* UMASS/AMHERST 312066 0333 2700 7 m& ^^< ■■■• ' '^' -fH nDDnDDDDaDaDDDDannDDnnnnDDDDDnnD D D n D a .<^^:^% ' " Co f^ipi^ ^ " * ffil .Mf. b ^ ■ " > pi fCw JB m ■ " z. ^^\bh is "^ ■ " •9 ^Si^jJS ^ " '^W^^^' z '_ 2 ~ ] I 2 i UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS D D ! LIBRARY □ D D □ D D D D D D D D D D : D D D D "* D D 3 2 3 3 z 3 " '_ '_ I " " CI [[ D D D D O C D ' ^ D □ \Z D n D □ D nnnnnnnnDaanDnDDnnDnnDnaDDDDDDan I LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST, MASS. 4 3 S", O S" Q4- 7 V. I 3 s^s^s^^^^:^^^^^,^^^ ENTEEED AT THE POST OFFICE. MEDINA. OHIO. AS SECOND-CLASS^IATl'ER. GLEA>*-INGS IN BEE CULTL'RE. Jan. j^iD-\ri- :Rrc seivee ^ ;j t s. We require that every advertiser satisfy us of re- sponsibility and intention to do all that he ajrrees. and that his goods are really worth the price asked for them. Tintfx for AdvertiKemetHs. All advertiseinonts will he inserted at the rate of •iii cents i)er liii". Nonpareil space, each insertion; IS lines of Koiip; roil space make 1 inch. Discoynts will lie made as follows: On ](> lines und upward, o insertions. 5 percent; 6 intertioMS. 1o per ceni : 5) insertions, 15 per cent; 12 insertions. 20 per cent; 24 insertions, 25 per cent. On 50 lines iVs columniand upward, 1 insertion, 5 per cent: 3 insertions. 10 percent; fi insertions. 15 per cent: 9 insertions, 20 per cent: 12 insertions, 25 per cent; 24 insertions, 33^^ per cent. On 100 lines iwhoie columni and upward, 1 insertion, 10 per cent; 3 insertions. 15 per cent; 6 insertions. 20 per cent: 9 insertions. 25 percent; 12 insertions, 33^ per cent; 24 insertions, 40 per cent. On 200 lines (whole pajre', 1 insertion, 15 per cent; 3 insertions, 2(1 per cent: 6 insertions. 25 percent; 9 insertions. 30 per cent; 12 insertions, 40 per cent; 24 insertions, 50 per cent. A. I. Koot. CLTJEBinSTO- XjIST. We will send Glkamnos— With the American Ree-Journal, W'y With " " " M'y With the Bee-keepers' Magazine, With the Ree keepers' C.uide, With the Kansas Hee-keeper, With the American Apiculturist, With all of the above journals. ($3.00) ( .50» (1.00) ( .50) (1.00) (1.00) With American Ap-rieulturist, ($1.,50) With the British Bee-Journal, (1.40) With Prairie Farmer, (2.00) With Rural New-Yorker. (2.00) With Scientific American, (3.20) With Ohio Farmer, (1.25) With Fruit Recorder and Cottage Gard'r, (1.00) With U. S. Official Postal Guide, (1..50) With Sunday-School Times, weekly, (2.00) [Above Rates include all Poiftagc.'i $2.7.5 l!75 1.40 1.90 1.75 2.35 2.25 2.75 3.00 3.50 2.00 1.75 3.25 2.25 iHHeipers Wholesal.E4S?Retai 1_. CHAFF HIVES CHEAP. I will sell chair hives all complete, made of jfood lumber, Root's pattern, jiainted two coats, for *;2 .50, lower frames included. Same in tiat, §1.50. Five per ct. discount on orders for 10 or more. Simplicity and LanKStroth hives at lowest rates. A. r. STAUFFEB, STEELINO, WHITESIDE CO., ILL. 2:{-21d Imo HEADQUARTERS FOR Early Mu & Cpi Oieeis. Imported and home-bred; nuclei and full colonies. For nuality and purity, my stock of bees can not bo excelled in the Lnited States. 1 make a specialty of manufacturinK the Dunham foundation. Try it. If you wish to purchase Bees or Supplies, send for my new Circular containing- directions for introduc- ing queens, remarks on the new races of Bees, etc. Address Itfd Dr. J. P.U. BROWN, Augnsta, Ga. Cash for Beeswax! Will pay 2(!c per lb. cash, or 28c in trade for any quantity of gofid, fair, averag-e beeswa.x. delivered at our R. R. station. The same will be sold to those Mho wish to purchase, at 32c per lb., or 36c for best xekcted wax. Unless you put your name im the hor, and tell how much you have sent. 1 can not hold myself respon- sible for mistakes. It will not pay as a general thing to send wax by exprexH. A. I. ROOT, Medina, Ohio. BARNES' FOOT-POWER MACHINERY. ■■1 .!■ Rpsd what J.I. Paremt. of H.RLTON. N. Y.. K S .- Cumbined ^= M >chiiH-8 li>t will er 50 chair ves with 7 ill. cap 100 houev vSR r: ck'*. ;00 br»adfiane-, 2,000 tBH ^ n.v boxes «Dd a swAt deal jWI ( c.th.rwo'!!. Thi vodiubleth- um [.unt..fbe« ^ft h e .i>,d we ^ecl lodo il all with tblH ^ s w. It will do al' Till SUV it .ist F ee. Ad.r.-« W. F. It JOiiN siroel, Rockf.Td. m. When more convenient, orders for Barnes' Foot- Power Machinery may be sent to me. A. I. Root. 5tfd Oldettt Bee Paper in America— Established in 1861. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, WliEKLY, jit $2.00 a y»-ar. ino>THLV EUITI4»N, 16 pa@:es, 50c. a year. 92.T West Madison Street, Chicago, 111. Bee-Hives # Sections! NEW SHOP A^D NEW MACHINJ^RY. The Lar«:eMt ITIaniil'ucturer of nee*lllvos, ^ectiuiiii, etc., in the World. Our Capncity note is a Carload of Goods Daily. DECIDED. The courts have decided the patent on the One- Piece Section to be null and mid, for want of novel- ty. We are now manufacturing them again as first placed on the market by Lewis & Parks. Write for our new price list for 1885. G. B. LEWIS, 19tfd WATERTOWN, - WISCONSIN. COMB FOUNDATION MACHINES $10.00 TO »50.00. SAMPLES OF FOUNDATION FREE, OR WITH OUR ONE-POUND SECTION BOX BY MAIL FOR FIVE CENTS. For illustration see our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Implements and Supplies, mailed on ap- plication. A. I. ROOT, Medina, O. W^^JM XXItfXJ^ In Kxebauge for SIMPLICITY HIVES IN THE FLAT. Address C. IV, COSTEI.LOW. 33-24d lyaterboro, York Co., We. DADANT'S FOUNDATION FACT0B7. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. See advertisement in another column. 1885 GLEANINGS m BEE CULTURE. Contents of this Number. .. 17 After-swarming... Alley's Drone-trap Apiarv, Nelson's ii Banner Apiary 5 Baum's Troubfe 3:i Bees Dyins on the Snow 30 Bees on Dry Sugar 24 Bees to New Zealand 24 ; Bees and Seed Corn 27 Bee-keeper, Scientific 26 : Bi adstreet Agency 36 Cixrni'ilans 17.29 Carp 35 , Circulars 10 Churchill's Tube-cleaner 18 Convention, Michigan 6. IB Conventions 36 i Crystallization, To Prevent. 13 \ Cuba 23 t Death of W. W. Rowley 29 Division-Board, Hamraon's. .30 Dragon-flies 11 K.lit,.ri.Tls .-M Ki.tr:. n.M-.(.l'.n 271 1" In .1. l;.'. ...l-nc.-;t !> Florida 10. 17, 33 Gallup's Letter 2.5 Heads of Grain 27 Hints to Cle'ks 19 Hives To Nail 27 Honey Column 4 Honey Cake .-0 Honey- 'ew. Not Unpleasant. 13 Letter from Burmah II Material for Capp ng ... 30 New Orleans, Exposition at. 9 Notes and Queries 31 Pit rt idge Pea 33 Picture of Aidary 15 Pollen Theory 17 Reports Discouraging 32 ReKoits Encouraging 31 Saws that Smoke 3.i Spider Plant 33 Sub-earth Ventil.ntion 29 •'warms, Demoriilized 36 Thieves in Alii:>ry 28 Tool to Clean Smokers 18 Transferring 2"= Wax. Secretion of 16 Winter Feeding 27 Young Be' s inSniing 29 Obituary. We are pained to notice the death of our old friend F. N. Wilder, of Fors.\th, Ga. He was one of the old friends of Gleanings, and has been an cn- thusiatic and successful bee-keeper, widely known in his vieinitv. His last letter, if I am correct, is found on pa^e 402, June number. He was about 36 years of ag-e, and an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Church since his 10th year. It is said of him that he has never, during- his wliole married life, failed to have family prayers. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.— Fs. 110: Hi."). KIND WORDS FROM OUR CUSTOMERsT OUR FD.V. AND FDN. MILLS. Your 10 inch foiiiubif ion iiKichinc rcecixcd in (rood order. We have trii'd it. ami llir- Lie- lia\-e tried the f()\inilati(in. All imrtics iire wi'll s;it islicd. ColumbuH, Wis., .hiiief), IKSt. Smith \- .Mokgan. dance of muscle and enthusiasm to run one of them; or, as an old fellow jiut it who was looking- at me while at work, "It takes a heap o' trompin'." Al- low me to say, that my success is due to the accura- cy of your directions in your book. I suppo-e there was not a day during- the whole summer that I did not pay the closest attention to them. My neighbor constantly prophesied I would kill my bees, and I could get him to open his hives only after the ut- most urging-. Result, I have grown from one to 11; he has grown from 7 to 0, and 1 have had to keep constant watch to keep my bees from robbing his. My honey crop was short because of the excessive drought. And now. allow me t<} thank you for the prompt and honest attention you have given my or- ders, and to hope that I shall be able to deal with you for long years to come. Honestly and sincerely your friend, C. M. Roberts. Lhillicothe, O., Dec. 11, ISfii. Names of responsible parties will be inserted in any of the following departments, at a uniform price of 20 cents each insertion, or 62.00 per year. $1.00 Queens. Names insertedin this department the first time ivitli- nit chaiyc. After, 20c each iiisertiuii, or $2.00 per year. THE WIRE - IMBEDDER FOR PUTTING FDN. INTO WIRED FRAMES. .Tust in time, the nice wire-imbedder came to hand today. I ;\m will ))leased in the prompt way you ha\c of (loiiiir business. W. Rigge'n. North Salem, Ind., .Tune 7, 1884. SOME KIND WORDS FROM MY OWN PASTOR. I thank you for your Christian and sensible arti- cle in the Nov. " Homes." May God fjraiit that it may become more and more the habit of < In-istians to take their )•('//■(/('..)) into tlicir- ciiullii-ts wiih trou- blesome boys or men rather than their tiirann.'t. Medina, O., Nov. 21, 1884. C. ,1. Rvdeu. Those whose names appear below agree to furnish Italian queens lor -r^l.ou each, under the following conditions: Noguarantee is to be assumed of purity, or an.\ thiiifr ol the kind, only that the (lueeu 1 e rear- eil from a c-lioic-e. i>ui-c inotlicr. and had commenced to la.\- when they « ere shipped. 'i\u\\ also agree to return the money at any timc^hen customers be- come impatii-iit ol s\i(li dela\ as ma\ be unavoidable. Hear in mind, that he \\ ho sends the I est (lueens, I)Ut up must neatly ami most seeuielN . will probalily i'ecei\e the most orders. Specuil rates loi- warrant- ed and tested (pieeiis, furnished on ajiplication to any of the parties. Names with *, use an imported queen mother. If the queen arrives dead, notify us and we will send you another. Probal)ly none will be .sent for -^Liio before July 1st, or after Nov. If wanted sooner, oi- later, see rates in price list. *A.I. Root, Medina, dhio. *H. H. Mrown. bight Street. Columbia Co., Pa. Itf *Paul I,. Vialion. haxou (ioula. I>a. Itfd *S. V. Newman. Noi-walU. Huron Co., O. Itfd ♦Wui. ibillantinc, Sago, .Musk. ( <)., O. Itfd *D. G. Ivlmiston, .'vdrian, ben. Co., Mich. 21tfd *Dr. John .M. Price. Tampa, Ilillsboro Co., Fla. .5-.3 *S. G. Wood. Hirmiiigham, .lell. Co., Ala. Itfd *Jos. Hvrne, ibiton Koiige, K. Baton K. Co., La. 7-5 *W. W.'Turner. Oak Hill, (ireeneCo., N. Y. 7-5 *S. C. Perrv. Poith.-.al. Ionia Co., Mich. 21tfd Will True, < had" ell, Clatsop Co., (iregou. 0-7 Jas. O. Facev, Tavistock, Out., Can. Itfd *D. E. Jacobs, Longley, Wood Co., O. 1-2;? Hive Manufacturers. to make such hives, and at the jirices )se ileseribed on our circular. OUR EXTRACTORS IN ARKANSAS. The exti-actor was a "dandy" and a show in the country— the only one in the county. The iieople crowded in. to see the honey taken out without in- juring the combs, till the house was full in every room. If I had charged an admission fee I could have gotten my money back. W.m. Drake. Colt Station, Ark. Who i named, A. I. Hoot, Medina, Ohio. P. L. Viallori, Ha vou Goula, Iberville Par., La. Itfd Apiarian Supply Co., Wilton Junction, Miis. Co., la. C. W. Costellow, Waterboro, York Co., Me. 21-19 Kennedy \- Leahy, Higginsville, Lafayette Co.. Mo. 2ltld F. A. Sncll, Milledgeville, Carroll Co., 111. l-i;( SOME KIND WORDS FROM AN A B CSCHOLAR. Well, we are closing up another year. I began dealing with you last spring in a small way, but my apiary is growing, and so are my ideas. If my pros- perity keeps up I shall soon be a customer worth looking after I bejran in the spring- of isst with one small colony of beautiful Italians. My apiary has grown to 11 at this writing, and I have piii-chas- ed only one, a full Italian swarm, for which I gave S4.00. I have 0 of my colonies in chaff hives. Avhich I made myself, after the instructions given in the ARC book, on a buzz saw T constructed myself. IJut after making tho.ce 0 hives T recognized the truth of your statement, that it takes a superabun- Something Hew. Hive with reversible section cases, also Simplicity Hives, the same as A. I. Root nuikcs them, at Roofs prices. Send for circular and price list to Itfdb KENNEDY & LEAHY, Box 1 1 . Higginsville. Lafayette Co,. Mo- TESTED aUEENS, -?2.00. Untested, $1.00. 4-frame nu- clei, §;i.50 and f-i.'>0. Mississippi wax-extractor, §3.00, USCARF. 15LKDSOF, Grenada, Miss. 3tfd (ILLXSiSLiS 1\ JiEE CL LTUUE. Jak. }I0NEY (30MMN. CITY MARKETS. Nkw YoitK.— 7/'>;(('.v— ^^'f I't'g' to inform ><)ii tliat our iiiiiiUi't is well stoc'ki'd with c-oiiil) hoiiex-, witli iiii unseat istiR-l(ir.\ ilciiiaiid for saiiu-, even at the follow iiiji- low prices: l''iinev wiiiie clox'er, in l-ll.>. ^(H-tious, i)er lb., W" \^i- •• ■ :.'ll). •' •• 14^;/ Ki Fairtoyoo.lwliite.iii lx-:.'ll). " " V-V,' ]:> Kanev Imekwheat. in Mb. - •• 10^(11 •• ■ " " »'-ll.. " •' !)''i9;.j < tntinary Krades, in 1 s ~' lb. " No ileniaud. K.xtraeted. white clover, in kej-'s or small bl>ls.,8^ 8!i l)uekwlicat. CT/T JJeesw ii.\. prime yellow, jier lb.. SW;-ii McCail A: Hll-DKETH, ;u llnilson street, cor. Duane St.. Dee. lit. lSi>4. Now York City. ('ix( iN.vATi.— Woiifi/— Tliero is notliing very en eoiirafriiiJi' i'l f'K" '"I'l'ket. Snpply is jioofl of couib ami e.\traete(l liotiey; and while the letail demand is fair for tlie latter, it is slow foi- comb honey. De- mand I'll- extracted Ik me.> Irom manufacturers, is \iry dull. Priees ran^ic low, caused not so much by iar;;e supi>lies as by the low price of sugar, adul- terations, and stagnation in the unmufactu ring- business. Choice eondi honey in 1 and » lb. sections briiij.'^s IV./KJe per lb. on arrival, and extracted hon- .-> . (iri/itc. WecsKvi.r.— Arrixiils are slow, with a g-ood home demand. Good yellow brint^s :.'srt':J9c on ar- rival. (HAS. !•". MCTll, ,'^. E. Cor. Freeman and Central Avenues, Dec. ~'+, 1881. _ Cincinnati, (». St. L()Tis.—Hfi)i»J/— There has l)een no change in extracted honey since our last report ; only retail demand. .^-Jouthern in liarrels, worth from o'^fr/ lie; in kegs, 7e. for elioice; in cans, inc., at i-etail. Very little demand for eomli lioTiej . White clover in one- fioiind sections, ITtolSc.: in t \ro-]>oniid sections, 15 to hie. i)er pound. Dark honey not wanted. /i(..s-(r(<./.— Not much arriving: worth f rom rJT (rii.WAi'Ki;K. lldiirii.—Thi' honey market here is i-atherdull for this season of the year, and the supply fair, and f|ualit\- ol stock generally tine and in good order. Quote. White ]-lb. sections, i:j(f>, 14c.; white 2-lb. sections, 1:; f" i:!c.; extracted, in kegs, •Sc, with packajro; in ciins. i'c. ficisira.r.—'^Xffj ■'.Oc liure. .V. V. lUsHOP, Dec. -M, 1884. 142 West Water St.. >ri! waukee, Wis. Clkvet.and.— Hontj/.— Tlic honoy mai-kct is very much negk'Cted, scareel.v any wanted. Prices arc iinehanged; ln-st white 1-lb. sections selling at l.">(Lf; If., second .inalily V.V"M. Best white, in l'^ and 2 lb. sections, 14 cts. Extracted not salable. Jiiisint.r.- ;.'S els. A. C. KKNDEr., Dee. :.'7, 1884. 11.5 ( )nlario St., Cleveland, tdiio. sOUTh^ FC2 THE JiAlTtJFAOTUSE AOT SALE BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES 77(«- Oiili/ St'iini rartori/ ICi-vrlrtI in the Soiillt. j:.irl ii.fi ri-i If /■«»• tlir Ma n H/'uvtiirr of ilirfs. IriuiKS. .Srrtioiis. Ar.. .IV. Yiallon, and Root Sr^^^Hf a,^:.^;^?^.pr Comb^ Foundation ^'u^A ^l ^Hs^:^ I Extractors, .Smokers, veus? and 'lively tS I Italian Queens and Bees. S'a&rc^r^i" I the iicighboihoo ; commendation is reftuired. I semi out no (lueen j that I \voulil not ha\ e for m.\ self ; and any one r*'- cci\ ing a dcdectivi- or worthless 'lUeen from me will 1 ha\ i; it replaccfl. Proposals from Dealers to mail a ; gi\('n nundier weekly, solicited. Ma.v, sl.l.j; Untested Queens in'lune ami after. M.m. Kales l-erdo/ei ' K.^.vs.vs ViTY.—Hoveji.— Market ver.v quiet; little honey moving; prices lower— about 1 cent on 1-lb. section* '.V'''^ cents on iMb. sections. Extracted dull, •^or.] cents lower, with very little doing. Dec. 2:J, 1S.S1. ci.inioNS, Cloox & (:<).. Cor 4th and Waliuit Streets, K. C, Mo. Dktuoit.— Ho?i(//.— The honey tnarket is rather dull and well supplied. Good comb is quott^d at 12T'. J4 cents. A. U. AVeeu. Detroit, Mi«h., Dec. S3, 1S84. IJOSTON.— Hfwif'i/.— -Our demand for honey is \ery light, >ind prices arc oil from K'l.'Z ciB. per pound. Dec. '£\ IHKl. IJI.AKE \' Kiin.EY, ." Chatham St., Boston, Mass. 300 Colonies of Bees for Sale, Also 40 acres of land adjoiiungthe city; good house and plenty of go mn/ie at club rat«a Above are all to be sent O ONR POSTOFFrrR. A. I. 1?00T. MEDIXA. OHIO. !?^ ifTerent postoffices, not i.fks pnoh. S»nt postpaid in tbe U. S and Cnnadap To all other coim- triesof the I'niversnl Postal Union. 18c peryexr extra To all countries KOT of P TT.,42eper year extra. NOTES FROM THE BANNER APIARY. FOUNDATION IN THE BUOOD-NEST. fRIEND ROOT:— You will remember that we discussed this question at the Lansing- con- vention ; but as many of your readers were not there, I will, with your permission, reply to your criticisms uooii my article on pajre »n, Dec. Gleanings. You sa.y, colonies with sheets of fdn., and with empt.y frames, have been tried side by side for years, and in thousands of apiaries, and the result was in favor of the fdn. Y'ou also si)eal£ of the e.vcellent results obtained by hiving swarms upon empty combs, and extracting the hon- ey. All this I admit; but, to my mind, those illus- trations are not to the point. If a swarm is com- ))elled to build all of its combs, both store and brood, there is no iiucstion in my mind but that it would be outstripped by a swarm furnished with fdn. or combs, but how will it be when the surplus depart- ment Is furnished with fdn. or combs, and the bees allowed to build natural combs in the brood-nestV Have you, friend R., tried such an experiment, or «U) you know of any one who has? and if so, with what result? Prof. Cook offered an explanation of why I apparently secured more honey when no fdn. was used in the brood-nest, and the explanation is reasonable. He said the honey was stored in the sections to a greater extent, instead of in the brood- nest, when no fdn. was used in the brood-nest; and, as I did not compare the weight of the brood-nests in the fall, it is possible that the professor's expla- nation is the true one. This is the, one weak point in my experiment, .\nother season I will try to make my experiments more conclusive. I'rof. Cook says bees do not secrete wa.x unless they have use for it ; but, is it not i)0ssible that a newly hived swarm, during a good flow of honey, can secrete enough wax to fill their brood-nest, if given fdn. in the sur- plus department, more cheaply than wo can buy fdn. for them? The best way that I know of to de- ; cide this question is bj- such experiments as I made I last season: and if it is decided that more surplus is secured simply because less aoney is deposited in the brood-nest, it should not be forgotten that this space in the brood-nest that n-ould have hctn occu- pied with honey, had fdn. been used, has been oc- cupied with /xoof/, and that fall will find the hive full of bees instead of honey; the honey can be sold for a good price, and the combs filled with su- , gar syrup. I'ou say, " It seems to me, that instead of decid- ing we do not need fdn. or empty combs, we ought to decide that the method of management was not quite the thing." I do not think this a fair decision, and I think you will agree with me when 1 tell you that no other bee-keeper in this county, so far as 1 have learned, has received so large a yield pro rata as myself, while the commission men pronounced it the finest honey they have handled this season. One bee-keeper, living SU miles from here, began , the season with about 30 colonies, and increased to about 76, but received only about 10 lbs. per colony of surplus. At the convention at Chicago, only our, reported a better yield of eomb honey than myself. In the face of this, do you think it would be fair to say, "The method of management was not quite the thing"? Prrcont ra, in the fall 1 fed my bees 10 [ lbs. of sugar per colony, on aii average, to prepare them for winter; but !i« the honey "squeezed" 0 (iLEAXlJS'C,^ JN BEE CULTLKE. .Tax. from.tht; brood-nest iuto.lht'.sections netted me, up- on an'average, IS^cts. per .pound.^the sugai-^needed to.take its place injthe ;brood-conibs.'.cost only 7 cts. l>cr^ll)., and^is a safer^winter food than'Jioney, do you think^it.fair.iiiy.fiiend, to .say " the method of nianag-ement'was not stop at Sandusky. I knew, and 1 was ! very anxious to find out where the State i lisliery was located, and therefore I asked every Hew comer as he came into the car if 1 he Avas acTuni:. lime to come of every tliinj? belonging to the tish tribe. Is it not funny, what prejudice will do? By this time a very genteol-Iooking man came in. and somehow liis appearance seemed to rather forbid conversation. I fnially decid- ed, however, that I would see wliether it were true that we can tell very much about a man by his looks. He admitted that he lived in Sandusky, and^was pretty well ac- quainted, but answered so briefly that 1 was almost discouraged on the carp question. However, Ave'neai'edithe place, and necessity made me bold. Oh^ yes! lie knew all abou't the State lishery : had seen the little chaps wiggle al)out in the glass jars. It was down by the Avaterworks. He would show me the place ; and after studying up the time of trains, decided for me that by close figuring I could get about twenty minutes for my visit at the fishery. I began to repent a lit- tle of my former imcharitable conjecture in regard to him; and when the train slacked up near the station, and he suggested we had better jump off and run, trusting to the chances of a street-car, I became a good deal ashamed of myself. A car had just left, and I slacked up my running, deciding that it was too nearly "out of sight to leave any chance for catching it. He. however, witli a shrill whistle, brought them up. even away off in the distance, got me into the car. pointed out the line buildings of the city, told me of a short cut to take in going back, pointed out the hatchery, then nodded as he left me, without seeming to tliiidc he had done me any service at all : and yet jvithout his kind assistance 1 should have entirely fail- ed in my project, iind a day's work would have been lost. 1 did thank him as well as I knew how, and I mentally resolved to try never again to be guilty of forming luicharitable impressions of peojile of whom I know noth- ing, for so silly a reason as that they look a little bit ]troud and aristoeraiic. under juy countriiied gaze. I feel ashamed of myself eveiy time I think of it. AVhat a foolish thing it is to think ill of a person voii don't know! And, come to think of it. 1 do not know but it is ten times more foolish to be tempted to think ill of peo])le around y< u whom you (?o know. May (iod have mercy upon me a sinner, and I'fear a sad sinner right in this line. The fish-building stood right on the sliore of the lake, or liay, rather; in fad. it is partly over the water. Long vats ijiside re- mind one somewhat of a cheese-factory. In the center of the building were long rows of glass jars, perhaps several hundred of them. Kach jar held, may be. three gallons. The jars are called the ("hase automatic jar. Water drawn from away out in the lake, through the nu^dium of the . waterworks, comes into the building near the ceiling. It pours into the jars through a tube that goes to the bottom of the jar. Of course, this makes the water boil over. A lip to the jar then pours it into a tube that goes into the next jar, and so a gurgling stream of water goes through the jars constanlly, day and night, for many months, and Irom there out into the lake. Well, these jars are tilled with eggs of white fish in countless piillious. These eggs look like white pearls, about the size of common shot. Patientlv the opera- tives watch and wait natures time, for three or four long months. Then the eggs, even in this cold lake water, hatch out little fish, and the fish wiggle out up through the jars, and so out with the current into the lake, and Lake Erie is peopled with white fishes. Js i^not wonderful? _ _ _ They do not hatch carp in that way.~ Carp are hatched in ponds, as described in the different articles that have appeared. But along the vats, along the outside of the building, little^ carp of all sizes were swim- ming. The gentlemanly superintendent. Mr. Henry Douglas, scooped up a lot of them with a little net attached to a frame that just filled the vat. By pushing this down the center of the vat, and moving it toward the end. all the fish that could not go through the meshes of the net were pulled up at one haul. The fish did not seem to be troubled or alarmed about it. I picked up a miiror carp about the size of my hand, and he lav still while 1 admired hini. as if it were the most natural thing in the world. IIow I did wish that Iluber were there! He has lately learned to express liis admiration or thanks by saying '' nice.'" But he can not say the whole word, and so he just says •Mii"." When I feed him at the table, and give him something, he looks up with an appreciative twinkle in his blue eyes, and ejaculates •' ni"."" So it is with an apple, or any thing else to aertie.'" was just getting crazy on poultry when 1 was there : and as that iised to Ijc'my boyhood hobby, Bertie and I soon had many ideas in com- mon. While they were hitching up to go back to the conveiition, Bertie and I and his littje sister had a chase out around the barns 8 GXEANIXGS IN BEE CULTURE. J AX. to tiucl his golden game bantams. Well, they had wandered away, and we could not find tliem; l)ut lierlie found a fresh-laid egg. a diminutive h"n"s-egg. of a faint orange tint, clean and spotless, and beautiful in ])ro])or- tion. I wanted the egg to sliow to ll\d)er, more than I dared to tell ; and tlie sight of that egg gave me another thrill of pleasure, and ever since that day I have felt an un- accoiuitable love f(n- poultry. I went and got my old poultry book, " Aii Egg Farm,"' and somehow every page seemed to give me a new thrill of deliglit. bringing back my bovhood days, and making me feel glad that I liad now a very pretty lot of young pidlets that might be laying if they only had better (piarters. "Well.' I " am feeling unusually liappy this l)right wintry morning; and one thing that I feel happy'about is, tiiat it is a beautiful sunshiny day ; and after I get the printers supplied with copy, and my morn- ing mail read. J am going to scrape ac- quaintance with our poor biddies, and see if I can not lix a place for them to lay. Iluber and I will manage it, you know, and then he and I will gather the' eggs, and won't we liave funV If they were not so far away, we would just carry a steam-pipe from the en- gine down there to warm l\\^ their (piarters and cook their grain. bo;l potatoes, etc. Now, I have told you all al)Out tiie .Michigan State Conveutiou. except the bee ])art of it. and this article ]vd% got to lie so long tliat I think I will tell tliat n.-\t time. Eest some- body should complain tliat I have talked so much about this visit, we have pat in lour extra pag;es, as you will notice. 1 usu:dly get talkative in the month of February, and iind myself obliged to put in a leaf or two ; but the spell seems to start earlier this winter. 1 do not know where we shall be by February, if I do not wind up; so. good-by until next time. Oh yes ! Before I close this paper I must lell you one other little circumstance. Aft- er I started home from Lansing, tlie bee- keei)ers who happened to ba on my train of course knew me ; and after we had gone a few miles a man of about my age came and introduced himself, and pretty soon asked me to come over to the other end of the car, where his wife was. I pretty soon discover- ed that, if I did not know them, they knew all ai)ont nt". Tliey were Mr. and Mrs. O. .1. Bedell, of Kawkawlin, ]\Iich. They have taken (iLio.v.vixiis almost since its com- JUiMicement. and I soon realized thev were not sorry either, by the kind compliments tliey paid it. Tliey have succeedeil with their bees, and their success has been most- ly due to (Ji.KA.\iN(;-^. Now, I do not wish to have you think that tliey follow all my di- rections because they said that. They do not use tlu' Sinijilii-ity hives nor frames", but a franiH that friend 1>. contrived, after a no- tion of his own. The way he makes his houey-boxes is so uu-jpie tlia't 1 tliiiik 1 sliall have to tell you all al)out it. II(! goes out into tlie woods and hunts uji a nice straigiit- grained pine-tree, just to suit liiiu. This is cut. and made into plank. Tlie plank is tlien cut olf into bolts iust as long as his sections up and down. Then these bolts are sliced n p with a circular saw so as to have pieces I about i inch thick, 4i inches long (that is, for Simplicity sections), and Hi inches wide. You see, it is a strip of board, as it were, with the grain running crosswise ; and not only must the (jrain run crosswise, but it must be straight across, so you could take a knife and split up this board into strips, and have the strips split right square across, eveiy time. These pieces are for a series of section boxes, something on the plan of the '• Farmer"' honey-box, only it does not have s:iw-cuts where the box has to be split. The top and bottom bars of the sections are, if I remember correctly, pieces sawed from i-inch lumber, and thick enough to hold a nail. "With some wire nails the thin boards are nailed into the end of the top and bottom bars, and these top^and bottom bars are, from center to center, the width you wish to have your sections ; that is, if you Avant 2- ' inch sections, you iiail them 2 inches apart from center to center; for H-inch sections, U inches from center to center. Four of these long series of section boxes cover the top of the hive, and wlien they are filled they are carried to the grocery in that shape, and the grocer with his penknife splits off one section, or two together, or three, as the cus- tomer may wish. The wood being nice and straight-grained, as 1 have explained, they usually split pretty easily and true. Of course, no separators are used. I can not remember Ikav many bees friend 15. keeps; but he took a little book out of his ]>ocket, and showed me how mucli money 40 acres of wheat had brought him this season. I think it was somewhere about sijOO. Right j below he had added up his honey, and the ' honey had brought more money than the 40 acres of wheat. •• Yes, Mr. lioot.'" said he, " my hosed to feeding ill the entriince. J dont think any one will inactice it. after using a good top feeder. Vou also say we leave a " fs " space between the climbiiiB- partitions. No, it is only about ■'«; ';; would be too large. All ■';■. spaces will admit of the passage of b«>es at one time and one place, through it. A bee crawls back down as well as back up. This ,: spac<'"over the scant partition " is ai!>o a ";, space under tlie cover, and more bees than five swarms wonlil contain would never crowd this passagcwa.w "OB.JECTIONS." That these feeders take lift some rooni is trni- ol any feeder, and they ilis|iatch woi-k in a greater proportion than they take np room, as compared to other feeders. One feeder will feed ten ditferent colonies, in a lair season of time. No trouble about warped covers. We don't make a cover that will warp badly enough to let in a bee. Another point is, we don't let our colonies " get a going " robbing; and if they did, they would never raise a light cover —at least, our covers (tn " light, " and I never yet saw one rise, ant. I 15el..w is the letter from .Mr. Ilolints: .1. /. Hoot, Ks./.. i:ilil»rGlnininii'< hi Jin: ruUiin : Drar Sir:— Allow me to call your attention to the i Louisville & Nashville Kailroad as a direct and very I pleasant route lor the bee-keepers of the I'nited 1 States and Canada to take when they go to New |. Orleans in February, to hold their convention, and , visit the World's Fair and Cotton E.\i)0$ilion, start- ing fring - car for the bee-keepers from Cincinnati to New (Jrlcans, which costs six dollars for a double berth, or twelve dollars for a section each way, or I can charter a car for you at one hundred and thirty dollars from Cincinnati to New Orleans, and you can divide the expenses pro rata between you all. By sleeping two in a berth, the car will accommodate 48 people; or one in a berth, 24 people, and this would certainly be the most pleasant way. You could all go to New Orleans, and get well acquainted; you can leave Cincinnati at 8:5.5 in the evening, and reach New Orleans the second morning- at 7:50— a nice hour to arrive in a strang-e city. By their sending their names to you I will register them as received, and they would get their sleeping car lerlhs accordingly; but they must be sure their ticliets read Louisville & Nasli- ville R. R. from Cincinnati or Louisville to New Or- leans. Any further information furnished upon application Vei-\ truly yours.— Heuman Hoi,mes, TraveUnij Passeiiricr Agoit. Medina, Ohio, Dec. 25. 1884. P. S— Those desiring to do so within the limit of their tickets, can stop off at Cave City, and visit Mammoth Citve on their return trip. H. H. "i^ h le I 11 ink of it.it seems to ni" every bee-man slinuld ^veal• a hadsje. I know a good m;in\ of us rallur dislike tliis idea of adveit-^ing our.celvcs and otir business. But \vli( n I attt nded our convention in Micbigan I rode s' veral long bonrs in tbe same ear w.tb nt Inast two different bee- fr-ends wbo were v( ry anxious to see me, and I did not know them, f:nd they did not know me. I have felt badly about it ever since. I do not s( e bow we can find each otlier out unless we wear a badge. I did think once of standing up in the car and ;isk- ing if any bee-men were present ; but that would be 'a little out of my way of doing business, even though it might have been quite an accommodation to the friends men- tioned. Let us hear from you who are ex- pecting to go. had got posted as to the honey-flows. Where he had plenty of black-mangrove bloom I think he would be compelled to keep less bees, or hire help, although his crop would probably be larger. Q.— As you have no cold winters (which are a dread to me), what is the chief cause of loss of bees with you? I .4.-1 have not lost a colony of bees for years, e.\- ! ccpt that two or three went to the woods two years j ago. Death of the queen at a time of jear when we are not watching the bees closely, has been the cause of losing two or three colonies in yeai-s past. In that case, simple neglect was the cause. We j have all the enemies, and none of the diseases of other sections. The mosqnito-hawk seems to be the worst one, as it catches many young queens while out to meet the drones. Notwithstanding all the enemies, my bees are always strong, and always have given good results; IIJO pounds average per colony being my lowest in seven years. (i).— When do bees swarm there? ^1.— Tn March, April. May, and .Tuly. It is usually easy to prevent swarming after May 1. Q.— What is the soil of Florida? yt.— Most of it is poor and sandy; but as it is not "thiisty" or "Icachy" it retains fei-tilizers well, and responds to them and to good cultivation won- derfully well. Our hammock (or hummock) lands are black and rich, and produce heavy crops of all kinds suitable to the climate. Q.— What is the price of hive lumber, and is your pine suitaiile foi- hive-making? .4.— Good Southern pine, suitable forhive-making, costs S22 00 per thousand at the mills. We also have some handsome woods suitable for sections, besides plenty of basswood. Q —Is there a factory for making hives and bee- keepers' sujiplies in your State? .4 —No. What we do not malje ourselves, we or- der from Georgia or the North. W. S. Hart. New Smyrna. Fla., Dec. 12, 1834. BEE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS, AND FRIEND HART'S ANSWER TO THE SAME. UESTION.— Will it pay for a man owning bees in the North to ship them to Florida, instead of purchasing there, if he intends to perma- nently locate South? Answer.— li a fair price can be obtained for your bees there, it will not, as they can usually be got here at $l..'SOto if 7.00. according to strain of bees, quality of hive, and condition of colony. Q. When is the best time to ship, and would it be safe to ship in December? .4.— Sept., Oct., Nov., April, or May. 1 would not ship from there in December. ',*.— Could one who is an expert in the North, and can handle 200 swarms successfully for extracted honey, do as well with the same numl)er of swarms in Florida, or would he have to learn so much about the climate, seasons, etc., as to diminish his yield? .A.— He could probably handle as niar.y swarms in some parts of the State as he co\ild North, after he CIRCULARS RECEIVED. For rhn^. Ki -Piicrelist of ,p rsle l^fiiton, La., In., etc. have just printed Wis. lias bepii rpooived from .Tesse H. Rob- fihi anfl queens a specialty We liavc lilciv pi intcd for J B M.'Cormick Fredericksburg, O., some price lists of ajiiarian supplies, 4 x fi. tinted paper. From J. W K.Shaw and Co . Loreauville La . wp have re- ceived a postal eircnl->r of the Home apiaries of 200 colonic*. (Jueen-r arinif a sjiecialty. P. L. Vinllon Ravou Gonla. Li., has jn.-st ordered from our piess his seventh annual price list of bees, queens, etc. The paRcs are the si?c of tliese. i*. T. Cook, of f 'liiiton Hollow. N. V.. is havinsr his annual seed eatnloeuc printiMl here. It will cro to nress immediately after printing this nuniliei of Gleaninos The desitni is qui'e novel. an anvthine offered in my cirriilar. to write on ii postal carri their experience in dealing • st:ilc 'lainly and in as few words as possible, linl; of what von have received for your mon- p.i-til card to the publisher of the publication • luv iiilvertisement. sLKK TO REPORT AS REQUESTED, for by fO id the right against the wrong." I Just 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. IJ DRAGON FLIES. WHERE THEY COME FROM, AND WHAT AKE THEY DANGEROUS.:' EW insects are better known than the dragon- flies, or "devil's darning-needles." In near- These adult dragon-flies are considered very bene- " floial, because they devour mj-riads of gnats, mos- quitoes, and other '"small game." Sometimes they vex the apiarist by pouncing, falcon-like, upon hi« honey-laden bees as they homeward fly; but this is ronly true of the larger species. When they ai-e li!." T.l'!T.]?!:, ^^''^uL^l^^^I'^.ZTZli^I^ numerous, and destructive enough to do serious in- something, however, which is easier said than done. To catch them, stand still and try to cage them as they flit past you; do not chase them, as they will rise and escape. Clarence M. Weed. been attributed to them, and they have ceived popular names. The Germans, more poetical, in this respect at least, than their Ameri- can cousins, call them " Gauze-flies," or " Virgins of the water," while the French gallantly style them " Demoiselles." A noted entomologist has affirmed these insects to be "the very incarnation of ug- liness, and the perfection of all that is hideous." If he refers to their immature stages he is doubt- less correct; but, few species of insects are more distinctively beautiful than some of the dragon- Lansing, Mich., Oct , 1884. The opening of your remarks, friend AV., reminds me vividly of the stories I used to hear about these snake-feeders, as we called them. Wlienever one buzzed around our lieads, instinctively both juvenile hands were luster, what can surpass the eyes, wings, and body of the blue-green species which Hits irregularly iihout th(> ti(>lds and woods in June and July? flies in their perfect state. For dazzling metallic clapped over onr ears, because we had been told they sewed people's ears up with that long darning-needle body of theirs. I know they are handsome, but their gaudy beauty is "so suggestive of stinking ponds and streams that I do not believe I shall ever ad- mire them as I might otlierwise. I am glad to know more about them than I ever did before. The complaints of their preying up- I on the bees have come mostly from the South. I do n(4 think they do it — at least not very much, here in theNorth. I have seen them in that cpieer operation of laying eggs under water, but I never understood it before. Of course, they have some kind of a water-proof glue to malut, ] discovered, providentially, that my whole factory of boys and girls, with a verj- few notable exceptions, had quietly packed up their books and clothes, preparatory to leaving secretly by moon- light, say 1 or "i o'clock in the morning, and all be- cause I had called the school to account for break- ing a rule forbidding them to go out among the Hurman heathen, where they would learn all sorts of evil, in the evenhuj time; i. e., without permission from some of the teachers. There were orphans among this number whom I had saved fit)m death by starvation, and had ted and clothed for years. There were boys who had been in the theological .seminary at Rangoon, studying for the ministry. There were none of the whole company who bad not received aid and love and kindness from us in many ways; yet in a sort of panic of evil-heart- cdness they were all ready to break up their school on the slightest provocation. 1 may add, that there was not one who did not afterward acknowletlge that he was wrong, and ask forgiveness for what he had done. Your bless- f'd Huber cheers you after your work is done. Hless 4he boyl m;/ darlings are in far-off America, and T have not seen them for over four years. But I wont say more, lest you think 1 am comjilaining, which I am not. 1 merely speak of these things so tliat you who have already shown so much kindness and thoughtfulness for this far-off worker may the more intelligently pray for us that our strength fail not. Notwithstanding what I have said, and much more of the same sort, 1 believe that the spirit of (Jodisable to lift this people; that the Holy Spirit can and does convert their souls, and will lift them into civilization. I may not see a great advance in my life; but it will come, for the "Lord hath spok- en it." We here have to fall back and rest entirely on the promises, after working on in the dark for years; but the promises of God are yea and amen. T have been struck with the similarity of our work, after all. They touch in many points. Allow me to say, that that lOminutPs' prayer-meeting at noon in your establishment gives me more hope and joy than all else in the book. It is, by God's grace, the key-note to your whole work, and your success is sure. .\s time permits, I have been sucking in bee- knowledge. Perhaps I shall get a little time in the opening of the honey-season here (after the rains) to experiment. For this purpose I have sent an or- der to you. I wish now I had ordered more hives. I had not th»'n learned the price. It would cost me here ti\e times as nuieh to make a Simplicity hive as it would to order from you in America, ordinarily. Carpenter work of a good sort is very high and I very slow. At best it is poor. If I can start two or I three of my best Karens in bee-keeping I can help I them very much, and perhaps the art of bee-keep- ing in the country. 1 shall be happy to do good in any way I can. I am here for that purpose. I sus- pect I shall have to send you larger orders as I get experience. In any case, with God's blessing I'm bound to make this go. You see, I've caught the lever, and such fevers run with me usually till I win success or decided failure. My letter in Gleanings has stirred up several to write to me for queens! They want them sent by express. Why, there is no express within hundreds of miles of where I am. To reach Rangoon, the nearest sea-port town, we must take a native boat, a very rude affair, and go by the winding river nearly 'MO miles. This a hot sickly country, away liaek among the ages of the Philistines, save where English enterprise has pierced this gloom of igno- rance and superstition. To get a queen from Toun- goo, after we had her caught and caged, would cost hundreds, and perhaps, I had almost said, thousands of dollars to get her home safely. At least, it would take the salary and expenses of a skilled bee- fancier to get bees from Burmab to America. By the way. I saw in a i-ecent Gleanings, under the head, " Notes from Burmah," something like it. concerning bees in Singapore. The fact is, Singapore is some tKX) miles south of the most southern point of Burmah. Burmah is divided into two provinces —upper Burmah, and English, orSouthern Burmah. the most southern point of which runs down on the Malay peninsula as far as Victoria Point, opposite an island of that name, at lat. 10"^ north. The divid- ing line between Burmah and Siamese provinces is the water-shed running north and south. This line runs down the Malay peninsula to lat. 10°, when it turns to the west, and strikes the ])oint above named. As to fact, 1 have yet to learn that there is one hive of bees kept in any scientific way in the whole province of Burmah. There are wild bees ev- erywhei-e, and on a bright day their hum fills the air, and swells to a roar on the grand old trees covered with bloom, till they look like a bouquet of the giants, and sicken the air with the richness of the perfume. There, T didn't Intend to wi-ite so much when I be- gan; but we see few of our kind, and it's a relief to talk to some one who can sympathize with us some- times. This, of (!Ourse, is not intended for publlca- I tion. A. BrNKEii. I Toungoo, Burmah, Sept. 20, 1884. Why. friend B.. do you say, ''Of course, not for ])ublication'*V Your letter has cheered and encouraged me greatly; and do you not know there are hundreds and thou- sands wild read (J leanings who are toiling, many times amid darkness and discourage- menis, in the same way you and I areV Don't be afraid to let your light shine, my good brother, and don't be afraid to ask us to pray for you when you feel weighed down by maiiy cares. AVe rejoice at the opportu- nity, and daily ])rayers go up from many homes where Gleanings goes; and I am sure these prayers will be as an amen to my own prayer, that (iod may bless you and your flock away off across the ocean. "We are intensely interested in your little story; but I wat(,'hedall through your letter to have 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 13 you tell ns more about what kind of oocupa- tion you furnish to those under your charge. We know about the schools and churches; but, what industry or industries do you take upV tm — ■ ^ PREVENTING SUGAR SYRUP FROM CRYSTALLIZING. SOMETHING ABOUT TUANSKERRINO IN WINTER, ETC. T HAVE just been reading ail article in Glean- M INGS on " Crystallizing- of Sugar Syrup." I see ^l it is claimed that it will crystallize— as a rule - ''■*' only when made too thick. Further on, in the same paragraph, it is suggested that crystalli- zation probably took place— in a certain instance— because "he put in too much sugar for the quan- tity of water." So far I have found it impossible to thoroughly dissolve the sugar unless I use water enough to make the solution quite thin— too thin for feeding. Hence I can not succeed in making a syrup that will stay syrup, without boiling. Years ago T worked in a candy-factory, and there I learned, that when transparent, or "crystal can- dy" was to be made, the sugar was boiled down from a thin solution, over a charcoal fire, without any kind of stirring. Now, I never had occasion to make the experiment, but I believe that, with some less boiling, this candy syrup would have remained syrup. Stirring the sugar until thoroughly dis- solved, immediately after the water is added, has nothing to do with its crystallization; indeed, the sugar will settle to the bottom, and harden.