14 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Jak. 



sprinkling tlie seed on the ground as they 

 passed along. Mr. Nevius, and J. Wolfen- 

 den, of Adams, Wis., both speak of the 

 honey as being equal in quality to either 

 White clover or Basswood. 



Since the above was written, we have had 

 several reports from those who have raised 

 the plants in great profusion ; and as one of 

 the parties said the seed came up very thick- 

 ly on the plat of ground where he winnowed 

 the seed, we are iirclined to think the trouble 

 has been in saving the seed, or in sowing it. 

 It seems that the seed should be gathered 

 about as soon as it is fully ripe, and if the 

 weather is favorable, it may be sowed im- 

 mediately. Samples of seed gathered as 

 above, have germinated without any trouble. 

 The plant does not usually blossom until the 

 second year, but if sowed very early, on fine 

 soil, it may make quite a bloom the first sea- 

 son. 



GIBZSB. Airi} CS9£S. H^X^EaS. Not 



only are many of bur bees drowned in the 

 cider, in the vicinity of cider mills, but 

 the cider if gathered late in the season, is 

 yery apt to prove very unwholesome as a 

 diet for our little friends. Probably much 

 of the dysentery that causes such havoc is 

 the result of this unsealed cider stored in 

 the cells when winter comes on. If the col- 

 ony is very strong, and well supplied with 

 winter stores, the cider may do but little 

 harm, but where they are weak and obliged 

 to use the cider largely, they sometimes die 

 even in the fall. We at one time fed a col- 

 ony about a gallon of sweet cider, and they 

 were dead before Christmas. At another 

 time a barrel of sweet cider was found to be 

 leaking, but as the bees took it up greedily 

 as fast as it ran out, their owner kindly al- 

 lowed them to work away. They all died 

 quite promptly, after the experiment. 



The bees of a Ira-ge apiary, will take sweet 

 cid(;r frf)m the mill, nearly as fast as it can 

 be made, and we at one time had quite a se- 

 rious time "oith the ownier of such a mill, 

 because the Italians insisted on '' going 

 shares," whenever he made sweet cider. 

 After paying quite a little sum in the way of 

 damages, and losing our bees every season 

 there was a large apple crop, besides buying 

 sugar in the vain attempt to call them away 

 by counter inducements, we, at the sugges- 

 tion of one of the other sex, hung white cloth 

 curtains over all the openings to the mill. 

 Some strips of pine, S2.o0 worth of sheeting 

 2^ yards wide, and a couple of hours time, 

 fixed the mill so that scarcely a bee was to 

 be seen inside. In a very short time they 



gave up flying around the mill, and appar- 

 ently forgot all about it. 



D. 



DANDE&ZOZir. {Taraca^.um). This 

 plant, I am inclined to think, is of more im- 

 portance, than is generally supposed, for it 

 comes into bloom just after fruit blossoms, 

 and as it yields both pollen and honey, it 

 keeps up brood rearing, when it is of the ut- 

 most importance it should be kept going. I 

 do not know that it would pay to raise a field 

 of Dandelions expressly for the bees, but as 

 they grow to a great size and luxuriance 

 when allowed to stand and blossom in the 

 garden, I feel pi\^tty sure that a cultivated 

 plat of them would furnish a great amount 

 of honey. What a pretty sight it would be 

 on our honey farm. They do not ordinarily 

 blossom until the second season, but per- 

 haps, like catnip and clover, they would do 

 so, if sowed early and cultivated. As Dan- 

 delions seem to be much on the increase in 

 the fields and about the roadsides in our vi- 

 cinity, I think we can safely conclude that 

 the more bees there are kept, tjie more such 

 plants we shall have, for they, by fertiliziug 

 each blossom, produce an unusual amount 

 of good sound seed. I do not think of any 

 other purpose for which the Dandelions can 

 be i;sed, except as greens in the spring ; if 

 we allowed stock to forage on oiu- yellow 

 flower garden. I am afraid it would mar its 

 beauty, if not its usefulness for honey. 



I really cannot say much in praise of the 

 Dandelion honey, for we extracted some that 

 we called Dandelion on account of the taste, 

 and we could not use it at all. It was so 

 dark colored and strong, that we ^vith diffi- 

 culty gave it away. The honey may have 

 been from the shell bark hickory, however, 

 as that comes in bloom at about the same 

 time. 



BZSSASSS or SEES. I am very 

 glad indeed, to be able to say that bees are 

 less liable to be affected with disease, than 

 perhaps any other" class of animated crea- 

 tion. It is perhaps because the individual 

 members of a colony, are so constantly giv- 

 ing way to other younger members, as they 

 are hatched out, and come on the stage of 

 action. Nothing but a really contagious 

 disease, could do very much harm, where 

 vigorous and youthful members are being 

 added to the family circle almost daily, and 

 for a great part of the year, by hundreds or 

 thousands. Therefore, if your bees lack 

 thrift, all you have to do is to start brood 

 rearing briskly, and if the queen is in any 



