1878. 



GLEANmGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



ever, slightly brush the seed in. The plants when 

 they first come up are very small, and the tirst hoeing- 

 is a tedious operation being about the same as that 

 required for beets or carrots. The plants are hoed, 

 or .s7(oitW be, three times. Farmers usually raise a 

 part of a crop of beans or turnips with them the first 

 year. One hea%T draw-back on Teasel Culture, is 

 that they are very liable to winter kill by ha\ing a 

 thaw, and the weather turning cold suddenly, so as 

 to freeze the plant when there is water in the crown, 

 which entirely destroys it. An open winter is very 

 bad for Teasels. The second year, during the month 

 of May, they are passed through with a cultivator, 

 and slightly hoed, when they are left to run, as it is 

 termed. The "'kings," as they are commonly called, 

 are heads at the top of the stalks, and commence to 

 blossom about July 10th, continuing in bloom about 

 a week or 10 days, opening first in the center of the 

 head, blossoming toward the tip and base, and ending 

 off at the base. As soon as the blossoms fall off they 

 are cut, cured, and shipped to manufacturers for the 

 purpose of taking the nap from cloth. The "mid- 

 dlings," as they are termed, commence to blossom 

 when the kings are about half through, and the 

 "buttons" come last, making from 30 to 25 days of 

 bloom from the commencing of the kings to the end- 

 ing of the buttons. The middlings and buttons re- 

 ceive the same treatment as the kings, and all are 

 mixed and sv)ld together. They are sold by the 

 thousand, 10 lbs. making a' thousand. An acre will 

 yield from 100 to 250 thousand. At present they bring 

 about 75c per thousand, but years ago the pi-ice was 

 from $2. to $5.00. Bees work on them all hours of 

 the day, and no matter how well basswood may yield 

 honey, you will find them at work on Teasel at all 

 times; and I have never known Teasel to fail to se- 

 crete honey except in 1876. 



The honey is very thin, and much evaporation is 

 required to bring it to the consistency of basswood 

 honey when first gathered. We have many times 

 thought, if Teasel could come just after basswood, it 

 would be of great value; but, coming as it does ivith 

 basswood, it is of no great advantage, except that it 

 usually lasts from 6 to 8 days after basswood is past. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y., Dec. 10th, 1877. 



m *»•—«»■ — ■ 



ASTEK HONEY, MICE, AGE OF BEES, ^kc. 



^^E are studying economy here in good earnest. 

 Ml! The locust destroyed our crops, and there 

 was nothing raised in this country, worth 

 naming. From about the middle of May until the 3d 

 of July, bees could not get a drop of honey nor a pel- 

 let of pollen. Some allowed their bees to starve; I fed 

 mine enough to keep them alive. Basswood opened 

 the 16th of July. From that time till Oct. 1st, there 

 was a continuous flow of honey. We got honey 

 enough to help us over the hard times. 



My hives are hea\'y with honey, and my bees are 

 X>erfectly quiet. Say to J. W. Murray, one of my 

 neighbors has had Italians 7 years and he told me he 

 had lost but 3 swarms, and those through careless- 

 ness. My River Styx queen is now going through 

 her third winter. 1 wintered 13 last season and have 

 never lost an Italian; the only trouble we have had 

 in this region, is mice, and honey from the aster; the 

 aster honey candies at the bottom of the cell, while 

 at the mouth of the cells it is very thin and watery, 

 and ferments, standing in drops on the outside of the 

 combs. Our honey, this fall, was mostly from the 

 aster. The goldenrod was destroyed by plant lice. 



The way I winter my bees: I make my shelves on 

 posts with a pan, bottom up, on top of the post, that 

 ends the work of mice. I leave the entrance open 

 % of an inch square. I then lay a stick across the 

 frames, under the quilt, so as to leave a half inch 

 space open at the end of every frame. I then exam- 

 ine, once every two weeks, by smelling of each hive; 

 it I find one that is sour or damp, I roll back the quilt 

 so as to give more ventilation. In that way I carried 

 them through last winter just as nice as they were 

 when put in. I am inclined to think that bees can 

 be wintered better here where there is continuous 

 cold weather, than where there are so many changes. 