^unless it is thoroughly incorporated with the water by agi- tation of some kind, liut, let it be reniembercMl, after this point is reached it should be boik'd with- out stirring, and, when done, left standing in the vessel in which it is boiled, until needed. I have tried the "honey" by adding al)out one- sixth to the sugar; and I am well satisfied that it will prevent granulation— or crystallization— better than any thing else, and certainly without risk of injury to the bees. Very good, friend G. But if honey effect- ually "prevents crystallization, wliat is the use of going to the trouble of boiling itV Jiist pour boiling water on your sugar, put in the quantity of lioney mentioned, stir it thorouglily. and there you liave it, without taking the stuff near the stove at all. If I am not mistaken, your wife will l)e on my side every time. One of my hives, containing a very strong colony, and ha\ing ten frames full of honey (mostly unseal- ed) was upset one night late In October, by a "nasty hog." That accident necessitated a careful ovei-- hauling of the contents of the hive, and the feeding of 12 lbs. of syrup, to make up the loss. But the colony seems to be none the worse now for the rough treatment. December 5th T transferred a swarm of bees from a barrel, in which they had been keeping house since June last. I found not less than three gallons of bees, but almost no good honey in the combs, of which the upper half of the barrel was full. 1 have them in a twelve-frame hive in the cellar, and have given them 20 lbs. of syrup since they were trans- ferred. To-day, Dec. 16, they are well and appai-- ently happy in their new home. JNIy bee-books and bee-journals gave me not even a hipt as to whether such a job might be done in December or not. But, the wise hen cackles after the egg is laid. You will probably want to hear about this transaction again ne.xt spring; and I may have cause to wish I had said nothing now. J. D. Gehrino. Parkville, Mo. I think your winter transferring will turn out all right. Of course, we should like to have you report in regard to it ; that is, if the bees you" transferred die. and those that were not'disturbed come out all right, it will be rather against winter transferring. I shouldn't wonder, however, if the colony that had the 20 lbs. of syrup in December would be ahead of the others. I do not think there is anv difficulty about transfer- ring in winter, if one understands his busi- ness. LOCALITY WHERE THEY HONEY-DEW. LIKE SOMETHING IN DEFENSE OF THIS KXNU OF UONEY. "P^KIEND KOOT: — r am a constant reader of CV Oi.EANiXGS, and like it very much. I have 1? reatl many articles in it the last few years '*■■' about honey. Now, we have not had the op- ))ortunity to study tho matter closely, but take honey-dew as a gift from above, and like thaJ^ gradeof honey very much, and so do our custom- ers. After buying it once they will call for it again. Three years ago our honey-dew honey took the sec- ond premium at the Inter-State Exposition at St. •loseph, the honey being in 10 lb. boxes, while the honey in competition was of different grades, and in one-pound .«eftious. It was darker than clnver honey, but was jjleasant to tlie taste, and of fine Havor. If the ajihides i)ioduce honey, do they not first eat ity If they puncture plants, and cause it to flow from the plant or tree so punctured, why is honey-dew found upon leaves of trees that produce a bitter llisteail of a sweet taste, as the oak-tree? Why is honey-dew found mostly on the topmost leaves of the trees, and not on the lower ones? Why do we never have honey-dew unless there is a great How of honey from tlowers? and why do we never have honey-dew unless accompanied by heavy dew?' We think that the position taken in Gleanings in regard to honey-dew is detrimental to the sale of honey in general; for people don't like to eat "bug juice." Bees have not done well here this season, scarce- ly yielding 20 lbs. to the colony; spring count. The basswood was an entire failure, as was also the goldenrod. Some colonies are short of winter stores, and will have to be fed. The spider plant produces honey from the first of July until the 25th of October, standing the dry hot weather and three slight frosts without checking the honey-flow. Mrs. J. w. Thornton. Stewartsville, Dekalb Co., Mo. I do not think tlie aphides eat honey, my friend, but, rather, that they eat the leaves and suck out tlie juices by puncturing the bark. These juices and the foliage are per- haps largelv made up of starchy matter, and the aphiihs convert the starch into sugar, and exude it. This exuded sweet substance falls on the leaves of tlie trees; and where it is on the topmost branches, I think we shall always tind the aphides on the foliage above u (,.li:anix(;s ix uee cultuhe. Ja>'. it. T believe we have honey-dew honey here when tliere is no How Irom'the llowers at all. as has been the case lliis season, wlien the ]iouey-(ie\v came dnrint,^ the extreme drought. It needs tlie lioney-dew or rain to soften up the dried-down 'saccharine matter so the l)ees can lick it up. May be you are right in thinking we liad better stop calling it bug juice. There is a great difference in the quality of the hon^y-dew, and we have some aroun(l here who like it. and prefer it to any other honey— not enough, iiowever, to make a market tor it. A man was here yesterday with over 500 lbs. of beautiful-looking white (;omb honey stored in one-pound sections. I did not dare offer him even 10 cts. per lb. for it, for tlie reason tliat I have been unable to dispose of the wIioIh of a -ts-lb. case, al- though 1 sell it as low as VJ. cts. per lb. SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO AN APIARY, AND A SHOP FOR MAK- ING BEE - HIVES. ABOUT SUCH AN ESTABLISHMENT AS EVERY SMALL TOWN OR VILLAGE SHOULD CONTAIN. fKIEND ROOT: -I send you by mail six cards, with some photographs on, of bees, etc., not to have engravinfs made, but as a sort of visit to you to this part of the country. If there is any thing in them that you wish to have engraved, you are welcome to do so. The cut of drone in Gleanings, Oct. 1, is a very good repre- sentation of the photograph I sent you, so I supoose it was made from it. I believe I am already paid, as I received a photograph of A. I. K. free by mail for my album about that time. Careless bee-keepers in this neighborhood are losing some colonies by starvation, as the crop was short, and the bees kept breeding so much all through the season. Jas. A. Nelson. Wyanrlott, Kansas, Oct. 'Z8, 18S-1. Tlie engravings on the opposite page were suggested by some stereoscopic views kindly sent me by Mr. James A. Xelson. of Wyan- dott. Kansas. You see friend Xelson, in his letter above, says I may make what use of the drawings I "choose. Well. I believe the two pictures are not very far from tlie photographs, but I have changed them a lit- tle in some of the details I do not know whether friend X. lives in a village or a town or a city ; but in looking at the pic- tures it occurred to me that every village could with profit afford something 'like the bee-hive shop shown. The machinei\v, in- deed, coidd be run by horse-power, tread- power, wind-power, or. perhaps, best of all, H little two-horse-power engine. Tiie en- gine, to be out of the way. can be in a sort of shop, or lean-to. against the building. A suitable opening in the wall should be pnv vided at the proper places to i)ush througli shavings and refuse lumber. For safety in case of tire. I would have tiiis opening closed by a swinging door, the latter being covered with tin. as well as the woodwoik around the engine and l)oilfr. The shop should be long enough to handle Ifl-foot boards nicely. There had l)etter be two saw-tal)les— one loi- cut off', and the other for ri]), although one table may be made to answer both purposes for a time : in fact, by frequent change one table may l)e made to'do almost all the work. For making sections, a gang of dovetailing saws will be needed ; and if one-piece sec- tions are to be made, it will take still anoth- er machine. The machinery should be cho- sen, of course, according to the amount of work to be done. If bee culture is in its in- fancy in your vicinity it would not pay you to nmke'any great outlay to l)egin with. X'ow, the great secret of succeeding in busi- ness will be to have every thing that any- body may call for, in readiness to load up on the instant, in case your customer is in a hurry. In the foreground we notice a friend who has probably loitered into this shop to see what is going on there. He naturally asks about honey-, and probably somewirere in the rear of the shop, near the apiary, he has been shown honey nicely put uj). neatly labeled, in tin pails of various sizes. May he some of them are out on the walk. He tastes it leisurely, after awhile takes out his pocket-book, and pays for a pailful, such as he thinks will be needed for the family. The man with the wheell)arrow owns a grocery, and he. too. has been attracted by the look of thrift and business that is seeii around the establishment. He has taken a 48-pound case of comb honey, and also a combined crate holding a single tier of sec- tions. The latter he has set up edgewise, as you will notice. If he has good luck he will come around with his wheelbarrow oft- en, you may depend on it. The fellow who owns the horse and wagon, and looks after the happiness of that nice little woman with a parasol, is a farmer. Said little woman took a shine to bee culture, as many a thrifty housewife does ; and one day, when they were busy cultivating the corn, she spoke something as follows : " James, our bees are doing so well I am really afraid they may possibly swarm ; and you know you have hot got those new hives that you promised to see about." He stands with both hands straight down, looks anxiously at the corn-fleld, and then back to his trim little wife. She is a pretty good general, and knows how to manage not only bees but husbands, so she tips her shapely head a little to one side, and then with a smile she knows he can not resist, suggests, "• 1 should really like to go to town this morning, and you "know it would not take any m(n"e time now than after the bees have swarmed ; and then may be they would be gone to the woods before you got back, if you did that way. It would take you but a little while, and I will be ready just as soon as vou can get hitched up." You see, the conversation has all been on one side. James, like a dutiful husband, just let her do the talking, and before nine o'clock this bright June morning tliere they are at the l)ee-man"s establishment. I sup- pose he has got boys enough to run the buzz- saws while he sees to the hives, and loads them up : so there he is with his coat off, ex- plaining matters. I do not (juite see what is to be done witii the little Avoman, if you put many more hives into that light spring bug- gy; but I guess thev will (ix it safelv. When 188.) GLEAXmCS IN BEE CULT CUE. Sli'i; <':'«/ MilMBs I'""' iii9^^^^^^^ ::'il,„l 16 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. two young i)eople start out in the world to make a success of life they can get along a good deal cramped up for "a little while, and they will also manage to get a good deal of stuif into one small wagon. "Well, well ; if they are agreed, we are. Let us now look into the back yard. Al- though our bee-man is a hard-working fel- low, he has had time to make friends with not only the grocery - keeper, blacksmith, harness-maker, and the rest of the mechanics of his town, but he is also on good terms with the doctor and lawyer. In fact, these two worthies have been long his best custom- ers, and done much to introduce his honey. The minister has been among his customers too, even if he didn't pay for the honey iu dollars and cents. Well." the people around town are so proud, the most of them, of the establishment in their midst, that when a distant friend comes to see them, they must take him over to see what is being done with bees. And that is the doctor now explain- ing to that chap with the cane, how this man is lu'ospering and building up an honest business, while the neighbors around them tell stories at the grocery, and smoke their pipes. This doctor does not use tobacco. In fact. I have been told there are a good many of the doctors who are following in the wake of the young ministers, in setting a (jood rxanqj^c in the neighborhood thev seek to lead. Now, if this story is an interesting one to you, and you want to hear more of it, just go and visit the man who makes bee-hives, somewhere in your vicinity. While 1 think of it, suppose you just carry this Journal along and showhim these pictures. DEMOEALIZED SWARMS. ANOTHER PLAN TO MAKE THEM STAY. T SEE In Gleanings, Nov. 15, Dr. P. G. Alldredffe ||[ recommends caging bees that will not staj' in ^l the hive, and you seem to think his plan is a '*■ good one, and so it is, no doubt; and as I am not much of a bee-keeper T shall not pretend to say that it is not; but if you will jiermit me, I will tell you how I managed such a swarm for a neigh- bor, the past season, They were a swarm of blacks that had been brought from the woods, and trans- ferred from a tree into a movable-frame hive. They did not like their new home, for some reason, and would not stay in the hive. They swarmed out, and were returned to the hive a number of times, and at last refused to enter the hive at all, but would run out and cluster on the outside. At last I was called to help conquer them, and this is the way T did it: 1 first sprinkled the cluster with sweetened watei-; then I spread them out on a large cloth, hunted the queen, and caged her in a wire-cloth cage. 1 npw suspended the cage with the queen from the top-bars of the frames in the hive. Hav- ing done this 1 placed the cluster to the entrance, when they went in with a rush. In 24 hours I went back to see Ikjw they were doing, and found the workers busy at woi l{. I now liberated the queen, and had no more trouble with them. .Now, I i>refer tliis pl;ui for several reasons. 1. Hi'cansc it saves feeding; li. Uecause it saves time to the bees; the workers being at lil)erty, they will not only make their own living, l>ut a good swarm can. in a week's time, have their hive half full of comb and honey, which they could not do if they were confined to the hive as the doctor recom- "lends. .1. K. Citli'E. I.agrango Center, Ind., Dec. 1, 1884. MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION. A REPORT FROM W. Z. HUTCHINSON. fRIEND ROOT: -As you prefer that convention reports should t>e simply a summing up, I will send you such a report of the convention at Lansing. Any points that are brought out sufficiently iu your editorial upon the sub- ject you can, of course, drop from this report. REVERSIBLE FRAMES. The idea of reversing frames seems to be gaining ground. Reversal secures the attachment of combs to the bottom-bars, and, if done at the proper time, the removal of the honey from the brood-nest to the sections, where it can be sold for twice what it will cost to buy sugar to put in its place. Sugar is a safer winter food than honey. Reversal secures a large amount of brood in a small hive. No device for reversing, yet given to the public, is free from objections. ONE ENTRANCE, And that at the bottom of the hive, is sufficient, even when hives are two or more stories high. STARTING 1JEE% IN THE SECTION.S. If a colony is disinclined to begin work in sections it can usually be started by giving it two or three sections, with the adhering bees, from some colony that has commenced work. DISPENSING WITH SEP.\R.\TOHS. To dispense with separators, use sections not more than VU inches wide, till them full of fdn.. and don't give too much room in the surplus apartment. The only apparent advantage in sections Zm.« than l?^ inches wide is, that the honey is ripened and sealed sooner. One-pound sections appear to be the most profitable size to use at present. THE HEDDON CASE For holding sections on the hive received a regular "boom;" all who had tried them were enthusiastic in their praise. Thej' can be used without a honey- board; but one is needed to keep the bees from building brace-combs between the sections and the brood-nest. QDEEN-EXCLUDING HONEY-BOAKD.s; Are a convenience, and save much annoyance; but they can be dispensed with. If it is desirable to "squeeze" the honey from the brood-nest into the sections, or to hive bees upon empty frames or fdn., and give sections at once, then they are needed. SECRETION OF WAX. Prof. Cook is positive that bees do not secrete wax unless they have use for it. He had, however, conducted no experiments exactly similar to those made by myself, but thought the increased amount of surplus apparently secured by not using fdn. in the brood-nest might have been the result of the honey being stored in the sections instead of part of it being put into the brood-nest. I shall try more conclusive experiments another season. GETTING BEES OfT OF BOXES OR CASES. Drive down as many as possible with smoke; if strong enough, shake out nearly all of the rest, and then carry the cases into a honey-house or tent, from which, the few straggling bees can escape through an opening over the window, or in the top of the tent. Another plan is to set the case down on end in front of the hive, and, with smoke and a bunch of Juno grass, drive out what bees remain. The "calling ' of the bees at the entrance of the hive entices the bees from the ease. 1883 GLEAXIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. IT PREVENTION OF AFTER-SWARMING. The Heddon method was described. It consists in havingr the prime swarm in a new hive upon the old stand, and setting- the old hive a few feet to one side until the newly hived swarm is nicely at work, when the old hive Is placed by the side of the new one, with its entrance turnqfl to one side at an angle of 4.5". Each day the entrance of the old hive is slightly turned toward the new hive until the hives stand in contact side by side. At the 7th day, move the old hive to a new location. If placed at the end of a row of hives there is but little danger of queens being lost. OARNIOLA.N BEES. These resemble the German variet3', are good workers, good comb-builders, very prolific, and in- clined to swarm, and the iji.ntlest bees-known. THE POLLEN THEORV. | That the consumption is the immediate cause of (lysenterj- among bees, there is littledoubt. Mature bees do consume pollen, even when not rearing brood. Analysis and microscopical examinations show the excreta of bees to be largely composed of pollen. Bees rfo not void their fteces in a dry state. Dysentery has been produced by giving an abun- dance of pollen, and i)revented by removing it in the fall. The most prnrtiral plan of preventing dysentery appears to be the removal of the honey and pollen in the fall, and the feeding of cane- sugar syrup; but that bees sometimes winter well with pollen in the combs should not be forgotten; perhaps we can yet learn how to induce them to let the pollen alone. I'ROTEfTION JN WINTER liCSsens the consumption of stores, and the- more perfect the protection the smaller will be the amount consumed. " NOTES FOR THE YK\H " Was an essay read by Prof. Took. Some of its points have already been covered in the discussions reported above. Among other things, he said that manj- bee-keepers were unscientific, and many of their statements must necessarily be untrue; as, for instance, the assertion that worker larvif turned to drone, or that the tissues of a droni'-larva could fecundate a r|ueen by being i)laced in the cell of the- latter when it was in a larval state. We are not yet ' ready to shout " Kureka " in regard to phenol as a ' remedy for foul brood. The erossins- of ditlen-nt : varieties of bees ought not to be discouraged; our j best breeds of stock were developed from a cross, j By means of fdn., drone-traps, and attention to the kind of bees kept in the vicinit}-, the matter of ! crossing bees satisfactorily is not hopeless. ►STATISTICS. Bees, honey, anut that you may learn correct business lialiits. If you open the book at random, and scribl)le in it here and there, it is unsightly and nn- tifly, and can not well be kciH accuratcdy dated. If 1 pay you for your time, it is my privilege to direct matters, and say liowtlu'V shall be kept ; and Mhatever marks or fig- ures or writing is done on time that you charge me for, is my proi)erly. If I ch<)ose to have it preserved, "it is my rigid. Second Hint. — Provide yoiu'self with paper- weights of some kind, and see that no loose papers are ever lying on the top of your desk. A gust of wind may sweep them off on the tlobr, and they be mixed uji or lost. J lave your paper-weights labeled, and kvv.p them on top of the proper pile of ])apers or letters. Allow no loose papers a place on your desk, or in the drawers to your desk. liifact. keep no papers or proi)erty of any kiiul that you are not using or likely to use. Fight against accumulations of rubbish and dead property as if it w-ere an insidious foe. Make every thing about you count somewhere, and keep it moving. Third Hint. — If you spoil an envelope or postal card or sheet of paper, by no means waste time in tearing it up. It will be just as safe if you lay it quietly by in our waste- paper basket. I have seen a new clerk oc- (Uipy considerable time in tearing a sheet of I)aper to pieces, nnd then throw it toward the waste-paper basket, leaving the pieces to blow about the room ; whereas, if it had been quietly deposited whole, it would i not only have saved her time, but the clerk who cares for the room, in picking up the little bits. Our waste-paper basket will hold whole papers, but little pieces rattle through it. Fourth Hint.— ^yhen you make a mistake in writing any word or 'figure, under no cir- cumstances undertake to scratch it out A\ith a knife or any similar implement. Cross it out with a pen, then put down the word you Avant. If you get a whole line wrong, cross out the line neatly. It is not necessary to j make a great number of crosses, for such I motions take time, and mar the beauty of I your work. Draw two pai'allel lines across : the error or line, and this will indicate to any ; reader that such portions are not to be reail or considered. A single line across a word does very Avell : Init it may be mistaken for the cross of a t. and therefore I would draw two parallel lines with the pencil, rather than cross each letter or figure. If you do ! not discover that the letters or liguies are I wrong until the letter has been written, aft- 1 er crossing out the word in the way I have 1 indicated, put the proper word or ligure just I abo\ (' the one crossed out. Under no cir- cumstances make one figure on top of another. Expensive blunders and consider- 1 able (luarrels have resulted because clerks i persist in this very bad habit. Clerks some- j times urge that there was not any room to write the word properly, unless theyscratch- I ed out the wrong one with a penknife. I When yon meet a case of this kind, please bring il to uu\ and I will show you how to fix it. Every clerk should be able to write a small i)lain "hand, with the express view of being able to interline things of this kind ; when necessaiy. One great reason why we ! employ women 1o do writing, rather than ; men, is l)ecause they are usually taught to ; write a small i>lain liand. Fifili Hint.—U you are not able to make ] figures so phiin that no one can ever mistake I one figure for another, set about doing it I at once, and ))racliee on them, and decide on i wavs of making tiiem until you can do it so I well that no one will sav, during ten years of j work, that lie ever read a G for a 0, a 7 for a ] . a 2 fin- a o. etc. You can yuactice makiug these figures in your couii)utal ion-book, and I will pay you for the time of doing it. j Si.dh /7/»f.— When you are intrusted with I letters to answer, be sure that every (jues- tion your correspondent asks is answered in some" way or other. If he asks a question that is answered jilainly in the A B C book, write him a postal card.telling him the ABC book mailed him covers the ground fully ; and if you can. without great trouble, tell liim wliat page in the book treats on the sub- ject. If vour corresiiondent asks for a price list, be verv sure that he has one ; and after you have sent it, tell him so. Never say a price list has been sent, because you are just qointf to send it. Accustom yourself to tell- ing the exact truth in every thing you do. Manv business men and women have crip- pled their moncv value by getting into this on<> lud)it of writing to people that things •JO GLEAN1X(;S IN V.EE CILTL'KE. •Jan. are done, when they only mean they are just going to do them. Xever, under any circum- stances, say a thing is done until it is done. About three-fourths of the people who apply for situations will now and then forget to send a coriespc indent (and probable custom- er) a price list when he asks for it. I once sent to a large l)usiness firm for a price list of tlieir machinery. Tliey wrote me a cour- teous letter, saying the list had been sent. I waiteil sevcrid weeks, and did not get it. They wrote another (M)urteons letter, with an huml)le apology foi- tlie clerk who should have attended to 'A.nnd didn't .^cnd it then: Tlie third time 1 made out to get the price list, and sent them an order for several hun- dred dollars' worth of machinery. Many clerks seem to think it is a small thing to m.ike a fuss about. Ijecause now and then tliey omit such a little item as mailing a price list ; but after tracing the matter up. and finding the same clerk had done tins two or three times, I usually say, with my past experience, that he had better be set to work somewhere where such mistakes would not do very much harm. Seventh Uint. —When you write to a. cor- respondent that something will be sent him, make it your business to inquire and under- stand how this promise is to be made good. Last summer we were, for a few days, out of A B C books; and as the friends were in a hurry for their goods, the shippers were in- structed to send the goods along, and that the ABC oook would follow at our own ex- pense. "Well, one of the clerks wrote this to a large number of customers; and as she was new in the business she supposed some arrangement had been made for mailing the books wtien out of the press, but did not in- quire into it. The letters were distributed. and complaints kept coming for several months afterward. *'Is it possible you have not gotthose A EC books done yetVand such like statements. A search revealed the fact that the promise was noted on the back of the letter, but it was then distributed, and that was the end of it. Therefore, when you make a promise, make it your business to find out how this promise is to be kept, iind do not rest satisfied until you know; for your own reputation, as well as your cus- tomer's welfare, is involved. These letters, after liaving been answered, should have been cairied to the mailing clerk, to be placed under her weight, labeled, " Awating A 15 C books." The books have been piled up in the vaults several months, while these friends were watching tlie mails anxiously and patiently. Eiyhlh 7//>(/.— Xot only keey. the top of your desk free from rubbish and accunnda- tions, but be sure you know the contents of every drawer in y()ur desk, and do not har- bor any rubbisli there. Be prepared, if pos- sible, to answer every letter within a few hours after it has l)een" juit into your hands ; and when you are done with il. push it for- ward (luickly to the next cleik. as sc^on as jiossible. Some clerks will keep letters lying on their desks when it seems as if no one could read them without feeling touched at the writer's pleading to have his goods hur- ried along. I have found letteis that had been lying several days when the writer said, " JMr. Root, do not let a train leave aft- er this gets into your hands, without put- ting my goods aboard;"' and yet the clerk Avho had the letter in charge read it over listlessly, and laid it down again until two or three trains had passed. Witli the view of remedying this tronlile, most of the desks are supplied with a weight, reading like this : '' Immediate attention," and my instructions have been that .so/iu,^oi7 of an" answer must be given to all such letters before another nuiil leaves the ott^ice. Yow may think this an easy thing to be managed ; but, my friends, it is one of the hardest things to attain of any thing I have ever tried in my life. Even during the dull season, when clerks have only enougli to do to keep them part of the day. "they will let mails leave once and even twice before the paper under the imme- diate-attention weight has l)een looked at. One new at the business would say, ''Turn them off and get better ones." I "tell you, 1 have tried dilferent people initil I am sick and tired of it. The inertia of lumianity, if I may so term it, seems to be the obstacle in the way, and it pains me to l)e obliged to say that nien do not average nearly as well a"s women. In spite of every thing I can do they will answer letters and leave them lying just where tliey last had them. A man can not be made (so far as my experience goes) to be as neat and orderly "and systematic in this question of v.ork of correspondence, as a woman ; and it is only once in a great while that we find a n-nmcxn who is fully up to all I have mapped out heretofore. There are a/fH", however, and we sometimes find them where we least expected it. One whom the world has never noticed much, perhaps, and whom nobody would suspect of Iiaving rare business traits, suddenly devel- ops, Avheii put to the test, a faculty "of man- aging all these difficult little matters I have mentioned. While her comrades plod on at perhaps 7:^ cents an hour, she walks up rap- idly into 8i, 10, 11. 12^,, 14. 15. ]7i, and then 20 cts., perhaps, in a short space of time comparatively. There is something encour- aging about this, my young friends ; when a girl or boy begins to catch tlie spirit of prompt- ness andaccuracy, he usually improves fast. It may take him a good while to go from 1) cts. per hour to 10 ; but he will go from 11 to 12 and 12Hn a much quicker time; 14 and 15 come frequently in a few months. Pret- ty soon he goes up to 20, and then he be- comes able to take charge of a room full of hands, and works at a salary, without being obliged to report time every day. I susi)ect, my friends, it is not only clerks in the otlice who need what T have "written above, hot very likely it is boys and girls, and men and women in every department in life. '-He that is faithful in few things shall be made ruler over many things;" and I have, contrary to my first intention, put this lure in the journal for the benefit of all of you. as well as for the clerks in the office. Occasionally we liave clerks who think I am foolish and iiotional, and that they have more wisdom than I. .May be they are"right about it ; but I have learned by past experience, that I succeed when my helpers fall into my iss.-) GLEAXIXCS 1^' I3KE CULTURE. ways of doing things ; and when they do not, I do not get along. So if they prefer their own ways and plans with small pay, T suppose it is "their privilege to do so. Nintli HinL—Be very careful when you make any arrangement with a customer touching his ledger account, that your letter goes to the book-keeper, that she may make a minute on his ledger account of what you agree to do. For instance, a man receives some section l)oxes, and through our fault they do not reacli him until his honey season is over, lie asks us if he shall return them or hold them subject to our order. I indi- cate with my ])en'cil the latter course. The clerk accordingly writes him. "Hold the goods subject to our order." and sends it off, distributing the letter. In due time the book-keeper sends a dun for the account un- paid, and oui- friend gets very much dis- pleased, decides that we know perfectly well what we told him, and are trying to *• bull- doze "him. I have been obliged to give up in despair a good many times, in trying to get a clerk that would remember things like this. The man's ledger page is something mcred, if I may be iieiinittcd to use the word. Fouhave no businessdoingany thing with it, without promptly giving him notice. You might lessen the amount of his indebtedness by giving rebate, and he would not V)e of- fended ; but you hav(^ no business charging any thing to iiim, oi- making any sort of an entry on his account, without his i>ernussion and direction ; and tliis brings us lo the— Trritk llnil.—U you take the lib,crty of sending something to a customer lie did not order, or something costing more than the article he ordered, a full exiiianation nuist be made at the time you ed. Sometimes I have said to myselt\ " AVe can not have I this clear-sightedness and impartial judg- ment without age." and 1 have tried older peoi)le ; but I found just about the same dilliculty. Do > on waiit to know about what I have concluded, mv friends? I have con- cluded that tliere is' nothing in this world but tiue Christianity, and a love fc»r the Sav- ; ior. that can put self and seltish interests j out of the human heart. Now. if I pay Christians more than I do those who are not jirofessois. please l)e just enough to me to recogiii/.e that I do it because they exhibit this trait, and not because of their }irf i/rss ion. Tirdtth J//)(/.— Never (juarrel with a cus- tomer. Never allow yourself to even think, much less say. •• This man does not know j what he ilnrs waid." A man or a clerk who (juarrels with a customer, (piarrels with his : breail and l»utter. Treat all customers, whether you meet them personally or wheth- er you get a letter from them, as if you i thaliked them, and thank (rod for sending them. Treat them as something sacred, : not as though it were their iiKhuy you were aft(»r. and that wasall you wanted'of them. We are often accused of the above. and I am afraid, dear fi lends, we sometimes deserve it: liut after studying the mattei- carefnllv I have de<-ided it is not so much sellishness as it is a sort of shiftlessness and laziness. The trouble is. it is this old hdlf-lteartcd- ucss I have written about before. And now. my friend. I do not know whether yon are a Christian or not ; but if \ou are making a profession of n'ligion,and that religion does j not stir you up to energy and zeal in work- I ing earnestly, faithfully, and hard for youi- neighbors, when the neighbors bring busi- 22 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jax. ness to you, then your Christianity is not worth mucli. I have before spoken of the tallv we have about doinij tjood ; but I tell you. it is a thousand times better to do your 'li({>i as it lies before you on your table or on yoiir desk or in your store or on your farm. Do your duty ; do it Avell. tlioroughly. faith- fully, and uiisellishly. and you will i"»robably do luueh more good than iu starting out as a missionary, wiien it is not your duty to be a missionary. Thirix iifh 7i/jt/.— When an order (.-omes to yon tliat for some reason can not be tilled at once.be sure you ))romptIy notify the one giving the order, ami let liim know what to expect, as soon as jtossiblc New liands liave troubli'd more than I can tell you l)y being remiss iu this one respect. For in- stance, a hoy is sent half a mile to the hard- ware store for some liolts of a certain size. When tlie time comes to use them, several men are l)rought to a standstill for want of the bolts. After considerable trouble the boy is foimd. ••John, where are those bolts you were sent for V " " Why, they hadn't got any of that size."" ■• Then why did you not (.>ome to me at once, and say so V "" •• Why, as they hadnt got any, I didn't suppose there was any use of saying any thing more about it. ■■ •* What is the nearest thc\ had lo the size vou did Avant '::'"' '^ Why. 1 didn't ask them, and they didn't tell me."'" Now, the boy was greatly at fault, and / should say the liardware man was at fault in not sending word what he luid. larger (U- smaller, that might answer. It is not only boys. Ijut men and women, that seem to be almost iuvarial)ly guilty of this same way of doing V)usines3. until thus taught different after ccnning here. Obey orders to the best of your ability, and then 'notify the one giv- ing the order the result at once : and t'Sj^e- ci'oi/// should he l)e notified if you can not furnish what he asks for. Fourtctnth Hint.— Don t let any transac- tion slip out of your hands until it is com- pleted. For instance, a new clerk once said that a man wanted to know the weight of our two-horse-jiower engines. I told her to write and ask the manufacturer. In a few- days the answer came, and 1 gave it to the clerk. Pretty soon she asked me what she should do with it. •• Why." said I, ''write and tell him the weight of the engine, of cour.se." •• Hut. I do not remember who it was." ••Did you )iot keep his letter or his ad- dress?" "No." ■• Wliatdid you tell him':'" •' I did not tell him any thing. " ••Why. is it possible^ that you neither w rote him nor saved his letter iior kept liis address, after making such an in(iuirv as you did?" •• I did just as you told me to do.'' You may smile, friends; but I have known older people of both sexes to be guilty of this same thing over and over, until thev had been laughl th.il thev unisl keeji the address of such inquirers, in the computa- tion-book, until the answer came. May be we lost the sale of a steam-engine by this little piece of thoughtlessness. Fifteenlh Uint.—^ow. friends, in all the foregoing I liave said nothing about lazy clerks. It is a fact, tluit there are some peo- ple who seem to exjiect they are going to get on in the world by lolling "about in a lazy sort of way. gazing abstractedly out of the window, or marking idly with their pen. yawning and wishing it were dinner-time, etc. If you are working for a 1)usiness man who expects to make a success of it. he will V)robably get you out of the way the tirst op- ix)rtunity. if you are one of that sort of peo- ple. In' fact", he can not very well do other- wise: and I am sorry to say. that when a person has got into a luibit of loaUng a great part of his time, so far as my experience goes lie rarely gets out of it. One Avho will accept wages when he is conscious that he has idled a great part of the day is a good way down, on the road to the poorhouse. Soiiietimes when business is dull, and there is not very much to do. we find clerks who will try to spin out their work, as it were, to mate a piece of work that they could do in a couple of hoiu's. if they set about it with energy and zeal, last half a day ov more. It is positively awful, to see to wl'iat ]ierfection some people have brouglit this Ivuack of being al^le to i)Ut on the appearance of Vicing busy a long while on some little job. I have sometimes thought that one might almost as well take money out of the moiiey-drawer of his em- ployer, as to manage in tliis way. •' Do w ith thy might whatsoever thy haiid lindeth to do;" and if you get all the work done up, tell your employer so. Then if he has nothing further for you to do, I think it would be money in your pocket to tell him you are go- ing home, or take a holiday until he has some work to do. If you are a valuable hand, and he does not like to have you away, he will pretty soon find sometliing for you to do. If you are not a valuable hand, set to work to make yourself so. This, of course, refers mostly to hands who work by the hour. A very common way of curing lazi- ness is to set those who are addicted to it at work by the piece. But wliere one has be- come addicted to this haVut of shirking du- ties, it is pretty hard curing him by setting him at work on piece-work. One who will cheat in regard to the amount of work he does will cheat in quality or cheat in count. Some honest clerk will "have to waste his time in watching him ; and my exv)erience is. that the dishonest one eventually beats in the end. Tliere is no other way to do, in the great majority of cases, than to dismiss him to annoy somebody else; and by and by he settles down and down, and eventually" the county inlirmary takes charge of him. This is a sad kind of jiicture, I know ; but I hope you will take warning from it before you are old, and before your habits are tixed.' If you want to make progress in bettering your wages, when you work, work; and when you don't work, don"t work. Either go ahead or stop altogether. Many times one doesn't feel like work. .\ow. if you are anxious to get up in the way I have been I88r, GL7i:Axryns in bee culture. 23 telling you, at such times I would stop alto- getlier, or else exi)lain to your employer that you don't feel able to do your accustomed work, but that, if he wislies, you will stay and look after things as well as you can. at reduced wages. Yevy likely he will tell you, if you are much needed, to go on and do as well as you can. and it will be all right about the wages. This I know, he will thank you in his heart, if he does not say so. I recom- mend tliese explanations, because without them appearances might count against you ; and in all this, dear friends, we want to ac- cept the Bible maxim, and shun every (i/pYjcamnce of evil. Sjxtponth i/;?jf.— Be careful how.you make free with the property of the establishment, without permission. Sometimes we get a new liand who straightway helps himself to matches, soap, towels, etc.. without asking anybody. After awhile he gftes into the stdre and takes tin cups and tin pails and the like, and always leaves tliem where he last used them— out in the lots, perhaps. When the weather gets severely cold I often hnd tiiei niomelers hung up on" the outside of the different i)arts of the l)uilding. Tliese are put out, doubtl* ss. to register the tem- peralure. Tiiere tliey iiang until I see them and put them back in their places, or until they an^ spoiled by rust and exposure. All these things niigli'l have been well enough had pernii^siun Itten granteou as well as I can how you may help yourself, and help those you "are working for. at one and the same time. sun. BEE CULTURE IN CUBA. •'IT IS NOT .\I,I, (iOLI) TH.AT (U.ITTKIfS. ' RIEND 1{()<)T:-Tlie aliove is true of ('iil)ii; ttioiijrh a kind Providence bus smiled upon this country in more ways than one, yet it has its dark side, a side that is bleak and trloomy, amid the frlare of a noonday tropical How can this lie? Voti sluill know. A little more tlian one year afro we landed here with 100 colonies of liees; owing- to circumstances that we could not control, Christmas found us with only ;:4 of the 10.) colonies left. The dth of .lanuary our llrst island-tired (jueen liejfan to la.\'; Irouithat time until the 11th of .Vpril, honey came in rapidly; and as increase was the end desired, all energies and means available were devoted to accomplish our purpose, and JuneGOfound us with 5-0 colonies. But, alas: " vaultiuK ambition had o'erleaped itself," and our increase was stopped only upon the eve of a four-months' dearth of honey (I see the smile that covers your face now), and 1 rc^peat the old adag-c ''Those laugh heartiest who laugh last." We had our litugli when prosperity smiled and kept smiling upon us; but the day came, when, beneath a tropi- cal noonday sun, the sharp shrill sound of the rob- ber was all we heard. "Devastation and destruction" stalked abroad under this noonday sun, laying waste the hopes that we had stood upon for the last six months. After the robber, came the moth; and with 5::0 colonies, all weak, and no honey coming in from the fields, to carry them through to the first of Novem- ber was no small task. You ask, why did we make such an unheard-of increase? First, increase was what we wanted, and, urged on by the reports of native bee-keepers, that in August there was a good honey-How, and in September the fail flowers began to bloom, we thought we could not well go wrong, and that there was really no limit to what bees would do in Cuba. j But, this has been our first year, and experience 1 has taught us a lesson that has come to stay. The honey-flow in August did not come; September flowers failed to yield honey; October passed, and I still the robber sought that which was not his own. ' But with the advent of November, the royal palm came to the relief of the hungry millions, and peace and plenty took the place of discontent, dishonesty, ; and death. We are on the road to prosperity now, j but with many hives that are empty; every day ; brings us good cheer, and more of it. But, friend I Hoot, this experience we hnd to have; no one could I tell us about it, for they did not know this is the j only apiary run upon the improved i)lan. What j bees arc kept are kept in log gums, and what do the keepers know about the honey-flow? They say I they think that such and such is the ca.sc, but they ; have not the means of knowing the condition of their bees, or the amouut of honey coming in, only , when in the winter the bees get their rudely built hives full, and build comi) upon the outside, then they know that honey is coming in fast, and there I their knowledge of bee-keeping ends. j There are more things to learn about modern bee- keeping in ( uba, than to be able to tell exactly j when the How and when the dearth of honey comes. I Here, as you know, the best surplus season comes I in the winter, and it is winter with the bees. Al- j though it is warm, plenty of flowers and honey, the nature of the liee is not materially changed; the , queens lay about one-half what they do in the spring montlis, either here or in the North; they J make no preparations for swarming, they seal uj) every airhole on the top of the frames, just as in I the North, and all their calculations scent to point ! in the direction of a season of rest and a winter's j nap; but the winter, with all the severity of the North, does not come (yet it is cold here, quite chil- ly, but it does not freeze); the sun shines warm in the middle of the day. the flowers bloom, and, in- [ stead of " hibernating, " the bees gather honey. But i I think it is unnatural, and here comes in otir of the great difficulties in Cuban bee-keeping; that is, in getting your colonies in proper conditioJi to store I honey at this unnatural time of the year. They art- cross, they are matl; they don't want to be bothere to sec the bees and honey. The most of the honey that I sold was to them for samples to take home. Some bought a single box, some half a dozen, some a dozen, and some a whole case of 48 bo.\es. The ladies were so highly pleased with the honey and apiary they give it the name of Honey Dale. I have 15 cases ready packed for shipping, but the way they handle things on railroads, 1 am deterred from offering to ship. unless I could go with the goods and handle them myself. Fortunately I am not needing the money, and may be able to sell at home next summer. With the exception of section boxes, I have bee- furniture on hand, ready to meet the seasonable demands of another summer. My Italians have not had a chance to show their honey-gathering qualities, from the fact that I have kept down by making artificial swarms, and the latter part of the season we had ten weeks without a single shower of rain; though the landscape was blooming with gold- enrod and asters, they furnished but little honev. 