23(y 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



GlEA«mG$ m BEE CULTURE. 



Publislied IVIontlily, 



-A.- I^ E.OOT- 



EDITOR ASTD PROPRIETOR 



ED IN A, OHIO. 



Terms : «1.00 Per Annxuii. 



[Including Postage.] 

 For Club Bates see First Page. 



3^E3DIlSr.A.3 SEIPT. 1, IST'T- 



Aml forgive us our debts, as we lOF^ive our debtors. 

 —Matthew, 6; 13. 



■ We have a colony that produces drones with heads 

 as red as a cherry ; the color is bright and vivid, and 

 they look as if they were out for a general training, 

 or masquerade. Do you have any such at "your 

 house ?" 



Some of our customers have objected, because we 

 do not rear all our dollar queens in our own apiary. 

 This would be entirely out of the question, with the 

 "run of custom" we have had in that, direction, but as 

 we have furnished all our queen raisers about here, 

 imported queens, we trust all we send out, will prove 

 satisfactory. 



_^^«««^^ _ 



We have recently had some "new" bee-sting reme- 

 dies sent us ; but so far as we can see, they are just 

 like all the rest, really worse than nothing at all, es- 

 pecially where they advise rubbing the medicine 

 •'In." By rubbing and fussing, almost any sting will 

 become swollen and painful, but if let alone, almost 

 any sting will cease to trouble in a few minutes. 

 There is a vast difference in the severity of stings. 



We must a^ain caution our friends about senditig small 

 lots of wax, long distances, by express. In some cases the 

 charges have been almost as much as the value of the 

 wax. Save, until you get enough to send it by freight, or 

 get your neighbors to join in and send with you. If the 

 distance is considerable, you should send not less than 50 

 lbs. at a time. Be sure to put your name either on or in 

 the box. 



^-♦♦^ <fc 



FrienX) TowNSENDof Hubbardston, Mich., lost an im- 

 ported queen by leaving the hive open while introducing 

 her to hatching bees. The hive should always be closed 

 until bees enough have hatched to make a cluster for her, 

 or they may get olT the combs and all crawl out of the 

 hive in a demoralized condition. We are succeeding so 

 well by the method given in our A B C, that we have 

 abandoned the hatching brood plan. 



Extracted honey, a choice article, brings only about, 

 lOc. in the cities, and from 13 to 15c. by the pound at re- 

 tail, as a general thing ; so if you can do as well or better 

 near home, by no means think of sending it away. Just 

 now, people are demmding comb honey in small sections, 

 but there will in all probability be some reaction, when 

 they discover that extracted honey is ju«t as good, and so 

 very much cheaper. Keep a sharp lookout, atid furnish 

 just what is asked for. 



We congratulate friend Newman on having struck 

 upon the bright idea of giving us the Dzierzon theory 

 in a neat little pamphlet. This theory has been at- 

 tacked from all sides for many years, yet like the 

 Capernican theory of old, it stands as iirm as the hills. 



someof our young friends who are so hasty In deci- 

 ding th:tt the drone progeny is aflfected by the Icrtili- 

 xation of the queen, had better give it a careful read- 

 ing. It is a good thing for os all to read over care- 

 fully, even if we have once been over it in the first 

 volume of the A. B. J. If there is anything yon dO' 

 not get hold of, in regard to queens, drones and fer- 

 tile workers, you had better read it. If thoroughly 

 studied, it would save many a column of queries and 

 long stories, in all our Bee Journals. We mail it for 

 20 cents. 



Now my friends if your bees are getting no honey 

 when this reaches you, you had better set about get- 

 ting them ready for winter. If honey is coming in, all 

 right, but be sure you do not deceive yourself. If the 

 hive is increasing in weight, of course they are get- 

 ting honey, and you can tell by the looks of the combs, 

 with a little practice, whether they are gaining or 

 losing. If they are not gaining, give them about a 

 half teacupful of sugar stirred up with a little water, 

 every night, until they have enough in their combs 

 sealed up for winter. It will be safer, to have all 

 j'our feeding done up this month, rather than to wait 

 until next. The cheap wooden feeders we illustrate 

 in this No., answer the purpose nicely, and to give 

 them a full test, I have put them into the hands of 

 some very young, and inexperienced bee-keepers in 

 our neighborhood. 



Well, for one month, we have really enjoyed the 

 dollar queen business. A great part of the time, the 

 queens have been already caged, piled up on our ta- 

 ble,' and when the ordere came, we astonished our 

 patrons by a nice queen, before they even had time ta 

 feel impatient. The queen cages with the sugar cake 

 in them answers most beautifully, for shipping. We 

 have sent them long distances, and only a single com- 

 plaint has been heard from them ; as we have not haiJ 

 time to investigate, the trouble in this case may not 

 have been in the cage. The sugar never daubs them, 

 never gets loose, and yet; it will supply food for the 

 queen and bees for something like two weeks. They 

 are very handy indeed about the apiary, for the bees 

 can never get the cimdy away from the queen, and 

 while being caged in the hive, she is always well fed. 

 Be sure to close the cage as soon as the queen is re- 

 leased, for if the bees get in, they will lick up the 

 whole in a twinkling. I do not know that I liave ev- 

 er been better pleased with any implement in the 

 apiary, and they seem to be the one thing needful, to 

 make dollar queens a success. The best part of it is, 

 they cost only 5 cents. If you wisL to see how nice a 

 job we can do for the money, send us 6 cents and we 

 will mail you a sample. 



Will yon please inform me as to the value of sweet 

 clover as a honey jdant, if cultivated as a crop for 

 that purpose ? I find that the bees will leave every- 

 thing else to work on it, and it blooms for two months 

 here. J. B. Olmsteai>. 



Bloomington, III., Aug. 10th, 1877. 



[Frieii'd Townley when here, stated that he once 

 tried about a half acre of the sweet clover, and that It 

 grew with cultivation, to a great height; it kept the 

 bees roaring on it, for mouths, in preference to any- 

 thing else. With us, bees only work on it at times. 

 Should be glad of further reports.] 



Your hive, with the sawdust entrance, would, in 

 this section, cause the toads to congregate and ruoHt 

 near by, and make regular "draws" like pension wid- 

 ows; and if the walk board is not set s^«ji> they will 

 crawl up and take supper. "Make a note on't." 



We have had a good honey season after two des- 

 perately bad ones, a regular old-fashioned honey dew. 

 W. II. Biggs, Kussclville, Tenn., July 11th, '77. 



[Go round your apiary just at dusk, with a hoe, and 

 bury all the toads you Hiid, but be sure you do not 

 bury them alive, if your apiary is neat and tidy, they 

 will not tlnd many hiding places] 



