1.-)-} 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



lumbermen. Wc call that yellow poplar. The oth- 

 er, we call white pnplar, because the sapor white 

 wood i-< very thick. Havinur but a little yellow wood, 

 it is not valued so much for lumber. Laborers on 

 the farm, who have to cut up the Io<?s or trees which 

 fall during the winter, often encounter what they 

 cull a blue poplar. The wood has a bluish color, 

 and is verv hard and dilhcult to cut. When I was a 

 b:)v I us3d to dread an old blue poplar. I do not 

 know that we can tell anv difference in the trees 

 fr )m the outside appearances. It is a beautiful 

 tree, and makes splendid, but dark honey. 



Kossuth, Alcorn Co., Miss.. April 36th, isTS. 



E.IRLY SWARMING. 



On the Uth day of April, a large swarm of half 

 Italian bees left the parent stock; a swarm so early 

 as thi-^ ha^ never been heard of here, by the oldest 

 inhabitant. K. HiGGiNS. 



iManchester, Mo., May 3d, 1878. 



We have hid qiiite a niiuiber of reports of 

 good swarni.s in April, both this season and 

 the last. Is it altogether on account of the 

 seasons, or are we improving our stock of 

 bees, as well as our bee knowledge? 



CHEAP WAY OF MAKING FDN. 



I send you my process for raaking fdn. "forthe 

 million." For dipping plates, use plaster of Paris 

 casts, such as are described on p:ige 21, of Vol. IV, 

 of Gleanings; only use a sheet of fdn., instead of 

 the metal plates spoken of, to make the casts. Use 

 casts of the size you want the sheets of fdn. Now, 

 instead of fussing with a brush, use your casts just 

 as you d ) your zinc dipping plates, omitting the 

 soaking, and you have fdn. ready for the bees. I 

 have iust made a lot giving Vis square feet to the 

 lb. Trv it and report. E. T. FOGI.E. 



Hu-tsville, Ind., M.°.y 5th, 1878. 



We used substantially tlie same plan some 

 time ago, but the slieets were not handsome, 

 and there were walls only on one side. The 

 Itees accept them, it is true, but 1 thought 

 they were not built out so rapidly as with 

 the" usual kind. Do you not have trouble 

 with the sagging, when the sheets are made 

 so thin as you suggest? Many thanks for 

 your description ; it may prove of great 

 value to some. Our experience with the 

 idaster plates was that tliey did not last very 

 long. 



SLATES. 



I bought good slates with frames for $1.50 per 

 dozen, cut them up in pieces of 2'2x3'b in., and had 

 12.5. Took one-half day to cut and bore holes; so 

 raj' outlay, for 125 slates, was 1 1-5 cents each. They 

 are large enough. H. W. Harper & Co., 47 Da.v St., 

 N. v., are manufacturers of slates. I have 260 

 hives in mv vard. D. D. Palmer. 



Eliza, 111.", April 29th, 1878. 



Many thanks, friend Palmer ; when we 

 get our "slate factory"' running, we will send 

 you a gross for samples. We have been 

 using some very pretty ones, made of slated 

 wood ; but they are blown off by the wind 

 too easily, and I liave too much fear that 

 they will not be water proof, to otfer them 

 for "sale as yet. The real slate, I think, will 

 be best and cheapest, and we want a nice 

 iinality for marking i)lainly. and easily. 

 Thei-(i is one more trouble in our apiary ; 

 when we get a liive "lixed."' we forget to 

 write on the slate. Cannot some machine be 

 invented tiiat will not allow us to get away 

 rrom the hive, until we have made the record? 



trees, and an extra cover of loose cypress boards, 

 but even with the trouble I have, I cannot afford to 

 discard the fdn. C. C. Sharp. 



Spring Dale, Miss., May 6th, 1878. 



This illustrates the diversity of opinion, 

 in regard to thick or tliin fdn. Some insist 

 that it must be as thin as we can make it, 

 and others that it must be thick ; but I con- 

 fess, I can see but little difference, only that 

 the bees get along faster, where they have 

 thickness enough to give good clear side 

 walls. Different specimens of wax make a 

 vast difference in the stretching, and very 

 often, the dark wax holds its place much 

 better than the very light yellow. We now 

 use the darkest for brood frames, and the 

 very light yellow for drone fdn., for the sec- 

 tion boxes. 



That colony of hybrids you sent me last season is 

 doing finely. It swarmed twice last .year, and has 

 wintered finely. Hope you will not turn out a hum- 

 bug. I am only a boy 15 years of age. 



Nathan L. Hildreth. 



Southborough, Apr. 29, '78. 



Both you and the hybrids, my young 

 friend, have done very well indeed: and 

 Avhenever you think there are any symptoms 

 of my becoming a humbug. I wish you boys 

 to write right to me and tell me of it. Re- 

 member, 1 shall depend on you. Perhaps 

 I shall sometime get off the track, as a 

 great many do, and then I shall want you to 

 come and bring me back. 



A second swarm in APRIL.. 



I have something ti relate that is unheard of in 

 this part of the country. I had a swarm of bees on 

 April 21st, and on April 2-*th, had another swarm 

 from the same stand. Who can beat it? One hive 

 cast two swarms in .\pril in this latitude. I never 

 heard of such a thing before in my life. The bees 

 have a slight cross of black blood in them. Bees 

 are doing splcndidlv; no losses during the winter. 



Milton, 111., April '^.nh, 1878. A. L. Foreman. 



Tliis seems to be another evidence of the 

 superior energy of hyhridx. 



The package of fdn., ordered to Water Valley, is 

 .•It hand. I lik(> It better than the other, as it is 

 thicker. 'I'h" lirst lot sags and breaks dcuvn, caus- 

 ing the cells, nyar tiie top b u-. to srrctclr out of 

 shape. I have my hives well sir.ided und?r peach 



I I commenced last spring (1S77) with 20 stocks of 

 bees in tolerably fair condition. I have at this time 

 29 stands in as good condition as ever I saw bees. I 

 I wintered them on the summer stands, in the Sim- 

 plicity hive, with chaff cushions over the frames. 

 j The colonies are very strong, and most of them 

 1 have drones about readv to hatch. I extra«?ted 

 i 1200 lbs. of honey from 21 stands, leaving the bal- 

 I ance for box honey, which proved almost an entire 

 I failure. L. Nigh. Sr. 



I Lamar, Mo., April 4th, 1878. 

 I 



I GRAPE SUGAR. 



That grape sugar came all right; my bees took 

 ! about 2 (juarts per day, at first. 

 i Wesley Spangle. 



: Shady Grove, Franklin Co., Pa., April 1.5th, 1878. 



' I like the idea of enameled cloth for covering 

 i bees; but is there not danger of making the hives 

 1 too tight, so as to smother the bees in warm weath- 

 1 erV I have had a little experience with an old wagon 

 sheet, made of tablecloth stuff, and my bees came 

 I rushing out, even when they had plenty of honey. 

 ' I made the sheets large enough to lap over, so that 

 ! the cover rested on the edge of the sheet all around. 

 I Daniel Howard. 



Colo, Story Co., Iowa. April 22nd, 1878. 



This is opening up an old (luestiou ; 



whether bees should b? allowed to seal u)) 



all the cracks and crevices, as they are so 



j much disjjosed to do at tiie aproach of cold 



weather, or whether they must be constrain- 



' ed to leave openings. I shorild be a little 



i afraid to close the hive as closely as you did, 