1 have in all, 94 or 9.5 stands, nicely packed for winter, on their summer stands. W. Frances. W'aynesville. N. C, Dec, 18^4. Friend F., we sent you one drone-trap, and it was a clerical error in charging you for more than one. I have had some fears that the drone-traps might induce bees to go into the wrong hives— especially Italian bees, for in the busy season they often seem to think it does not" matter much what hive they go into to unload their stores. Setting the hives f ui ther apart might partially rem- edy this. Have others had any like experi- ence y SOMETHING FROM OUR OLD FRIEND GALLUP. CALIFORNIA THE PLACE FOR WIDE-AWAKE, ENTER- PRISING BEE-KEEPERS. T WISH to describe the success of one of our bee- f|^ keepers here as nearly as I can, for the benefit ^. of your readers. He commenced a few years "*• ago a poor man. He took up a government claim of 160 acres. He now has a small stock of cattle, and during the winter season he sells on an average .50 dollars' worth of eggs and butter per month; raises quite a quantity of fruit, a nice vege- table garden which produces vegetables the entir<> year. His cattle obtain their living, and keep fat and thriving on the natural feed, without any care, the entire year. There has never been a season that he has not made some surplus honey 'since he commenced, and this season he has made 80,000 lbs., or 40 tons, as we reckon here. He has money at in- terest, and is now well fixed financially, so that he can hold his honey until the price suits. He has 10 tons of la t year's honey on hand— in all lUO.OOO lbs. He hired one hand this season for 3 months at ^25.00 per month. He keeps his own team, and docs his own teaming. With the exception of the hired man he has done every thing himself, with some help from his excellent wife and children. He has. or had in the spring, 2T0 stands of bees. The price of honey here now is 4 '4 to 5 cts. whole- sale. Now, this man has demonstrated that bee- keeping is a .^access when properly nuinaged, even in a i)oor season; as. since he got his stock of bees up to 100, he has made honey every season. I think the lowest was 6 tons, and from that to 8 tons; but when he had the small .yield? he had a good price. His cash out is 80 cts. per case of 120 lbs. There is no loss of bees in wintering, and no care whatever from September to February. He always keeps his bees in good condition, and leaves their hives full of honey at the end of the extracting sea- son. I might tell you of another num who commenced about the same time within six miles, and is now some .*t)00 in debt, and this season made 8 tons of honey, sold it for 4'i cts., keeps three dogs, no stock of any kind, because it won't pay to bother with GLEAXIXGS 1^- BEE CULTURE. Jan. them, and still he has an excellent range. Cows are worth only from 80 to 103 dollars each hei-e; beef, 12'/i cts. live weig-ht; egg-s, 36 cts. per dozen; hogs, 5 cts. live weight, and in half a day he could fence across the canyon and then turn in calves at from 7 to 10 dollars per head, and let them grow to cows or beef without any further trouble. Such is life in California. This last man cries hard times; has been in the country ten years, and has never yet set out a tree of any description, nor a grapevine; buys all of his vegetables, etc., and still he is quite an energetic man; for if he can, by climbing over the mountains, and carrying a heavy ritie, succeed in killing a fat deer once in a while, it is a great success. E. Galu'p. Santa Ana, Cal., Dec. 8, l>^Si. Friend G.. we liave been very much inter- ested indeed in gettino^a word from yon once more. I was a little disappointed" when I got to the end of yonr story, to iind ont that the man who had done so well was not named E. (iallnp; and then I thought may he that last man was going to tnrn ont to be yon ; l)iit I soon saw I was mistalven there. "Xow let ns know what you are doing, old friend. Why don't you liave a big bee- ranch, and give us something in every num- ber, as y()u used to do in the old A'. P>. J.' ^Vhy. fiiend Doolittle (jiiotes you now every little while, and yet you are letting all the skill and wisdom yoii possess in regard to l)ees, waste its sweetness on the away-ofC California desert air, are you not V Is the doctoring business so good out there that you can not have just a few bees, old friend? this way you need keep the combs exposed but a very few moments, and then you can transfer in your room without bother from the tees. I have found this the best plan, among all I have tried. Mechanic Kails, Me., Dec. 4, 1881. .1. B. Mason. !U TRANSFEERING. SO.ME HINTS FROM FRIEND M.VSON. fHE tools recjuired to do this remarkable Job are a hand-saw to saw off the cross sticks, a hammer, a cold-chisel, and a common case- knife. We also want a ball of linen twine and some woolen cloth. We now take our new hive, supplied with three frames of empty combs or foundation. Sometimes, when convenient, we use one frame of brood drawn from some other hive, l>ut this is not essential. We now go to the stand of the colony we wish to operate upon, smoke the bees, saw otf the cross- sticks, and with the hammer and chisel cut the nails so as to get off one side of the hive. We now place some woolen cloth in a box, and cut out the combs with the ease-knife, brushing the bees all directly into the new hive, which should sit now on the stand of the old one. As the comhs are cut out and the bees are i)rushed off, a i)iece of the cloth should be laid between each comb; the old hive should be carried away, and the bo.v of brood-combs carried to the house, put in a warm room, if cold, or into tlie shop, and then transferred into thefraincs. For fastening in combs I find linen twine far tli(? best. Cut off four strings, two long enough to go around the frame endwise, and two widthwise; lay down these strings, and on top of them the frame. Fit in the coml),and tie it in with these strings, then bring the frame to an upright position; and if any more string is wanted to secure it, use il. When the combs ai-e all fastened in, eai-ry them to the col- ony, and shake the bees from the frames left for them to cluster on, and give them their combs. In THE SCIENTIFIC BEE KEEPER. THK .M.\N wm) KNEW .\I.r, ABOLT BEES. ES," said he, " bee-keeping is now reduced to a science; and all that we have to do is to make this science a study, just as we study surveying or civil engineering, i and we are bound to succeed. 1 know all j about bees; I used to keep them years ago, and I I've read Quinby's bee-book, and to me bee-keeping : is a science— no more, no less; I say, give a man [ bees, and give him also the science of bee-keeping, 1 and he will make money. Now, in my experience — -" But I waited to hear no more; I was cookijig dinner, and he was one of the folks who will neither come in nor go away, but will keep one standing on tenter-hooks in the door all day, and he was so deaf that all my words were lost on him. He had bought a colony of bees of me a few days before, and he had come now to see about them. That evening about dark he came for them. The day had been hot, and the portico was full of bees. j I told him to wait till morning. " No," said he, "I'll take them now; I'm not afraid of bees; I'll let I every bee in that hive sting me, if any one will pay me for the bees; all that a man reeds is to under- stand the science of—" He had his sheet spread ' down by this time, and he took hold of the hive, one hand at the back, the other at tlie top of the portico in front, when a handful of bees seemed to sting him all at once. He dropped the hive, execut- ed a war-dance, and yelled " Jerushal .lerusha! " : He wore linen pants, and the bees climbed up on j the inside, and stung him right and left; and at j every spear-thrust he jumped clear off the ground, and yelled " Jerusha! " I suppose "Jerusha " is his patron saint, from the way he called on her in his affliction. When the bees got to putting in their best licks he did not have time for the whole word, so he said"Je— " (with a slap and jump) for one sting, "— ru— " (slap- jump) for another, and "— sha" (jump-slap) for the third; then he seemed to lose all account of sylla- bles, and he danced a Highland fling, and uttered a perfect chorus of " Jerushas." Our whole family were gathered aroimd, and thci' held their sides, and laughed, while the boys rolled on the grass. and screamed, and oiiUed for some one to fan them and rock them. Well, they tied the l)ees up in the sheet, swung them on a pole, and carried them home; and next day they sent for me about ten o'clock, to come there and cover up those bees. 1 found the hive oiien, the cover lying some ten feet away, and no scientific bee-kecpei- in sight; all the family had business in the lower pasture, or the cow-lot; and when I got in speaking distance of them they said that my scientific bee-keeper was in tlie cellar, with the door locked, so that none of the rest could get in, and they were obliged to take to the woods. I straightened the frames, i)Ut on the covers, and left them in the care of the " scientific bee-keeper " who had read Quinby. Mafiai.a B. CHAonorK, Vermont, 111. 1885 GLEANINGS m BEE CULTURE. FROM DIFFEHENT FIELDS- BEES AND— SEED cons. T COMMENCED in the spring- with oue stroug and th one very weak eolony. The weak swarm 'jl dwindled down to a mere handful; but I saved "*■ thein by giving- them frames of hatching- brood from the strong- swarm. The strong- swarm threw off one swarm the 15th of June, which was all the increase I had. I took from the three, 100 lbs. of comb honey in one-pound sections, which I con- sider doing- exceedingly well for so poor a season as we had here this summer. IJoth apple-tree and basswood blossoms were cut short by severe frosts. I have a little matter in which I am undecided how to act. Last spring I sold some seed corn to a friend of mine. So little of it grew when planted, that the crop was a failure. The one I sold it to claims the seyd was poor. I claim it was ynotl, and the cause of the failure was due to the seed being destroyed I)y worms. I think I have very good rea- son for so claiming, from the fact that 1 sold seed corn to two other parties, bo#li of which were well satisfied, and obtained good crops from it. Now the question with me is, Should I or should I not take pay for the corn I sold to the one that had the failure? Of course, the friend suttered (juite a loss by the crop being a failure. J'.iit for all that, it seems to me I should not lose the price of my seed corn, it being suc-essfully grown by two other parties. H. H. ISu.vdf.ey. Eddyvilh', N. V.. Nov. :.'S, im. Friend 13., this matter of seeds liasjjeen a good deal discussed, and tliere is aditTerence of opinion in regard to how tar a seedsman's responsibility should extend. A lew years ago a decision was made against a seedsman, because the crop did not grow, and you may liavo noticed that most of our prominent seedsmen straightway put a note on their seed-packages, declining all responsibility. Where proof has been' shown us that the seeds we sendout did not grow, we have re- funded tlie value of the seeds or furnished more. Pint inasmuch as there is such a diversity of causes that may produce a failure of the crop, it does not seem to me as if the one who sells the seed should be lield responsible, further than this. If two other parties obtained good crops from the same seed, it woidd seem as if this were evidence enough ; but very likely your friend may have something to say oii the other side. I think you ought to liave pay tor yoiu' corn. as you state it. 'HE I board in front of the hive to shade the en- I trance, and all such arrangements, for manv years. I have decided that 1 would let therh tly whenever they want to. If bees are in good health, and have not been fussed or "tinkered" with. I do not think thev will lose enough at such times as you mention, to do any harm : any way. I am sa\ istied the harm done by fastening bees in at such times is greater than to let them " slide." I knowDoo- little and some others have recommended closing the entrance of the hives at certain times in winter, and then opening them again when the weather demanded it. IJut our bees in chaff hives have wintered better with the entrance open at full width all winter, than in any other way. This matter we I have tested liy many experiments. I HOW TO prx SIMPr-ICITY HIVES TOGETHEK KKJHT. I received my ten Simplicitj' bee-hives ordered from you through my friend N. H. Burns. So far they seem to be all right, as I have not put them all up yet. Such a time as I did have trying to un- derstand the things and get them put up in good shape 1 1 at last called in the counsel of my good wife, and every thing joined like a charm. 1 com- menced four years ago with one hive. I now have eight strong swarms in common hives; iiave given them very little attention, and had a supiily of hon- ey, besides disposing of a few hives, and now I wish to commence at the first with Simplicity hives and A B C book, and give my bees careful attention. I have a fine ranch for bees as well as cattle, and hope to be equally successful. Unless a very dry season, we have a great variety of flowers, and bloom of trees. Cat-claw and mescjuite blossoms make the clearest and best honey of all. P. A. (iKAHAM. Albany. Shack. Co., Te.\., Dec. !», 1884. Friend (r.. that is what I call good sense and wisdom. If many of us, when in trouble, itracticed the plan given by friend (i.. 1 think many of our trouliles would dis- ap})i^ir like frosl before the rising sun. We have the words of sacred Scrii)ture for it: '•It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make a helpmeet for him." When you asked your wife to help yon out of trouble, yon were fullilling the command of Scripture : and if she is not already con- versant with your work, and knows how to wcnk intelligently, the fault is yours that yon have not made her a partner in every thing that interests you. I.EAi THE i;ntha.\(E wide oim-.n WIXTEU TIME. In GLEAXi.Nfis of Dec. 1, page 820, you say of bees wintered outdoors, "They should by all means have the entrance so they can get out and in when the weather is suitable." Now, I know of instances where at sunshiny days in spring, bees would come out in large numl)ers; and if there were snow on the ground the.\ would fall on it, and the owner would lose most ol' his bees. What do you think of it? I". .\. [.AVOIE. Moiureal, Dec.:;, 1SS4. I know it. friend L.: but after having tried shutting thepi uj). or patting a wide WIXTEU FEEDlXfi. A most interesting article on sugar syrup for bees api)ears in the issue of Nov. 1.5. Not only is the sub- ject fully discussed by Mr. Doolittle, but your own extended remarks on the same are excellent. The one point, however, on which some of your numer- ous readers may, like' myself, desire yet more light is the mode propounded for candy feeding, and the possibility of successfully operating any day in the year. Assuredly this, if so. goes far to solve the problem of food supply. We need not be alarmed on finding hives light, in going into winter quarters, or having neglected to feed in time, or in finding, during wintei-. suj)plies run low. Simply put on a few cakes of candy, and all is well. No more fuss- ing with feeders. The point is, will this disturbance of piittinjf on the i- day in the year, looks decidedly like a pretty long stride in advance, if it can be as readily managed as indicated. There is yet another point that may need to be put a little more plainly. You speak of confectioners' sugar. Confectioners use various grades. The standard granulated is mostly regarded as the proper quality for feed-syrup; but for this mixing with honey into the consistency of dough, a softer sort would seem more suitable, both for sticking together and for the bees licking or chewing the more readily. These gritty grains must give much labor to nibble oft'; besides, they do sometimes carry out crystallized pieces as unmanageable. Might not a good quality of soft sugar be less objectionable? Then, what about water for moistening? Wouldn't a little wide- mouthed bottle, Avith a piece of cloth over its neck in the mifist of the candy lump, be very convenient to wet their tongues occasionally? I mean to ex- periment a little in the given i)lan, and shall also hope to hear of others trying and succeeding on the line of this honey-dough idea. Toronto, Dec, 18!j4. Jacob Spencer. Friend S., this matter of putting a bottle of water near tlie lumps of candy was. as you may remember, discussed and experi- mented " on most thoroughly some two or three years ago. As a rule. 1 do not believe it advisable to give bees water until you wish them to commence brood-rearing in \ the spring. The candy and sugar laid on j the frames will not, I think, excite the bees { to undue activity in winter. if it takes a leg to do it ; and when you have got that mastered, you will find the matter of managing to pay a little every week or month is comparatively easy. Just make up your mind it has got to be' done, you and that good wife of yours, and then put in aiid make things tly around for the sake of Chloe ]SIabel and her brother, if for nothing more. FHO.M .5 TO U, AND 30 LUS. OF HONEY. The past season here was extremely poor. No rain between May 25 and July 25; then we got \U inches, then none till September 28; no good for bees. We wintered five last winter; no loss; took a little honey. ;W lbs., for a sweet lick, but fed 40 lbs. granulated-sugar syrup; have 14 in a house. What personal experience have you had with the Carniolan bee? also the Syrian? I intend to trj' to teach our bees to work on red clover. Spray the bloom with water well sweetened with honey. J. D. Beacu. Coal Run, Wash. Co., O., Dec. 17, 1884. Friend B., Mr. Benton has our order for some Carniolan (lueens. but we have had no experience witlilliein. They come highly rec- ommended, but so flid, the .Syrian and lloiy- Land bees.— You need not go to the paiiis of teaching your bees to work on red clover. Whenever there is honey in red clover they can reach, they will find it— you can rest as- sured of that.* It occasionally happens, or, rather, we have occasionally a season, when this occuis, and very likely some varieties of red clover are more apt to' have tliis profuse secretion of honey than others. The matter needs investigation and development. WUAT TO no WHEN A MAN HAS A WIFE AND A BOY, AND IS IN DEHT. I bought 20 acres of land, and built ou it. Our house is small, 14x28 feet, but we make out very well. Our family is also small. I have a wife and boy and baby, 6 weeks old. We call her Chloe Ma- bel. How is that for high? I wish you would tell me how 1 can build the cheapest for my bees, and arrange the yard for them. 1 have a nice east hill- side for my bees and poultrj-yard that will do the business 1 shall carry on, if I don't make a fizzle of it. 1 am considerably in debt, but will do my best to get out. A. B. HowEK. Mexico, Ind., Dec. 9, 1884. Well, friend H.. the first tiling I would do if I were you, I would make up my mind that I would get in debt no further. "As for the bees and poultry, if I could not scoop out some i»hu'e in that eastern side-hill for tlicm, without getting in debt any more, I woiikl let them stay outdoors till spring. Frobal)ly the best place for the bees will be outdoors, protected from the wind, if you can manage that. If you can make a cave in tin- side-iiill for llie poidtry, they ought to give you (luilc a lift l)y wav of eggs now while tiiey arc liigli. If yt)ii "had some old sash, so as to let in the siin and keep out the cold, it will do very well. Sometimes people in straitened circumstances say they can not get along without getting in "debt "more. In almost every case they van get along; and when they get used to it they feel all the better for it. Stop the accumulation of debt. THIEVES IN THE APIARY, ETC. I have been in the bee business over ten years, beginning with one hive. My apiary numbers a little over 100 colonies. This is not a good honey section. White clover is just getting a start. The basswood did not amount to any thing this year, and seldom does. The wind and rain iu the fall spoiled that crop, consequently this has been a rather poor j-ear. I increased over 50 per cent this year. During the past ten years I have learned much by experience. I have quite a number of little notions, etc., of my own, some of which may appear in Gleanings in the future. You express surprise in the last num- ber, that any one should stoop so low as to destroy hives in order to get a little honey, which expres- sion from a person of your age and obser\'ation is a surprise to mc. The very meanest and most ex- aggerated thing that we can imagine, humanity will stoop to, and even lower. I am happy to say, however, that we have never lost any thing to speak of from honey-thieves. Some one entered the apiary three or four weeks ago and took off the covers from three hives, and laid them on the ground. I rather think they were looking for bo.v honey, but they struck a "desert place" for that. The most mysterious thing to me is, why they did not put the covers back, and also why did they not take out some of the outside frames, which they could easily have done. John F. Whitmoke. Anita, Iowa, Dec. 16, 1884. Fiiend W., 1 think it a great deal better to have too good an opinion of humanity than too poor a one; audi insist still, that it is more ignorance than real badness of heart. Those who took the covers off your hives were looking for box honey. They did not 1885 GLEAXIKGS IK BEE CULTURE. 29 lind any, and therefore they did no damage, more than to leave the covers off ; and my opinion is, that it was more because they did not think any Ihing about it, than be- cause tiiey did it purposely. I once myself helped to eat hdiiey that I knew was stolen from a minister's bee-hives, and I was a Sunday-school boy at the time. Had some .i?ood kind Christian friend taken me in hand just about that time, and prest^nted to me the full aspect of the case in all its bearings, I believe I should have repenlcd with tears, and perhaps gone to the minister and made reparation to the fullest t^xtt-nt in my power, and I believe it is much the same with those who went to your hives. It is lack of teach- ing, and, may be, lack of (iod-fearing teach- ers. The harvest is great, but the lal)orers are few. FKIENU VANliKLFF'S UNCONDITlOXAt, SUiMlKNUKU. My report this season will be small. I began the season with 18 colonies, with the majority of them weak. I doubled my number by feeding over a barrel of sugar. I tool< less than 200 U)S. of honey. The spring bloom was good; never saw it lietter, and the bees got a fair start, and I never saw a bet- ter show for Avhite elover. The fields were fairly matted with it, and T expected a large yieUl of hon- ey. There wore plenty of bees, and a large in- crease of colonies. But, oh the dry season: Well, I almost got into Blasted Hojies. The white clover was just malting a nice start, but it needed rain, and I was hoping for rain just in a day or two for a week or two; and seeing the elover all dying and drying up, and yet no rain, I had to mak«' an uncon- ditional surrender, and take oir my section Ijoxes, and make the best out of it I could. Yet I don't mean to give up; we don't often ha\(' such dry sea- .ees are all joung to begin work. He has had good success for several years. I want that book on gardening, when I can get it and pay for it. We are trying to make ourselves "«*iek>i»." W. FcLLEU. Woodville, Wis., Nov. 27, 1884. We are very sorry to hear of the death of friend Rowley. 11 is name has been for years a familiar one with us. — In regard to having all the old bees die off, I do not be- lieve I should like that way. even if it does succeed well, for several seasons. I have seen them die off" after the l)ees were set out of the cellar, at such a rate that the yotuig ones turned in and followed suit also. 30 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE- J AX. FRIEND HAMMON'S DIVISION-BOAHD. Herewith I send jon the kind of division-board I have adopted for winter use. By " looking- throug-h the knot-holes " you will see a pai)er inside lining, then sawdust, that covered with paper, then the wood outside, then it is ready for use. I have put ui) 55 colonies of Italian bees, each hive put into a bo.v with a space of three or four inches, and that tilled with dry leaves. 1 use the Lang-stroth ten- frame hive. I have prejjared them for winter this waj% taken out the two outsidef rames, and substitut- ed in their places the "sawdust" division-boards, and covered the frames with quilts my wife made by cutting up partly worn bed-blankets. The bees had a tine lly on the fifth inst., it being ^ery warm. Bristolville. ().. Dec. .M.S84. H. IJ. Hammox. I will e.\i)laiii- to our readers, that tliis di- vision-board is simply a common frame with thin sawed veneeriii, and 4 qt.; and as it costs about .S4(J0 or SoOO to get out a nice lithograph label, as large as these we re- quire, we should be obliged to buy them by the million, almost, to get our money back ; that is, if we sold them at a reasonable price. Friend Jones monopolizes the matter so far, I believe, on his lithographic colored labels for honey-pails. CHAFF HIVES FOR WINTERING. I have made 100 chatf hives this winter, and never will try to winter bees in this section any other way. Clark f'HANnLEU. North Blandford, Mass., June 4, 1P81. ^EP0RTS ENC0aR^6I]SI6. Sl0¥Ef$ 7Ij\D QaERIEg. , AST YEAR S SECTIONS ON WHICH Till', RKES HAVE MADE A START. HAVE 600 sections with full-size starters, that have been propolized. Will the bees use them |l again, or must I put fresh starters in? I got 116 sections with nomr honey in them— don't think they would weigh 7.') lbs. Elston, Mo., Dec. 6, 1S81. I. F. LoNO, .l-JT. [Friend L., your sections containing fdn. partly built out are a great deal better than new ones. The same with those containing sonu- honey. If any of it is capped over, uncap it before putting on the hive, and then they are just the thing to start the bees quickly.] BEES, ETC., AT THE WORLD'S E.XPOSITION. Please add to the call for convention, that tin: time of e.vhibit of colonies of bees will only be during Vic wenk of ct)nvr:itiii}), and not as published in the Pre- mium list. .1. P. n. IliiowN. Aiigusta, Ga.. Dec. 12, 1884. MY REPORT FOR l'<84. XT UMBER of bees in spring; 116 stands, doubled jVI back to 96 stands. Number now, 13t stands. -PI Took 10,000 lbs. honey; 862.5 extracted. 1525 -*■ T lbs. comb. Honey all sold, extracted at 8 cts. at wholesale, comb 12!; and 13 cts. I had about 3 bbls. of " bug juice." It went with the rest; sold to cracker factories at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Shellsburg, Iowa. Robt. Quinn. 10 FRAMES AND 80 SECTIONS FILLED AVITH BVCK- WHEAT HONEY IN ONLY 12 DAYS. ! This has been a very good honey season with us: 1 the spring was very backward, and our stocks dwindled till they became weak. I started with fif- ' teen— seven in very good order, and eight weak ones. I had no swarms until the last of .luly, when we had two. T' e 5th of August we had five all come out at once, and alight in one place together, and I , happened away from home that day, but they man- aged to get three of the five ((ueens, and made three swarms of the five: but they were hives full instead [ of swarms, so I filled the hi\ t-s full of frames and sections, 80 in each, and in 12 days one of those hives sent out a very large swarm. I happened I away from home that day again, so the next day 1 thought I would give them some of the sections oil the hive they came from, as I thought they would not need them on that hive, when, to my surprise, 1 found the whole ^0 sections filled and ready to caj). They did not seem satisfied after they left the hiv<^ They swarmed three days in suecession, every time clustering, and we hived them until at last I return- ed about halt of them to the old hivi', and gave , the other half to a couple of weak ones, and all was peace with them then. I suppose they swarmed for the want of room; but, why did they kee)) swarming? We increased to 21, which is the num- ber we have now. We have taken off 1000 finished sections, and have quite a good many that were not finished. 1 ne\ er saw honey come in as it did in buckwheat-bloom; it would almost seem impossible that a swarm of bees could fill ten frames and 80 I sections in 12 days, but that is the fact. Accord, N. V., Oct. 24, 1884. William Palkn. CISTERNS; A CRITICISM. All should be interested in making cisterns, and in a pure supply of water. Putting the waste-pipe at the bottom, so the sediment will wash out. seems to be a taking idea with some. It is undoubtedlj' good, if true. I have not tried it i)raetically. but should expect this waste pipe to act as a siphon, and empty the cistern in ease of an overflow. Voii can laugh all you want to, but it strikes me so, at first blush. .1. M. Shcck. Desmoines, Iowa, Dec. 1, 1884. [Friend S., the overflow-pipe would act as a siphon were it air and water tight; but as this pipe is ce- mented only at the joints until it reaches the top of the ground, or a little further, there is no danger of its acting as a siphon, for plenty of air gets in at the highest point where the bend comes.] FROM 3 TO tl, AND IJOfl LBS. OF COMII HONEV, AM> NOT ENOlliH Tl) SCPPLY THE DEMAND, KVF.N THEN. This is my report for 1884: T liad 3 hives of l)ees in the spring. T got fi swarms of bees and 300 lbs. of comb honey from them. Isold 75 lbs. at 25 cts. a pound ; the rest I sold at ;.2 cts. a pound, or 5 pounds for a dollar. 1 didnt have enough to supply the de- mand at that price. I sold the most of it in the shop where I work. Marshall Darling. Waterbury, Conn., Dee. 1, 1884. MY REPORT KOK 1881. 1 commenced the season with 5 weak colonies; increased to 10 by natural and artificial swarming, all strong and well supplied with stores. I took about 60 one-pound sections, and extracted about GLEAN l\f;s IN BEIC Ct'LTlliP: Jan. .-.TiO lbs., makiiis- 300 lbs. in all. Started with black bees in .sprinj!-; bought !} Italian queens, and made artilleial swarms with tliem. lam awai-o that my report will look like small potatoes, and few in a hill, l.isiile most of the repoi'ts from Texas, and I shall try hard to do better ne.\t year, although I Think T have a poor ^location. AVe did not have anj- rahi to do any good from June to October. G. W. E. Kkm.kv. TaiiMlewood. Lee ( '<>., Te.vas, Dec. :i~, 1HS4. t'KO.M 71 TO n.">. .\S1> .")50!) I.BS OV HO.NEV. I eoinmenced the 'season with 71 colonies, half good, the rest below par, having sold most of my best colonies. I made ~'500 lbs. of white-elovcr hon- • •y in one-pound sections, and 3000 lbs. of extracted basswood and white clover; comb honey all sold at 15 to 17 cts. per lb., extracted going oil' at 8 to VI cts. I increased to 17.') colonies reduced down to 14(1 by imlf hig all colonies with old queens to colonies with young prolilic'queens. I put 130 colonies into cellar N'ov.r.'i. weather being three degrees below zero: chair |)acked ten colonies on summer stands. Wm. Adpenhrookk. .N'orth Prairie, Wis., Dec. S, 1884. It seems to me. friend A., vou oiio-ht to lie .satisfied, and it seems to "me. too. tliat Wisconsin does ^- pan out" " prettv well tliis (generally speaking- 1 bad season. .V PRETTV FAIK KKl'OKT, "CONSIDKUINCJ. " .\s Others are sending in reports, good and bad, some even worse than mine, I will let you have my first year's experience in apicultui-e. I commenced in July, ]88;j, with 'one colony in a boot-box, for w hich colony T jjaid .S3.00. They were black" and cross. I transferred them'a few days after getting iliem home, into a Simplicity hive, then bought a H'sted Italian ar mo, until I had t:.". colonics. Among them were several colo- ciies.'ol blacks; but most were Italians. Several were as good as 1 ever saw. I took two colonies to the Helleville Fair and was awarded first i)remium. I ha\ (■ now almost got through Italianizing, and want no more blacks. The honey crop was i-ather >hort this past season, but I can not conii.lain, as several of my best colonics gave me from KIO to 2O0 11>S. surplus," which was th<' result of early spring feeding, having the brood-chamber crowd..] with bees at the approach of white-clover bloom. A WOIU) l.\ K.WUK OF NO SKf.VH.VTOIiS. My; tli'st year's e.vpcriencc with sections il.ir I worked otdy for comb honey) leads me to the con- clusion that jfriend Hutciiinson knows what he is liilkiiig about wh.'u he says that separators can be clispeiiscd;>itli. I used them [in 20 hives, with the poorest result. Those without separators went to work tlr.et, and Unishcd their work best. Uees ai-e alljrighl up to date. W. M. Ib.ss. (!.->. '-(i. I.eliauon, Ills.. Dec. 24. Is8l. Friend K., you did spleudidix, especially considerin.u' the risk von ran ili u'oiiio- in .so iK'avily the lirst season. And jil)\v let me advise, or. ratlicr. caution von. thai it vou do not look out you will liave trouble liext season. If you succeed in wiideriiiu' well. I shoidd say it will U' safer for vou to work tor lioue> . iiud not continue to increase very much, until vou uct a little older in the busf- ness. DON'T know but I am a candidate for Blasted [ Hopes .just now. What beesi have (now united down to 4 swarms) I look from a man who owed me ^12.00, because I knew if 1 didn't take them 1 would never get any thing; and for lack of means to feed and care for them in-oi)erly, I sup- pose they will die this winter. That isn't the worst feature of my "JJlasted Hopishness," however. Over a year ago I had sulhcient contidence in his I honor to indorse notes with him to the atnount f>f I abotit :?150. 1 have already had to pay J^IO of it, and I expect to have to pay the rest; and as I already had I a prettj- good load of debts of my own, 1 don't know but it will "snmsh" me. What makes me especial- i ly provoked with him is the fact, that although he i can not pay a cent he can and ilocs buy and chew nearly a dollar's worth of the very highest-priced tobacco every week, even if liis children have to go I destitute of necessary clothing, etc. Brother Root, go on in your good work against the abomlimble .stuff. I am not as good a Christian as you are; and sometimes when I think of such things I lose some temi)er, an that it seems like talkin.ff to an old acquaintance. X. y. /. Friend X. Y. Z.. do not set Idiie over your ' misfortunes. There is a moral to yonr story that may do somebody else some "<>••>"''. it' it , does not help you an> ; and the moral is. to j stand on yoin- own feet. Xever ask anyl»ody I to indorse with you, if it is a possible Ihin^' to avoid it. and then you never need indorse with aiiyltody else, if any of yoni- friends feel liurt, and take offense Itecaiise \()u re- fuse to do such a favor for litem, they are not real true friends. A'ery likely, sooner : or later they will be .ulad you did "refuse to I accommodate them. i)on"l ever let such a I thouc:ht enter your head aslieins" smashed." ! I am fully convinced that people sonu4imes 1 flive up. "and let things uo. -when resolute lioldijiu-on would ])ut theui in jjood shape. Xow. Just mind what 1 say, will you V Let this ))e a jessiui for >ou. llut do not ii'ive ui> one l)it. SOMKTUINO AliOCT TUK ItKASOX WHV WK DO NOT (;i;t .iw MoHK than wk no. 'I'oda.N, on Thanksgiving-day, I feel inclined to think more about Blasted Hopes than :ibout thanks, as the season around here can be called a poor ou<'. I began the season with 18 cf>lonics, and had l.'> swarms, so that 1 have now IK! colonies. These gave me :!.")4 lbs. comb honey, and V)0 lbs. extracted. I don't think many bee-keejH'rs from this part of the couiiti-.v will report, as the honcy-croj> is a very small n\-.r. .\ while ago I had a talk with a stran- ger, whom I hai'Pened to meet, and who claimed to bi- a liee-kccper with 80 colonies. While talking I asked him if he rei)ortC(I hi..< honey cro).: belaid, " No, sir, 1 won't." liu|uiring more, he replied: " Vcs. if it had been a good year 1 would have ro- i ported: b>U if 1 look at tlu' bec-impcrs, and find • that .«ome who had a larg<> crop say that they had so and so many years' experience, and they had man- aged so as to have much surplu«: meaning that, on 188-3 GLEAXINCS IN BEE CULTL'HE. ■^i the other hand, they who got only 10 lbs. surplus per colony don't understand the business, and that keeps many from reporting-, any way. Even with the experience of ICO years, and a management .superior to all others, if there is no nectar in the Howers, nobody can expect much." He turned, and said good-by. I asked liis name; but he said, " No, sir; I won't tell you my name, lest | you mention it in one of those papers; but perhaps i next year, if I should have a good crop, I will tell you, and report myself. It depends on our Lord's blessing." i So he left me, and 1 had to think about it. ! Harvard, 111., Nov. 27, 18S4. ('has. Favst. Friend F., I know it is much as you say; but it is not only so in bee culture, but in everything else, "and I don't know how to remedy it either, so long as tlie friends de- clare they won't report. BEE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. REPORT FROM ONE OF THE GIRLS WHO FOR- MERLY HELPED rS IN THE OFFICE. AM still happy in tlie work with the bees. I am now rearing queens; and with a supply of pure- drones, and at a time when wild or common bees are taking their winter rest, I kec]) mine working by feeding. THE SPIDER PLANT IN FLORIDA. Plenty of pollen coming in, and one large spider] l)lant that I succeeded in keeping over the hot sea- son is now full of bloom, and starts the hees out at ' .') p. M., very much like robbing. I should be glad to ■ hiive an acre blooming now. ; THE PARTRIDOK PEA. j During the season of the partridge-pea Idooni, the ! bees paid no attention to flgwort or s|)idci- |)lant, ■ i>v even the dripping l>anana-blooms, though the ; amount of honey seen on pea-bloom seemed very j small beside the other i)lants. ! I inclose a sam))le of bloom of partridge pea; I al- | so send a small package of seed, as I think you would like to try it, perhaps. .Mr. Harf, of .Siu.\ rna, does not have much faith in ! the high jMiie land for bees; but I have found a long j list of honey-producing plants in this region; ami j with the cultivated groves and gardens, and the de- j lightful sunshine, bees certainly ought to do well, and I believe they will. I scatter your price lists among neighbors, and I there seems to be quite a boom lor bees this year in \ Florida. Nellie Ad.vms. Sorrento, Florida, Dec, 1881. Thanks for your report, friend Nellie. ! And it is really true, is it, that one who used j to work at a desk right among us is now succeeding in that I'ar-olf land of llowersV F>y the way. does not the spider plant grow ! contiiuiously from year to year witli youV I have been told, that in California, tomatoes ; grow like a shndt, and keep bearing ; ;iii(l as , the spider plant is so like the tomato in its , habits, 1 should suppose this would be the i case, and that if supi)lied with plenty of i water it Avould bloom for months iniinter- 1 ruptedly. Can yoti tell us if tliis is so? We! want to know more about that banana with j dripping blooms. You speak of feeding. About how many months in the year will vour bees take feedV Cei'tainly not when | Ihese plants you mention are in bloomV ' FRIEND BAUM'S TROUBLE. FEEDING BEES WHILE THEY ARE IN THE CELL.Ut, ETC. T HAVE been wanting to write to yo\i for some ^f time, but T dislike to bother a man as kind as I *j think you are. Rut the last Gleanings was -^ too much for me, where you speak about ask- ing advice of an old fai-mer. Now, T am an old soldier, and not able to do much work, in conse- quence of a disability contracted in the army. 1 am neither poor nor rich, but have a good little farm, a good wife, and three little boys. Two years ago I thought I would try bees, and paid ?.">0.ro for ten good strong stands of bees. Well, I was green; but I increased to 30. and sold ST.").On worth of conil> honey, and had plenty for my own table. Then I had such glorious fun in hiving the new swarms, and lost only the first one. Late in the fall I put them in mj- cellar, wliich is very large; and when spring came I had lost one. I put them out, and then lost five or six by spring dwindling. I could have saved them, if T had had sense enough to feed them. But, all right so far. This summer we have made but little honej', and this fall I found I had U that had but little honey. I got a barrel of A sugar, and fed them as they seemed to need it. I fed them by putting the syruj) in shallow pans on top of the frames, biU under the hood or upper story. I fed at night to avoiil rob- bers. Two weeks ago I put them in tlie cellar, and since tlu-y ha\e bi-en in there they won't eat theii- feed. They seem to be lively, but I know they have almost no honey. Now, I have bothered you all this time to ask you, "How shall Tget them to eatV ' I do not wish to double them up, and I should liki- to keep them until spring, for I know that bees will be scarce here in the spring. I keep the cellar dark. tiERM.VX C.VRP. I see you ha\f a carp-pond too. Iha\c had om- two years. We took out several this fall to cat. They were about is inches long. Tliey arc not a very good Hsh, but still they do to eat. We still have one in a bo.\, that we expect to cat on ( hrist- nias. (iEoitc.E \V. Uaim. Delphi, Ind., Dec. 2-2, 1SS4. Why, friend 15., you have been through one winter and summer, and. I should say. managed nicely. It would have liceu better. of course, had you commenced feedinga little earlier. Vour jilan of feeding was all right, and ;t very few days witii such an arrange- ment ought to have given them enough for Avinter. There seems to be a dilliculty in feeding bees in the cellar: for even if the> do take it. it is apt to make them luiejisy and discontentecl. Are you sure tliey have not enough to last tiieni until we have warm weather enough so you can set them out for a tlyV After the llight they will eat the feed all right without any trouble. Yoit might try feeding candy, as advised in the A IJ C book, and in oiir recent back numbers.— Tlumks for your item about the carp-pond. But. you are the lirst one who has reported that "carp are not very good for foixl. So they can be kept some time in a bo;^ or tub. can" theyV Tiiis is an important item.— I think your bees will certainly take tlu' syrup, especially if made quite thick, before the> will starve. They will certainly eat cand> any way, if you put it in small lumps riglit over the clu'ster. H4 GLEAxVINGS IN BKR CULTURE. •Tax. Gleanings in Bee Culture. t'„t,rishr.l M<»,tl,h,. EDITOR AND PUBLISHED, MEDINA, O. TERMS; $1.00 PER YEAR, POST.^AID. For Clatti:^ Eitc:, Ceo First Pags cf Seaih: :::tt5:. send out strawberry and raspberry plants; but there is not a sing^lo circular that tells when they will be ready. It is just my luck to be sendinpr for something out of season. Why not state in your j)ric<' list just when you will be ready to send straw- lierries, eg-jrg for hatching, carp for stocking' ponds. I'tc.V Vou see, we are green in the l>usiness, and ni-e almost always " wanting to know, yon know." Be ye wisa .-«>< serpents, and harmless as tloi We will pay 10 cts. for April 1 Gi.eanixos, 1884. We are happy to tell you that we commence the new year with .")145 names. You may remember, that last year wo started with 4275. May God bless you, friends, for the ready support you have given my poor efforts in jour behalf. smith's honey-kack. The honey-rack shown on page 841, last issue, be- longing to friend Smitii, we shall not offer for sale, as he prefers to supply the trade himself. His cir- cular, which he will be glad to mail you, gives full prices and particulars as to how the lacks are to be used. UKcr.ixE IN' pui(;es. I ALWAYS feel happy when I can oiler you cer- tain lines of goods that are greatly called for, at a reduction. Now it seems to me, friends, it is a pretty good idea to have a journal that is able to tell you twice a month all about the decline in prices of such things as bee-keepers are obliged to buy, more or less. Don't you think sn'r UEDUCTION in HALF-POUND JELIA-TriMlSI.ERS. We can now furnish a neater and prettier tum- bler than we ever had before for .1 cts. each, ^'5 cts. lor 10, 8?2.40 per 100, or $22.m per 1000. These are what are usually sold as jelly-tumblers with tin top. By laying on a piece of paper of the proper thick- ness, before the top is put on, the tumblers can he shut as tight as a corked bottle. MUEM-EH S I>IFE OP TUUST. It lias always pained me, in showing tliis book and e.\i)laining it to friends who were learning to trust in^God, to be obliged to tell them the price was SO high. We are now enableil to otTer it, neatly botind in cloth, for only 60 cts. U" wanted by mail, postage will be 10 cts. extra. This is the latest edi- Tion. with engravings of all the buildings, etc. DISCOITNTS UNTIL, .7ANUAKV 15. I.vsiKAi) of 3 per cent, the discount will be ~ per cent off on orders forgoods of any description, receiv- ed before Jan. 15. The regular discount of 10 per cent that we have been giving on fdn. and sections will also be held open until .Ian. 15. Wc do this as an in- ducement for sending orders now instead of dur- ing the rush a little later. The offer of 10,0(K) Sim- plicity sections for S40 (Ml is also coiitiiHicd till the fifteenth. OATE'VOrU PIUli: I,1STS A.M> ( II{( i i.aks. As for me, I like to see evei-y thing dated, and I like to'sec advertisements and circulars tell what tiracof year the goods are fit to send out. I have been watching price lists of plants lately, to see at what time of venr small-fiiiit men aic ready to BEES and CIDER-MII,I,S. One of our bee conventions proposes to petition the Legislature to abate the nuisance of cider-mills; that is, the nuisance to bee-keepers. I am afraid, friends, if you start out that way the cider-mill men will be sending a petition to have the nuisance of bee-keeping abated. The bee-friends suggest that the cider-mill men be obliged to keep the bees out by screens of wire cloth. Well, such screens will fix the matter, without doubt; but, who is to pay for them'/ The friendly way would be to divide the ex- pense between both parties, or letthepai-ty making the most complaint bear the larger part of the ex- pense. I think, for the sake of peace and harmony, I would furnish the wire cloth and put it on myself. It seems a sad thing for neighbors to appeal to law or legislation in defense of their seiiarate indus- tries. SPIDER PLANT AND FKiWOllT. It is a fact, fi-iends, that if you want to have cither of the above plants in perfection the first year, they must be started in a greenhouse, or in boxes by the window. By doing this you will get flgwort to yield a full crop of honey the first year, and the spider plant may be made to commence blossoming out- doors in .lune; and if the ground is rich and deep, the i)lants will grow to a monstrous size by Septem- ber or October. It is a peculiarity of the spider plant, that it continues to grow and put forth blos- soms just as long as the season will permit. So long as the present demand for theseeds continues, these will i)ay all expense of cultivation, to say nothing about the honey. If any one can furnish us seed of the EpUohiiim au{riisti folium, or, in fact, any one of this family of " pnrpleflreweeds," as they are some- times called, we shall be very glad to get them. See engravings on page 726. A VERY PRETTY PRICE LI.ST FOR A S.MAI. I. SLM OK MONEY. Friend A. L. Swinson, of Goldslwro, X. ('., has just had a very neat job done at our office, in t he way of a price list on a single sheet of Gleanings paper. He had 20 lbs. of paper, which makes about 4000 sheets. The regular rate would be ^5.00; but as about two-thirds of the sheet was covered with matter in fine type, we charged him iSS.OOfortbe 4000. This would be at the rate of 5 circulars for a cent. The unoccupied portion of the sheet forms the letter-head, and it is closely ruled, so that a good deal of nmtfer can be i>ut on when need be. The blank side of the sheet can also be used for writing, so that friend S. can give every correspond- ent a price list every time he writes. If you want to see what a neat job wc can get up for five for a cent, just ask friend S. for a sample. Of course, we can not furnish them at this very low price unless 4000 or 5000 are ordered at a time. