2b'2 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



K. 



KIltfG BIBJDS. Quite n number of 

 tlie featlieied tril>es have a fashion of eating 

 l>ees ; even our common fowls sometimes 

 get into the habit of gobbling them with as 

 little fear of consequences, as if they were 

 the most harmless insect in the world. It is 

 quite likely tliat birds have a way of cnish- 

 ing their prey with their bills so as to pre- 

 vent the possibility of the bee's using its 

 sting. It has been suggested that the birds 

 and fowls eat only the drones ; but several 

 examinations of their crops showed that it 

 is, without question, the workers, and it is 

 (|uite probable that the honey contained in 

 the honey sack is the principal inducement. 



Mr. T. L. Waite, of Berea, (3., furnishes 

 some very positive evidence, and also men- 

 tions a habit of the King bird, I think is not 

 generally known to naturalists. During the 

 month of June, 72, a flock of seven of these 

 birds were making such regular and con- 

 stant vibits to his apiary that his suspicions 

 were aroused, and concealing liimself , with 

 watch in hand, he observed a single bird 

 snap up 5 to 8 per minute. After having 

 piusued this "innocent''' amusement for a 

 sufficient interval, liis birdsliip was in the 

 habit of taking a rest on a neighboring tree, 

 where, after a short meditation, he com- 

 menced a series of muscular contortions of 

 tlie head and neck, that finally resulted in his 

 opening his mouth wide, and 'iieaving up'' 

 a wad of some strange black looking sub- 

 stance. By chance their perch Avas close 

 over a bed of rhubarb or pie plant, and our 

 friend secured a number of these wads as 

 they fell, and thus settled the point of their 

 being nothing more nor less than crushed 

 bees. After they had ''squeezed" out all 

 the honey, probably having no further use 

 for the '"pomace", it was unceremoniously 

 cast aside, while his worship, with a keen ap- 

 petite and zest for the sport, went "bee 

 hunting" again. They came regularly for a 

 "meal" two or three times a day. I guess 

 we had better use our rifles and shot guns in 

 such a way as to induce them to learn that 

 apiaries are "unhealthy"' localities for such 

 boarders. 



ZiOCUST. This tree is .so well known as 

 to scarcely need a description. It grows 

 very rapidly, and bears blossoms at a very 

 early age. and could we be assured of hav- 

 ing regularly the crop of lioney that the lo- 

 cust bears perhaps one year in five, I should 



at once plant a locust grove exclusively for 

 honey. It blossoms profusely, almost every 

 season, but often, the bees pay no attention 

 to the flowers at all. 



The honey comes at a time, when it is very 

 much needed, as it is a little later than the 

 fruit bloom, and a little earlier than white 

 clover. If anytliing could be done, by a se- 

 lection of different varieties, or by cultiva- 

 tion, to make it bear honey eveiy season, 

 a locust grove would be a very valuable ad- 

 dition to the honey farm. 



The leaf of the locust nuich resembles the 

 leaf of the clover, only it has a gi-eat number 

 of leaves on a stem instead of only three ; 

 the blossom is nuich like that of the connnon 

 pea, both in appearance and size. It is an 

 interesting fact, that the locust, pea, and 

 clover all belong to the same order, Legumi- 

 nosce. 



M. 



TaOVlNa 313EB. Perhaps about as 

 many mishaps, especially with beginners, 

 have come about from moving bees unwise- 

 ly, as from any other one cause. A little 

 thought in regard to the habits and ways of 

 bees would save nuich of this. Bees fly from 

 their hives in quest of stores, perhaps a mile; 

 sometimes a mile and a half or two miles; 

 but they will seldom go beyond these limits, 

 imless at a time of great scarcity of pastur- 

 age. Well, after a bee has once fixed his lo- 

 cality, he starts out in the moniing on a run, 

 and never stoi)s to take the points, as he 

 does the first time he sallies out from a new 

 locality. The consequence is, if j'ou have 

 moved his hive, either in the night or day 

 time, and Jiave not moved it more than a 

 mile, he will, when he goes back, strike di- 

 rectly for his old locality. On reaching there 

 and finding his hive gone, he is lost and 

 helpless; and even though the hive may be 

 but a few rods away, he will never find it in 

 the world. New hands freouently move 

 their hives close together at the approach of 

 winter, that they may better protect them 

 with chaff (U- straw. I do not know how 

 many times mishaps resulting from this kind 

 of proceeding have been related to me. All 

 goes very well, perhaps, until we have a 

 warm day; then the bees start out for a fly. 

 and very luiturally retiu'n to their home just 

 as they have been doing all summer; if no 

 one is near to restore their hive to its former 

 location, they fly helplessly around for a 

 while, and then alight on the trees aiul fenc- 

 es, scattered about, and finally perish. If 

 other hives are near, they will get into the 

 wrong hives aiul get stung; or, if their num- 