I pvit away a swarm of black bees last fall, that 

 were queenless. In the spring I gave them an Italian 

 queen. The 16th of July they Avere nearly one third 

 black bees, and on the 26th day of July there was not 

 a black bee to be found. Now suppose the locusts 

 had stayed longer. O. W. Parker. 



New London, Minn., Dec. llth, 1877. 



AVe have had several reports of honey 

 candying in the cells, but I believe you are 



the first, friend P., to suggest that it comes 

 from the aster ; if it is the case, we shall 

 have to add the item to aster, in our A B 

 C. Has anybody else had a similar exper- 

 ience with the asterV 



We have been troubled with mice in our 

 honey house, but keep it shut up so closely, 

 that none can get in, and to make assurance 

 doubly sure, we always keep a trap baited 

 with toasted cheese. The inverted pans are 

 effectual, but do they not make your house 

 a little awkward? 



Smelling of the hive to see if anything is 

 amiss, I think would be a pretty sure test; I 

 guess we shall have to give you the credit of 

 the invention. If the locusts had stayed long- 

 er, I think your bees would have stayed 

 longer. In other words, I think that bees 

 will live a year or more, if they can be kept 

 from doing any work. The bees of a new 

 swarm are soon gone, because they work so 

 severely, while if they remained hanging on 

 the outside of the parent hive, they might 

 live months and remain young, so far as 

 their ability to work is concerned. • Does not 

 this agree with your experience? 



BEE HAITKS. 



fAsUus MissouriensisJ. 



SI ENCLOSE a fly (I do not know the name) that 

 kills bees. I have seen them often, about my 

 — I hives, and several times seen them sucking the 

 juice from the bodies of bees. They kill other insects 

 and sometimes their own species; they do not eat the 

 bodies, but thrust in their bill, quickly suck the 

 blood, then drop the lifeless body and go in quest of 

 other game. This one was sucking the body of a bee, 

 in my melon patch, which angered me and I stole on 

 him with catlike steps and knocked the life out of 

 him with an empty sack which I had in my hand. 

 They are very quick in their movements and it is 

 very ditflcult to kill them. I have watched them very 

 closely, for two summers, and have killed what I 

 could; but doing my best, I do not kill one in ten. 

 They are not numerous here, as in Kansas. There, I 

 have seen hundreds in a day. Will you please say 

 something about the fly in Gleanings, and give 

 name? He is a villain of the darkest dye. 



D. G. Parker, St. Joe, Mo., Sept. 4th, .77. 

 The insect is the same you sent before. The bee 

 hawk, or bee killer ("Asilus MUisourieimsJ, a ferocious 

 two winged fly, which will be a serious pest if it ever 

 becomes numerous enough to do great harm. I refer 

 to it in my Manual. It is too quick to catch with a 

 net to advantage, yet I know no other way to fight it. 

 I have even known them to subdue the fierce tiger 

 beetle in a square fight. I have caught several al- 

 lied species here, but none seem to molest the bees. 

 A. J. Cook, Lansing, Mich., Dec. 14th, '77. 



The North Eastern Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will hold its eighth Annual Meeting at the City Hall, 

 Syracuse, N. Y., on the 6th, 7th and 8th of February, 

 1878. First session at one o'clock, p. m., of the 6th.' 



Papers on important subjects are expected from 

 some of our own members as well as from eminent 

 apiarists abroad. Among these may be mentioned 

 an essay on "Recently Discovered Parasites of the 

 Honey Bee, and their Connection with Successful 

 Wintering." 



The Marketing of Honey will receive special atten- 

 tion, and it is expected that initiatory steps will be 

 taken toward supplying each member of the Associ- 

 ation with reliable data from which he may judge of 

 the market value of his products. Other changes 

 are suggested of much importance to Honey produ- 

 cers. To secui'e satisfactory results a full attend- 

 ance of this class if especially desired. We hope you 

 win attend, also, please see that this notice is pub- 

 lished in your local papers. 



Canajoharie, N. Y.: December 17th, 1877. 

 P. H. Elwood, J. H. Nellis, 



President. Secretarv. 