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON REE CULTl HE. ' This is the title of a new book from our friend I Rev. Wm. Ballantine, of Sago, O. Although the : book does not contain much that is new. friend B. 188o LEANi:^^GS IX BEE CULTURE has done his work well, for he is a man of talent and education, and, I believe, a successful bee-keep- er. One of the new features we find in the book is a home-made circular saw, illustrated and described. The engraver has, however, made very bad work in picturing the implement, and I am sorry to say that his printers have done wretchedly in the get- up of the book. T do not believe it pays, friends, to have books made at offices unaccustomed to such work. Perhaps friend B. will have out a new edi- tion soon, with these typographical errors and faulty presswork remedied. Perhaps these things will not be noticed so much by those who do not make printing a business. The book is mailed, in paper covers, for 50 cts. ; cloth bound, T-j cts. See advertisment. THE I'ltOSPECT.S roil ISS-'i. Gleanings, with all its faults and failings, even during this time of general depression in business, is already beyond what it ever was before in the way of a subscription list. 1 feel very grateful, friends, to think we are able to start out with the first issue with almost a full subscription list. Our mails are so heavy now that it is about all I can do to read the hmincgs part of it each day, let alone reading the articles that are contributt^d for i)ubli- cation. A great iiortion of these will doubtless have to wait until a little later in the season before we can find a place for them, as has hapi)ened al- most every year of late. When the friends send in their subscription it comes ijuite natural for them to send a report or article, and we are glad to have them do so; and even though we can not use them all as soon as they appear, they are, most of them, just as valuable a few months later. It hlis been the general impression, that 18H4 luid giVen a rather ])Oorcroii of honey; but the reports that come in with the subscriptions seem to me to indicate that the crop has been at least a fair one. There are b(M"-keepers enough in our land to give a fair sup- port to all the journals; and bee-journals, like in- dividuals, dill'er widely. Therefore, friends, if one journal does not please you, quietly drop it and take another. So far as I am concerned I do not e.xpect —in fact, it would be strange if Gi.e.vxi.ngs did suit everybody. For my part I am (luite willing you should take some otlier, if you prefer it; and when- ever I meet you I will try to be just as willing to ex- tend a neighborly hand as if you w(M-e one of our own subscribers. i;UOOVING-SAWS THAT SMOKE. FiKVF.n ALof the Iriends speak about having troub- le with saws for groi>\ing the ends of the bolt of plank for making section bo.ves. The trouble is, that you have too many teeth in your saws, or they are not filed in the proper shajjf. Now, then, friends, it is very important to have this matter e.\aet. We liav(! had years of experience, and know all about it; and if you do just as T tell you your teeth won't smoke, and one man can push the bolts over the saw, without fatigue either. The teeth must be large. Snuill ones fill with dust, and clog »ip. Kor a si.v-inch grooving saw, the points of the teeth should be fully three-fourths ol an inch apart, and they must be filed so the shape will be according to the diagrams given in the A U C book. We have sent out saws that were not nuvde as they should be, before we knew any better. In many cases the! best way to lix the saw will be to take out every other lootli. If tlifv are :i little mure than tliree-fourths of an inch apart, it woukUnot matter. A good stout gummer or emery-wheel is then needed. Where the fault has been ours, I will pay the expense of fix- ing them. DAMAGING A ]JeE-KEEP£U\S KEPCTATIOX BY" AC- CUSING HIM Of ADCLTEltATING HIS HONEV. My friends, if your reputation is what it ought to be, I do not believe a slander can hurtVou in the long run, to any great extent. Such stories do not often stick long to the name of ajgood^man. Instead of getting greatly stirred up about this matter of adulteration, be so frank and open in your business, and so willing to.let evei-ybody see what you are do- ing, and how you do it, that when any such charge is made against you it will of itself recoil back on the one who started it. I can not remember that 1 ever knew a good^man very much hurt by stories circulated about him. There are people in almost every neighborhood, whose standing is such that nobody thinks of accusing them of such work. AVell . your business is to set quietly about it and male yourself one of that kind of people; and then if anybody accuses you wrongfully it will be like throwing muddy water on a duck's back. It will slip off so quick that nobody will notice it, and even you j-ourself will not be conscious of ha\ ing been harmed. BEES AND yUEENS DURING 1)SS4. OUK queen-clerk reports as follows: Queens" sold during 1884, 3.596. Of the above number, :i-tC8 were untested queens. Pounds of bees sold, 470. As a great j)art of them (perhaps the greater part of the bees and (lueeus) were sold during the spring'months, the average i)rice would be pei-haps $1..50 each for the untested, and, saj', §3.00 each for the tested queens. The average price of bees by the pound was perhaps :?3.tKi, making a sum total of bees_and (pieens about $8586. The tested ;and select tested ind ((ueeus for the market. We com- menced the season with about 1.50 colonies.'and add- ed by jiurchase, 125; so you can form some idea how well it pays to rear bees'and queens for the market. Labor all together cost perhaps JflOOO, including cost of correspoi. deuce. C.VUP IN OHIO. Two or three years ago, Mr. K. IJ. Ulakeslee, a neighbor living within a mile or two, got some Ger- man carp, and put them in apond eontaining'per- haps l^i acres. Mr.'.B. is one of our bee-keeping friends, as many of you maj' remember.l Well, T had not heard about his carp for some time, but to- day he informs me that his pond is so_full there is hardly room for all of them, and that in warm weather they may be seen along the shores in great numbers. If you keep perfectly still, great big fel- lows will rise up in full sight, but disappear at the first movement. And now^ comes the wonderful part of friend B.s fish storj-. If you keep still long enough, you may^often see them stick their heads out of the water along the banks, to pick grass: 36 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Ja>«-. and when I laughed at tliis new feature, he said with great earnestness he eould assure lue the herb- age was kept clean, clear around the pond. Vou see, they want vefretable food, and he has not lU'o- vided it for them, and so they come around the wa- ter's edge as cows g-o around tlie cmn-field, nipping olV every tliiiiK- within reach. He says they are the l>est fish for I'ood he ever ate in his life. They have used ijerhajis half a dozen of theni, some of them ;; real big strapping fellows. His |)ond has no run- ning stream, but is simjily a cavity between the liills. filled with rain water. He has had a large- sized car]) for some time in a large tub or tank, perhai)s 8 feet across, where he waters his cattle anil horses, and his dog sometimes tries to worry it. The carp and dog make a regular show of fight on lioth sides. When you come to see me we will take the horse an may not all be aware, that as s(jon as I licy get to doing business, and begin to advertise iM'e-su|iplies, their standing will soon be quoted in Itradstreefs ^lercantile Agency. As a rule, these ditlerent agencies endeavor to give the best report of a man that they can consistently; that is, with- out doing harm by recommending a man who is not worthy of confidence. I need hardly say, that it be- hooves every one to work for a good record or re- jiort. Well, we are, at the present time, having •, as I have told you, to be obliged to do this; but it is not only right and proper, but it is customary in all kinds of business. It has often l)een said, that bee-men are a little above the average in intel- ligence and respectability. Can't we keep so clean a record that the same may be said in regard to prom])1ness ami resijonsibilityy AIDS 1(1 IIIDSK WHO I'lM) TlllOll! ( < I K It KSf ( ).\ D- ENCE IHKUENSO.MK. Wheneveh you have occasion to write to certain parties freciuently, it will bo ijuite a help to have addres.sed and stamped envelopes lying handily, so that all you have to do is to slip your letter into one of these envelopes, and it is ready for the i)ostofHce. Tliis also saves mistakes in addi-essing your matter. <,)uite a breeze hapj)ened at our postottice a few days ago, because a man sent a letter containing money, and I'orgot to put on (lie Stale. Another party even sent for the postoffice detectives, to have them recover a lost letter; and when found, the woman who sent it addressed it, by mistake, to a firm that had no existence. Now, then, how shall wc get a sui)ply of envelopes and postal cards with the addresses i)lainly printed'/ Why, let each man who has something to sell furnish them to his cus- tomers free. Our clerk who sends out orders, by my advice wrote to the principal firms of whom we buy goods, and asked for a few envelopes bearing their name and address. Almost without exception they came promptly; and where we have been in the habit of sending a good many t>rdcrs, they were all stamped ready to mail. We finally found we had so many of them, that Mr. Gray made a sort of revolving book-rack, with pigeon-holes in it. There are 48 of the pigeon-holes, and a great part of them are now full, and the stam|)s that are on the envel- opes will go a good way toward paying for the whole institution. Now, then, if we want to get an order olf in a hurry, we just jot it down on a piece of pa- per, and push it into the jtroper envelope, and it is all ready for the postottice. Any man who is doing business can well afford to furnish stamped envel- opes to those who buy goods of him. Another thing: It takes a mental effort to remember ad- dresses, and write them )i(jlit. By the arrangement I have suggested, a great part of the labor of corre- spondence is done by the printing-press, and done nicely. Every clerk in the office now has envelopes and postal cards printed to all parties with whom she is likely to have much business. CONVENTION NOTICES. The Champlaiu-Valley Bee-Keepers" Association will meet at Addison House, Jliddlebury, Vt., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 1885. J. E. Ckane, Sec. The annual meeting of the Maine Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at De.xter, Me., Jan. 20, 21, and 22. F. O. Additon. Pres. W.M. HOYT, Sec. The 'ith aiuiual meeting of the Nebraska State B. K. A. will be held at Tecumseh, Neb., on Wed., Thurs., and P'riday, Jan. 14, ].">, and 16, 1885. M. L. TuESTEU, Sec. The Mahoning- Valley Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its next meetina- in the Town Hall at New- ton Falls, on the third Thursday, Jan. 15, 1885. The meeting will be instructive as well as interesting. Lordstown, O., Dec. 15, 1884. E. W. Turner, Sec. The North-Eastern Ohio and North-Western Pa. Bee-keepei"s' Association will hold its sixth annual convention in the Y. M. C. A. Rooms, corner of lOth and Peach Sts., Erie, Pa., Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 14tli and 1.5th, 1885. First-class hotel accoinmo- datin)is at the Wilcox House, igl.OO per day. to those attendiiiL;- the convention. A general invitation is extended to all. C. H. Coon, Sec. New Lyme, Ohio. north-eastern bee-keepeks' convention.. The sixteenth aiuiual convention of the North- Eastei-n Hec-Keejiers' .Association will be held in the Citv Hall itt Syracuse. N. Y., on the 21st, ^12(1, and :':M ilays ville, ITIaflison Co., 111. QIEENS BY RETI KN lUAlI^. I am now uj) with my orders, and can send b.v return mail. Send me yourorders, and liol]) me out of the tire. J. T. WlIXiN, ITtl'd NichohLSville, Jessamine Co., Ky. DADANT'S FOUNDATION FACTORY, WHOLE- SALE AM) KETATL. See adyertisemeiit in eeswaX \V<. hiive eonstiiiitly on liand :i Jl Ik Shop ( ',,„i>l M„hr .1 >/ .- rlnltii of Than. Th(jse who wish earh' ipieens should oiihr e;irl\. as orders must be tilled in rotation. For prices. :i.ldres~ S. VALENTINE & SON, hi HAGERSTOWN, MD. BEES For IMcasure and Protit. A new book of ViX pages. I'rofiiselv illustrated, and 11)1 to the times. IJv Kev. \V. Mal- laiitiiie. I'liee .")ll ami 7-") cents. .V.I- .N KW ( )1(I'. -MlSK. Kehiied Beeswax in orij^inal shape, wliich r to maiiiitactiirejs of <'oinl> Foundation at h offer to I est prices. Write to us for prices. Stating- <|uantil \ wanted. Ad.lress H. E< KERNANIV \. WILL. Bee:waz Bleachers & Xefi&ers. S7SACUSG, K. 7. A'. 7i.-\Ve ha\ e low freight rates to all [joints on (jiiantities. :.'4-Udb HALF A MILLION READY A SPECIAL OFFER. diiri ■ .la WANTED. A competent and re in, or as eni))lo\e in Lined. Hcst of"refU M,n,iifnrli,ni:<. SI'HUI r ItKdOK, MOX'C. ( <».. X. V. VANDERVORT COMB FOUNDATION MILLS. Send for samiiles iind redii<-ed i>iiee list. ;.'tldb .IXO. VAXDEHVOKT. La<-e\ \ ili... |>a. \V.' will sell pound sect follow ing- prices: I'cr one thousand. - - - - ?= 4 .VI I'er ttye thousand, . . . ^1 (Mi Per ten thousand. - - - - fO (Kl BERLIN FKUIT-BOX CO., Id Berlin Hights, Erie Co., O. PATENT JOUNDATION Mills ,§'^15 W.e.PELHAM MAYSVILLE.KY BEE - HIVES! Tlie <'liea|M'!vt llive<», Seetiuiiw. Fraiii<-!->, ITIa«1e aiid For Sale l>v Mtfdb r. I. m VV. TuUu'li,,,,,;. I, WANTED, ,'„ wants to buy o or work lor wa ■.'t-.5aie bv Mcs-rs. .\. M. Xewinan. Chi- cago, 111.; (. K. Mulli.'l ineiniKiti. O.: .las. Heddoii. Dowagiac. .Mich.: I)ouglieit\ .V >b-Kee. Imlianapo- lis, liid.: (lias. H. Cr.'eii, Ueiliii. Wis. : ( ha-. Heitel, .7r., Fieebiiru-. 111.; Wm. Mallantiiie, Sago, o.; K. S. Armstroim. .Ierse\ \ ille. III.; H. Drum, Adelphi, O. ; Arthur Todd, (b riuantowii. Philadelphia, Pa.; F. Krelehmei-, Cobiirg, Iowa: F. F. Smith, Smyrna, N. v.: C. r. Dale. .Moitoiisville, Ky.; and numerous Write tor sumphx .f;f«, and price list of siipi)lies, aceoiii]uiiiied with 1 50 Coiiipliiiieiitary and unsi>- liciUil Uiitinionidls, from as man.y bee-k(;epers, in 18SJ. We (juaninli'.i: rviryimh nf Durfiniiulatiou equal to sample in evenj nspect. CHAS. DADANT & SON, :tbtld llaiiiiltnii, HniK-ock Co., l|]iiioi». 38 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jax. BE SURE To scii'l a postal card i'orour illustrated catalog-iie of APIARIAN K.'So,e'""ii'"ctf: SUPPLIES tains illustrations and descriptions ot every thing new and desirable in an ai)iary. AT THK liOWEST PRICES. Basswood-Trees. Basswood-treesl toa I'cet hig-li, - - .■?1.53 per 100 Hard-maple trees, 3 to 5 feet high. - - 1.50 per 100 Mountain-ash, ornamental, 3 to r> feet, lOcts. apiece. Address HENRY WORTH, Itfd Rorodino, Onondaga Co., N. Y. J. C. SAYLES, l-]~dli Hartford. Washine;ton Co.. "Wis DADANT'S FOTODATION FAOTOKT. WHOLESALE andEETAIL. See aflvertisement in another eohimn. 3btfd FOR ONK-POUND SECTIONS OF 1585 ITALIAN ODEENS. 15S5 comb honey. WAHEANTE3 aUEElTS TOr. $3.C0. Write for ( irriihir. J, T. WILSON. f'J NICH :»LASVILLE. KY. FOR SALE. I have -JOO lbs. of extra clover and basswood hon- ey mixed (mostly clovei-) put up in barrels and half- barrels, that 1 will sell at Se per lb., delivered at de- pot here. Honey well ripened and capped before it was extractcil. IJari-els are oak, iron bound, ))ainted, and waxed, and hold about 3ti0 lbs. each. Will sell in iiuantity to.>;uit purchaser. Sample sent if desired, package included. FRANCIS R. JOHNSON, 1 I'nion City, Branch Co., Mich. I have for sale to the highest bidder, 80J one-pound boxes of white-clover honey, with .lones labels; also two .5.5-lb. cans of fruit-blossom honev, and two 55- Ib. cans of sumac and clover, all extracted, and good quality. H. M. MOYER, ] Hill Church, Berks Co., Pa. I WANT TO EXCHANGE Langstroth Simplicity Hives in tlat. Sections, Cases, Brood-Frames, or white poplar sections, for Italian Bees. Address J. B. MASON, Id Mechanic Falls, Maine. BEE-HIVES, ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, COMB FOUNDATION, Bpc - Ko pois' Siipj^lk's Generally. J'riiu- hist Srnt Irrr. J. J. HURLBERT, '11 'I"" Lyndon. Whiteside Co.. 111. FOR SALE. .VI'; H. P .wroufilit iron lubular boiler and en- gine, in working order. Price on cars, ?115.00. l+db A.ldicss .1. 1). ENAS, Napa,Cal. BRED-CLOVER (f EES%QUEEN]L> If you want Italian Bees that will work on red clover, and that are gentle to liandle, vou can get them of me. Send for my circular. It tells vou how to successfully introduce (pieens. and of "the Safetv [ntrodiiiiiiij anarticulai«, M. L. TAPLIN, l«l A.lell. Shebovgan Co.. Wis, This box has a bit of " red pe ■' attached to it to carry ^ ^u/uiTr>nuDl '^ ^'*^ ■ ^^ makes a safe pack- Wrill E COYiB:?! age for a single section of honey for the consumer to carry, or it can be packed in a trunk, if he wants. It can be opened in an instant. The price of the box is 2 cts. each, set up; in the flat, 15 cts. for 10; package of :.'5, oo cts.; $1.20 per 100; or Sll.OO per 1000; 10,0.0, ?1C0. Colored lithograph labels for putting on the sides, two kind?, one for each side, *3.£0 per 1000. A package of 25, labeled on both sides, as above, 60 cts. By mail, 30 cts. moi-e. They can be sold, labeled on one side or both sides, of course. We have only one size in stock, for Sim- plicity sections. Sample by mail, with a label on each side, 5 cts. If you want them shipped in the tlat, labels already pasted on, the price will be one cent each additional, for labels. A. I. ROOT, Medina, Ohio. JOB LOT OF WIRE CLOTH AT fiRKATLY ItEDl'CLJ) I'lilClCfi. Such a biisk demand has sprung up for this, and our customers seem to be so much pleased with the goods, we have succeeded in getting another still larger lot, of one of the largest manufacturers of wire cloth in the world. Please bear in mind that the onl.y wa.y in which we can afford to sell it at the very low price of 1^ cts. per sq. ft. Is by selling the entire remnant .iust as it is put up. We have now in stock the following pieces. As fast as it is sold, each piece is crossed out, and the next issue will show what remains. Witith.Sinchts.— 3 rolls containing respectively 50 50, and CO snu.-xre feet. AViilth 10 inche=.— 4 rolls, containing respectively 72, 70, W, and 75 square feet. Width. 11 inches.— One roll, cont.nininprSO square feet. Width 12 inches.— 5 rolls, containing rcspectivelj", 80, 100, 90, 90. nnd lOn squ-re feet. Width. 14 inches.— 1 roll, containing 116 square feet. Width. 16 inche.i.— 4 rolls, containing respectively, CO, ISO, lao, and 118 square feet Width. 20 inches.— 1 roll, containins: 150 square feet. Width, 22 inclies.— 2 rolls, containing respectively, 250, and ISOsquTPfeet. Width. 24 inches.— U rolls, containing respectively, 50,55. 72, 20. 20. 30 80. 110 GO. 110. and 200 square f et. Width. 25 inches.—.l rolls, containing respectively, 53, 97, 100, H:I niKl-.TiO^ninrc fcrt. Wi.lili ji, III, ii, - 1! i>l1«. contain'ng respectively, 69, 215, 40, 41) Mill '11' -.'ii, Mill ■■1'.. Ml-., i;.".. 200. and 20'>square feet. ^^|■'tl| •-. null.- I Ml,' I (1 I, containing 23 square feet. ^\"llM > 1,1 1 II i.,l|.i. containine respectively, 58,93, '■\ 1,111, ,. , , , ,,ll~,'.',,intiiining icspectively, 110, 210, qun routainint; L'ly, ISO, 'lis, containing respective!}-, : !70, \Viimi :;ii im'-.-:.- 7 rolls, containing i-espectively, 80, 270, 200, I l.Mi i:;ii :i ml I'.o square feet. Width. ''S inchc's.- 5 rolls, containing respectively, 75,316,300, .HI ,iMil :ili; s,|u:ir.> feet. Wiilili. 4oiiiclu's.— 5 rolls, containing respectively, SOD, 275, •0. ir,r, .■ind i;-. square feet Width. 4-; inchis.- One roll, containing 245 square fpet. WidDi. IS iiuhis.- One roll, ciintanung 140 square feel. A. I. ROOT, ITIe«liiia, Olilo. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. Contents of this Number. Bees in India 7i Bee-armor 64 Bee-ring 57 Bohemian Oats 72 Boy Bee-keeper 56, 61 Bravery 58 }{uckwheat Ct Candied Honey on Frames. ..72 Carp, German 53,65,66 Carp-po"d8 and Crabs 64 Circulars 74 Convention at Lansing 46 Conveiitions 43 , Doolittle's Article 51 j Dyke's Feeder .5J | Editorials "" EmptyC'bs and Comb Hon'y Kpilobinni Angiistifolium.. Extractor, Solar Fireweed Forest-Leaves Franie.«, Reversible CJlasses, Colored Hind's Report 54 Honey -boards 47 Humbugs 72 Kennedy's Repoi t 59 Loop's Report 48 Marking Hives 45 Minnesota 61 Minnie's Tiial-< 69 Myself and Neighbors 55 Nuclei, Forming 45 Overproduction 51 Queens, Introducing ."^2 Recent Developments 71 Reports Discouraging .50 Reports Encouraging 49 Salt and Honey for Cold Gt Santa Barbara 60 Saws, Filing 74 Saws, Foot-power 54 Smokers, Care of 45 Stings 53 Willow-herb 48 Workers tioni Fer' Worker.. 72 CONVENTION NOTICES. Tho Corlland Union Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their nest meeting- in Cortland, Jan. 27, 18S.5. M. G. Dakbv, Sec. The annual meeting- of the Maine Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at De.xter, Me., Jan. 20. 21, and 22. F. O. Additox. Pres. Wm. Hoyt, See. The Bee-Keepers' Association of Hamilton and Tipton Counties, Ind., will hold its ne.xt meeting- at Cicero, Hamilton Co., on Friday, Feb. 6. 188.5. Jno. Fritz, Sec. D. A.ming, Pres. The sixtecnlh annual convention of the North Eastern ncc-Kcepcrs' Association will be held in the Citv Hull at Syracuse. N. Y., on the 21st, 22d, and 2.1d days of January, 1885. L. C. Root, Pres. Geo. W.'HorsK, Sc^e^^ The Northeastern Mich. Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will hold its third annual convention Feb. 4t I), 18(^5, at Vassar. Place for holding meeting will be given in Feb. Glkanings. Send to the Secretary for railroad certificates, and secure reduced rates. W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. THE world's BEE-KEKPERS CONVENTION. This is to be held at New Orleans, on Tuesday. Wednesday, and Thursday, Feb. 24. 25. and 26. 188.i. The bce-kccpcrs of the world arc inyitcd to attend the eonvcMtiuii and exhibit, to be held on the ali<)V<' days. \\v havr p\it it lirforc .\ on in tin- al>oy(- shai)C' so you will Ik'sui-c Tint to ior;;'('i it. It' there is any pai-t of the world that is not cordially inyitcd. the managers will please e(ii-)-ect. i:i). Gl.r.A.MNCS. BEE-KEEPERS,!:^S^s, We haye a larjio stock ol' om- \' y riM)\ c one piece sections. aiKl until March 1st. IS-.-), will sell at rock bottom. ,')1MI0 one pound sections for an eve:i S^2I (0 ID.OOJ " '• " '■ •-.... 4U OU Sample free. Send for oiu- Illustrated Price List of Bee-Keepers' Supi.lios, rir In ,ii!. SMITH & SMITH, 2tfdb KENTON, HARDIN CO., O. Bee-Hives and Supplies. SOMETHING NEW. As I have greatly increased my facilities for man- ufacturing It will be to .your advantage to send for price list before purchasing elsewhere. Cash paid for bees- wax. A. B. HOWE, 2tfdb Council Bla£Ps, Iowa. U/AMTCn To exchange Italian queens for two ilHIIlLUi or three barrels of extracted honey. 2tfdb T. S. HALL, Kirby's Creek, Jackson Co., Ala. DADANT'S FOUNDATION FAOTOET, WHOLESALE and EETAIL. See advertisement in another column. 3btfd B Vliolesiile and lUtail. EE- KEEPERS' '^ SUPPLIE Pcplir aid BissTocd Sections a Specialty. s SEND2-CENTSTAMP for SAMPLE and PRICE. S. D. BUELIi, UNION CITY, MICH. 2tfdb FOR SALE AT A BARGAIN. One Pelham Foundation Mill, with Tank. Heater, Dipi)ing-boards. and Table for mill to stand on, UL-i.tin. Also 18 chiitr hives, i?2.,-)0 each. Six of these arc Root's Simplicity. 4 with portico, and 10 or 12 Simplicity of 'j-inch stuff. Also one Novice Ex- tractor, §6.00. Six smokers, §1.00 each. JOHN H. DANIEL, Cumberland, Guernsey Co., O. WANTED.— A second-hand Barnes Foot-pow- er Saw, for hive-making. Address 2d W.M. Wason, Uoekdale, Milam Co., Texas. f^ A T^WCi 50 Chromo Cards with name, for \jr\.r\Lji^t lilcents; 25 gold bevel-edge, or 20 hi«lde stamp; 2d inie cards for 20 cents. Silver or P. O. A.ldrcss C. L. BKOOKS, Deansville. Oneida Co., N. Y. FOR SALE! (IIOK K SEED CLOVKK AND POTATOES. I5y Freight or Express. | mail I bus' 1 I peck 1 lb. I lb. Alsik*' Clover White Clover Hall's early pcachblow tatoes Ontario I $10 00 I *;! 00 I 20c I 40c ! 10 00 1 3 00 I 20c " ;i5c :r> I 51 i bic aic Address li. S. ■Ill.UER.nAIVN, A(ilii|>i>un, Dod1 tt/C/t <.>/tf:a/ I f/y lO 10 or more. 75cts. each. Single Number, 6 cts. Additions to clubs maybe made [ at club rates. Above are all to be sent TO ONE P08T0FFICK. J Clubs to different postofflces, kot lk8S than 90 cts. each. Sent postpaid, in the U. 8. ond Canadas. To all other coun- PfBLiSHED SEMi-MO.VTHLV EY ; trlcB of the Universal Postal Union. I8c \ T t>r\l\^T' Afli'riTX' \ C\MM\ i per yen r extra. To all countries not of V. 1. K(J(J1, MhiUlJN A,U111U. itheXj'.P.U., 42c per year extra. SEVERAL ITEMS FROM FRIEND POP- PLETON. I'OHMINO NUCr.EI, MARKING HIVES, SOI-VIl WAX- KXTUACTOH, ETC. 0N paffe8L'5, last issue of Gleanings, Mr. Doo- little gives us something- which 1 think will prove of very great value to bee-keepers, but not for the purpose he tells of. I use and atn well satisfietl with the simpler method of uniting nuclei that is in common use; but I hope we shall find the method he describes, to be almost a perfect one for the formation or making of nuclei. AVe all know how much better results we get from nuclei which contain a proper luoportion of both old and young bees, and also how very difficult it is to get many old bees to remain in nuclei formed at home. This difficulty is so great that last year I took a few colonics three or four miles from home, and from them obtained the most of my nuclei. Nuclei formed in this manner gave so much better results than when formed'by the old method. I had intended to follow it this coming season, but I shall test this method given by Mr. Doolittlc; and if it i-esults in keeping the old bees with the newly formed nuclei as well as it seems reasonable to sup- pose it will, I for one will feel very much indebted to Mr. D. for his hints, although not put to the uses that he advised. attention-mauks on hives. 1 think it was also Mr. Doolittle who some time ago mentioned the fact that he used stones or sticks placed on different parts of a hive to indicate teat some particular work needed doing at a suitable opportunity; thus, if during his regular work he finds a colony with a poor queen that ought to be superseded, he places a stone or block on some par- [ ticular part of the hive, and on some other part of I the hive if some other particular work needs to be done; then when he has time to attend to these I things he can sec at a glance just what and where I any thing needs doing, without taking time to hunt up the work, or running anj' risk of overlooking necessary work. This is exactly similar to what I , have myself used for several years, but have lately used a device much plainer, and yet very simple. It is a marker, made by nailing one piece of board across the end of another piece, being, when made, a perfect Ti" shape, the stem being much heavier than the top piece. I usually make I the stem out of inch stuff, about 2 inches wide by 10 or \i long, the top piece being half inch or thinner, same width as stem, and about 6 inches long. One end of the top piece is painted green or blue, the other end red. These blocks are very sightly, and can be made to indicate a lai-ge number of niean- I ings by placing them on different parts of hives; and if necessary, by changing the position of the ' colors; as, red over green indicates one thing, and green over red something else. These blocks are very easily and cheaply made, as they can usually I e manufactured out of waste pieces of lumber ly- ing around the shop, and on some i-ainy or spare I day. I have used these blocks during the past sea- son, and find they are quite a saving of both time I and steps. 1 CAKE OF SMOKEKS. I Some two or three years ago I came very near sustaining a heavy loss by fire, caused^ by accident- I ally dropping a spark while refilling my smoker in the shop. This taught me a lesson, and since then j I do not allow smokers to be taken into the shop at I all, but keep them in a box near the center of the ' apiary, made on purpose. Thi§ box is well painted 45 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE. Jan. and covered, and large enough to contain smokers, matches, shavings, and smoker fuel enough to last two or three days. SOLAR WAX-EXTKACTORS. Since the description of the Sun wax-extractor which I have used for years was published in 1883, page 521, 1 have noticed several descriptions of im- provements, so called. All these improvements I have so far seen described are, I think, of more det- riment to the value of the instrument than benefit. All were in reference to some method of straining the melted wax from the refuse. Any wire cloth or sieve that may be in the extractor to strain the wax- through, must obstruct the sun's rays more or less, which is a positive detriment, while the object at- tained is of little or no value, as the wax being kept melted for a length of time allows all the refuse to settle to the bottom, when the wax can be dipped off in an almost absolutely pure condition with the flat sided tin cup, described in the original article. I also see that some make their extractors in such a manner that the pan, or whatever is used to catch the melted wa.x as it drops from the wax-holder, is not left exposed to the sun's rays enough to keep the wax in it in a melted condition, thus preventing the wax from settling, or, rather, clarifying itself, which I consider one of the prime objects of the implement, second only to the actual melting of the wax. I mentioned the fact in my original article, that the wax rendered in the Solar wax-extractor was harder than when rendered by other means, which m'njht be an objection. I am informed by Mr. Thos. Tracy, of Nashua, Iowa, who runs a foundation- mill, that, instead of being an objection, he finds the wax so rendered to be tougher and better than other kinds of wax. Mr. Tracy uses a simple sys- tem of reflectors, which increases the efficiency of the implement, besides allowing us to use a single instead of double glass. He hinges the board cover, made to cover the implement when not in use, to the upper end of the sash, having first lined the in- side of the cover with bright tin. This can be raised and fastened at any angle desired. Another cover, made and lined with tin like the first one, is then hinged to the side of the e.vtractor in such a manner that it can be easily attached to either side of it, and held in a perpendicular position by hooks and staples connecting it with the first-mentioned cover. The detachable hinges for the side reflector can be very easily made by driving some staples into the edges of the sash, and some half-bent pieces of No. 9 wire into the bottom edge of the reflector. The side reflector will, of course, have to be on the west side of the implement in the forenoon, and on the east side in the afternoon, and can be laid, when not in use, tin side down, on top of the implement after shutting down the real cover. (). O. Poi'pr.ETON, lU— ;»). Williamstown, Iowa, .Ian. .'>, 188"). Thanks, friend 1*. We can ol'teu liiid at the drug-stores sciuarc tin cans, used lor liolding castor oil and otlier substances. One of these laid on its side, with one end cut open, makes an excellent leceptacle for a smoker, lotten wood. etc. It keeps out the rain, and no (hiiiger of lire. It can be nailed np against the fence, or a post, or anywhere in the apiary.-^In regard to the JSolar wax-(;xtractor. it seems to me some of our implement-dealers might g«it up one for sale. Of com'se, they coiikl be made a good deal clieaper where 25 or 100 were made at one time. These reflectors to throw the sun on to the wax are quite an improvement. If tin is used, the reflectors would have to be carried in before a storm, or they would get rusted so as to spoil their etticiency. A cheap looking-glass plate would give still more heat. If the whole were put under a shed that would admit the sun, but exclude wind and rain, it might always be in work- ing order, and would be found, I think, a profitable investment. MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION. ;aw and learned. fllEN I stepped from the train, the first thing was to inquire of some- body where the convention was to be held. One might naturally sup- pose that we editors know every thing published in oiu* papers ; but I for one find it necessary to refer to Gleanings almost constantly, to know what I have written and what others have written. As the convention was to be held in the State- house, and as the Statehouse is a very prom- inent object in the city of Lansing, it did not take me long to get there. I was told the convention was away up in some of the upper stories, and that I had better go up in the elevator. The elevator was just start- ing, pretty nearly full ; but I got on, and wiiom do you suppose I ran against first? Why. Prof. Cook himself! It always gives me pleasure to hear that people are expect- ing me, and are glad to see me ; tlierefore I started out pretty well pleased. Friend Cook stopped the elevator, and we did not go away up in the attic ; but by some new ar- rangement which I did not understand, we straightway gathered in the Senate chamber ; at least that is what they called it, if I re- member correctly. It was a most beautiful room, any way. I>y the way, how pleasant it does make any thing in the way of con- ventions go off, to have a nice commodious room! The room was nice, and the people were nice, and they all behaved tliemselves nicely. If Iluber had been there I suppose he would have ejaculated very soon, " Papa, ain't it ni'?" The convention opened up full of interest at the outset. REVEH8I15LE FKAMES. The facts given for and against these en- listed my closest attention at once. The question was taken up on both sides, by those who are not only old in the honey bus- iness, l)ut who are keen and sharp as" well. A great mass of evidence was given on both sides of the (piestion, and several reasons were brought forward for using reversible franu's, that I had not thought of. A^ery likely, reversible frames might do harm in the hands of a novice, because an unwise re- versal results in about the same injury as does an unwise spreading of the brood-nest ; that is, reversing the frames too early in the season, when the cluster is not strong enough to stand a breaking-np of the brood- nest, would perhaps do harm. Uut in the 188.5 GLEANINGS IN BEE CUJ/IUKE. 47. hands of one who is old and experienced, it offers advantages that it seems to me we can not very well do without. Prof. Cook gave us a happy summing-up of the advantages and disadvantages. I did not take it all down, neither did any of the reporters, so far as I have been able to discover. Prof. Cook's strongest point was, perhaps, that by means of a reversible frame we can tlirow nearly all of the eaily white honey, clover and linden for instance, into section boxes, where it will command a price that will en- able us to buy sugar two or three limes over ; and 1 was glad to hear Prof. Cook en- dorse the position I took so many years ago, that a pound of sugar would go further than a pound of honey, for wintering bees, and is at the same time much more wholesome. Reversible frames are destined to become largely used the coming season. A very practicable device is given in another col- umn, and we will try to give engravings of it in our next issue. WIDTH OF SECTIONS. There seems to be a pretty general agree- ment, that where we wish to dispense witii separators, the sections should be narrower than where separators are used. A width of section so that seven placed side by side will measure a foot across seems t() have given good results. SIZE OK SI<:CTIONS. The tendency was very strongly in favor of the one-pound sections, 4i x -ii. the size I decided upon ycais ago. so that eight woidd go inside -tombs from the top of tlie brood-frames to the honey-boaid. We all know this, and some of us to our s(>rrow. Well, a great many assured me, and Prof. Cook among tlie nunilier, tliat alter having tilled the first bee-spiice with bits of comb the bees seem satislied. and did not i)ut any comb and bits of wax between the top of the honey-board and the sections ])laced in a case right over the honey-board. In fact, a case of sections so arranged can be lifted off at any time for tiering up, sending to market, or any other puipose. Our one-armed friend. J. II. Robertson, assured me this was the case, and that it was a great convenience with him, for it enabled him to take off the cases with one hand. HOAV TO 3IAKE A HONEY-UOAKD. President Hutchinson here spoke of hav- ing a honey-board made so that the spaces in it corresponded to those used in the perfor- ated zinc, for keeping the queen and drones below. ^Vooden bars placed at proper dis- tances apart would not be practicable, be- cause the spaces could not be made sufficient- ly exact in this way, and the shrinkage of the boards would be constantly liable to make a variation in these spaces. Friend II. has, however, already suggested a remedy for this. In talking with Mr. R. L. Taylor, who passed the night at Prof. Cook's, with the rest of us, he informed me that he sug- gested the idea to friend 11., who has suc- ceeded perfectly in making a wooden honey- board with correct bee-spaces. Within a few days friend II. has sent us a honey-board by exi)ress. having bee-spaces made "with a cir- cular saw. which we furnished him, of the proper tiiickness. The adjoining cut gives the plan of the Ilutchinsonhon- ey-board. though it is sjiaced a lit- llc more accur- ately than he had ii. "The engrav- ing makes the wiiole matter I'lain, with but little explana- tion. For econ- omy we make the honey - board of two " pieces of wood, the pieces being united attlieirends by a cleat extending across both of them. These cleats, in order to give; the proper i)ee- space. are exactly I inch square. The boards forming the honey-board are perforated by dropi)ing tliein over a gang of four circula'r saw s propeily spaced. The size is, of course, so made as to (ill the top of the hive. Those we keep in stock are just right for the Sim- l)Iicity or chalf hive. We can furnish them for b") cts. each ; Sl.;>j for ten, or .SI 2.50 per 100. These prices are for the boards nailed up. In the Hat tliey will be 81.2.5 for ten, or 811.00 per 100. A sample can be sent by mail for 12 cts. more for postage. In working for extracted honey. I do not think I would use these honey-boards be- tween the upper and lower stories. If you prefer to have the frames in the uiti)er story contain nothing but honey, however, one of tlu'se lioiu'y-boaids will acconq)lish it per- fectly ; and" another thing, it also al)solutely prevents tlie bees from building l»etween the upi»er and lowei' frames; at least, the con- vention people intimated as much ; that is, if we have a s-inch space above and below the honey-board, the honey-board will likely be waxed down solid to the tops of the lower frames, but the upper frames will hang so as to be lifted out any time, without any at- tachments to tlie honey-board, any more than we have to the bottom-board of the hive. Continned next month. .48 GLEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE. Jan. HOW DR. LOOPE SUCCEEDED IN BEE- KEEPING. EVEN IF HE DID GO AND BUY A GUEAT LOT IN THE OUTSET TO START WITH. AM, as you will presently see, a beginner in bee culture. I am not much given to troubling |t editors with mj' notions, so that you need not fear very frequent intlictions on your time and patience. Still, I belong to that rapidly in- creasing class called bee-keepers; and as you seem to wish reports, whether good or bad, I will send you mine. I bought 50 swarms of bees in the spring of 1883, without previous knowledge or e.xperience in the methods or devices pertaining to bee culture. However, I hired a lady who had some experience, and took counsel of others who were iu the busi- ness, in the meantime subscribing for Gleanings, and reading Quinby and other works. I got about 2000 lbs. of corab honey, and increased to 90, as a re- sult of that year's work. Tn the fall I bought .50 swarms more, and came out in the spring of 1884 with 110 colonies, S.5 of which were mere nuclei, from bad wintering. The reason of such loss was, that the rats got into the cellar where my bees were; and before I found it out they wore r.inning riot among the hives, tearing off honey-boards, and gnawing the frames almost in two, to get at the honey. Of course this constant irritation produced dysenterj', with consequent weakening and death. Of the 75 swarms not mere nuclei, there were not many that were strong; but the spiing was quite favorable; and by June 10th I had them booming with my nuclei coming along in good shape. I de pended on hired help to do most of the worlc, being myself busy in my profession; but I was fortunate in securing a man who could "catch on," and was steady and faithful. The season in our locality was quite favorable, and it closed by giving me 8000 lbs. of choice white honey, basswood and clover, besides a considerable amount of unfinished sections and dark honey, probably aggregating 500 lbs., which will come very handy next spring. I increased to 180 swarms, which I am wintering in cellars. 1 have also bought 10.1 swarms this fall; and if they winter well I shall have something to do next summer, if the season is favorable. Now, this may appear somewhat hap-hazard to you, but I assure you that I was not idle all the time, in looking up and attending to details, which are as essential in this as in other kinds of business. So far my bees are not in debt to me; and should a sweeping loss come, it would not leave me worse than when I started. T am much indebted to Gleanings for manj- practical hints which I acted on, and to which I largely attribute my success, if it may so be termed. T. E. Looi'e, M. D. Eureka, Wis., Jan. 6, 18X5. I am very ffhul indeed to get ytnir report, doctor ; but for all that, I think it a hazard- ous undertaking to start out in the way you did. Now I shall offer as a reason for your doing so well, that, in the first place, you are a doctor, and are presumed to be tolera- bly smart, with the advantage of a " physic education," as the old lady said ; and on"top of it all, I am sure you had two pretty favor- able seasons. Wisconsin has been a little above the average during the year 1884, even though some of the brethren do say, " Tain't so." I am glad that you had good luck in getting hired help. Do you know, doctor, that speaks well for you "as well as for the help ? One who tinds good efficient people right around him is generally a good and ef- ficient man himself. You" say you were around attending to details considerable of the time, and the way it has turned out shows tliat you were. Attention to little details is oftentimes Avhat makes the result a success or a failure. THE PURPLE FIREWEED, OR EPILO- BIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM. also CALLED WILLO W-HEK B. N answer to our editorial in the January , No., asking for seeds of the above plant, r we have received a small package of the heads of the plants, with the well-known thistledown blooms accompanying the seeds. ^Vhether the seed will growor not, I do not know ; but we have given it a place in the greenhouse, and are watching anxiously. The letter below, from the friend who fur- nished the seeds, will give some light on the subject. As it is well known that fire- weeds grow best where brush-heaps have been burned, our mailing - clerk asked if it would be necessary to burn down our greenhouse, in order to make the plants thrive. Our friend Lettie replies in the same strain. Editor Ofea»i?iys;— Brother smiled a little when T bade him go forth and seek the seeds of the EpUo- hium angustifoUum, but he went nevertheless, and as a result of his search I send you a little package by this mail. If it should prove to contain a few seeds that will grow, I shall be very glad; but it is my belief that dame Nature scattered all her fully ripened seeds last fall. I have no doubt the plant will take kindly to cultivation; but I should not expect it to thrive by scattering the seeds broadcast along the highways and in wr.ste places. Hardier plants -grass and clover, and berry-bushes —easily crowd it out of the way. Of all places, it grows best in newly burned ground, so by all means "burn out the greenhouse; " for if there are any perfect seeds among these I send I should like them to have every advantage. The common name, as given in Gray's Botany, and also in Wood's, is willow-herb. But it is often called fireweed— not unfrequently so in the bee journals, I believe. This is misleading, those not acquainted with the plant being in danger of con- founding it with the true Qrewcod —Krcihthitcj< hii^raci folia, a plant which blossoms later in the sea- son, and yields honey of decidedly inferior (juality. The willow-herb and the (iaimi Inrntiis belong to the same order (0»(af//'accrt'), though not to the same genus. They are not sisteis, but "cousins." You must let me know if the seeds sent do not germinate, and another season they shall be gath- ered earlier. Lettie A. Wilkins. — , Mich., Jan. 7, 18S.5. The two plants, although belonging to the same order, are so unlike iu appearance, one would hardly be likely to call them even "• cousins," if it were not for the botanies. I have never seen the willow-herb growing ; 1885 GLEAN1NC;S i^ liEE CULTUKE, 49 but if it bears honey any thing like the gaura. it will indeed be an acquisition. AVe are going to have a plat of them down ontlie rich creek-bottom land, if we can get the plants to growing nicely in the greenhouse. Now, if any other brothers or sisleis can furnish seeds of eilher we shall be glad to liear from them. FROM 87 TO 1:J7, AND 8000 LBS. OF HONEY. SEND j'ou my report for 1884, this being- my first Sanson in tiie business. I procured i'S colonies of black bees during- the summer of 1884, and 44 colonies last January, all in box hives. I lost one colony in wintering; transferred 12 in February to Simplicity hives, and had to run the rest in box hives. About 100 swarms came out. I crowded them into .% hives. I saved every swarm that came out. I have 2 Italian and 4 hybrid colo- nies. I got about 3 tons of extracted honey, and one ton of comb honey in 2-lb. sections. I have it nearly all sold; got 10 cts. for extracted, and 12': for comb honey. I have 127 colonies now. All of them have plenty of stores for winter, though a few are weak in bees. They are starved-out swarms that came to my apiar/ this fall. Bees commenced swarming about the 20th of March. The honey-How commenced the 1st of May, and was over the 1st of June. We did not get any summer or fall crop, on account of the dry weather. My best hive made 240 lbs. of extracted honey. Some of my box hives made 125 lbs., about half comb. I did not have much comb foundation this season. 11 1 could have had plenty of foundation and hives, my reitort would have been better. Most of the honey I got was g-athered from cat claw, and is rcrj/ white and fine flavored. 