 

 wish to get them oft' the combs for ex- 

 tracting the honey, or for an}- purpose, 

 it is quite a job. 



However, the main point of superi- 

 ority of the Italian bee is in its honey- 

 gathering qualities. If there is any 

 honey to be had, they are away to the 

 fields after it, and will toil incessantly 

 all day for a very little, while the black 

 bees will not work at all unless honey 

 can bo gathered quite freely. Italian 

 bees will labor faithfully all day long 

 for only " pennies," while the German 

 bee must have the " dollars " or it will 

 not work. To illustrate : 



In the spring of 1872 the writer hail 

 15 colonies of black bees, and 3 Italian 

 colonies. As an experiment, a 14- 

 quart pail full of maple sap was placed 

 in shallow dishes after adding about 2 

 pounds of sugar, so as to make a very 

 thin sweet. With honey, the bees were 

 started to work near this sap, and as 

 long as the honey lasted they came in 

 about the proportion named above — 15 

 of the dark, and 3 of the yellow bees. 

 As soon as the honey was gone, they 

 took to the sap, but iu a few minutes 

 the black bees began to stop coming, 

 so that in an hour none but Italian 

 bees were carrying the thin sweet. 

 These bees worked until they carried 

 all the sap home, and had it evapor- 

 ated down to the consistency of honey, 

 while the black bees thought it not 

 worthy of their notice. 



When to Put on Sections. 



From the various letters which I get, 

 asking when sections should be put oit 

 the hives, it would seem that there was 

 a lack of knowledge on the part of 

 some along this line. 



In tlie forepart of the season a little 

 care is reijuired, for if put on too early 

 they will greatly retard brood-rearing, 

 owing to the cool nights which are 

 liable to occur at the time, during 

 which the bees are obliged to econo- 

 mize heat as much as possible. At 

 this season of the year it is not best to 

 put them on until the liive is tilled 