1 don't think it can be cxcelloil. We have some fine honey-plants here; most of them are not mentioned in any bee literature I have read. D. M. EnWAitiJS, 86—127. Uvalde, Texas, Dec. 11, 1884. FItOM 17 TO 47, AND 2500 LBS. OF IIONF.V. I herewith send my report lor 1884. The 2t!th of April I took 45 colonies from the cellar (having lost two in the cellar). Aboiit 25 were heavy, find I he rest light. The ])rospect at that time was bright; but cold, wet, unfavorable weather tlicn coming- on, they began to dwindle; and in spite of all I could do, the middle of June found me with only 17 good colonies and 8 light ones. At that time they began to gain, although I did not get a new swarm until the 20th of July ; and about that time the fun com- menced. The 3d of August, three swarms came out. The 16th of August, the last (an after swarm) issued. I then had 47 all told. From the middle of July until the middle of August I took off 51 lbs. daily, Snnda>s excepted; and when a day was missed I would take oH' 100 lbs. next day. Not a heavy yield, perhaps, but a good even one. The honey was all choice— white and alsiUe clover, wild raspberry, and flreweed. I took the first premium at the North Aroostook and the Maine State Fairs on comb honey. The three swarms that came off the 3d of August I put on to wired fdn.. with side boxes,andahalf-stoi-y on top, containing 28 1-lb. sec- tions. In just two weeks each swarm had filled its hive and the 44 one-pound sections. The second swarm, hived the I6th of .August, filled 7 frames. KASPBERRIES BY THE HUNDRED TONS. The wild raspberry is a fine honey-plant, and is quite plentiful here. Last year the traders began to buy raspberries for the Boston market. At three of our villages they bought and shipped 94 tons. At the same villages this year they bought over 100 tons, and probably Avhere one ton was picked, ten j rotted on the ground. I As the result of my little apiary this year I got nearly 2500 1-lb sections filled; 600 lbs. of extracted honey, and most of my hives (the Simplicity) have ; now ten frames each. Had I not been very busy, T ' should have taken out spare combs, and extracted I 50O or 6,;0 lbs. more. When the prospect looks the bi-ightest, we often fail of getting honey; aud when , it looks dark, a favorable turn of the weather will give us a good crop of surplus honey. It seems that a bee-keeper should always be prepared. This 1 has been my experience. E. Tarr. Castle Hill, Maine, Dec. 22, 1884. FROM 37 TO 60, AND 800 LBS. OF HONEY. I commenced with 37 colonies; have sold bees and queens enough, perhaps, to pay for the care of them during the summer. I now have 60 (several are nuclei); have taken about 800 lbs. of honey, 400 lbs. comb, and 400 extracted, comb is ready sale at 12i4 cts. per lb.: extracted, 10 cts. per lb. I used a few of the Mb. section boxes as directed in A B C book, and am much pleased with the result. My bees worked in them readily. Queens never troubled the boxes. Owing to the short crop of honey the past season I got only about 1(X) well- fllled sections, but they were very nice. The queen which I bought of you last fall did me good service during the summer, and is all right yet. You wish to know how the dies (which I bought of D. S. Giv- en) answered for making fdn. By pressing half sheets 1 could make good fdn., but could not press whole ones, for want of power. The bees accept it, and draw it out readily. I am now of the opinion that it would have been cheaper to have bought foundation, all things considered. My report is not so encouraging as some I see in Gleanings; but, please do not put nic in Blast- ed Hopes yet, for I am not discouraged; I have just planted my vines for a grapevine apiary. W. D. Tharp. Williamsburgh, N. C, Dec. 25, 1884. PRETTY WELL DONE FOR AN A B C SCHOLAR. As Others are sending in their reports for the past season, I thought 1 would send in mine. My report for 1883 was very discouraging, but I was not ready for Blasted Hopes. I cherished a faint hope that I would have better success this year, ^ and I have not been disappointed. I commenced the season with 15 colonies— 9 strong and 6 weak. Fed about 75 lbs. of sugar. The spring was very wet aud cold up to about the middle of May; just honey enough for brood-rearing. I increased to 30 colonics, but lost two from moths, and three by robbing, and doubled up two, leaving me 24 colonies. ; Found a tree in the woods; saved the bees nicely, thus making 25, all in good condition for winter. I Now for the cash profits. I ran for extracted hon- j ey alone, taking 1700 lbs. of honey. Sold $116.00 worth at from 10 to 12' |. cts. i)er lb., and stored away between 450 and .50.) lbs. for home use. I am not good authority in such mattei-s; but I think I have done very well for an A B C scholar. I also made a regular hand on the farm, and with the .50 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. help of my boys, made 750 bushels of corn, 18 tons of fine millet haj-, and 10 bales of cotton, and five tons of cotton seed. Since readine un- derstood relatively also; and now when I compare the present price of honey with the necessaries of life, I find the argument strongly in favor of honey. Now, the real question of supply and demand does not govern the honey cpiestion at all. Producers of honey are not salesmen, and consequently have no real knowledge of the best ways and means of dis- posing of their goods. Instead of makimj a market for their surplus honey, and disposing of it in that market, they all rush it into some large city, and, of course, overstock that market at once. Compare for a moment the crop of honey of the last ten years with the number of people in this great coun- try, and how much per capita will it show up? There are thousands and thousands of people who would gladly buy honey, if they could do so near their homes, who never see an ounce from one year's end to another. So I say again, this genera- tion has no reason to worry itself about the matter of overproduction of honey, or overstocking the country with bees; and further, the crop of honey as compared with the necessaries of life commands as good a price now as it did years ago; and the price obtained for it might be largely increased if the bee-keepers would market their goods them- selves, and not ship it all to the same central point, and leave the disposing of it to the tender mercies of the commission houses. .1. K. Pond, .Jr. Foxboro, Mass., Dec. :J1, 1884. EMPTY COMBS AND COMB HONEY. SECTIONS FILLED WITH FDN., AND EMPTY FRAMES BELOW THEM, FOR NEW SWARMS. fRIEND W. Z. Hutchinson's article on page 803 of Gleanings for 1884, upon "foundation and comb honey," was read by me with great in- terest; for it touched upon some points of vi- tal importance to the bee-keeping fraternity. While in the main I consider his conclusions cor- rect, yet I think some of them need a little explan- ation before the apiarists of the United States will in- dorse all that he says; and the object of this article Will be to throw more light on the interesting sub- ject of comb-building, and to tell why friend H. did not succeed in securing a good yield of comb honey from those swarms which were hived on empty combs. In order to have w-hat I wish to say more fully understood, I will begin at the close of friend H.'s article, and explain it toward the beginning. Thus we have first, "When the young queens began laying in the old colony, they shunned the frames of drone-comb, even if they nerc in the center of the hive." Here we have an assertion, with no reason given to support it; and so I ask, "Why was this so?" Because, when an old colony gets a young laying queen, instinct teaches them that they may expect this queen to meet all their re- quirements of a mother-bee for the i"est of the sea- son ; while di-ones are necessary only when a change of mothers is contemplated by the bees. Hence no eggs are deposited in drone-comb, and no drone- comb built by such a colony, unless such comb is built for store comb where honey is coming in rap- idly. Taking advantage of this fact or explanation, I manage to get one or two nice perfect worker- combs built for future use while the bees are at woi-k vigorously in the sections, by taking one or two full combs out of the center of the brood-nest, and inserting empty frames in their places. These frames are filled, api)arently, without the cost of any section honey, while it gives that energy to the colony which friend Root speaks of, as always ac- companying a colony which are building natural comb. In this way a part of the combs which I use are built, which combs are given in preceding years to newly hived colonies, as will be explained fur- ther along. I also place on such colonies having young queens, all sections (if I have such) contain- ing drone-comb, where they are filled without dan- ger of drone-brood in them, while much drone- brood in sections often confronts the apiarist, if such sections are used over prime swarms. Befoi-e I used this plan, and previous to the advent of thin foundation for sections, I was often vexed upon finding the sections placed upon prime swarms, nearly half filled with drone-brood. In the above I havegi\en how I get nice worker-combs built with- out cost, and also how to keep brood out of sections, which is done by using all sections containing drone-comb over an old colony having a young lay- ing queen, and having only sections of worker-comb over all colonies having a queen a jear or more old. The next point I wish to notice is where friend H. says, "With me, newly hived swarms having lay- ing queens do not build drone-comb." Here we have another assertion (without reason given tell- ing why) which is contrary to the experience of nearly every person who ever hived a swarm of bees. Only the past season I have seen, in neigh- boring apiaries, hives filled nearly half full of drone-comb when laying queens went out and were hived with new swarms, and why they did not do so with friend H. was simply because his bees were managed differently, and upon a more correct prin- ciple. The colonies above alluded to were hived in a hive containing \'i Gallup frames, with no surplus arrangement put on until a week after hiving, so that it w as necessary that the bees do all their work in the bodj' of the hive. All observing apiarists know that, as the day of swarming draws near, the queen ceases her pi-oliflcness, so as to be able to fly and go with the swarm, so that, when swarming does occur, said queen is scarcely larger than a vir- gin queen. Nature has so ordained things for two reasons; the first of which is, that the queen can fly; and the second is, that the queen need not be damaged by an over-accumulation of eggs before there is time for the bees to construct comb in the new home for her to deposit her eggs in; thus we find that all good queens do not get get fully prolific again until about a week has elapsed after the new 52 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. colony has arrived at its new location. During this week, comb has been built very rapidly, especially if honey is coming- in plentifully from the fields, ■while the queen has not been able to keep up with the workers; the result of which is, that the bees commence to build store comb, which is always of the drone size of cells. This comb is mainlj' filled with honey the first season (although in some cases some drone-brood is found in them, especially if the bees feel disposed to supersede the queen or the honey-flow slacken somewhat), whilethe main troub- le comes in having- this store comb filled with drones after the bees have consumed the honey out of it the next spring. In the above I have given the "why" bees build drone-comb for the majority of bee-keepers, and now why do they not do so for H.? Simply because he put those sections filled with comb foundation on the hives at the time of hiving the swarm. This gave the baes plenty of room above for store room, so that only comb of the worker size was built below, and that only as fast as the prolificness of the queen demanded it. As her abil- ity for laying increased, more comb was built, till at the end of the season friend H. had his hive filled with nice worker-comb and lots of section honey. Hence it all came from putting on those sections at once instead of waiting, as othei-s do, thus securing three things, lots of section honey, no drone-comb, and a hive full of nice straight worker-comb, the latter costing almost nothing. Friend Root seems to attribute the success to the Heddon arrange- ment; but I think that has little if any thing to do with it, as I have used the plan successfully for years, and gave it once or twice several years ago in the bee-papers. Well, I have already wi'itten enough for an arti- cle, and have not yet reached the main point in H.'s article I set out for; so, with the permission of the editor, I will saj', concluded in ne.\t number. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Jan. 1, 188.5. By all means, friend D., gW-e ns the re- mainder of this interesting subject. It is just now one of the greatest importance to all concerned in the production of comb honey. FRIEND DYKE'S BEE-FEEDER, AND SOME OTHER MATTERS. INTRODUCING QUEENS, UNITING NUCLEI, BEE- STINGS, ETC. «S I have not had a hearing in Gleanings since the great flood of Feb., 1884, 1 again ofl'er a " few remarks." I notice in last Gle.\nings, that friend Heddon describes a new feeder. Now, I was very much sur- prised to see how much it is like a feeder I got up and used last fall for the first time, and also pleased to find that urcat minds run in parallel channels. The ditterence between my feeder and Mr. Heddon's Is, first, mine is to be set inside the ui)per story on the frames; 2, The bees come up at one end instead of on the side; and thirdly, the feeder is covered with a loose wire-cloth top. The construction of the feeder is as follows: I first made a bo.\- 12 by IG inches inside, .I inches deep, with a partition one Inch from one end open at bottom for passageway for bees. I used stuff !4 inch thick. This bo.v was thoroughly smeared with wax inside, to avoid leakage. In the partition, and opposite end, verti- cal slots were cut, % inch apart from center to cen- ter, ig inch wide, to slip thin boards in, similar to his feeder, which gives the bees feeding-ground, as it were. Those thin boards were ih inches wide, and were prevented from going to the bottom of the feeder by a 5-16-square strip, long enoug-h to reach across each end of feeder. The partition came within ^i in. of top of feeder. For the cover I made a wooden rim of strips, 1 by '^i inch, just large enough to fit over outside of feeder; upon this I tacked a wire-cloth top, so by placing it on feeder it was all closed up, except opening at bottom. Now to use this feeder I simply turned one corner of mat back far enough to make an opening corres- ponding with the hole in bottom of feeder. Press the mat down flat so it will stay, then set the feeder down close up to the corner of hive, so that the openings will be together. Now all j-ou have to do is to pour in the feed right through the wire-cloth cover. It will run through without any trouble. The next time you want to fill it you can take out every bee, if j'ou are afraid of drowning them; but I always pour the feed in, and the bees soon came up and went into the hive, not seeming to be in- jured by their impromptu bath. I examined a feed- er which I used all last fall, and there were not half a dozen dead bees in it, and it never leaked a drop. I do not want to appear presumptuous, but I be- lieve I like my feeder better than Mr. Heddon's, as I fear that there would be too many chances for robbing, unless those covers were fitted nicely; and even after we are careful to have such things to fit well, the sun and rain play havoc with our calcula- tions. The feeder which I have described holds about I'i gallons of syrup, which is generally enough for one colony, unless they are unusually destitute. To any one inquiring about the manu- facture of this feeder, I would say that I will adver- tise them when I am ready to furnish them. UNITING nuclei. I read with much interest friend Doolittle's meth- od of uniting nuclei. As you,r readers are doubt- less aware, 1 raised many queens last year, and con- sequently had quite a number of nuclei to unite in the fall. I remember in one case I made one colo- ny of 6 nuclei. I took the queen I wished to keep, put her in a cage, and removed all others. I then took a chaft' hive and put in one frame from each nucleus, taking only such as had the most honey (there was not much brood). I then filled the re- maining space with four of my best frames, after which I brushed all the remaining bees from the frames and inside of nucleus hives into the top story of hive. After smoking them down and cov- ering with mat, they were smoked at the entrance, and a strip of wire cloth tacked over the same. This was done just at evening. They were given plenty of ventilation, and left until about four o'clock next evening, when they were liberated, after which all went well, and not a bee seemed to want to go back to its old stand. Some of my now best colonies were thus treated. I forgot to say that the queen was placed in an introducing-cage, and the bees allowcl to let her out at their leisure. This brings me to another topic; namelj-,— INTRODUCING QUEENS. Some months ago friend Doolittle gave us an arti- cle on this subject, and I remember that many of his ideas were good; and especially one which was, to liberate the queen just at night, by means of a l88o GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. m string attached to the lid of the cage. I have been advertising an introducing-cage during the past j-ear through Gleanings, which, I think, carries out this point of Mr. Doolittle's, in a special man- ner; and the means of accomplishing the result are under the control of the bees themselves. It has been my experience thus far, that a queen is very seldom, or ricuer, lost if liberated during the night, if they have had sufficient time to become acquainted before being liberated. T do not undei-take to ex- plain this peculiarity; but I have noticed that, when different swarms of bees are united just at night- fall, they are much more peaceable, and less apt to tight. When we become convinced of any such dis- position on the part of our pets which we can use to our advantage as well as theirs, we should be quick to avail ourselves of it, and not stand back and pooh-pooh at it as a notion. BEE-STINGS. Much has been said of late regarding severe bee- stings. I had a slight experience that has taught me one lesson at least, which is, to have a bee-veil handy when working with especially cross bees. I bought two colonies of bees last spring in American hives— one Italian and the other hybrid. Well, as I use the Langstroth hive exclusively, they must be transferred, as a matter of course. So one after- noon in May, during fruit-bloom, I proceeded. I left the hive on its stand, and topk out the frames one by one, and carried them two or three rods to the new hive, where T shook off the bees and trans- ferred the combs. I had gotten about half way through the first (or hybrid) swarm, when in lifting a frame from the middle of the old hive, the bees with one accord raised and covered my face, head, and arms, stinging me most severely. My wife had the smoker, anfi 1 called her to smoke them oTf me as I held the frame in my hands, and was wholly at their mercy. She somewhat timidly came up and helped me a little, but I had to put down the frame as soon as I got to the new hive with it, and ilefend myself as best I could. I finally subdued them, and finished transferring. There was but one sting in all 1 received (which were many) that gave me any trouble, and that was a sting on the upper lid of my left eye. It swelh-d somewhat that niglit, but did no special harm until about 10 o'clock the next forenoon, when it commen('ed Itotliering me, and I thought there was something in my eye, and tried to rub it out ; but my rubbing caused it to com- mence inflaming to a rapid degree, and it was but a few minutes before I was obliged to ijuit my work and walk half a mile home, which I did under the greatest diflieulty, aS my eye was so in- flamed that I was almost blind (my right eye has been useless since I was fifteen years of age). All I could get to help me was to lie down and apply cloths wet in cold water, changing them often. It was more than two weeks before I could do much work, as the Inflammation nuide my eye very weak, and it was quite a while before 1 got rid of a kind of blur before my vision. I supi)osed, at first, tliat the sting had worked clear through the mcmbi-ane of the lid, and I had a doctor to examine it, but he claimed that such was not the case, and that it would be impossible for such a thing to happen. Be that as it may, I have had my fill of that kind of stinging, and I advise people who have weak eyes, or only one, to use a veil, as you can not tell when you may get a sting that may lay you up for weeks. Poraeroy, O., Dec. 30, 1884. S. A. Dyke. I would suggest, friend D., that the rea- son why uniting and introducing are better done at nightfall is, that all annojance from robbers is effectually cut off until the bees can have time to" settle down quietly. Through the daytime, sentinels are obliged to keep a lookout for robbers, strangers, or intruders ; and at such time a strauge queen j or strange bees would come under the head ' of intruders ; whereas, after bees have stop- 1 ped flying, no guard needs to be kept at the entrance, and- tlie bees, as it were, are not j on the defensive, as they are during the day- time. PURE GEKMAN CAKP. A FISH 3.5 INCHES LONG, AND WEIGHING U l.BS., A.MEKICAN R.4ISED. fRIEND ROOT:— As the carp is almost the ab- sorbing question at this time, and seeing that you and a great many others are interested in their cultui-e, I will give you my experience. In reading the Amrricftn Ayricultiirigt, of Jan., 1880, I found a description of the carp as given by Prof. Baird, U. S. Fish Commissioner at Washing- ton, D. C, whereupon I made application, and in due time secured 20, averaging about 4 inches long, of the three varieties; viz., leather, mirror, and scale carp. This was in the fall of 1880, which will make my largest carp about five years old this spring. Now, you se«' I received them from the first general distribution made by the government, through Professor Haird; and if there are anj pure German carp distributed by him, 1 have them. My largest carp is about '.Vt inches long, and weighs about 14 lbs., and I have from that size down to 3 inches. This large one 1 speak of is a '• Mirror," and has scales larger than a 2.j-eent piece. My pond is the first one built in this section of the country, about 70 feet wide and 140 feet long; when full, about 7 feet of water at deepest point. It is built on the south-east side of a considerable slope, lying fair to the sun, which I tliink very essential to botli hatching and growth. I have it arranged so that all the surface water passes around the ]iond. Von si)oke in the Dec. No. of (ii-EANiNOS in refei- ence to instructions on pond-building and carp cul- ture, for sale at one dollar. I will say to all, that on receipt of a stamp I will give all instructions need- ful, free of charge. an lbs., 1,500,00 1. They spawn from May to September. Their diet is largely vegetable; they are not carnivorous, and should not be in ponds with other kinds of fish. They will live in water where all other fish will perish; for instance, in pools, tanks, bog meadows or sloughs, as well as in lakes, rivers, or streams. They go down in the winter, and "kettle" in squads of from .50 to 100, ' and stay in a tor|)id state without food until warm weather approaches. Their growth is very rapid, making from 1 to 3 II s. in one summer. That depends on condition of wa- i ter, and the amount of feed. They will eat almost i any thing. I have fed raw corn, cabbage, corn 54 GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTURE. JaK. meal, cooked sweet and Irish potatoes, bread, meat, —in fact, all refuse of the table. Last summer T bought stale crackers, and fed my young- carp, and found it a good investment. All ponds want to be kept opened in winter, in order to give the flsh air. My friend Mr. Walker, of this place, lost all his carp, save twelve, by his pond freezing over last winter. I am often asked, " Will they bite a hook? " I think, friend R., if you had seen me throwing them out hist summer you would have thought so. It's the finest sport in the world, no mistake. It is the cheapest and best meat grown. W. S. K.\i.er. Andersonville, Ind., Dec. 2.5, 1884. Friend K.. you have given us some very valuable facts indeed ; but tlie most impor- tant to me just now is, liow many fish do you keep in a pond of tlie dimensions you give ? Not many, a yard long (or pretty near- ly that), I should say. Where land is valua- ble, it is a question as to how large the ponds need to be. Yours is not very much larger than our own : but I am told that 100 five- pound fishes woidd overstock our pond. Perhaps abundant feeding would remedy this. Can you tell us about it V In regard to directions for constructing ponds, instead of mailing them singly to all who are inter- ested, why not let us^ have the matter and have it published V I will pay you for it ; and if there is not room enough in (iLean- IXGS, we will add some additional pages. MY FIRST REPORT. SOMETHING FRO.M A CALIFORNIA ABC SCHOLAR. §TARTED in last springwith one swarm that we had had for two years, and never got any thing from. I didn't know any thing about bees, so I lost a lot of honey, I'm sure. Well, when the bees began to swarm 1 began to get interested. Though not knowing how important it was to have them in movable-frame hives, I put the first nine swarms in box hives, which I haven't got a thing from, except some more swarms. After this we got seven more swarms, one of which we bought, and put all these into good frame hives. From the seven last swarms (some of which came out as late as August) I got 90 lbs. of comb and 230 lbs. of extracted honey, and 3 of wax, which I think is a pretty good show for such late swarms. Now, how much would I have got from the eight early swarms and the old stand, if I luul init them all in good frame hives? There is a great deal of comb honey yet in the nine box hives, but I am waiting till I transfer them, to take it out. They are all "plum full," and some of them are very large boxes. I am waiting till fruit-bloom begins, to transfer them, and then 1 sup- pose I shall have a practical lesson on the folly of putting swarms into box hives, by the trouble they will give me. About five of the swarms we got were traveling across the country, and were at- tracted to our bees, and settled near them, and we caught them. Runaway swarms have to travel a long way across the country hero before they find a resting-place, as there are no woods or hollow trees for them to get into, so they just have to go till they get into some crack in the roof of a house, or some one hives them. We have two such swarms in our house, where we can't get at them. They were too sharp for us, and got into the cracks before we could hive them. Now, if my report is too long, just cut it short here and there. I am an A B C for the last G months only. Alfred W. Hind. Anaheim, Cal. Why, friend IL. how many swarms did you get from that first one you started with, pray tellV Your letter reads as if you built up that big apiary from that one colony in the spring. Yor say further along, howevei'. about five of those swarms Avere traveling swarms. May be that accounts for it. You do not tell us. either, how many you have now, but 1 should think California must be a pretty big place to keep bees. -^A "^ ^ HOW A DISABLED SOLDIER SUCCEEDS IN BEE-KEEPING. A HOME .MADE FOOT-POWER .SAW. HIS has been the hardest season on bees and Irl^r bee-keepers for many years. Great num- bers of colonies are starving to death now, simply because their owners were too care- less or too stingy to give them the food that they could not get for themselves. I had the care of about 20 colonies. Some belonged to my neigh- bor. I transferred the most of them during fruit- bloom, and from the 20 colonies, not a single swarm issued. I took no precautions whatever to prevent swarming, only giving room in surplus department, while about all of my neighbors who use the old box hives got from one to four swarms to the colony; but I think it my turn to smile as their little colo- nies are now swarming out, and starving, while my hives are full of bees and honey, and in good trim for a long winter sleep. I was not able to buy an extractor, consequently got but little honey; a few colonies give .50 lbs. in 1- Ib. sections, while others, apparently just as strong, gave no surplus at all. Now, I suppose I am mak- ing a contribution to your waste-basket; but I will have my letter so large that it will not slip through the "holes in the basket" that I was reading about in "hints " in Gleanings to-day. I have finally got my foot-power saw completed. I ordered the saws, mandrel, belt, and files from your house; they all give splendid satisfaction, ex- cept the belt; it was too good, and I took it to the harness-maker and had it trimmed down about one- half, and now it is all right. I should like to tell you how I operate my machine with two blocks of wood and two straps, and get up a I'ate of speed that makes my neighbors almost fear to come in the shop; but you, 1 fear, would think I was exaggerat- ing. I commenced early New Year's morning, full bent on making a Simplicity hive, as per instruc- tions in the ABC, and I succeeded admii-ably until I came to take ott the strip that goes under the cover, then I found that my6-inch saw set close to a2- inch pulley would cut only a little over I'i inches deep; but in order to get my hive made, I sized the lumber to IP.i inches which worked all riglit, only it leaves the lid '.i inch shallower than it should be. I believe that, (>ven with my disabled limbs, I can cut out two complete 2-story hives in a day, and that, in comparison to last season's slow work by hand, and the assurance that every hive I can pos- sibly make is just as good as the cash, is very cheering indeed to a poor and disabled soldier, and I shall always feel indebted to you, friend Root, for the good and practical instructions I have gained from your writings. A. B. Herman. Burnettville, Ind., Jan. 3, 1885. He that is faithful in that which Is least, is faithful also in much— LUKB 1«:10. MYSELF AND MY NEIGHBORS. ' Well dono, thou fiood iind I'aitliful servant.— Matt. 25:^1. ^ WANT to repeat a little sketch I saw in the >Snnd((!i-Scho<>l TiiiKs. A little boy was doing "something tiiat he ought not to do. As he was only two and a halt' years old. he could not be expected to know very well what was proper and what was not proper. And besides, boys of that , age are not always as obedient as we should I expect them to be when a little older. His ' father stopped him by saying, '^ No. my son, you must not do that." It happened to be something, however, which tlie boy very much wanted to do, and for a whih; he seemed to (piestion wliat the conseciuences would be if he did not mind. Finally his better self triumphed, and he replied, "All right papa, I won't do it any more." I pre- sume most of us would think that was all there was to be said al)out it. and so the father thought; but the boy evidently had different ideas ; for pretty soon he spoke out, " Pa, why didn't you tell me, ' That s a good boy 'V" Now, my friends, was not the boy right about itV When he had controlled the wrong impulse, and had triumphed overiiiclinatioii. rulhig his own spirit, as it were, would it not have been a wise thing for the fatlier to liave given him a little coauuendatiou':' Would it not have been well, in fact, iiad the father watched the boy's face, that he might know the conllict going on within? What father or mother can not read their own child's thoughts, if they watch the face and the actions? A little word of approval clinches the nail, as it were, and strengthens the child's piirpo.se to do good instead of evil. It is not only among children and grown-up people that we notice this, but it seems as if the rule held good all through animated creation. My earliest recollections are coiuiected with the business my father followed at the time. lie used to carry the stoneware manufactured in our native town to distant towns around. For the purpose he had a large heavy wagon with a high top box. and two great stout horses; and in pleasant weather a smaller wagon with one liorse followed behind, with my brother for a driver. When I became old enough I was allowed to take a trip or two ; and. wasn't I proud, though, when intrusted with a whole wagonload of valuable property, and in- structed in the mysteries of driving, so as to avoid rough places in the road, that my car- go might not be cracked and broken when it arrived at the destination? Well, when we came to long hard hills, father told me to let my wagon stand, and come with him and he would show me how. As the load was heavy, the horses were allowed a breathing- si)ell one or more times on the way up. Be- fore we started iii) the hill he selected a suit- able cliuiik of wood with which to block the wheels, which block he held in his hand as lie walked along (ui foot. Uefore he started he patted the horses on their necks, and they glanced at the big hill, and seemed to take in what was to be done. When he gave the word, up they Avent with a will ; but when the breathing became pretty hard, 1 he would slack Ihem up a little, and let the GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. wagon back against the block, until they had recoverert their breath, and then on thev went. Now. tlie point is here : After having pulled well, he always patted them, rubbed their noses, and tnld them they were I good fellows. Sonu'tinies tliey seemed so well pleased at this little praise that they would hardly wait until they were suthcdent- Iv rested, seeming anxious to get at it again, and sliow him how stout they were, and how well they could do. Faithful old Jake and Doll I Their tasks have been linished. and tliey are doubtless gone the way of all horses : but" I remember vividly how inuch they ap- preciated a good word : and I know, too, how sullen and unhappy they looked when thev were scolded. They did not often get scolded when at their regular business of drawing stoneware ; but sometimes when they were called upon to plow the garden, or something like that, when they either did not understand or acted awkward. Did you ever know^ anyljody who got out of patience plowing a small garden? Now, bovs and girls, men and women, is it not possible that your horses are himgry for a kind word or a word of praiseV Wheii yonr cliild or brother or sister has striven nobly against temptation, have you always been ready with the very important '" That's a good boy ''V or, " I thank you ''V or what- ever little praise would be tit under the cir- cumstances':* We complain when things are poorly done ; l)Tit. do we make use of that other powerful lever in encouraging good re- solves and good intentions — a kind and en- couraging word? The baby of the house- liold generally gets praises enough. I have sometimes thought it was almost as neces- sary to their growth and development as the milk they drink ; and if kind words that spring from loving hearts are good for the babies and the horses, are they not good for older people? Some of you are children I am talking to. Are you always ready to say. " Thank you," " I am very much oblig- ed indeed," and such like phrases? Some- times actions speak louder than words, you know, and we ought to act pleased. Should we act pleased when we do not feel pleased? I want you to be honest, my little friends ; but a great many times you ivill feel pleased just by trying. It is always right to do what you know you ought to do, whether you feel like it or not ; and it is right to pat your old horse on the neck, and tell him he is a good fellow, even if you feel cross and contrary, and don't feel like it. Try it, and see if there is not something in your own hearts tliat pretty soon speaks to you, say- ing, " AVell done, thou good and faithful servant." Right here, friends, comes in the impor- tance of daily thanks to God. One who thanks (iod for his daily bread, for the air he breathes, and for the gift of life, is a liap- juer man than one who goes through life without giving thaidut 1 mean, "as I said before, "you should do your duty, whether your feelings prompt it or not : aiul your first and greatest duty in this world is thanksgiving to God ; and the next, thanks to your fellow-men. Of course, you need not be always saying to everybody the stereotyped words. " I thank you;" but l)y your actions, and these name- less little coiirtesies. show everybody that you feel pleasantly and kindly toward "them, and carry this spirit and this feeling out among the cattle and the horses, and let it shine wlierever you go. As I write these words, the feelinjj comes over me, '• May (iod forgive me tor having so many times in life been remiss in just this little thing. Help me, dear Savior ; help me to practice that wliich I am trying to teach, here this bright January morning." A LETTER FROM A BOY BEE-KEEPER. ONE WHO IS OBLIGED TO GO ON CRUTCHES, BUT WHO SUCCEEDS PRETTY WELL KEVERTHELESS. WROTE you a business letter last summer; and [J as 30U published a scrap of it as news, and then I in the last No. of Gleanings published my name on your list of correspondents, I will venture to tell you what I have done and what 1 hope to do. I am a crippled boy, 16 years old, and have to g-o on crutches, and therefore can not do so well as I think I could if 1 could get around better. I bought two colonies of hybrids last spring— one in a Langstroth and the other in a chaflf hive, some- thing like the American. On the 24th of May, the Langstroth, being about to swarm, I divided them; and June 1.5 I divided the chaff hive. I think I made a mistake right here by losing much valuable time in brood-rearing. The way I divided was to take the queen and one frame of brood, and put in a new hive, and set it where the old hive stood, so as to get the bees that were out gathering honey. In the latter part of August the hive I divided first sent out a large swarm; and, not having any hive ready, I nailed three frames together and filled them with foundation, and hived the bees in a box about 13 inches square; and afterward I put in 4 more frames. I commenced feeding them from the time they swarmed, and kept it up as long as the weather would permit. I think they stored some honey, enough to carry them through. In the latter part of July I received from you a select tested (lueen and 1 lb. of bees, which seem to have done pretty well. This makes 6 swarms, which I now ha\e, and which I put into winter quar- ters in the cellar about the 1st of December. I also found a colony of blacks in a tree, which I mean to try to save. I took from the old hives about 35 lbs. of honey. I do not think we have the best country in the world for honey-producing plants. Orchards are somewhat numerous; there is but little bass- wood, and not very much white clover; there is considerable red clover, and my bees worked on it a good deal. There is also buck-berry and catnip, quite abundant. I found growing wild (luite a num- ber of Simpson honey-plants and transplanted some of them near my bee-hives. They produced consid- erable nectar, but I never could get a bee to even smell of them. I had an acre of buckwheat sown, which I think helped my bees. I am going to have an acre of alsike sown in the spring, and will try to get thelfarraers to sow white clover in their pas- i tures, and I think we can make this a pretty good 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 57 bee country after a while. You have discovered that my bees are in a badly mixed lot of hives, and I propose to transfer them in the spring and have them all alike. Now, this is new business to me, and there are but few bee-men around hei-e to show me much about it. I do not expect to get right into it without making some mistakes, but I am going to make it win if 1 can; and while I am keeping my- self out of mischief, I want to make some money. I don't expect to beat pa with his short-horns, but I should like to come just as near it as possible. Holton, Kan., Jan. 2, 188.5. M.A.KCUS Bry.^nt. Marcus, I am very glad to see your zeal and courage ; and if you go ahead as you seem to have started, I think there will be no trouble about your succeeding. Wliere there is a determination, and an earnest, go- ahead spirit, obstacles make but little dilTer- ence. Of couise, it is harder for you to get around; but it is better to be crippled in hody than to be crippled by a lazy disposi- tion. May be you may beat your father with his short-horns yet ; who knows V— The bees failed to work on the Simpson plants, either because there was not enough of the plants, or because there were other sources of honey that were of more import- ance than these few plants you set out. THE YOUNG PHILOSOPHER. WHAT ANNA SAID, AND WHAT HER KATHER SAID. READ you would give a hook to me if I would tell you something new and useful. I-am go- ... ing to try to get Ten Nights in a I5ar-room. I asked papa to tell me something new. He said there was nothing new under the sun, for the Bible said so. Then I thought you would not have to give away many books. But papa said he guessed you meant things new to you. He said it would be new to you to find out I had 35 swarms of bees. But I said that would not be useful to you. He said it would, since he would buy books and goods of you, so I have told you something new and useful. But I guess you will not think this is fair, so I will tell you about papa's "bee ring," as I call it. It is made by planting young cedars close together in such a way as to make a ring. Keep them trimmed well as they grow, and they will be very thick, so that the wind can not blow through them. Let them grow close to the ground, and little pigs can not get through them. Papa says a half-ring is better than a whole one. Take the north half, let the trees on the north grow eight feet high or more, but gradually lower them on each side till they are not more than two feet high where they end. Then it will look like a new moon, and no shade will ever fall on the hives, and it will be the warmest place that can be found out of doors in the winter, and yet quite cool enough in the summer. Of course, the bees should have shade in the summer. Papa says he likes raspberries better than grapevines for shade. On the south side of each hive, put two plants about two feet apart. Let them grow 30 inch- es high; keep the side limbs pinched off close to the stalks, except those between the two stalks; let those interlace till they make a thick shade. The bees got lots of honey out of flowers, and we got a good crop of berries. Bees never bother ber- ries as they do grapes. Every bee-man who sees papa's ring says he must have one. Anna Anderson, age 9. Ladoga, Ind., Dec. 19, 1884. Give my respects to your kind papa, friend Anna, and tell him that I think he has suc- ceeded in furnishing us something both new and useful. In fact, the tirst paragraph of your letter is pretty sharp, both for you and your pa.— I lliiuk that cedar bee-ring would be beautiful ; but the most interesting part of your letter is the raspberries for shade. They are more of a bee-plant than grape- vines, and, come to think of it. I believe they would answer even better. Last fall I bought 5(30 strong pot-grown raspberry plants that are almost too large to go into pots now ; besides, pots are too heavy for shipment. Some of the friends say they do not care for pot - grown plants. But I do. I would give more for one good strong plant growing nicely in a pot, than for half a dozen like tiiose iisually sent out. The pot-grown plant will keep right along grow- ing, and bear a crop of fruit, at least a small one, this present year. Now, my neighbor is going to put IWO of these strong raspber- ry plants in (juart paper oyster-pails. Tlie space around the plant is to be filled witli nice compost, and when tliey get nicely to growing in the spring I am going to offer them for sale to plant around bee-hives for 5 cts. each. When any of you are ordering goods you can have one of my potted rasp- berry plants, oyster-pail and all, for an even 5 cts.. if you want it. We shall have both the Gregg and Doolittle black-cap varieties of rasi)berries. Neighbor Green, who fur- nislies tiiem, says tliey get more berries from the Doolittle black-cap than from any of the new-fangled kinds with high - sounding names. WHAT SORT OF GLASSES WEAR? DO YOU WHOLESO.ME LESSON FOR OLD AS WELL AS YOUNG. WO little children, Tommie and Kitty, were "*}" amusing themselves one morning bj' look- ing through the colored glass panes on either side of the hall door of a house where I was visiting in St. Albans. The lower panes were of a bright crimson hue, the next of a deep blue, the others of yellow, green, etc. Little Kitty's small size permitted her to sec through only the lower panes; and every object she looked at, trees, flowers, people, and even the ground, seemed to her eyes gloriously bright, almost as if on Are; not be- cause they were really so, but because seen through the medium of the crimson glass. The little girl did not dream this was only a borrowed light, and she called out to her brother, "O Tommy! this yard looks the prettiest that you ever saw this morning. I do believe the trees and the flowers, and the ground too, are just going to burn up. Come, see how bright they be; thej' look like the Are up at Uncle Nat's, in the big fireplace." "It is n't bright at all; it looks all blue, and just as gloomy looking as can be; and I guess it is a go- ing to snow too," said master Tommy, who was some two years older than Kitty, and felt himself 58 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. (luite too tall to stoop to the lower panes; so by dint of tiptoing- he was able to look through the second, or blue tier. The reflection of the blue glass gave to every object in view the somber tint of an ap- prouchinjr snowstorm, and eight-year-old Tommy wondered how his sister, looking out into the same yard, could see such brightness, while he saw only gloom. During this conversation between the children, I sat by reading, book in hand; yet not reading, but thinking how prone we all are to judge of people and things by the sort of glass we look through, and how many kinds of glasses there are! There are the clear, transparent glasses of true faith; not only faith in God, that never stumbles at either his l)romises or providence, but faith in our fellow-men, hoping always and ever for the return of the prodi- gal, believing in his penitence, enduring patiently his stumbling, and halting and hesitating, and that buoys him up and enables the poor reprobate to overcome at last, because it will not see anj' good cause to be hopeless. Opposed to these are the magnifying-glasses of presumptuous self-dependence, that paint one's own faults as virtues, see strength where there is only weakness, and mistakes conceit for wisdom. Then there are the green glasses of envy, that can never be turned toward a kindness done to another without seeing in it cause of self-grievance, and thus And faults instead of virtues in every character brought within their range of vision, because it can not bear to have another e.vcel. Thei-e are the huge, uncomely glasses of greed, that would appro- priate to self-gratiflcatiou all that comes within their line of vision; and the curious parti-colored glasses of policy that convey to the organs of sight the impression of only advantages to be gained, but, strangely enough, exclude that of opportunities (especially parties unable to reciprocate favors). Then we have the pure glasses of contentment, that have the faculty of banishing clouds, and diffusing sunshine; the golden-colored glasses of cheerfulness that create light, and shed a halo of brightness around every object within their range. And there are the wretchedly clouded glasses of ill humor, that reveal naught but clouds and threatened storms, like Tommy's blue panes. But best of all are the beautiful converging glasses of Christian love, that possess the wonderful power of both absorbing and reflecting. They arc flrst themselves warmed by an absorbtion of the cheering, revivify- ing rays of the Sun of Righteousness, and then they freely dispense these rays to all about them, caus- ing the widow's heart to sing for joy, the very wil- derness and solitary place to be glad for them, and the desert to blossom as the rose. What sort of glasses do we wear? Au.nt Vic. Kockton, 111. AVe tliank you. Aunt VU\ for this plain lesson, which "I am sure we all need. 1 have sometimes thou.iiht tliat a sellish person looked lliroiif^li seltish ulasses, for he is gen- erally the most l'or\vai(i to aecuse those who are working with i)ure motives, of being governed by selhshness ; and so it is with al- most all other sins, while those who are IMue in heart, and working hard and honest- ly, do not seem to notice tliat the rest of the world is not doing the same thing. You see, they are pure-minded themselves, and wear pure-minded glasses. It seems to me some of this talk you have given us will apply very well to some of the things we have in our bee-journals now and then. Now let us all take the lesson home to ourselves, with- out looking to see if it hits our neighbors. It tits me. Aunt Yic, and I resolved to do better before I got through reading your ar- ticle. TRUE BRAVERY. WHO WAS IT THAT WAS COWARDLY? COLD sleety night several men were hurrying >i down the street, on their homeward way, after a day of toil. As the stormy wind swept by and blew the frozen rain in their faces, thej' buttoned their coats more close- ly, and pressed onward. But their pace slackened as they approached a brilliantly lighted building from which issued sounds of hilarity and mirth; and, as if from confirmed habit, they imused before the inviting doorway. " Come, boys, let us take something to warm us up," spake one of the group, and " Good! good!" was echoed by all voices but one -a tall, vigorous young man who was about to pass on, when a com- panion, laying a hand on his shoulder, arrested his progress, saying,— •'What is your hurry, Tom? Join us and we will have a jolly time, if the night i.s blustering;" and be- fore he could reply or expostulate he was unwill- ingly borne into the drinking-saloon, where well- filled glasses were speedily supplied the party, who emptied their contents, unobservant that Tom Denton's glass remained untouched on the counter. But as soon as they became aware of the fact, an ominous murmuring ran through the group. Denis Roman's voice broke the pause that followed; he was a man of a strong though mistaken sense of honor; and in his opinion, he who turned his back upon his comrades, and refused to partake of their convivialities, was a triator, and his act high trea- son. " Tom is afiaid to drink, I see," he said in a mock- ing tone; "maybe his wife keeps him in leading- strings; I did not know before that one of our num- ber was a cotvanl." The hot blood mounted to Tom Denton's face; his hand was tightly clenched, and he bit his lip as if to keep back an angry reply. "Tom is no coward," broke in another hearty voice. " Who was it that ran in front of the engine last summer, and risked his life to save a little lame boj% playing on the track? Who but Tom? I tell you, Tom is no coward." "No, no, no! "echoed many voices, and the tide began to turn in Tom's favor. A smile lit up Tom Denton's manly countenance, and, turning, he was about to leave the saloon in silence, when several spoke: "Do as you please about the drink, Tom; but make us a speech before you go." "A speech ! a speech !" all cried out. Tom was an inieducated laboring man, but his heart was brave and true, and he was not one to shrink from his (Uity, or to decline striking a blow for the right when in his power. " Vou wish to know ivhiJ I will not drink with you," he said, in a clear loud voice. " I am proud, yes, proud, but not with the false pride that would niiiko Die feel tliat 1 was better than my fellow-men, 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. .59 or cause me to withhold the right hand of friend- ship from my comrades; buttlie pride that raises me above all that is little, mean, and low. I live in a free country, and am a free man, and I will not be a slave to drink. I have a good wife and two little ones; we are poor, but are trying to save money to buy a home, and di-ink won't help me to do that. I want to merit the respect of those around me; will drink help me there? 1 will not have my wife pitied, and sneered at as the wife of a drunkard, and my little boys spoken of as drunkard's children. I do not want any man on his death-bed to say to me, 'I am lost; you are the cause of it; you set me the example; you gave me my first drink; I am lost through you.' There is a curse pronounced upon the drunkard. I am afraid! in the fear and lo\c of God, I dare not drink. " And as he finished and stood there with folded arms, and the fire of truth in his eyes, though his garments were coarse and his hands brown with toil, he was as noble as a king, and as brave as famous warriors; one of whom the whole communi- ty should be proud. There is a good and tender chord in the heart of every man, if we only know how to touch it; and now the saloon rang with the ciy, " He is right! he is right! three cheers for Tom Denton." And he who possessed the courage to brave the sneers and ridicule of his companions, rather than yield his firm convictions of ri^:ht, (r ((i\intenancu an evil his whole soul loathed and condemned, liad i)rob- ably that night sown sonic good seed which might spring up and bear fruit in after days. With a firm tread he left the saloon, ami walked down the street to the humble happy home awaiting him, while out on the night air rang again and again the tril)- ute to true biinery, "Tliree cheers for Tom Denton." Miis. D. T.vckeu. Now, little friends, whose slices would you rather stand in— jxx*!- Tom's, as he went off home that iiisiit, or in those of the men whom lie left liehind liimV A GOOD HONEST REPORT FROM A BEE-KEEPER'S DAUGHTER. W.VITING U.VTll, AITKU SW.\KMI.\(i, IIKKOUK IMT- TINO ON THE SURPLUS RKCEPTACr.ES. fATHEK says he had no report to send in this year; but I think every bee-keeper ought to send in his report every year, whether it is a good or a bad one. So I write to tell you wc are not quite ready to go into Blasted Hopes yet. The honey crop was almost an entire failure here. We got only about 10(»0 lbs. Sold S^O lbs., 12',; cts. per lb. There were only three others, that we know of, in all the country around, that got even a taste of honey, and some got only a few jwunds. ■ We started the spring of 1884 with 51 colonies; in- creased to only (i9, as we worked after the plan of Prof. Cook (see June (J leanings, page 876, 1884). Others waited till their bees were done swarming, before they put section bo.xeson; and by the time they were done swarming there was nothing for them to make honey of. All the honey we got was made before the 4th of July. This fall we doubled up some of ours; fed some, and went into winter quarters with 58 colonies. Louisa C. Kenneuv. Farmingdale, 111., Dec. 2'.t, 1881. Thank you, friend Louisa. 1 naiQe with you, that reports should be sent in. even if not encouraging. You bring out one very important point ; and since you mention it, I remember that a great many old-style bee- keepers used to say that if you put on boxes too soon the bees would not swarm, and so they waited until the bees were done swarm- ing, and the result was often just about as vou state it. MINNIE'S TRIALS. J- WONDER if any of the other little girls who - read Gleanings have as many trials as our " Minnie. I hope not; but if you do, perhaps her ■ experience will cheer you|up. Last week we went [up to school, and one of the girls met Minnie with "It's examination to-day," and Minnie, sighing from the very soles of her shoes, said, "Is that so?" And all that day she wrote and wrote, working one example after another, eating no din- ner, taking a two-minutes' walk by way of exercise, and when 1 went for her at four o'clock she came out and said she would not be through for an hour yet, and I left her and came home alone. Minnie wrote as long as she could see, then went home with a schoolmate, and they wrote and recited to each other till nine o'clock, and all next day it was write, write, write, till after four. That night she sang all night in her sleep, sang hymns and snatches of comic songs, all night long. Ne.xt day was Thanksgiving,' and I had put the turkey to roast, and I wanted to lease it to do other work, so I went in the parlor (where Minnie had been working all the morning on an example in algebra) and asked her to sit by the kitchen stove and baste the turkey. She seemed stunned at first. " Why," said she, "I've been working all the morning on this example, gi\ ing my whole mind to it, and I can't get it; how) could I do any thing with a turkey to mind':'" I told her I thought she was giving too much of her mind to it, that i)erhaps she could get the answer sooner if she gave half of her attention to the turkey. She went with a downin-t he-mouth, dejected look, and in about half an hour she came bounding back. " I've got it, mamma; I've got it! and it was the very smallest thing that ailed it all along; I wish you'.had set'me to basting the turkey long ago." Then she flew to the organ and played " Captain Jinks " and " Yankee Doodle," and ended with " Hail Columbia." I was glad that her mind.was relieved, for I had made up my m Iml. made it up as the laws of the Medes were made, that if she sang in her sleep another night, she should not go another day to that school. I don't care if it is the best school in the county, and sends out;the best teachers; I wont have one of my children made crazy with these everlasting exam- inations. Three studies to be gone oxer in one day, and ICO questions in each, and every pupil must an- swer 75 of them or be put back in a lower class. It is murder most foul, murder of the brain. Physiol- ogists say that 4 hours of steady brain work is as much as one can stand with impunity; but these girls wrote, and thought up what to write, a con- stant strain on the mind for 8 hours. I'll have no more of it. If Minnie can go along calmly and quietly, and graduate, I am perfectly willing; but any more of this sleep-talking and song-singing I won't have. Mahala H. (iiAnnocK. Vci-mont, III. 60 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. You are right, Mrs. C; children should not be tasked, even during examination time, to such an extent that thev get worn out, and talk in their sleep, etc. 1 have just interviewed Blue Eyes in regard to the mat- ter, and she says iii our schools they posi- tively forbid their going without dinner during examination time, and that they also forbid such continued application as yon mention. I think your teacher and the principal of your school ought to be inter- viewed. There may be two sides to the question, and it is well to be thoroughly posted before setting down one's foot, after the manner of the Medes and Persians. I should be inclined to think that Minnie was rather an exception, for the average school- girl is sometimes apt to be dilatory, and in- clined to procrastinate. Now, may be even our good friend Minnie neglected her stud- ies in the fore part of the time, thus throw- ing a great amount of work into a few hours' time. Minnie will forgive me for this suggestion, will she not? SANTA BARBARA AND THE FAIR. BV AUNT KATIK. fOl' will remember we had got to Goleta, on our trip to Santa Barbara. We stopped at a farmhouse to get some hay for our horses, and got permission to put our beds on the hay in the big barn; the hay had been baled— that is, pressed into large square bundles, of from one to two hundred pounds, and firmly tied with rope. We got our beds made on those nice smooth bundles, and then got our supper. AVe spent the evening in the house. The next day we went on to Santa Barbara. As we had not been there for three years we found that it had grown considerably. As we were going into the town we met a covered wagon with some "Catholic sisters" in it. They were knitting as they rode along. When one sees them the first thought is, " God bless them for their goodness I" Many and many a one has been helped by those kind women who have given themselves to such work. The ones we met were going out to a farm they have just out of town, where things are laised by them to use in the St. Vincent school for girls that is kept in the town. Oh such lovely roses, and such green grass and strange trees and shrubs! Lovely cottages, yards fenced neatly, and such a wilderness of green meets the eyes, as we passed one pretty place after another, thinking, well, that is the prettiest we have seen yet; but the ne.\t one may be would make us say, " No, I guess this is the prettiest," and so on through one street after anoth- <>r, all through the town. One of the loveliest was ahouse made of the native redwood, oiled instead of I)aintcd, making a rich red-brown color. ]t was two storied, and had a handsome porch above and below on three sides of the building. The front was almost covered with a white-rose bush, and it was a mass of white roses. They gleamed out pure and white against the dark background. In the yard was a magnificent rubber-tree, 20 feet high, and fan palms 10 and 12 feet high, with mon- strous fans 3 and 4 feet across, and graceful pepper- trees were dotted about, making a pretty home picture. We camped in a friend's yard, and then j started out for the fair. It was held in the theater j building and adjoining j'ard. The very thought of ; the two long wide tables filled with the delicious ! fruit that was in that building sets me longing to ' see them again, with the privilege of tasting as well I as seeing. Our little tnree-year-old orchard was rep- [ resented by a plate of large yellow bellflowers; but Lompoc, the temperance colony I have told you j about, beat even Santa Barbara in the line of j apples. There were apples, pears, quinces, grapes, I pomegranates, flgs, guavas, persimmons, oranges, I lemons, citrons, limes, plums, blackberries, straw- I berries, raspberries, a bunch of dates, and all kinds ' of nuts in profusion on those tables. Don't you ; think we could have a grand feast out of that va- riety';' Then there was honey in big jars, and comb hon- I ey in glass cases, extractors, honey-knives, and last, , but not least, a swarm of Holy-Land bees. They, too, were in a glass and wire ease, and seemed as contented as could be. I can not tell you of all the wonderful and useful ; things I saw, but I must tell you of the dear little babies that were put upon the stage to be looked at, so that the judges might see which was the pretti- est and brightest. There were IT, all under two years old. I wondered, while looking at them, what each one's life would be. May be some of those boys and girls will be writing letters to I Gleanings before long, about bees, and how they I help their fathers work; and as Mr. Koot tells us in I the last number, may be one of them will be pres- ' ident some day. Who knows':* hould be a poor judge about babies, for I think them all pretty, some with one kind of prettiness, and some with another; but I said in my heart, " Please God, bless those little ones, and make them good temperance men and women." We took our noonday lunches at the W. C. T. Un- I ion rooms, and found them doing a good work for j those who have no homes wherein to sit and read or j talk, or have a good social time. One morning we went up to see the " Old Mission." It is a large stone building, and was built by the Catholic fa- thers 100 years ago. We were not permitted to enter its walls, as only the priests live there; but we were told that we could see the church, so we went j through that, and examined the pictures upi.n the ; walls. Some were of Christ, and others of the vir- I gin Mary. They were well preserved, and the church looked very nice. The towers above, where the bells were, were being fi.ved up; the rest of the building was in a good state of preservation. A [ large fountain, with fish circulating about in the tank, took the children's eyes. It was fed from a large stream of pure spring water which waters the whole town. Those old " padres " had an eye for beauty when they picked out the site for the mission building. It stands on an eminence two \ miles from the sea, with a background of grand I rugged mountains, and takes in the front, the full sweep of the valley wherein rests the town named for one of their loveliest saints; and though she has been dead for many years, yet her beauty seems to have been left to bless the little cit}', for beautiful it is with a nameless charm. I tried to see wherein the beauty lies, but could not; but there it is, and all felt the charm, and each and all assent, when asked if they think Santa Barbai-a beautiful. Besides the view of the valley there lies the chan- 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 61 nel and the islands beyond, and a noble sweep of ocean one «-ets from that point; and above all, the {ilorious blue ether, softened and shaded by the floating- clouds. One can hardly return to the earth again after looking- over that charming- scene; but as we are of the earth earthy, we had to so descend and prepare for our Ion;? ride home. Los Alamos, Cal, LETTER FROM A BOY BEE-KEEPER. CAN A BOY OF 14 WORK EVERY DAY ON THE FARM, AND TAKE CARE OF 19 COLONIES BESIDES? fE have organized a bee-keepers' association in this county, styled the "Progressive Bee- keepers' Association of Western Illinois," of which I am a member. My bees are in l)retty good condition at present, but some are quite weak. I was going- to school last fall when the bees should have been attended to, and 1 could not get time to fix them up, so I just took off the honey and enameled cloth, put on the half- story, with nothing in it but air, and, as you say, gave thorn a good " letting alone," and they are in pretty good condition now. We have 19 colonies at present, and my folks ex- pect me to take care of thi;m, and work about all the time on the farm besides. I never saw an im- jjroved hive until two years ago, and now I am a bee-keeper, expected to kcej) every Ihing in order, just because lust spring I had a little "bee-fever" (on a mighty small scale). What do you think of if/ Do you think it is too much for a boy of U^-ears to begin on? Bees in this part of the country did not do much last year. 1 never saw so much white clover in ray life, but it didn't make much honey. I think it was on account of the cool nights, for it was the coolest summer 1 ever knew. I like the bees, but, "my!" how I hate to get stung! I heli)ed Mr. Norton transfer 15 swarms from bo.\ hives to Langstroth (which was the brav- est thing 1 ever did), and I thought 1 should be brav- er after that; but one day brother Walter went out to put on some sections where I had taken otT some honey, and he got stung all over, and his face swell- ed up. His eyes were shut, and his lips about half an inch thick, and it pretty nearly "discomfusticat- ed" me, and it seems as if I have been more afraid than ever of the little "critters." Macomb, 111., Jan. 8, 188."). J. E. Stickle. My young friend, I do think 19 colonies are almost too many for an averaj^e boy of 14 years of age. when he has to work (in the farm every day besides. Don't you have a good many holidays, however, when you can work with your bees, if you have a mind to? I do not know of many farmers" boys who have to work on the farm rrr,-// day in the year. I think your brother AN'alter had bet- ter have a smoker that he knows is working nicely before he starts out again. If he can get along without using the smoker at all. well and good; but it is best to have it right at hand. I always want a whip in driving a horse ; but if the horse is half wav decent, I expect to keep the whip in the socket during the whole trip ; but I always want to see the whip in its place before l" start off, no mat- ter what horse I have got. MINNESOTA. Report from one of our Old Bachelor Brothers. FROM 29 TO 66, AND 700 LBS. OF HONEY. WILL give a report of my last year's honey crop- although it is not very lai-ge — nothing- like I some of the friends in California, Texas, and Florida, wlio reported such large yields of honey that it almost seems as if they must have their bees taught to take a pail and dipper when they go to gather honey. I had 29 colonies, spring count, in good condition; by feeding until the dandelions came in I got them very strong. They began to swarm MaySTth; but for some reason or other the white clover yielded no more honey then kept them rear- ing brood. About July 1.5th, basswood bloomed very abundantly, and then my bees took the swarming fever, and got cross; no one hardly dared go among them; and when a swarm clus- ! tered, shaking them into the swarming-box was 1 like knocking against a yellow-jacket's nest (if you I ever did that when you were mowing with a scythe, where you could not run a machine). Even tobacco j smoke would not subdue them, when taking honey I out of the hive. Can you give any reason for theii- [ being so cross'/ 1 I increased to 66; lost 5 by robbing, when I was I making syrup, and not watching them; united 6 weak ones, so 1 have 55 strong swarms— 34 in the cellar, and 21 in chaff hives out doors. I We are having a very severe winter. Jan 2d the i mercury went down to 40 degrees below zero; and, j as the Irishman said, if the thermometer had l)een longer, the weather would have been colder; so I ! don't know how they will winter. They are in chaff tenement hives, of my own make. But I am not j ready for Blasted Hopes, as I got about 700 lbs. of 'comb honey, and raised over 900 bushels of wheat. I did not get a single pound of honey after the bass- wood ceased blooming; although the goldenrod was 1 quite plentiful, there was no honey in it. Next year I I will devote more time to my bees. I wish you would send me one of those price lists that you spoke of in your last number, and said you had several girls that did not have much to do, and would jump at the chance of sending one; but if you should happen to make a mistake, and send one of the girls, instead of the price list, to any of us bachelor bee-keepers, there would be no fault found. Did you ever try scattering a little dry dust or ashes over the snow among the bee-hives'/ It will cause it to melt very quickly; and when the bees fly out, if it gets warm quick, they will not get snow-blind, and tumble in the snow and die, but can alight on the honey-combed snow and rest, and then fly away. James P. Smith. Franconia, Minn., Jan. 5, 1885. Friend S.. the girls here in the office are not a bit better or a bit smarter than those in your own neighborhood ; and I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself to think you liave not found it oiit yourself a long while ago. We will send yoii the price list nKJSt cheerfully ; but when you want a ni(;e girl for a housekeeper, you must go and get acquainted with her according to the old or- thodox manner. There is not any other way in the world that you can get a real good honest sensible girl. 62 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE Jan. ?lff 1 ''•fe'l " letter fnr this department, contaiking ^f50<■ tvn.n and CAt The cAPiNs- i do I Not Go to S0HO = L moW i woUId like to gO tO ScH '• ooLBut iT Is tc Fur for Me i le arn S'Ome at Horn a. unKIe AmoS if tHig letter is WortHaBook Pie as geNd Me SilVerKee. Ella Kirk. * Columbus, Kan., Dec. 6. 1884. But you did not tell us how old you are, Ella. 'From the looks of the letters you make, and from the fact that you could not ; read your book, we think you must be pret- ' ty young. CLARENCE'S EXPERIENCE IN HUNTING QUEENS ON HIS OWN HOOK. I will tell you my experiment in bee culture. Last summer my mother gave me a swarm of bees. I used to help my father to hunt the queens. One day he was away, and I thought I would hunt the queen in my hive, but I could not find her. Then I opened one of pa's hives. The bees got after me in great numbers, and stung me. I " hollered," and ma came running to help me. They got after her, and she ran in the smoke-house and shut the door, and I ran in the hitchen, and they after me, sting- ing. Then I ran into the stable and got behind the i door, and the bees went home. I have not hunted queens alone since that time. Zearing, Iowa. Clarence Haslet, age 8. I HOW ARTHUR S FATHER MOVED THE BEES ON .V LOAD OF STR.\W. We moved our bees the middle of October, about two miles. I have 2 lambs, named Smut and Dick, and I have some ducks and chickens. I did not have room for any before I lived on a farm. T will tell you how we moved our bees. Pa took a hay-rack, and put on a good load of straw, and set the hives on, and stuffed straw between the hives. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 65 We moved 55 swarms in two loads, in nice condi- tion. They had a nice fly the next day, and not one bee went back to its old home. They sat in an or- chard, and had their last fly the 22d of November, and pa put them in the cellar the 24th, the latest they ever flew. Our bee-cellar is under our house, and is a nice large one. Arthur W. Hulett, age 12. South Dayton, N. Y., Nov. 19, 1881. ADA'S STOKY ABOUT THE SWAUM OF BEES THAT ALIGHTED ON HER MAMMA'S BACK. My papa keeps bees. He has 1.39 stands. He has them all in the cellar, except 5, which are in chaff hives. I think bees are very nice little pets, if you don't handle them too roughly. Last summer mam- ma was trying to hive a swarm ; it arose and came down, and alighted on her back. She got down from the ladder and stood over the hive while 1 brushed them ofl" into the hive. I have read Ada Krecker's letters; and as my name is Ada too, 1 should like to correspond with her. I should like to knowher full address. AdaC. Steinebach, agel3. Cedar Creek, Wis., Dec. 22, 188-t. Thank you, Ada; but you did not tell us whether your mamma got stung oi- not. The address we use in writing to Ada Krecker is Tokio, Japan. THE SPECXr.ED BA.VTAM HEN THAT HAD TWO CHICKS FOUR TIMES AS I.AROE AS HERSELF. We have four swarms of bees. I have one sister. Her name is Myrtie. We have some bantam chick- ens. Myrtle's are speckled, black and white. Mine are black. We put some Brahma eggs under my hen, and she hatched two, and kept them till half gi-own. It was comical to sec her clucking around, followed closely by two chicks four times larger than herself. But a weasel got into the coop one night, and killed both the chicks, and it was pitiful to see the little mother in the morning looking sor- rowfully down upon her dead chicks. Gilford, Mich. Lu.me (Jrav. That is a very good little story, Lillie. Poor little Bantam mother! Xodou])tshe loved her great awkward chickens as well as if they had been diminutive like herself. Your little letter just reminrls me of the Bantams I iised to have when 1 was a boy ; yes, and Brahmas too. I declare, I should enjoy being out among tliem tliis sunshiny January morning, if I had the time, and I do not know but I should love them just as much as I did when I was only a boy a doz- en years old. THE BEES THAT WENT TO THE WOODS, AND WENT INTO A KNOT-HOLE, ETC. I will give our report for the season. We com- menced last fall witli one colony; it wintered all right, and so wc bought another one in a bo.v hive, but it died of starvation, because wo could not look in the hive, and it was too early to transfer. He bought another one that swarmed once, but my brother had the queen's wings clipped, and they went back into the hive, but the queen was lost, and he bought another one, a dollar queen. He had it two days, when it swarmed and went to the woods. It went over half a dozen trees, and clustered on the knot of a tree. We got a ladder, and brush- ed some otr, but they went right up again, and pretty soon we found they went into the tree, so we let them stay there. We divided the rest twice, but had to feed them. We took .50 lbs. from the other colonj'. It seems hard to believe that some take from 200 to 400 lbs. per colony. We take Gleanings, and we have an A B C book, and I read it so much that my folks call it my " tes- tament." My brother bought 500 sections, 100 L. frames, 7 lbs. fdn. and a smoker. A smoker is nice to start fire with. We have all our bees in splendid condition for winter, in chaff hives, which my brother made. He has lumber enough for 30 or 40 hives. Here is an example: My age, plus 'i of my age, plus I4 of my age, plus 3, equals my age. What is my age? Harvey Baer. Marshallville, O., Dec. 11, 1884. Very good, Harvey. I wonder how many of the little folks can tell your age from your statement. I am inclined to think that they will need a little bit of experience in algebra to work it out: don't you think soV ONLY 75 LBS. OF HONEY FROM 43 COLONIES OF BEES, AND HAD TO FEED BESIDES. Pa has 43 colonies of bees. Our bees did not make much honey this year; we got only 75 lbs. of lioney this year. We have put all of our bees in the cellar this winter. Some of them have not enough honey. We had to give them some of the surplus that the other bees made. One of them we are going to feed with rock candy. Our cellar is a dry warm one. Our bees wintered in it very well last winter. Pa gives me half of the price of the queens that are introduced to the neighboring bee-keepers. TWO QUEENS HATCHED UNDER A SITTING HEN. I hatched Ave nice Italians under an old sitting hen. I can run the wax and lioney extractors, and foundation-mill too. Pa says this is going to be a hard winter for bees to all live through. .lOHN Roberts. Schoolhill, Wis., Dec. 10, 1884. Very good, John. It seems to me the cliildren tell us the bad reports, even if the older ones do not. What did you put your ciueen-cells into when you put them under tlie sitting hen V Some' years ago I suggest- ed taking small round tobacco-boxes, and painting them white, so tliey would look a good deal like eggs. I think the old biddy would keep up tlie proper temperatuie at a comparatively small expense. .MORE ABOUT THE GERMAN CARP. As you wished for information about carp, I have a little to otfer, having seen the golden that are im- ported from southern China. Almost every one knows how interesting they are; but I know the German carp abound in Polish Prussia. They are there a great article of commerce, and are sent from there in " well " boats. By some they are considered the queen of rivers. They were known in England as early as 1496, and have become natu- ralized to their water. It is considered a good, stately, and subtle flsh. They thrive best when the current is not strong, and when the ground is soft and marly. They cat scarcely any tiling in the win- ter months, but bury themselves in the mud. They lose their shyness by visiting their ponds and feed- ing them on bread and boiled potatoes. KEEPING FISH ALIVE OUT OF THE WATER FOK TWO OR THREE WEEKS. In Holland they keep them alive two or three weeks by hanging them in nets filled with wet moss, and feeding them on bread soaked in milk. They 66 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. are prodigious breeders, and sO Cunning- that they are styled the "river lo.v." The tail of the carp is bifid, and they belong to the order of ihe Malacnp- terifriia n/ (u.Mi.'xdds; " those fishes have the skeleton osseous, jaw complete, bronchia picteratcd, all of the rays of the fins soft, except sometimes the first ray of the dorsal, or pectoral fins; verental fins behind the abdomen." By the way, Mr. Hoot, were you thinking of carp when you put your bees, 250 in number, up for winter"/ You are not quite as small a bee-keeiicr as the one who had only 15 bees. Nashotah, Wis. Nellie M. Olsex. A'ery good, Nellie. But, is it really a fact about' fish living three weeks out of water? If so, I shall have to say again, " What a world of wonders this is!'' We are in the habit of using the expression, " J.,ike a fish out of water ;" but now it happens that they live and eat and drink (that is what you mean is it not, Nellie?) and do not die, even when two or three weeks out of water.— 1 guess I shall have to own up about the 250 bees. Pretty good joke on Uncle Amos, is it not, when he sniiU'd a little at the girl for saying that they had only 1.3 bees, and then afterward tells about 2."U himself. OEOUGE'S FATHEK. My pa has T stands of bees. Three arc in box hives, and four in frame. He transferred two frames last fall. He took 300 lbs. of honej', and fed them on sugar syrup. They arc doing nicely now. Pa takes Gleanings, and we like it very much. He has the ABC book, and ma says he reads it more than he does his Bible, and that he thinks more of his bees than he docs of her. Geoijoe Task. Cornwall, N. V., Dec. 21, 1884. Well, George, I do not know but I shall have to take your pa's part a little. May be just now it is necessary that he study G lean- ings and his ABC book a good deal. I suppose that by this time he has the greater part of the Bible in his heart, so that it shines out in his daily life, even if he does not read it as much as the bee-books, and 1 should say it was something the same way with yoiir mother. The subject of bees is new, and he gives it more attention now. lierhaps. than these other things. ])o you remenibei- that story in the Bible, about the prodigal son? The elder brother complain- ed because the father paid so much atten- tion to that spendthrift l»oy when he got back; but the father had not for a moment forgotten the faillifiil and diligent son, even llHiiigli api)('aranc(s might have looked a lit- tle that wav to an outsider. NANNIE'S STOHY ABOUT THE CAUP-I'OND. Vncle ^wos:— May be I ought not call you that, because you do not know me; but I know you ; that is, through Gleanings. Other boys and girls call you that, so I thought I would. Papa keeps bees, and has taken Gleanings ever since I can remem- ber, and I like to read the juvenile letters. I will tell you about our carp-pond. The man we bought the farm of, says he has known the pond for 65 years, and it has never been dry in all that time. He says the old hunters claim that they found beavers in it. We have enlarged it so that it covers about a third of an acre. The original pond is just the shape of a bowl. Papa ajiplicd to the U. S. Fish Commissioner for the German carp; and when the flsh came, the pond had about one foot of water in it. There were 25 flsh from 3 to 7 inches long. For the first few days they seemed to be do- j ing well. The pond is surrounded by forest trees, I and one cold windy day a great many leaves blew into the pond, and then it froze over. After the ice thawed out, papa went down to the pond and he ' saw a dead flsh floating on the surface of the water. He got a rake and raked all the leaves out along the shore; and before he got through he found 16 dead flsh. He did not know the cause, unless it is that the body of water was so small, and the leaves seemed to make the water unfit for the fish. The pond is filling up rapidly, and papa is going to try ugain. N.A.NNIE Stehle, age 13. Marietta, Wash. Co., ()., Dec. 21, 1884. Thank you, Nannie. AVas not the trouble i because your pond was too shallow? The books say there ought to oe places in the pond at least three feet deep for the fish to ! get into when the water is frozen. May be I the leaves would make the water unfit for : fish, but 1 hardly think so, for carp are very hardy. SOPHIA ANU her .MOTHEK AND THE BEES. My papa has 90 hives of bees, all in good condi- tion; they are all Italians. This last summer was a poor season for bees. We got very little surplus honey. It was too cold and dry in our neighbor- hood. My mother and we three children tend to the bees all summer. My papa has been supervisor for the last two years, so he doesn't get time to tend to the bees. Mother can handle the bees bet- ter than father can. They don't sting her half as much. She can go in among them, and work with them bareheaded, and don't get stung; but we put our bee-caps on. They don't like us so well. We I get stung very often, but we have got so used to it that we don't mind it. We have lots of work with bees in summer. They always paid us well for our trouble, except this last summer. Year before last we got about 2000 lbs. of honey, all put up in one and two pound sections. I tell you, we felt proud, as many a dollar we made out of it. We get 20 cts. a i>ound, or we generally give 6 Ihs. for a dollar. ' But father says we must not get discouraged. May ; be next summer they will do well again, and pay ; us double. Father wants to get a Holj-Laiid queen this next summer. I wish you would tell us if they are bet- ter than the Italians, and if you keep them for sale. My father is much obliged for the bee-books you sent him. He is a poor scholar himself. He gener- [ ally gets me to read the journals, or else my mother does; but she hai-dly ever has time to read. I read I to him some evenings; but I have my school lessons i to study. Father means to send me to high school I next winter. Sophia P. Schnekh, age 12. Shrewsbury, Pa., .Jan. 1, 1885. That is a real good honest letter, my little 1 friend, and I am very glad to know that your mother can handle the bees so well. Your report may be an encouragement for other mothers ; who knows? We have the Holy-Land queens for sale, but we do not find them superior as honey-gatherers ; but they have many very valuable traits, espe- cially where one wants a good many queen- cells built, ov where we want to increase colonies rapidly. 1885 CiLKAXIXCS IN BEE CULTURE. G7 0a^ }l0MEg. But one thing- is needful; and Mary hath chosen that g-ood part, which shall not be taken away from her.— Luke 10: ill. T WANT to call yonr .attention this morn- II? inj?, friends, to a simple little story. It ^i is all told in five short verses— the last "^ verses of the tenth chapter of Lnke. There is something to me wonderfully interesting in these little sketclies, because they tell me of the habits of onr Savior, and they give us an insight into that wonderful character of God and man in one. It seems to me that Jesns knew this family before this little story is taken up. It was just aft- er he had given instruction to his disciples in regard to going forth. The beginning of that chapter has that text in it about the harvest and tlie laborers. The seventy had gone out and returned, and he has been talking to them. It was at the same time that the lawyer stood up and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life, and then he tells them the story of the good Saiuaritan. Finally they come into this village. This village is Bethany, near Jerusalem. You will remember that our Lord was wont to stop there, and we have reason to feel that he liad an especial friendshii* and love lor these two sisters and their l)rother. ^Martha probably had charge of the housework. Perhaps she Avas older than her sister Mary. Perhajjs Jesus had sent word beforohaiid that he would stay with tlieni ; and what Avoman is there who nould not have I'elt anxious to have every thing about tlie house- hold de<'ent and in order, when that hum- ble house is to be honored by the bodily presence of the Savior of the world? Martiia had a sister called ^lary, and we are told in one brief line that Mary was much in the habit of sitting at Jesus" feet, where she sat to hear his words. Teachers in olden times taught wliile sitting. We read that the demoniac, after he was healed, was found sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his rigiit mind. We also learn that Paul was taught at the feet of Gamaliel. So we have soinething of an idea of tiie mode of teaching in ancient times. We can imagine the Savior with a group of followers as he had nearly if not all the tinn^ about him. Pupils we might call tliem. Mary, we have reason to suppose, was very earnest and very anxious. Perhaps he sat down in the door- yard, or near their residence. While ]Mary Vvas deeply anxious that no word that fell from his lips should escape her, she was also modest and retiring; and that she might not be in the way of others, who were equal- ly anxious, she probably shrank down near the ground, while at the same time she crowded near to him. In that mild climate it was quite customary for hearers or pupils to sit on the ground. I am inclined to think that Mary was diligent, and ordinarily as- sisted her sister :\Iartha. and did her full share of the housework. But some one told her the Master was coming, and in her zeal and love for him she forgot the housework and preparations lor supper, and with the rest of the people of the village gathered about him. Both sisters were probably human, like ourselves ; but while Mary was intent on the Master's words, Martha was anxious and worried about the supper. You know how it is, dear reader, to be just on the jump to get ready in time for something or somebody, and then find your right-hand helper missing. Can we lilame poor ^Martha for getting impatient and fretful? She had got into that frame of mind wliere she could take in or see nothing but the necessary housework before her. and she straightway decided in her own mind that she was doing exactly right, and Mary was sadly out of the path of duty. Luke explains it all in a few brief words in tliat fortieth verse: "But Martha was cumbered about much serving." Are there any words in our language that will tell it any better? So intent was she with this thought in her mind that she comes to the Savior and complains, saving, •• Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her, there- fore, that she help me." ^Martha was no doubt an excellent house- keeper. Whatsoever was to be done was done in her house according to the Bible maxim. •Decently and in order;" and de- cently and in order the work should be done as long as she was spared to manage. It was a burning shame that Mary should put off that way, just at a time she was needed above ali times, with such a shocking disre- gard and indillerence to the fact that the Savior was at llieir house. I presume not a doubt entered her mind but that Jesus would at once rebuke Mary for her short- comings, and bid her attentl to the import- ant duties devolving upon her. Let us pause a moment and see if we can remember when Jesus took the responsibil- ity upon himself of settliug little dilYerences between brothers and sisters, or neighbors, if you clioo.se, by deciding in favor of either one or the other jiarty. A man once came to him, wishing hini to make his brother divide the property fairly. I have often thought of that answer—'' Man, who made me a divider over thee?" He whom the winds and the waters obeyed, declined assuming the respon.sibility of .saying who was right or who was wrong in these little dilTeieuces. He gave general rules, it is true, for the adjustment of all cpiarrels and disagreements : but he did not deem it within his province to say to anybody, •■'• You are right and your neighbor iswrong." In this case it is true he commended .Mary, and at the same time he kindly and lovingly gave Martha a few words of caution. Poor Mar- tha, like many a good housewife, had been getting her housework and her daily cares and duties a little before the obligaticins due to her (Jod. We are told, away l)ack in the Old Testament, •' Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and I presume our friend Martha never dreamed that her housework and spotless china (I was going to add silver spoons and such things as we have wlien distinguished guests ;ire ex- pected to tea, but very likely they had none of those things) were getting to be of more importance to her than her duties in regard to eternal life. But any way, she had mag- 68 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jax. nified the importance of these things, and had forgotten tlie other. I presume the Savior had told them before this to '' seek ye first the kingdom of God and his rigliteous- ness, and all these things shall be added unto you." But if he did, she had forgotten it, and had forgotten, too, how nearly her sister ]Mary. of whom she had been com- plaining, was heeding that sacred injunc- tion. He repeats her name twice, as it were, in loving rebuke: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things."" lie goes on with the wonderful words of our text : " But one thing is need- ful.'' Perhaps he paused a little here until Martha began wondering what was that one thing we need above all others in this world. As if in answer to that query, he adds. "■ Mary hath chosen that good part that shall not be taken away from her.'' You will notice, friends, that a part of Christ's words seem applicable to the people and subjects right before him. But every now and then we have expressions that have been handed down to us as texts that apply to the present, past, and future, and, in fact, to all time to come. One of these texts was uttered right here, and I have chosen it for a text for my remarks : " I5ut one thing is needful." That applies to you and me as well as to JVIary and ^Martha, and all that as- sembly. What is the one thing needful in this world'? I do not suppose tlie Savior meant that other things are of no importance at all, for of course no reasonable being would understand we are to give up the housework and the business of our daily life, and spend all our time in reading the Bible, or going to meeting. I have sometimes thought tliat some people read the Bible too mucli. Of course, this is not very often the case, but there are sometimes duties that are, for the time being, more important than Bible study, and therefore, if one wants to be a good ( 'hristian, it is by taking u)) liis duties in lite, rather than reading the Bible when he ought to be doing something else. Per- haps I can make my meaning plainer if I put it something this way : There are re- vival meetings in our town at present, or. at least, souls are being saved in a quiet, order- ly sort of way. I think Christians ought to make quite an elfort to be present at these meetings. A great many say tliat tliey can not get away from home,' and may be this is true, iiut suppose some talented lecturer should come along, and everybody were go- ing out to liear him ; under tlie iiilluence of the excitement about him, perhajis you might make some sort of arrangement and go any way, and you would say the case was un- usual, and of great moment. Well, oiu' reg- ular Christian duties are of great moment, and they should be placed llrst and foremost in importance. Sometimes, under the press- ure of circumstances, Ave let supper go en- tirely, or pick up something tliat answers for the special occasion, without stojiping to go through the regular routine; and I would suggest that the Master v»ould have been better pleased had Martha listened to his teachings as Mary did; and when the time for supper came, rnade some hasty prepara- tion for the occasion, taking it for granted that it was of much greater moment to list- en to the Savior's teachings than to have an elaborate meal prepared. Now, my friends, have we chosen the " good part,'" as .Mary did, or are we '' cumbered about much serv- ing,'" as was Martha V Almost ever since I found that little story in the Bible, tliose words, '• ('imibered about much serving."" have rung in my ears. "When things go wrong, and I am wanted at several places at once, I get lidgetty, and may be a little cross and fretful, and 1 do not look happy, as Mary doubtless did, while she sat at the Savior's feet. In fact, riglit here, while I was dictating this Home Paper for your ben- efit, but a little time ago, the head shipping- clerk came to me with a couple of hammers in his hand. Said he, "'Mr. Root, do you call those steel hammers V " "By no means; who said they were steel? " " Why, they have been sending them out for steel hammers, down in the counter store, for some time past." I took both hammers, and started off with some ejaculation about such kind of work as that. On the way tlirough tlie office, several clerks stopped me with some inquiries about other things. I wanted to get back to write the Home Papers, because, when the thread of mv talk gets snai)ppd olf too long I some way lose the spirit, as it were. A good many things had to be righted, and I seemed to be needed in a good many places. I made up my mind that the rest of the Home Papers would have to be left until after dinner, and then we should be in the midst of the daily roar of business. All at once it occurred to me that I was just in the fix i)0()r Martha was when she started to fetcii .Mary back to her work. "Cumbered with much serving '" expresses it exactly. That is just what 1 was, right in the very midst of sitting down to teach the brethren. Would it not be a good plan to give u\) and not try to teach ' any more until I could set a better example? I am afraid if I did, that there would not lie any more Home Papers. Well, what is a body to do? AVhy. the blaster indicated plainly— straighten' out the Avriiikles, soften down your face, look pleasant, and ]n-etty soon everybody will know that you are sit- ting at the Savior's feet like an obedient pupil, and trusting all to him. If he is '' in all " (Colossiaiis :>: 11 ), people will believe it a great deal (piicker if you show it in your face and your daily actions, than if you stand up and say so in the prayer-meeting. Just at this present time, if I am not mis- taken, there are quite a number among the leaders of Gleanings who are " cumbered with nnich serving," besides myself; and in my eiforts to help these friends,' after having read the letters they have written me, I have felt most vividly that we all of us need to remember more that one thing needfuh Quite a number of the brethren have in- vested more largely in business than they ought to have done. During the fore part of last season there seemed a jirospect of a great demand for many things, that did not hold out as we expected; and after the honey season was over, we found ourselves witli unsold property on our hands, and debts to meet. Some of us have had "too 1885 GLEANlNr;S IN 15EE CULTURE. 69 many irons in the fire," to use a common expression. We, by our anxiety to accumu- late wealth and business, cumber our- selves, and we have been working and wor- rying until we have hardly time lor the weekly^ prayer-meetings, for the Sunday- school lesson-helps, tor Bible-reading, and the study of God's word. We have been following ^Martha's plan, and we have not been happy. Years ago a little brother stood by my side. He was as bright and as pretty and as funny as Iluber ; and witli the rest of the children I taught him to walk, and laughed at the efforts of his baby-tongue to frame words and sentences. I personally taught him his A B C's, and led his little infant mind through tlie First Header. He did not take naturally to study ; and wlicn lie was tired I used to" take long walks with him in the fields. Sometimes I took him to the neigh- boring grist-mill, and let him see the "wheels go round." Ilajjpy days those were; and since that l)rotlier h;is grown up and gone into business. I often think of him. lie was always industrious and hard work- ing, patient and faithful, and yet I fear his life is not as happy as it was when he was a lisping child, knowing nothing of the cares of this world. One reason why he has had so much care and worry is, because he has tried too many kinds of business. By the time he has become expert and etlicient in one line, he has taken some other, and has had to learn a new trade as it were. Of course, there has been reason for this, and good reason. AVhen his health failed from indoor work, he turned to farming ; but I think he commenced on too huge a farm. Boys, how many of us are doing that same thing? Instead of being content with a little of this world's goods, and that little in sucli good order, and so well cared for. that it does not cmnber us. and make slav( s of us, Ave cripple ourselves by taking upon us too much care and too much worry. I need this little verse, may be. more than any of you, and I am going to try to profit by it. There has been (juite a protest of late against crowding children at school, espe- cially while they are young. Our boys and girls often have more studies than they can manage easily. They become l)nrdened and cumbered, and very" often, I fear, the one thing needful is crowded out or passed by for the time being. Now, it is not only the children, but it is men and women in "early life, that are cumbered, cramped, and crip- pled by cares too lieavy for them, and bur- dens too great. ^V few days ago I had a talk with a young man who has commenced late- ly in business. He is bright, active, ingen- ious, honest, and true. Besides all this, his physical health is good, and he is in love with his chosen avocation. I used to look upon him as a model, almost, of a nice busi- ness young man. I felt sure he would win his way in the world, and it seemed to me as though he had the mental and physical abil- ity to rise in the world easily. Itused to be Avorth a good deal to me to" see liim laugh over his work, especially when he met ob- stacles, lie was always cool and quiet and collected -, but for all that, he enjoyed a suc- cess and a victory over obstacles as much as anybody. Well, business sort o' fell in his way as it were ; in fact, it tumbled into his hands, as business always tumbles into or on to those who are capable, brave, and true. I saw, or thought I saw, with dismay that he was going to have more than he could well manage. It was business of such a sort, too, that there was no margin to pay for efficient helpers. He came to me for a little advice on some matters connected with his business. I told him how I felt about it. Finally, said I. '• Do you enjoy your work? are you as happy in carrying it bnas you used to be when you had only a little, and that little Avas always nicely done, and easily un- j der your complete control?" " No, I do not enjoy it one bit." was his reply. He is a Christian, and fully understands all these things I liaAc been telling you ; but I fear he is getting to be '• cumbered Avith much serving." like so many of the j rest of us ; and if he is not released from I some- part of the Aveight that rests on his young shoulders. I fear he may be crippled I for life. I do not mean by this that his health will break down, but I am afraid his ' natural fund of courage and energy, and I also his rare skill and ingenuity, Avill be drowned in drudgery and toil too great for ' one of his age. I do not fear that he will lose his hold on Christ, but I am afraid his ' life will not be as happy and joyous and as ; useful in the Avork of tlie Master as it might otherwise be. I want to enlarge right here on a point that has V)een a long time on my mind, dear friends. It is this matter of taking upon ourselves, or loading upon our children, more than they are ready for or can bear. You know how often I have recommended that beginners in bee culture should take a , few hives— one or two ; and Avhen they be- come i)erfectly able to take charge of more ' withoiit being cum])ered, then let them do I it. It is true in any kind of business ; and I j do not know but it is true in all animated ! nature. IVter Henderson says, if a plant I gets f(>eble. and looks as if it Avere going to I die. do not put on guano or liquid manure: j do not even water it : let it alone. When the soil is so dry that the plant looks rather ! dried up. it will very likely start to put out a leaf. Now, if you make haste to give it a dose it Avill surely die. (iive it a very little Avater. and Avatch the effect. When you find that a little Avater causes it to thrive, in- crease the quantitv a little, and do this so carefully that you will, after a little, discov- er how inuch it will bear. When you begin fiving it fertilizers, Avork in the same way. 'irst satisfy yourself what it Avill bear, then feed it just so much as does it good— no more. In due time you can turn on the Ava- ter by the barrelfiil, give it wheelbarroAv loads'of strong manure, pour on your liquid fertilizers Avithout stint, for it h'as become now a great tree, and can manage strong ; food. The plant thrlA'es. and looks happy. You are happy too, because you have learn- ed to imderstand it. The same is true of sick people or sick animals. Wait until you know that Avhat you are giving does good be- GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. J AX. fore you give it too heavy loads or heavy d(»ses. Can a man be a Christian, and yet b? un- able to ir.cel his liouest duesV Wliy, y(S, of coxirse lie can, for Christians are often beset with unseen reverses; but I tell you, my friends, a Christian can work for the master tenfold more effectively if he can be free from these kinds of encumbrances, and he ought to be very careful that he docs not get into any places that will cripple him and cumber him, and weigh him down in the way debt does. Now do you see my applica- tion':* When you go into busineh-s, have a little business, and have that little nicely attended to. Have your shop and your tools all decent and in order. Be so much abreast of your work that it will not suffer if you take an liour or a day to sit at the Master's feet, or to do errands for him when he l)ids you. When you can manage easily without being cumbered, and feeling that your work is drudgery, then, if you choose, undertake a little more, or enlarge somewhat. But I do think, dear friends, it is a most excellent thing to have some hard cash ahead. ^Ir. Terry has written an excellent article in the Oliio' Farmer recently, on this very subject. He said that he once had an accident that came near taking his life, lie was too badly hurt to speak, or give any sign to let them" know that he knew what was going on around. But even at such a time it gave him a thrill of pleasure, and he thinks helped toward his recovery, to remember that there was money enough in the bank to meet all his obligations, and pay all ex- penses attending a spell of sickness. Mr. Terry is a farmer. He makes farming pay ; but after reading his articles for some time past, I have come to the conclusion that one great secret of it is, that he is never cum- bered with much serving. He has not only lime to do every thing tliat needs to be done, and to do it well, but he has a little spare cash always on hand to meet any contin- gency, or to take advantage of any rare chance that comes along. I do not know tliat ]Mr. Teiry is a Christian, but I do know and feel" that he sets a good exam- l)Ie for Christians. A few days ago it all at once occurred to me that this young brotlier of whom I have been speaking was in danger of going tlirougli life without enjoying the things that (iod has placed here in this world to make us hajipy. He is a farmer, and has a large beautiful farm, if 1 am c(trrect ; but with tlie amount of business he always has on hand, and which he is unable to attend to without exjx'usive hired help, I am afraid that life to him will, on the whole, be a sort of weary slavery of business, instead of be- ing glad and "joyous, as (iod intended it should be. A few days ago he told me if his last venture did notsucceed any better, he was going on to his farm with his boys, and that he would not have a bit of hired help around him. What they could not do should be left undone, and they would take things easy. It seemed to me' like a bit of bright sunshine coming out through the clouds, and 1 decided I v.ould take a part of the advice myself. Now, why is it that Ave voluntarily cumber ourselves Avith so many cares? I have thought of this matter a great deal. As a general thing, I believe we cumber ourselves ecause we hope to make much money by some new investment or industry, or we hope to make money easier than we have been doing. Some of us get tired of the monotony of every-day life. V,'e want some- thing new— some sort of excitement as it were. Tlie Root family are especially sub- ject to such feelings. I believe. If they do not have some sort of excitement going on, they imagine they are sick— at least that is my disposition a good deal. And this brings us to our text again— what do we desire most in life? and is the thing we desire most, the one thing needful? When Christ is tirst and foremost, and Avhen we get up a healthy excitement in re- gard to living pure lives, then we are all right. Now. suppose we should get carried away with the idea of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking Immbly "before tiod, what harm would it do? Or suppose we should get up such an enthusiasm that we could hardly wait for daylight to come, and, in a determination to stop expenses, make the best of every thing we already possess, owing no man aught but love and kindness, and tilings of this sort, would anybody be afraid that we should carry it to "too great an extreme? I am fond of excitement ; fond of neAv hobbies ; but if I do not look out it runs into a fondness for buying new and expensive machinery, new and liigh- priced seeds, strawberries, raspberries, poul- try, etc. Well, during the past few months I have been very happy in a new idea of taking good care of the property «?)Y(/f7// in my hands, and a blessing has come witli it. It seems to me it is a good deal like my brother's decision to go on to his farm, Avith- out a bit of hired help, tlius stopping out- goes, do the best he could, Avorking alone with the children (iod has given him. and accepting such reAvard as God chooses to giA'e, and 7}(rtAe expenses come inside of this reAAard. Does not this come pretty nearly in line Avith our text? One Avho does this can look to the Savior, and sit at liis feet Avith a clear conscience, and the liappy, peaceful sense of Avronging no man. When some money is put aAvay for sickness and a rainy day, and the lesson has been Avell learned, of making expenses keep inside tlie income, then let us Avisely and carefully con- sider new seeds, ucav stock, new inachinery, etc. In carrying this out, perhaps Ave may go through tlie world i)oortr in dollais and cents than by taking risks and inciiring debt, (I can not for a minute think it possible, however, in a general Avay ; can you?) but shall we not be richer in that good part which shall not be taken away? NoAV. friends, hoAV shall it be? Will this next venture that stands right l.efore you cause you to be " cumbered Avitli mucli serv- ing,"' spoil your happiness and peace of mind, or will" it lead to a low seat at the Master's feet, Avith kindness and good Avill toward men? Is Christ the Savior first, foremost, and all in all to you? or are you so far from him that the cares of the 1885 GLEANINGS IN EEE CULTURE. 71 Avorld stand between you and cumber you? .Vre you serving him witli a joyous service, or are you a slave to this world's cares, cum- bered and bowed down? If the latter, in his name I bid you drop it all. Come, and let us take a low seat near to Jiis feet, and learn of him, for we have the promise. " Seek ye first the kingdom of dJod and his righteousness, and all else" (these things that cumber and worry us included) " shall be added unto you." Recent Developments, And Suggestior.s and Queries Particularly Fcr'.aining to the Season. FEEDING AFTER NOVEMBER, ETC. 'AN. 1,1884, I began giving: my whole time to the bee busines. They did well the first two years, some making 100 lbs. of surplus, which I sold at 30 cts. at home; but this year was a "stunner;" white clover did well tor us, but it has not got well set in our country yet. After that there was very little. Blooms was very plentiful, but had no nectar. I made 3,5 chad' hives on my Barnes saw. I bought bees and filled 20, and with my 10 old and 6 new ones made 36; they were all in good shape for our fall bloom, which is tJic crop here. In IBSJ, the 12th of Aug. was the first surplus I got. The flow lasted till Sept. l.')th ; but this fall I was feeding, instead of taking off surplus. Owing to sickness I was delayed feeding till Novembor. I was bothered a good deal in not having a larger feed- er than your five-cent one. My bees had only .5 to 10 lbs. when I began, so I fed 10 lbs. of syrup, of granulated sugar, half as much water as sugar; then I saw Jas. Heddon's article on syrup, only 3 lbs. of water to 10 of sugar, and a little tartaric acid. This made a syrup so thick that on cool nights it would be taken down very slowly. I tried making .50 lbs. into candy in brood-frames, as A B C tells of, and much prefer it to syrup so late as this. It was hard to get chafl' to put in upper story, so I went to the corn-sheller and got the silk that is cleaned from Ihe shelled corn. What do you think of it? Hopkins, Mo. John C. Stewart. The silk from corn answers nicely in place of chaff, friend S.; but you want to look out for mice. They think it is nice too. I think I should prefer candy so late in the season. DRONES IN THE WINTER. To-day, Dec. 2*, I have a colony of bees with nice drones. I should like to know the reason. They have a nice queen. I got her from you last Octo- ber. They have had drones since June, and have had them ever since the rest killed their drones last July. This one has quite a lot. CuAS. SAYI..ER. Marchand, Ohio, Dec. 28, ISSt. As a rule, drones in winter indicate the queen to be a drone-layer or a i)artial drone- layer, althougii this is not always the ease. Sometimes a very strong colony will keep drones right through winter, Vvithout our being able to observe that the queen is in any way lacking when she commences lay- ing largely in tlie spring. If sealed drone- brood is now found in the hives, I should be inclined to call the queen a drone-layer. CALIFORNIA nONEV AT 12ii CTS. PER LB. The following came to hand after our reg- ular market report had been printed: Chicago. — J/o(if,iy. — The demand is very light. Prices are weak, and a gradual decline of prices will follow this date, in the etfort to work off the crop. Many of the producers are yet in posses- sion of their last crop. California honey can be bought here at 12'2C per pound in comb. Chicago, 111., Jan. 12, 1885. K. A. Bjjrnett. MOVING bees WITH HOUSEHOLD GOODS. I moved 12 colonies of bees in a car with household goods; car was 8 days on the road. Bees were shut up 12 days in Langstroth hives, with wire screen on top. Itesult, about one quart of dead bees in every hive; about a dozen broken combs, queens safe, and colony in fair condition for wintering. Bolivar, Denton Co., Texas. Gcst.w Rauch. FROM 3 TO 16, AND A PLEASED "PASSENGER." Being very well pleased with your "craft" and its crew on the voyage last year, I have concluded to renew mj- ticket, and keep company with you through the present year. Find the "ducat" in- closed. I lost mare than half my bees last winter, with dysentery, and the remainder were weak. I did not get an ounce of honey last season, running alone for colonies, ending the season with 16 from 3. I have them i)acked in paper, on a plan of my own, which I may describe to you, should it prove a success. If not, the less said the better. They went through the late cold snap finely, and yester- day were out strong, making good use of the pres- ent warm spell. C. Garwood. Baltimore, Md., Jan. 1. 188.-). Mv report for 18f4. Last spring my bees were in pretty fair condition, being strong in bees, honey, and brood, when the yield of honey commenced, all except 4 that were weak, and did not make any honey, only cnougli to keep them, and for winter. From the .5), I secured of surplus honey, 32)1 lbs.; I'^O lbs. in one-pound sections; 8;K) lbs. was all I got finished from clover andbasswood; the rest was finished with Spanish needle and smartweed honey, which looks very nice in one-pound boxes. I had 14W lbs. of extracted honey, mostly fall houej-. My increase was by di- viding and building up, and rearing queens. Near- ly all were in pretty fair condition for winter. shoveling snow over the hives. There was a i)retty good snow last Tuesday, and I shoveled snow over all the hives, thinking it would be cold weather for a month Or so; but I was disap- pointed, for the weather is warmer, and has l)een raining for almost a week, and to-night 'tis just pouring down. The snow is all melted, and the ground is all covered with water and mud. Lima, Ills., Dec. GO, 18?4. J. A. Thornton, 51— "3. Friend T., I do not believe I would shovel snow over tlie hives, neither would I shovel the snow off, as some of the friends have done. This is an old (piestion, and I believe the general decision was, not to do anything with the snow at all. If you coidd lix up some sort of a windbreak, to make the snow drift up over the hives, so as to be soft and light, just as it falls, il would be an excellent protection ; Init shoveling snow is apt to disturb the bees, and may do them harm. In fact, examples have been given, showing pretty clearly that unreasonable disturbance sometimes results in dysenterv. GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE- Jan. FEEDING BEES. I,.VYIXKU I'l.NT. May be you all say that can not be, because the P. M. (i. will not allow it. I5ut you see we are ahead of you. Friend Oldroyd has contrived some ink-powders that will make just as good ink as he ever made in the world, simply by dissolving the powders in v,ater. Each package, dissolved in a pint of pure rain water, makes a pint of good ink, and the price is 13 cts. If wanted by mail, add 2 cts. per l)ackage. We have in stock, packages for black, blue, violet, green, or red. Eight packages will be sold for $1.00, or 6J packiiges for $.5.C0. If it ever gets too thick, it can be reduced any time with wa- ter. They will not injure bj' freezing, and do not corrode the pen. SOMETHINC AIJOIT OlIJ ONE-l'lECE SECTION .MA- CHINE. We ha\ e made such improvements that we think we have the best machine in the market. On our old ipachines the collars that the saws were fasten- WHEN DOCTORS DI.SAGREE, WHO SHALL DECIDE? In our December number, page S.'SO, Gen. Leggett declared that Forncrook had not then taken an ap- peal. Mr. F. sent us a statement from his lawyer, declaring the appeal to have been taken, and that the clause in Forncrook's price list was fully author- ized. I am sure I do not know who is right in the matter— perhaps both are right— Forncrook mean- ing that steps had been taken to take an appeal, and 1 think Gen. Leggett was certainly correct in saying that Mr. F. had not taken an appeal. Mr. J. A. Osborne, who had charge of the case, writes that on the 6th of Jan., Forncrook filed a bond with the clerk of the Circuit Court, for the purpose of taking an appeal, and I am to-day, Jan. 6th, ollicially noti- fied that such an appeal has now been taken. I do not know that it makes any verj- great difference when the matter is commenced, more than that, if any statements have appeared in Gleanings not strictly true, it was because we were wrongly in- formed; and whenever we are satisfed that we have been wrongly informed, we are always ready to retract. (iru NEW machine for making the FOCK-PIECE I DOVETAILED SECTIONS. I We shall probably soon have an engraving of this machine, to answer the many inquiries in regard to it. It may be described briefly thus: Imagine a ten-inch circular saw properly hung on a mandrel, directly before your face. Well, now, right under the saw imagine a wooden wheel covered with sand- paper. Suppose both saw and wheel to be running at the proper speed. In front of the sandpapered wheel is a table. On this table you lay your piece of planed plank, dovetailed, of course, on each end. Now, if you lay a piece of plank on this table, and imsh it up against the sandpapered wheel, of course the face end of the plank will be sandpapered. Well, the table on which the plank rests is attached to a frame like the frame of an old-fashioned up- and-down water saw-mill. Hy means of a crank and pitman, this gate has a slow motion up and down, carrying the table with it. Now, this sand- papered wheel stands a little further back than the buzz-saw — just enough back of it so that when the plunk is carried up after being sandpapered, the buzz-saw slices off a piece just thick enough for a section blank. After this blank is sawed off, the table falls until the blank stands once more in front of the sandpapered wheel. Just as soon as it comes in the right position, the operator crowds the plank forward, sandpapers the end as before, and the 71 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Jan. buzz-saw slices off another blank, and so on. The machine is quite simple, and does its woi-k perfect- li'. AVe can fill orders on short notice, for $33.00 for a complete machine. This machine will make about 8330 or 10,000 sections per day; and as it dis- penses with the cigar-box planer (the sandpaper wheel taking its place), it is the cheapest rig, per- haps, for making sections, all the machinery needed being an ordinary buzz-saw table and set of groov- ers. Of course, you will need a planer to plane the plank, unless you have it done at some planing- mill. <)UI{ TEN-CENT INDUSTRIAL I.TlUiAHV. A BOOK on horses. We have just made arrange- ments whereby Kendall's treatise on horses can be furnished for only 10 cts. We have sold hundreds of the books for 25 cts., as many of the friends will remember. This, with the poultry-book mentioned elsewhere, makes two toward our ten-cent industri- al books. We expect to buj- these books by the thousand, and therefore we ought to have a pi-etty fair little treatise on matters in special rural in- dustries for the above amount of money. If want- ed by mail, add two cents extra for postage. IILING GKOOVING-SAWS. In my remarks in regard to the matter last month I omitted to state that these should be properly ad- justed on the mandrel, with the necessary washers and papers to make the dovetailing as tight as you want it; and after being so screwed up, the saws should be filed right on the mandrel. Under no circumstances think of filing them separately. If you once get the adjustment changed, it is next to impossible to get them in place again. Always file gangs of saws right on the mandrel. Our cant files on the different counters are right for the purpose. AN APOLOGY FOR AN UNINTENTIONAL BLUNDER. I AM ashamed to say it, but quite a number of cast-iron hammei-s have been sent out where steel ones were ordered, and should have been sent. They are worth 15 cts. each, while the steel ones are worth 35 cts.; and therefore if any of the friends who have received them can make use of them so as to allow us 15 cts., we will give them credit for 30 cts. on account, if they will notify us of the fact. If that won't make it pleasant, tell us what to do, and we will try to do it. The fault was with the manufacturer who shipped us the hammeis; but as he failed in business soon after they were sent (is it any wonder?) it seems I have nobody to fall back on. When the matter was submitted to me I re- monstrated because the clerks did not know by their looks what the hammers were. They said they knew they did not look just right, but supposed they must bo, because they came out of the right box. We found three dozen of these hammers mix- ed in among a gross of steel ones. advertising your business. May be you think by the above that we are fish- ing for advertisements for our journal. Well, just see now how much you are mistaken. What I had in mind was some little sign-boards to tack up on the gate-post, or on the barn, or may be on a tree. In fact, you can put them in all these places if you wish, and you won't be much out of pocket then, for they cost only 10 cts. each, and yet they are 414 inches wide and 18 inches long, and are very pretti- ly lettered, " Honey for Sale." They are, in fact, an improvement on the sign-boards advertised in our price list. But they are made by a new process. They are, in fact, printed on a large printing-press made expressly to print sign-boards. The only way Icould buy them so as to sell them at this extreme- ly low price was by buying 10.)0 " at a lick." Now, you see, I can not get my money back unless I sell an " awful lot" of them, and that is what's the mat- ter. If you want them by mail, add 6 cts. for post- age and tying them up. REVERSIBLE FRAMES. NiMSHi NuzuM. of Boothesville, W. Va., has sent us a model of the best dcnMce for a reversible frame, in my opinion, of any thing heretofore pre- sented. I should say there was no question but that it would work, and the expense need not ex- ceed two cents per frame. In fact, we will agree to furnish tlicm for that, and I think likely they can be turiiislicil lor less, with proper machinery. It is made 1 roiii a single piece of tin, by cutting and fold- ing, without any solder, and yet it is strong and substantial when finished, like the device in the last volume, p:tge 15(5. Friend N.'s device, with ap- propriate engravings, will be given in our next issue. We will furnish reversible frames, made on this plan, for «;5.()J oer lO'J in the flat, or $6.00 per 100 put together and wired. Sample by mail. 15 cts. P. S.— Dear me! who shall say again what can or can not be done? Our friend M. Broers, of Gonzales, Texas, sends us a reversible metal corner that beats friend Nuzum's, and all that have heretofore appeared. It is strong and simple, and reverses without any loose traps. We can furnish them for one cent each, aud they can be put on any frame in a moment. This is the best thing at present writ- ing, but no one knows what the next mail will bring. CIRCULARS RECEIVED. J. S. Tadlock. Lulin?, Te.xas, sends us a 1-page circul.ir. B. .J. Miller & Co.. Nappanee, Ind., semi us a 12-page list of hives and supplies generally. Kennedy & Lo xhy, Higginsville. Mo., sonl out a 6-pije circu- lar. Hives, and supplies generally. E. L. Goold & Co.. Brantfovd, Ontario, send out a 40-page circular, giving much valuable information. F. Boomhovver. Gallupville. N. Y.. 12-pa)je circular, printed at this ofHce, and contains much useful information. Drake & Smith, successors to A. K. Manum, Bristol. Vermont, send out a 12-page circular; specialty, white-poplar sections. hives, Italian hees and queens. The H F. Moeller Manvifacturin:; C.> , D ive:iport, lowv. send us a 28-nage ci-cular of hives, nn:l suiMiIii'^ f»v bee-keepers generally. This firm also manufaitui i w.isliin ,' mxc^iines. F. A. & H. O. Salisbuiy. Geddes, \. V s, n l ,..it a very pretty 22-i)agp price lis"-. One of their six. I;iltiis i> tlie Shipman au- toiimtic piTjin". It needs no cngiiini nor lireiuen, but runs Fiirii I llcil 1 .!i sen Is us a very pretty 32-pa. .,- u..rkiim- with .1 particu- th'i' '!'•'"' .1 ''i'''i' '■' i'' ! ' ■: '^'I'l ■' ". "l. '','t'.'r .'.•M!llV''takinff FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE. I have the following goods on hand, that I will sell cheap, or exchange for anything useful to me. Fourteen second hand Pianos and Organs, six Sew- ing-machines, new, a large ()uantir.\- of Shoct Music, and Instruction-books. Also siiuill instru incuts. All are the stock of my discontiiinod music-store. F. W. WALTEU. 2d Staunton, Augusta Co., Va. IF YOU WANT A (JOOI) ONE-PIECE SECTION CHEAP, Send to us. Sample and Price List Free. SMITH & SMITH, KENTON, HARDIN CO., OHIO. 2tfdb 100 Scroll-saw designs for 10c, for working brack- ets, easels, etc., etc. J. L. HYDE. Pomfret Lauding, Conn. DADANT'S FOUNDATION FACTORY, Whole- sale and retnil. See advertisement in another column. 3btfa GLEANINGS IN UEE CULTURE. Contents of this Number. Alley's Drone-trap. . . Australia Badges Banner Apiary Bananas Bees anil C"iATION. High side-walls. 4 to 14 square feet to the pound. Circular and samples free. J. VAN DEUSEN & SONS. 4tfd Si)lf Muniifiirtinrr^. SPROUT BROOK, MONT. CO.. N. Y. VANDERVORT COMB FOUNDATION MILLS. Send for samples and reduced price list. tfdb JNO. VANDERVORT. LaceyviUe, Pa. Names of responsible parties will be inserted in any of the following departments, at a uniform price of 20 cents each insertion, or $2.00 per year. $1.00 Queens. Namei insntrd in Uiix department the flrf>t time wit)i' out chm-ge. After, 20c encli insertion, or $2.(i0 per year. Those whose names appear below agree to furnish Italian queens for $1.00 each, under the following conditions : No guarantee is to be assumed of purity, or anj^hlng of the kind, only that the queen be rear- ed from a choice, pure mother, and had commenced to lay when they were shipped. They also agree to return the money at any time when customers be- come impatient of such delay as may be unavoidable. Bear in mind, that he who sends the best queens, put up mf)st neatly and most securely, will probably receive the most (liclcrs. Siiccial rates for warrant- ed and testfd (juefii-iiiotliiT. n thc(|ucen arrives dead, notify us and we will send miu anothei-. Probably none will be sent for :t;i.iKI before .July 1st, or after Nov. If wanted sooner, or later, see rates in price list. *A.I. Root. Medina. Ohio. *H. H. Brown. Light Street, Columbia Co., Pa. Itf ♦Paul L. N'iallon, lUnou Goula, La. Itfd *S. F. Newman, Norwalk. Huron Co., O. Itfd *Wm. Ballantiue, Sa;:o, Musk. Co., O. Itfd *D. G. Edmistoii, .\dnnii. Leu. Co., Mich. :^tfd *Dr. .John M. I'lice. Tami)a, Hillsboro (^o., Fla. n^i *S. G. Wooil, Hiniiiiit.'-ham, .leff. Co., Ala. Itfd Mos. Bvriu', Itaton Kouge, E. Baton R. Co.. La. T-.'i *W. W.'Turn.'r. dak Hill, Greene Co., N. V. 7-5 *S. C. Perrv, Porthrnd, Ionia Co.. Mich. :jtfd Will True. Chadwell, ( latsop Co., Oregon. SI-7 Jas. O. Kacey, Tax istoek, ( Int., Can. ItftI ♦D. E. Jacobs. Longley. Wood Co.. O. l-2:f *H. J. Hancock. Siloam Springs. Benton Co., .\rk. :ttfd »E. T. Lewis. Toledo. Lucas Co., O. HI •C. C. Vaughn, Columbia, Maury Co., Tenn. 3tfd G. M. Doolittle, Borodino, Onondaga Co., N. V.:^-i;i Hive Manufacturers. Who agree to make such hives, and at the prices named, as those described on our circular. A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio. P. L.Viallon, Bayou Goula, Iberville Par., La. Itfd C. W. Costellow, Wiiterboro, York Co., Me. 21-19 Kenneily A: Leahy. Higginsville. Lafayette Co., Mo. 3tfd F. A. Snell. Millcdgeville, Carroll Co.. 111. 1-13 E. T. I-ewls. Toledo. Lucas Co., Ohio. :}-l H. F. Mueller, cor. r>th at. and Western Ave.. Davenport, la. 3-1 C. P. Bish, Petrolla, Butler Co., Pa. .3-18 Milo S. West, Bo.\- :;02, Flint, Genesee Co.,Mich.3-I3 F. M. Blanchard, Orwell, Ashtabula Co., O. 3tfd FOR SALE! CHOICE SEED CLOVER AND POTATOES. By Freight or E.vpress. I mail \ bus' 1 I peck I lb. Mb. Alsike Clover | $10 00 | $2 7.5 | 20c | 40e White Clover i 10 00 3 00 | 20c I 40c Hall's early peachblow po- I tatoes 12.5 I .50 1,5c I 3.5c Ontario | 1 25 | 50 | 16c | :i5c Address E. S. HILDEMANN, AsUlppiin, Dodge <'o., Wis. Please mention this Journal if asked for the above advertisement. 2tfdb TESTED aUEENS, $2.00. Untested, $1.00. 4-frame nu- clei, $3..50 and $4. .50. Mississippi w a. \ -ex tractor, $3.00. OSCAR F. BLEDSOE, Grenada, Miss. 3tfd U/AMTCn ^^'ax to work into foundation by the VVANItUi pound, or for a share. For particulars address 0. H. TOWNSEND, Alamo, Mich. 8-td 80 GLEANIXGS IX BEE CULTURE. Feb. PONEY Cqmmn. CITY MARKETS. Kansas City.— Houcj/.— Very little honej' being received, and stock of 1-lb. sections about sold out. The stock of 2-lb. sections, California, is good and very low, while the low price of 2-lb. sections keeps 1-lb. sections low also. One-pound sections, 1.5(r?16c for good white comb in good style of crates; 2-1 bs., 12^/ Uc; dark and old stock, 8(f(!l2c. Extracted, Cali- fornia, 5'4(5.'t); white-clover, 7(«i8; Southern, .5'/2@6. Trade is looking brighter. Beeswax, none in mar- ket. Clemons, Cloon & Co., Jan. 22, 1885. Cor. 4th & Walnut Sfs., K. C, Mo. Cincinnati.— T/rjiiC!/.— The market for honey in all its branches was extremely dull with us since our last report. Manufacturers buy but little, and .iobbing trade is slow, while retail demand is only fair; offerings are liberal of comb and extracted honey at prices at the option of the buyer. No change of t^uotations from last month. Beeswax is in good de- mand, and offerings arc fair. It brings 26(f'30c on arrival. Chas. F. Mith, S. E. Cor. Freeman and Cciitnil A\ cmies. Jan. 26, 18a5. Cinc-hmati, O. Chicago.— Ho)i«iy. — Market very quiet. Prices easy; stock heavy. California takes preference in the home demand. The cold weather does not per- mit of shipping at present, if there wei-e any orders; but 1 don't know of any orders here this week. Ex- tracted, very dull. Beeswax, 3(lc for yellow. K. A. BUKNETT, Jan. 21, 1885. ](jl So. Water St., Chicago, Til. St. Louis.— Honcj/.— No change to note since our last report. We quote to-day as follows: Southern extracted honey, in barrels, i>V,^t>ni-\ liiilt-bairels. fiU- Northern, worth more. There is oiil.\- u retail demand for comb honey. White el<>\er, l.'ia iti'^c. Dark not wanted. Beeswax dull at 26J(29e. W. T. Anderson At Co., Jan. 28, 1885. 104 N. Third St., St. Louis, Mo. (S ITALIAN BEES. FULL COLONIES, NUCLEI, If you intend buying bees or queens this season, send for my circular and price list. You will save money by so doing. atfdb C. C. Vaughn, Columbia, Tenn. 20 HIVES OF HYBRID, AND 55 HIVES OF BLACK BESS, j All in new Langstroth hives, will he ready for ship- ment by May 1st. Send for price list. Send ail or- ders to G. TT-. ALBRKCHT, ' 3-8db Duy.das, Calumet Co., Wi.wnisin. BEOWN L. eggs, *2 and $3 per 13. P. Rock, ?2; Wy- andotte, *2.50; Pekin ducks, 0 for .•51..50; Bronze turkeys, 25 «ts. each. JOHN H.DANIEL, Box 187. Cumberland, Guernsey Co., O. N. B.— The mill advertised by me in last number is not an old and worn-out one. It has not been used more than ten hours, and hence is a new mill. I wish to sell it. because I am going to quit bee- keeping, and I can not get wax in this section. 3 Boston.— Horn;/.— Honey, very slow of sale; l'i(i^i 18c for best white 1 and 2 lb. sections. Extracted, no sale. Blake & Ripley, Jan. 21, 1885. 5T Chatham St., Boston, Mass. Detroit. — Hojiey. — The honey market is but fairly active. A good article is bringing about 14c. Jan. 21, 188.5. A. B. Weed, Detroit, Mich. For Sale.— I will sell honey in any sized cans (cans included) at— white clover, lie; buckwheat, 9c; 1500 lbs. on hand. H. Barber, Adrian, Mich. For Sale.— 600 lbs. white-clover honey in I'l-lb. sections. John F. Racine, Wallen, Allen Co., Ind. For Sale.— 500 lbs. of choice white-clover honey. Very light color, extracted. Who wants it, all or part? Will Ellis, St. Davids, Ont., Canada. For Sale.— I have for sale about 6 tons of honey in 5-gallon tin cans, put up in cases, two cans in u case. Also about one ton of comb honey in I'i-lb. sections. C. S. Lewis, San Jacinto, San Diego Co., Cal. Foil Sale Cheap.— 500 or C.;o lbs. of white-clover and basswood honey, in 1 andl'j 11). sections, lor one shilling per lb., delivered on cars here. G. W. Aluhecht, Dundas, Calumet Co , Wis. X3MEFORT£D CAB.mOLAIVS. t.iHili- all. I I'rifes of Queens: | .spring | June |J.*.-V. | Fall Kii!. -t s.l,,t,.i Queens, each.. | « 7 (X) I 15 00 I 3.-> 00 I $4 50 I I'l.ilui.- ■• " .. I fi 00 I 5 ro I 4 50 I 4 00 !;• :ii . .1 in I arnlola. Safe arrival by mail gTiaranteed. Same iiriii> lur imported Italians. For " circular, address MUS. KKANK BENTON, Angelka.X. Y. Send grf enbacks register- ed, draft, or postal-order to FKANK BENTON, MrxiCH. Gkr- MANY. .'itidh NOW READY! NOW READY!! 500 D. S. STANDARD HONEY-EXTRACTORS. 1000 TOLEDO SMOKERS, Both of which took the first premium at Ohio, Indi- ana and Micliigan Tri-State Fair in Sept., 18S4. We also manufaetiiii' ami ileal in a lull line of Apiarian Supplies. Send address lor circular. E. T. LEWIS & CO., Toledo, Lucas Co., 0. Blf hot e.tale ami llrtail. EE- KEEPERS' -s- SUPPLIE, Pcplir ici Basswood Sections a Specialty. JL/ SEND 2-CENT STAMP for SAMPLE and PRICE. S. D. BUELL, UNION CITY, MICH. 2tfdb Hydrometers for Testing Honey. We have .iust sm^eecded in getting a beautil'iil lit- tle insti-nnit-nt, all <>t ghiss, that will indicate the (Icnsitx 111 h()ni'.\ or inai)le syrup, or any kind of s.\ riip, li.\ siiii|)l.\- ilropping it into the li!< I than OO cts. each. Sent postpaid, in tlie U. S. and Panadas. To all oiiier conn- i trien of the Universal Postal Union, IKc per ran r extra. To all countries NOT of the tr. P. U., 48c per year extra. NOTES FROM THE BANNER APIARY. UOILIXG SUGAR SVIiUI'. KIEND KOOT:-You say, on ))UKC' fi. that you |iV are glad to know that I succoedcd in making- W toed without boilinp it. I xuirrnlccl, but the feed cnjiitallizcd. Unless the leedinjr were i .\ 5 .\ 1',. on account of its larger sur- face for evaporation, is the one to adopt? Then it (oo/i.s- laiger, thus having an advantage in selling. If we are to use the case method, why cling to the ' old size of section, whose only merit Is in just till- ing an L. trame.- The larger size will cost no more, I and I think would he st ronger to ship. What do you think ol Mr. Heddou's closing para- graph in his article in (ii.KAN i.\(is for Dec. l.'j? Does that not savor ol monopoly? It seems to me he is I putting a sort ot moral embargo on us, that, if car- I ried out, would amount to a moral patent, without any of th" e.vpense of a real Government protec- j tion. It hits me right at home, as ] was thinking of ; making his stvle of case to sell ne.xt season. I could sell them at one-half his prices, and yet make good 1 wages. Do you think there Is any moral wrong in ' so doing? If I mistake not, you are a Christian, and GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. i^Efi. I ask you as a brother for j-our opinion. I should not want to go into any thing that had even the ap- pearance of wrong. Please give me your idea from a moral, not a business, standpoint. Yours truly,— C. A. Hatch. Ithaca, Kichland Co.. Wis., Dec. 29, 1S81. To the above I replied as follows: I have used 4000 i\i x 4'4 x 7-to-the-foot sections, and they will not weigh a plump pound; but it is so near a pound that 1 did not hesitate in deciding that a section of that size, and plump 1% wide, would weigh a pound. But, suppose a section does lack !4 ounce, or even an ounce, of weighing a pound, what is the objectidnV ■ It will pass for a pound section, and dealers. prefer a section that falls short to one that overruns. I do not, and would not for a mo- ment, cling to the 4' i -\ 4'4 l)Cfause('J,00 per year untill the engraving is paid for. Gallupville, \. Y. F. Boo.mhowku. J have allowed the concluding clause to go in print, because some of the friends have felt hurt when 1 told them I could not afford the cxi^ensc of engraving their many api- aries, and that the few we did engrave inust show sucli marked advantages tliat it would be profitable to our readers. Tlie above pic- ture cost an even .^40.00 for the woodcut alone, and we w ill have as many engraved as you choose, if you will pay the expense of the engraving, as friend B. 'has done. The picture is to be your property after it has once appeared in Gleanings. HEDDON'S LANGSTROTH HIVE. A.M) S().MKTlIIN(i .ABOUT HKI>IJ<)N'.< SYSTE.M OF .M.\NAOEMEXT. iEGAKDIN(; thehive I have just sent you, T will give you most of the points that T claim as original preferences, devices, and inven- tions of my own. I prefer no wider space than 11' 2 inches, for 8 frames. I i)refer to have the ends of the brood-chamber thicker than the sides that are nailed to them, and both ends and sides thicker than the bottom that is nailed to them. 1 pi'cfer a cover never more than 'b. T much prefer to have the capacity of my hives not to contain over 8 L. frames. I would use no other than a light readily movable hive. 1 find no gain in having a slanting alighting-board for the bees. 1 prefer thick end-bars and top-bars for my frames. I prefer a V top-bar, where no wires and only foundation starters are used in the frames. My inventions consist first, of the reversible bot- tom-stand, so constructed as to take the bottom- board cleat, and let under no bees in front, and give earth ventilation behind, and being perfectly sim- ple and cheap. Second, the manner of cleating the liottom-board, as combined with the stand. (In moving hives we never have to move the stands.) Third, the sink skeleton honey-lxmrd, so con- structed as to form a bee-space above and below its slats; its slats so arranged as to exactly break joints with the top-bars of the brood-frames, thus preventing the attachment of bits of comb, and at the same time giving most perfect freedom to the passage of the "heat and odor" of the hive, and consequently the workers. This honey-board is most easily adjusted or re- moved ; at the same time as perfectly allowing the same easy adjustment or removal of any surplus receptacle resting upon it. It has a strong tenden- cy to keep the queen below it— so much so that queen-excluding honej'-boards are of no use to me in my system of comb-honey production. It is so constructed as to be at once adapted to hives not designed for it, and to leave the hive perfectly bee- spaced, should one not have enough of them, and have to use the hive without it, as I have had to do with a part of mine several seasons. I consider this honey-board almost an actual necessity be- tween stories of combs, when running for extracted honey. I think it my greatest invention. I have never found an objection to it. Xe.vt comes my surplus case, which just now seems to be much liked by all practitioners, and which 1 think the best arrangement yet in use, for the production of comb honey without separators. I think, however, that some who are now using them will be forced to add separators to them, or abandon them for some style of super that uses separators. Not all bee-keepers can succeed satis- factorily without separators. 1 ha\e thoroughly tested metal rabbets, both with and williout metal corners, and I do not like either. I used 25 hives containing them, for tour years. I made my flrM metal rabbets (one hive, no corners) lu 1871, after the direction of Mr. It. C. Otis, who visited me with sample, and owned the Langstroth patent for this and other States. 1 call this hive " Heddon's Langstroth hive," for it is an L. hive with my modifications, and it is much modified. I consider Mr. Laugstroth's bee-space above the brood-frames, as his greatest invention. Hy the reading of the specifications of his patent, I infer that he does also. T have uo patent on any claim of my hive. It seems to me there is as much there to patent as in any other hive that has been patented since Mr. Laug- stroth's. I never thought of a i)atent till I found there were men contemptible enough to wait till I had invented, and still longer till I had introduced, and then advertise "Heddon's hive," cutting the price a little, and the quality, and quantity of trim- mings a great deal, giving no more material for the money than I did, and no valuable principles at all, except as they thus gave what rightfully belonged to another. Now, your course of paying a reward for merito- rious inventions, either that you might manufac- ture or might be placed in the hands of your read- ers, I feel sure has benefited the growth of our science and the subscriiition list to Gle.aninos. It was a just and wise act. I know now of a bee-keeiicr who is using fixtures and methods that I know of (and I can not guess how many that I do not know of), that the bee-keep- ers of the world would be glad of. I asked him to write for our bee-papers, and tell all of his best thoughts. His reply Avas, "They would benefit the unjust as well as the just; the undeserving as well as the deserving. They would be used in direct comi)etition with me; and the way of the business world is to protect one's own interests." I should never desiie a patent to prohibit any user from making for his own use; but after my recent expe- rience I see the wisdom and justice of the exclu- sive-right system, as adopted by every civilized na- tion; and should I, in time to come, again invent any thing I think worthy of protection, I shall seek such protection of rightful pay for labor expended. While I appreciate your exclamation on page 620, 1884, as well as the many manly inquiries I have had, asking if I gave my honorary consent to make 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 85 and sell my labor, I have found out it is only har- boring the ideas of the perfectionist to imagine that our profession is not like others, more or less tilled with those who will do right only when forced to by the strong arm of the law. I feel that the great part of our profession need no laws, patent or any other; but as long as we har- bor within our i-anks quite a number that do, I say patent when you think best, and give us the results of your many wakeful nights (when you were steal- ing from your lease of life); patent it, but give it to us; don't keep it under a bushel. We want it, and are willing and can affoi-d to pay for it. My style of reversible frame as inclosed in the hive is described in A. B. J. Comments and ques- tions are now in order. James Heddon. Dowagiac, Mich., January, 1885. Below we give an engraving of the hive in question. HEDDON'S I.ANGSTKOTII HIVE. E represents the cover, which is a plain piece of hoard I inch thick, deated across the ends. Very likely a board planed as thin as this, and only li'* or 18 inches wide, would not warp to 'make much trouble, if kept well painted. But we have had very much trouble from covers warping and twisting, when made Ki inches wide and I thick for Simplicity hives. In fact, we never succeeded in' getting any sort of a cover for Langstroth hives that would not, sooner or later, let bees get under the edges, until we adoi)ted our well-known Simplicity cover and bottom-board. The case ot sections 1) is so well described at the end of this article that we need not go over it here. The above case has three division-boards, as will be noticed, giving room for 4 rows of sections, 7 sections in each row. As a width of sections 7 to the foot has been so many times mentioned, we presume this case is just 12 inches wide. It holds the same number of sections, it will be observed, as does our case, only they are narrower. The sample hive mentioned has not yet reached us, but I presinne the bot- toms of the sections are Hush with the bot- tom edge of the case, except the sheet of metal that separates them. G represents the skeleton, or sink honey- board, as friend II. calls it, which is the special feature of his system of management. I will have a good engraving made of this honey-board for our next issue, nothing pre- venting. Hive A is simply an ordinary Laugsti'oth hive, omitting the sides of the portico, and using the ordinary triangular blocks to ad- just the entrance. The arrangement of the bottom-board and stand will be given in our next. As mentioned in another column, no one is expected to advertise Heddon's Lang- stroth hive unless he tirst makes arrange- ments with :\Ir. II. for so doing ; and even after having made this arrangement we are all to sell them at his prices. These we extract from his circular, as below : All who are acquainted with our hive, know that what we raean by a " hive in the flat " includes about twice as much as is usually sold under that term. There being two surplus sto- ries, makes it really a three-story hive, a.s we sell it, either made up or in the flat. One hive made up, complete, with 2 cases and 56 one- pound sections 83 00 One hive complete, with two broad-frame supers and 48 one-pound sections 3 50 One hive, arranged for extracting 3 00 PRICE IX THE KLAT, FOB IJO.MB OB EXTRACTED HONEY. One hive, nniled together •« JO Two to live hives, all flat, each 1 SO Six to ten hivc«. each 1 *0 Kleven to twentv-tive hives, each 1 30 Twentv-six to fli'tv hives, each 1 2" Fifty -one to one hundred hives, each 1 20 Heddon's skeleton sink honey-boards, each 2.=> perdoz 2 .W " per 100 15 00 We think the above cheaper than most bee-keeoers e^n make thtrn.as it requires exi>eHen'-e and a special form to make rl . .. 1 >ii.v-boards as thev sho'ild be made. We sell them lb- up conipl''te. With these " boaixis "" no queen-ex- iKof anv use in the production of comb honey, and ■I. > - ri|ually adv.Hitagcous in the production of extracted Oil page H\ the (luestiou is raised, whether anybody has a right to make Heddon's style of case." It' I am correct, friend II. does not claim that the case is his invention ; and so far as I can see, it is substantially the case used bv J. V. Moore, of IMngharaton, X. Y.. as far back as 1S7(). Below I give you some extracts which I have taken from page T2. April (iLEANiNos for ls7t) : M'cll. I sec vou don't want any advice about hives, so I siipposf this will lie paper thrown away; but it vovi will rciwl it and consider, [ am satisfied; for if you ilon't lia\ (■ the best rack in America, the re- sponsiliilitv won't rest with me. 1 know you won't adopt it, because vou are like me and a great many other bee-keepers" — you can't be told any thing till you have the experience and see the reality. Inclosed is a description of our rack as we now make it : .). 1'. MOOllE'S RACK FOH BOXES AND S.M.A^LL FRAMES. I.A.NOSTHOTU SIZE. Take stuff Mti inch thick, by 2'.i wide: cut 4 cross- pieces 15'8 inches long, and 2 side-pieces 21'.i inches long. Nail thrnufrh the side-pieces into ends of cross-pieces; put :( tinisliing si.xes into each end of cverv cross-piece, putting together so as to forni 3 boxes or spaces, without top or bottom; each to be «', inches wi-ic l.v l.V,, loiighy 2^i deep. Get Russia sheet iron, cut with a machine, 2 pieces for middle ■« inch wide, and -^ tor end-pieces ''s inch wide; punch .5 holes in each, on a block of hard wood, with a square-end punch, so as to take a piece out; punch the 's-inch ones along the middle, the is ones a little nearer one side, and nail these irons on the bottom edges of the cross-pieces of the rack, %vith IVi-inch finishing nails, letting the edges project U inch into the spaces, to support the ends ot boxes and small frames, when set down into the spaces. Use boxes and small frames 6='., inches long in this rack, of such width as to leave ^i inch side shake. J. P. MoORE. Binghamtoii, N. Y., Feb. 2-2, 1876. If the above describes what friend Hatch wants to make, of course there is nothing to prevent his making as many as he chooses, and selling at whatever price he thinks proper, S5 gll:anings i>^' bee culture. Feb. GAURA BIENNIS. AN UNFAVORABLE KEPORT. MR. ROOT:— 1 see in recent numbersof Glean- ings that Gaura biennis is still occupying your attention. As I have made it the subject of some investigation, perhaps my experience might be interesting. In the fall of 1883 I found my bees bringing in great loads of honey, very early in the morning, al- though nearly all honey-gathering seemed to stop at about seven o'clock. Anxious to discover the source of this honey, 1 walked out along the river one morning before sunrise, and there, alongside of a patch of sweet clover I found a sight that remind- I ed me at once of your experience with the spider plant. On tall, coarse-looking plants were numer- | OU8 curious- looking flowers with long sprawling i petals of a delicate pink color. The beauty of the [ flower, however, was completely eclipsed, to a bee- keeper's eye at least, by a large drop of nectar which hung in the midst of the long downward-turn- ed stamens— a drop so large, in many cases, that one bee could not take it all. As 1 looked upon the globules of nectar glittering lu the rising sun, and found that when one drop was taken away another began to form immediate- ly from the fluid which could be seen issuing from the nectaries of the flower, I thought I had made a great discovery. Visions of barrels and tons of honey floated through my mind, and I longed to have all the roadsides and waste places filled with this wonderful honey-plant, with bees enough to gather all of the honey. I broke ofl' a branch of the plant, and, going home, interviewed the botany before the breakfast-table had any charm for me. After settling in my mind that it was the tjaura I began collecting informa- tion in regard to it, and found that it was apparent- ly a new plant in the locality; for while it was found abundantly along the roadsides and on the sandy river-bottoms, no one remembei'ed having seen it before that season. In the meantime, the hives were filling up slowly with a very dark, thin, and unpalatable honey. Under the circumstances 1 concluded to learn more about the plant before reporting on it, and an article written on the sub- ject was consigned to the flames. Last season, Gaura hicnnts was conspicuous by its absence, as only a very few scattering plants were to be found. Again I concluded to wait; and but for your remarks in Gleanings of Jan. 15 this would not have been written. I will say, in defense of uaura, though, that some of the honey which I have yet, has improved very much since it was gathered. J. A. Green, 118—118. Dayton, 111., Jan. 22, 188'.. Friend (Jieeii, 1 am sure we are very nivicli obliged indeed, even though you liave tiun- bled our air castle all into fragments. Please send me a sample of the honey in the little vial we mail you in a block. Now, 1 wonder if the character of the honey is not largely affected by the soil. It is so with melons, and also with sugar-cane, especially early amber. Is it not possible that the rank soil along the river-bottoms had .something to do with the Uavor of the nectar V Another thing, I should not be surprised if it trans- pire that the spider plant, Simpson plant, gaiu-a, and others, would not bear honey of any account, unless they have a strong deep soil. The gaura that was in our garden last season grew where sods had been piled for a foot or more. Some poor clay was mixed with it, however, and tlirown over the top. The nectar looked so transparent and beau- tiful, it seemed to me as though it must pro- duce nice honey. Are you quite sure your dark poor honey came from the gaura? I rom your statement it would seem quite proba- ble, but yet we sometimes get sadly misled in these things. I do not wonder tliat your breakfast had no charms while you were hvmting the botany, friend G. Can any oth- er brother give us a hint V Another fact : Experience seems to show that many of our plants bear honey only occasionally; that is, it is only once in several years that we have a season just riglit for that particular plant. Honey reports have verified this repeatedly. Some'plant hitherto unknown is found every- where in the greatest profusion, dripping with honey, and next year it has all disap- peared, and so on for several years after. This fact makes the raising of plants for hon- ey a very uncertain speculation. A VALUABLE HINT FROM ONE OF OUH CANADIAN BEE-MEN. " Honey on a Stick, at 5 cts. a Lick." A SHARI' RISK TO (iET RID OF CRt)OKKD AND IR- REGULAR SECTIONS. T SENT you a telegram one Saturday evening. Air ordering 25 queens, and on the next Wednes- |i day morning I received them all, without a siii- '*' gle dead bee. That is what I call business. Our honey crop in this locality is hardly half that of last year. 1 have just finished feeding 7 barrels of granulated sugar to 1.57 stocks. We exhibited over a ton of honey at our county show here last week, and took in over $80.00 in cash for honey sales, chiefly in quantities of a pound or less. My son cut the pound sections into four tri- angular pieces by cutting diagonally from corner to corner, and then breaking the section into four pieces, to each of which a triangular chunk of honey was attached, and the furore he got up in the crowd for treating each other to " honey on a stick" was a new feature in the show. He also had extracted honey in 5, 10, and 20c. packages, but the comb honey cut in the presence of the crowd was so toothsome that it became " all the go." They are saying now.that the bank-bills taken in by the treas- urer were stuck together with honey, and that the dcniaiid for dry goods has increased, several dresses being injured by honey in the crowd. If any one has any crooked or bulged sections which he can not ciate, this is just the way to turn them into cash at twenty cents each, because they will do to cut up, just as well as the best grade. S. Cohneil. I,indsay, Ont., Oct. 9, 1884. Well, friend C, your son is a genius in- deed, if he got that up himself. The only drawback I see is, that in cutting the honey a good deal of "juice" would run out ; but l)erhaps he let this drip into some of those cans, and then he would be that much ahead. .Inst about luncli time I should think it might be quite an idea. I have myself been studying about comb honey for a lunch, for a good many years, but 1 think your idea is ahead. 1885 GLEAKIKGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 87 POULTRY FOR BOYS. A SHORT TALK ON THE HEN BUSINESS, FOB THE BENEFIT OF THE JUVENILES. @NE of the pictures tliat are in our ten- cent poultry-book pleases me so much that I have borrowed the electrotype to show it to you here in Gleaxings. You see,boys, this house is tobeputin one corner of the dooryard. 1 suppose the northwest corner would be the best place, if you have such a ojie available. This will allow the sun to shine in at that window on the south side, and the entrance for the hens is also on the soutli side, while the door is on the east side, where we have fewest cold storms and winds ; and when you open the door to go in. there is not so much danger of letting a cold blast strike some old biddy with a setting of eggs. 1 think if I were you I would have a tight board fence on the west side, unless there is a barn or some sort A UOYS I'OL'LTKV-HOUSE. of building to keep the wind off. Or if it should be handy for you to put it wliere tlie manure from the horse-slables can be banked up on the nortli and west sides, all the better. If the pile get so high in Jan- uary and Februarv that a part of it goes on the roof, still belter. On the north side of the building iilacc the roosts, and under them have a long box, to be kept always full of ashes. Bury some corn in this box of ashes for a day or two, and the hens will get such a habit of scratching in it that they will scrape the manure all over every day. so that it will be so inotfensive you can handle it witliout finding it in any way disagreeable. Once in a while you can shovel it out and put it in a barrel, and then put in some fresh ashes. Underneath this ash-box you can have your nests. The l)est thing that I know of for a lien"s-nest is a lloiu'-barrel with a hole cut in one side, big enough for a hen to crawl in. Set this barrel under the ash- box behind the door, and your old biddies won't feel as though tlieir preference for privileged privacy were violated every time somebody opens the door. When the weath- er is w^arm, the door can be left open all the while. The size of this house should be 4 x fi feet, and (i feet high on the side where the door is. In the summer time, take out the w^indow and slide it under a couple of cleats put up undLT t'.je roof, where none of the glass will get broken before it is wanted again next winter. Some coarse wire net- ting may be put over the window when it is taken out in the summer time. Any boy, twelve or fourteen years of age, should be able to build this house well himself. The sash he can buy. or get one from some old building. Now^ a word in regard to the contents of that ash-box under the roost. One spring when my father was planting corn I told him I would plant half of his field myself, if he would give me all the corn my half pro- duced more than liis half, and 1 told nim that he might have his choice of the two halves. lie took me up right on the spot. Do you ask how I knew my half would beat his? Why, I knew it would because I was going to put a handful of ashes and poidtry manure under every hill on my side, and I knew he wouldn't fuss to do tliat with his side. Well, my side did beat ; and although /K I can not remember how much more I corn I got tiian he did. 1 remember 1 there was enough, or nearly enough, !| to keep my chickens through the 7 winter ; and we can set it down, that if tiie manure is properly applied, in the way I have suggested, it will pay for tlie food the fowls eat, and yoii will have your eggs and chick- ens clear gain, or pay for your labor. May be somebody will say such ar- ^ tides as tins have no business in a bee-paper ; to which I reply, that if — you look in Gleanings you will see tliat '' peace on earth,' good will toward men." comes before a word ^"X.^. is said about bee-keeping. I am get- — - ting tlie children interested in rural pursuits, which goes a very great wav toward the fulfillment of the above little" text. ^ ■ ^— MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION. WHAT 1 SAW AND LEAKNEI). — NO. 3. JMKNTIOXED in my last, that the sense of the convention seemed to be that wide frames for holding separators were to be discarded. They are to be used only in a crate placed over the honey-board, "as described last month. The favorite way of supporting the sections seems to be one used a good many years ago, and illustrated in (J leanings as long ago as l.S7(i, .lanuarv issue. The crate is what might be called a half-story, placed over the honey-board. The sections are put in in the same way as they are in our crate, illus- trated onpage 19 of our price list, only that a division-board made of thin lumber sepa- rates each row of sections. The sections are held from falling through by means of a strip of tin or liussia iron nailed to the lower edge of this division-board. This leaves the bottom-bars of sections just t of an inch from the honev-board, and there is nothing to prevent the bees from walking over the outside of the section ; that is, the bottom-piece of the section. I have always obiected to this, and I think yet that I do not want ii bee to ever look at, much less GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. JaxX. step oil any part of a section box ; and to protect the sections I would have them rest on a thin strip of wood, the way our crates are all made. Prof. Cook also said that the bees should not be allowed access to the out- side of the sections. The crate he is using, liowever. does permit the bees to get to them just the way I have described. Pres- ident Hutchinson and others declare, howev- er, that, with the honey-board, the bees did not attach bits of wax or propolis to the sections. While at tlie college apiary with Prof. Cook and the other friends, I noticed that his crates and honey-boards were cov- ered with bits of comb, and the same sort of varnish that our bees spread over every thing here. It is quite likely that the dam- age they do in some localities is trifling ; but I should want, if possible, to avoid the necessity of being ever obliged to scrape and sandpaper sections filled with honey, in or- der to have them look fit to take to market. With the arrangement mentioned we can have sections of different widths in tlie same crate, if we choose, by dispensing with separators. It is true, a separator could be used for each section ; but the expense for such an arrangement is so great I believe it is mostly abandoned. KEMOVING SINGLE SECTIONS, AS SOON AS SEALED OVEK. Another point comes in here, however, which was discussed considerably. If we dispense with separators, we can not look over our hives, and pick out the central sec- tions, or a section liere and there, as soon as it is finished. The difficulty is, that when yon put an empty section in between two partly filled, the bees will bulge the partly filled ones over into the empty one, if not prevented by separators. If I am correct, those who advocate no separators leave their crates on the hive till the sections are all completed, or nearly so. By tiering up this can be got along with very well, except that a section of honey looks nicer the day it is finished than it ever will again. Every day the bees travel over the white-capped surface, it is more or less soiled ; and when that beautiful white appearance, so much admired in fresh comb honey, is gone, with most people the price must deteriorate. It is like the bloom on grapes— you can not well restore it. In the face of these objections, however, the president and others produced comb lioney that took the first premium at the dilTerent fairs, and used no separators. One member present, whose name I have forgotten, said that he made sections of honey answer the same purpose as separat- ors, l)y having one with at least one side capped over on each side of every empty section; that is. wlien he takes out a filled one, and puts an empty one in its place, lie transposes them so as to get them as al)ove. President Hutchinson recommends tliat sec- tions be not more than IS inches in width, and that they be filled full of fdn., and not to give the bees too much room at once, when you wish to dispense with separators. Thinner combs are sealed over sooner than thicker ones, as less time is needed to evap- orate the honey to the proper consistency. I POLLEN AND DYSENTEKV. 1 Considerable time was spent on tlie above subject, although the matter has been much talked about for more than ten years. I When GLEANiX(iS first started, or even ( befoj-e that time, I gave reports in regard to experiments with bees wintered on combs containing absolutely no pollen, and the re- sult then given was, that when wintered thus they were generally if not invariably free from some of the worst features of the bee-disease generally termed dysentery. AN mi'KOVE.MENT SUGGESTED ON Ol'R UEE-IIIVE TENT. One of the friends mentioned that a suita- ble-sized hole in the top of the tent would allow the bees that collect inside to get out at their itleasiire, but i-obbers would never find their way in. I am inclined to think this would generally prove true, and we shall make some experiments in regard to it as soon as bees fly again. One friend asked what would become of young bees that es- cape in this way, were a tent spread over some cases of honey, for instance, tlie honey being just removed from the hives. The i generai impression seemed to be they would I be lost. But I suggested calling them to- j gether by a spare queen that might not be of any particular use otherwise. ARE TWO ENTRANCES ADVISABLE? The general impression seemed to be they were not, and reasons wei-e given why they were not advisable. AVHEN TO PUT ON THE SECTIONS OVER A COLONY. Dr. Whiting advised waiting until white fins of comb were beginning to show on top of the frames over the cluster. TIEKIXG UP CRATES OF SECTIONS. When a crate of sections is partly finished it is ([uite customary to raise it up and put the case of filled empty sections right under it. Where the colony is strong, the bees often fill the two cases, and sometimes even three. Well, by the usual process of tiering up, the bees are constantly walking over tiie tops of the sections, between the two crates of sections, and they thus have an oppor- tunity to propolize the tops of the new set, as well as the bottoms of the old one. Many of the friends thought this not objec- tionable ; but it seems to me it would be in our locality. AVith wide frames there is no space at all for the bees to pass between the upper and lower tier of sections. DOES THE CRATE OF SECTIONS NEED AN Ol'TER COVERING OK CAP? Secretary Cutting thinks it does, and my exi)erinients Jiave satisfied me that in our localitv we want an outer covering. Pres- i ident ' Ilutcliinson thinks, however, that I many times the bees are too hot within, and that the outer case would be like an over- : coat in the summer lime. Mr. J. H. Hobert- son, who has nsed th<' Heddou case largely. also agrees with the president, that no outer covering is needed. The point is, do we or do we not want the sun during hot days in summer, and the wind during cool nights or davs which also occui- sometimes in summer. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. to strike directly on tlie crate that holds our sections? Some years ago I decided that we want protection, because without it I find the bees would not work well on the outside sections ; but after a protection in the shape of an outer case was furnished them, they went right into the outside sections and filled them almost as quickly as the inside ones. This matter needs a careful looking- into. MAKIXG FOUNDATIOX STICK TO SECTIONS. When using the Parker fastener, or other similar devices, several of the friends have had trouble from the fdn. dropping off ; but the general conclusion seemed to be that it Avas because the sections were not dried in the sun, or near a stove, before putting in the fdn. PUF.LISII1NC+ STATEMENTS IN THE HEE- .lOURNALS, THAT SEE3I TO HAVE THE STAMP OK MISTAKE OR FALLACY ON THE FACE OF TIIEM. Prof. Cook gave us an excellent essay, where he good-naturedly rebuked (piite a number of the brethren. lie thinks the pa- pers which have been published in regard to the conversion of worker-eggs into drone- j eggs, by the bees; also getting queens that lay worker-eggs, without ever having met a drone, etc., should never have appeared in print. I thought so for a good wliile, and kept the letter on tlie latter sul).ject for six months before I published it. Now, I am not yet satisfied that tliis thing is a mistake or a fallacy ; but even if it is, it seems tcx me ! it has hati the effect of bringing out a good many facts. I have sometimes thought that it is a good plan to make the brethren de- fend their positions, and the most tliat we accomplish in bee culture, or any thing else, is by a midtitude of testimonies and ex- periences. It is. however, quite true that we may carry things to too great a lengtli, and I thank friend Cook fcr his timely cau- tion. CAIINIOLAX 15EES. A letter was read from A. J. King, of the Bee-Keepers'' MayKzinc, and from Mr. Shuck, of Iowa, extolling the above bees quite highly. Concluded in our next. MY REPORT FOR 1884. SHALIi WE THROW AWAY OUR ODD-SIZED HIVES, AND GET NEW ONES ALL UNIFORM, ETC.? fHANK you for publishing my article in Oct. Gleanings, even if you did take the head off the thing-. You are quite a hand to de- capitate and curtail; and although I do not always quite like it. it may be that my arti- cles are often like a snake— better without a head; or like a hornet— better without a tail. In answer to your criticisms of my article (page 603, Oct. Gleanings), I would say : My idea is, that when one has the stock on hand of hives, honey-boxes, etc., it is better to utilize them, even at some inconveni- ence, than to throw them away. When one is buy- ing, or making and building up in movable-comb hives, he should by all means have them all alike. I have tried this diversity of frames a little; not much, but enough to become thoroughly disgusted with it. But when a stock Is doing well in odd-sized frame or box hives it is better to leave them alone until for some reason it becomes necessary to ma- nipulate them. Before you go to the expense of money, time, and waste, be sure that the gain will overbalance the loss. The cost in such cases gener- ally exceeds the estimate. I did not advise" investing in bulk honey-boxes. I said, use what you have rather than throw them away. It might, indeed, be well to cut the honey out of newly filled frames when customers bring vessels to your house to be filled. But when the producer must furnish them, .5-lb. boxes are them- selves such splendid vessels that I actually bought some this year, and expect to make them pay well. ROOT'S PRICE LISTS Are a great boon and a great temptation to a fel- low. It contains much valuable information for the novice, and catalogues almost every thing an apiarist can want. But, just what to get is the problem. There are so many little notions it would be so nice to have, and at low cost too; but, cheap as they are, if one attempts to get them all he may suddenly find himself minus a certain article more essential than all. I have had to i-evise an order several times after counting up the bill. Not every hatuly article is a necessary one. MY REPORT FOR 1884. Bees did very little in this locality this year. No- body obtained much honey, and some got none. My bees came through winter mainly in good con- dition. Gooseberries bloomed as usual about April 2.")th, and for about a week furnished some honey. Peaches did not bloom, and neither apple blossoms nor dandelions yielded much. White-clover heads make their appearance about May 20th, but it is two or three weeks later before bees begin to ac- complish much. My bees were in fair condition to real) this harvest, the Italians and hybrids much in advance of the blacks. The first swarm issued June r>th, and one colony went to work in sections at the same time. In the next month they gathered their honey and did their swarming— more of the latter than of the former. The hybrids did the most of both. This swarming would not vex me so very much if they would not haim and " talk " about it so long before they get at it. After filling every thing below they would hnug out in front, crawl half way up the sections, and hanu! or some would build a little comb, then concluding, I suppose, they were not going to wear out their lives storing honey to leave with the youngsters at home, would stop work and hang to what they had built until they got ready to swarm. The only thing I could do was to swarm them myself; and that, it was not always expedient to do. Early in July, drought set in. Many of my new swarms were just getting to work, or ready to work. White clover bloomed in profusion during July. Subse- quently we had a large crop of heart's-ease, and I never saw more Spanish-needle blossoms in my life. Yet after July 4th my bees did not store 10 lbs. of comb honey. This in spite of the fact that we had good weather with some refreshing rains in August and September. Now, what was the reason? I never saw so many grasshoppers, crickets, etc., in my life. When crossing a meadow there would be a perpetual cloud of these skippers in front of me. Is it possible that these bugs caused to any extent 9(» GLEANINGS 1:N' BEE CULTURE. Feb. this scarcity of houey'" I was not bothered with honey-flew. The aggregate result of the year's work is an in- crease from 39 to 63 stands, which I reduced to 50; about 10 lbs. of comb honey per stand, spring count, and about l^'O lbs. extracted honey. As a rule I have obtained a little better price this year than last. Sixteen cents per pound is the price I got in Spring- field. A very poor season altogether. HOW I TELL WHKN SECTIONS AKE FILLED. Simply look and see. I use the L. hive. The cap rests on cleats nailed on to the sides and ends of the brood-chamber. I fix the rack, cases, or frames, as the case may be, on top of the brood-chamber, and put glass on one or both sides of the section ar- rangement. I have nothing to do then but lift off the cap and look. No surplus arrangement is satis- factory to me without this feature. You can tell when sections are about full, by the editor's method (page 661), but not when sealed over. I write this for the benefit of W. Connally. WHAT TO DO WITH UNFINISHED SECTIONS. I have tried to get sections filled by feeding hon- ey, but have not yet been able to make it pay. I can make the unfinished sections pay for them- selves much better. There is money in them, if we do have to wait some time before we i-ealize it. They are the cheapest and handiest bee-feeders I have yet seen. We have only to set the box on the alighting-board, or in the upper story, and the thing is done. And these empty boxes of comb are splen- did to tempt bees up into surplus boxes early in the season. I am willing to have a thousand of them to hold over till spring. Is chaff in cushions, w liich has become moldy, as good an absorbent of moisture, and non-conductor of heat, as that which is fresh? Should chaff in such cushions be renewed every year? A grocer in Springfield tells me that California honey always brings a higher price in the market than any other. Is that so? (iEO. F. Kobbins. Mechanicsburg, Illinois. I suppose, friend 1?., this matter of throw- ing away our old hives depends considera- bly on what we are ^"oing to do with bees. If one is going to rear (jueens, and work for extracted lioney, I would transfer my bees from the old hives at once, as soon as the weatJier was suitable; but if you were go- ing to work for comb honey, you can, witli- out very much expense, arrange almost any hive so as to take one of yo\ir regular cases, and then practice tiering up.— I know our price list is voluminous, and I have sev- eral times not only threatened but attempt- ed to cut it down by the omission of some article not much called for ; but almost in- variably there conies a wailing note from soine brother who looked there for just thnt thing or that ai raugcmont above all others, and eventually 1 decided to put it back in the list agaiii, as tlie lesser of two evils. Another thing, when I take something out of the price list not very much used, some- body keeps inventing it, and writing us let- ters with diagrams and long exi)lanations. Now, you see by keeping the price list thus voluminous it prevents the friends from wasting time on something Uiat has already been long in the market. In this way it makes a sort of cyclopedia, as it were, of de- vices and jmplej))ents tliat liave from time to time been found useful in the care of bees. Since I have been interested in poul- try I have looked in vain for a complete list of the implements used by poultry-breeders. Each one seems to go on his own hook, knowing nothing about what handy tixings his brothers may have. Another tiling, no one makes it a business of making by nice machinery, at a small price, things tliat are now made laboriously at home. I have looked the poidtry-books and poultry-papers over to lind a convenient hen"s-nest, and can not find any sort of one advertised. JS'ow, some man with a factory might get up a movable nest having all needful good quali- ties, and, in fact, he might spend a year or two investigating all the nests in use, and he would tlieii !)(:■ better prepared than any single individual to make wliat is wanted ; and Willi ])r()i)er macliinery he could furnish them at one-foiirlh of wliat it will cost an average day laborer to make his own. Now, if I am behind the times in this matter I hope some lirother will straighten me out. A very cheap and simple nest could be made for a man of small means, and an elaborate, fancy one for those having fine expensive residences. — Vour ideas are good on unfin- ished sections, friend R.; but is not nice white honey, clover and linden, for instance, rather expensive feed compared with the pres- ent price of sugar V — I would not have moldy chaff cushions at all. If they get damp, lay them (m top of the hive till they get thor- oughly dried out.— California honey will oft- en bring a higher price than clover and lin- den, when first introduced ; that is, where it is a novelty; but after a while I think the preference will be given to a nice article of clover honey, although much would depend, probably, oii the quality of the California honev. FIXING A SMOKER SO IT WILL HANG ON THE EDGE OF THE HIVE. A SlfifiESTri) I.MPHOVE.MENT liV IlilEM) EAS- TERDAV. {THINK I have made an improvement in your Clark's smoker, which very much increases its usefulness. This improvement consists in so ai-ranging it that it can hang on the npper edge of the hive, with its nozzle pointing toward the top of tlie frames. I have used one of a dift'er- cnt kind for several years, which could be used in this way, and I found it to be of great advantage; especially was this so when handling cross bees, as I could drive them back at the first sign of danger by simply touching the bellows, without moving the smoker; whereas if I had been compelled to pick the smoker off' the ground, the bees would have "got there" first. This is the way I fix the Clark smoker: I rivet a small catch, or hook, to the lower side of the nozzle, close to the end. Then I take a piece of stout wire, about the size used for bucket-bails, 10' j inches long; 4 inches from each end F bend it at right an- gles, som(!what in the shape of the letter I'; then 3 inclies from the ends bend again in such a manner that when the ends are fastened to the edges of one of the bellows-boards the loop will stand down at nearly right angles to the bottom of the bellows. This loop is to bear agiiinst the side of the hive, while the 1885 GLJiANlNGS IK liEE CULTUKi:. ill hook catches over the top of the side (or end) board of the his-e. The wire is fastened to the edges of the upper board of the bellows, with wire staples, or it can be fastened on top of the board in the same manner. By fastening it to the upper board, the smolser will remain stationary while the bellows is being worked. It would make a better job, not to bend the wire the last time, but let the ends extend up past the end of the bellows, and fasten them to the sides of the cone; but they would have to be riveted on, which would be more difficult to do. Nokomis, Ills., Jan., 18F5. E. S. E.\sterdav. Doubtless many would like the arrange- ment, friend E.; but I usually lay the smok- er across the corner of the hive in such a way that it rests on the bellows, in the man- ner it appears in tlie price list. By simply touching tJie l)ellows, and pressing down a little, a putf of smoke will immediately be sent across tlie frames. There is one ob- jection to this, however, for we may puff sparks among the bees unless the smoker is first shaken a little. The sparks and ashes should be blown out before the blast is turned toward the bee-hive. CARP AND CARP-PONDS. SEVERAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED, I.\ KKOAKI) TO THE INDUSTRY. §INCE the appearance of my article on the con- struction of carp-ponds, in Gleanings of Dec. 1.5, 1884, I have received several inquiries relative to this subject and carp culture in general. As I stated in my article, " My knowledge of the subject is based upon my e.vperi- ence in constructing my pond, and upon investiga- tion, etc." Believe me, my experience goes but lit- tle further than in the construction of my pond, which was done last fall. It was not my intention to mislead any into the belief that 1 had an extended experience. The subject is one in which I have been deeply in- terested for some time. I might lay claim to more experience than simply that derived from the con- struction of a pond, as my father-in-law has been engaged in carp culture for several years (since 1881), and is an enthusiast on the subject. Having paid frequent visits to his ponds I have had oppor- tunity of learning something of the business. However, some (juestions have been propounded to me by my correspondents that T do not feel quali- fied to answer, much as I desire to assist those thinking of engaging in carp culture. This indus- try is comparatively new in this country, and there is much concerning it that is yet to be learned. Doubtless many things now considered as facts will be proven to be erroneous. With these points in view I feel that I ought to be careful that 1 do not so write as to mislead. That which I do not feel I know to be a certainty, I prefer to express merely as an opinion, based upon the best information on the subject at hand. And now, Mr. Editoi-, with your consent I will in- troduce some of the questions that have been pro- pounded to me, with the best answers I can give. I hope that any of your readers who may hold differ- ent opinions from myself will be tree in expressing them. " Can carp-ponds be successfully supplied with water drawn from a well by a wind-mill?" I have never heai-d of such a case; though, with a Avell affording a large sui>]>l3' it might be success- fully done. " Will ' hard water ' answer?" • Rather think there would be no objection to hard water. Very lew. springs afford " soft water." "Do you think it will pay to raise carp for sale for food?" I do. After you get your ponds, and get them stocked, there is but little after-expense. A neigh- bor remarked, a few days ago, that he believed there was nothing one could go at in which there was more money to be made. TIk? question of over- production is the only one. I think, that can inter- fere with the business; and when we consider how few, comparatively, have locations suitable for carp-ponds, this objection seems to be removed. " What varieties of carp are best?" This is an open (jucstion. I have been told that only full-scale carp should be bred. Again, Milton P. Pierce, secretary of the " American (arp-'Jul- tural Association," says, "All full-scale carp in this country arc impure, inferior, and not worth breed- ing." The same authority mentions the parti scale type of carp s being the best now obtainable. " Have yoL "larp for sale?" No. "At what price do carp sell?" 1 quote prices adopted by the Carp Association, above mentioned, at its meeting of Sept. 17 and 18, 1881, which is as follows:— Young parti-scale carp, this season's hatch, $8.00 per .50, and ^l^MO per 100 Yearlings, " " each, tOc Breeders, " " " *1.U0 "How many carp will do well in your pond?" (size 30xtJ0ft.). I expect to introduce .50 in the spring, but suspect they will be somewhat crowded when they attain a larger growth. " Do fish have to be fed regularly?" Having abundant room, they do not. They doubtle,«s do better by feeding, and there are few who will neglect this duty, if it is only for the plea- sure of seeing them eat, as well as getting them gentle. It is said they thrive on cooked potatoes, bread, kitchen slops, etc. Every one who expects to f. How breeding carp to any great extent should have more than one pond. The "small fry" become so numerous that the larger ones do Pot do so well. 1 would call attention to the American Carp-Cul- tural Association, above mentioned. The oflice is No. 32:J Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. The associa- tion issues a circular, setting forth its objects, which will, I presume, be mailed on application to the secretary, Mr. Milton P. Pierce, at the above address. John E. Eves. Moorcsville, Ind., Jan. 12, 1885. Thank you, friend E. I would suggest that ihe prices you give are considerably higher than are asked by the friends gener- allv who liave received carp from the Gov- ernment. I liope tlie Carp-Cultural Asso- ciation will soon liave a text-book out at a moderate price. While Gleanings always expects to be able to notice new kindred in- dustries as they come up. we shall have to remember that it is primarily a bee-joiu-nal ; and doubtless manv of the articles we are 92 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. Feb. puhlishinff could either be ahbreviatecl or omitted, liad we a text-book fi'ivinu' the tacts contained in them. I am now engaged in writing a series of articles on bee culture that we expect to pul)lish in a pamphlet for our ten-cent Industrial Library, and my convictions are that we want a book oii carp culture that will cost just about this sum. Many of us enjoy reading a brief treatise on these new things, say about such a book as ten cents ought to pay for, where we could not possibly tind time to go over an elaborate treatise. Am I not right V The books we advertise on squashes, cab- bages, mango-wurtzels, and oni(ms, are sold in great numbers ; and as one can go through a book in an evening or two, he generally reads it through when he takes it up ; but only the specialist can afford to go through an elaborate treatise. CAEP CULTURE, AND THE CONSTKUC- TION OF CAKP-PONDS. TTp BOUT 300 feet south of my bouse I have a fine ^Ksfei ^P^''°^ which made a wet swampy phice be- iPl' low it about 100 feet square. Three years ■^^ ago last summer, which was an e.xtreuiely dry season here, myself and hired man plow- ed and scooped, and hauled out with a wagon about two weeks, and made a pond that was nearlj' in a circle, 60 feet in diameter; and when tilled (which was not until New Year's) there was from one to four feet of water in depth. I received and nut in my pond, Dec. 29, 1881, 16 German carp, about three inches in length, sent me by the U. S. Fish Commis- sioner. The last of the next February we found 3 that had died and floated out to the edge. They were about the same size as when put in. Wc watched very au.xiously and fre.'(;s would make quite a valual)le little book ; and if somebody else does not get at it, I do not know but l" shall have to undertake the task myself. Perhaps tlie book could be boiled down so as to come within the scope of our ten-cent Industrial Library. ALLEY'S DRONE-TRAP. A PROTEST .A.GA1NST THAT UNFAVOIi AlU.l* UKPOHT. t FRANCES, in Gleanings, June, IS^'4. says: " I set the trap before a stand of bees. They could pass out and in when so • minded; but, about one-third of them, after making a trial, became united and went to other stands, and in less than a niiinite got up a fight. After nuiking three or four such trials, I laid aside the trap." Now, friend Root, you say the above is " not very favorable." But, what are we to understand from what friend F. has said, that he attempted to do by using the drone-trap? Did he place it on the hive to prevent swarming, or to assist him in cufo a swarm issued? 1 can not make out wherein the trap was a failure, or even had any thing to do with the bees going into other hives. Certainly, it was a very unnatural and \inusiuvl proceeding. If the bees, on attempting to swarm, went into the air, and, missing their queen, attenii)ted to return, why did not friend F. say so? Why didn't ho tell us whether the queen went into the trap or not, and, in fact, give us more of the particulars? It seems to me that his young bees were out on a "sporting flight," and, his hives being too near together, and the weather somewhat cool, tiiey might have got confused, hence the trouble and failure. If the trap was phiced there to prevent swarming, it should have been removed when it was evident that they would return to the liive, .^io that tliey could pass in. It strikes me, that when such a thing occurred several times, I should have removed the trap, as an experiment, to see whether the trouble was cured by it or not. Now, had friend F. wanted his bees to swarm, why did he not remove the trap while the bees were on the wing, and place it near the spot where the bees were hovering, or perhai)s settling? Had he done so, they would have settled upon it; that is, providing the queen was in it, and then he could have hived them at pleasure. If he did not care to have the bees swarm, whj- not, when he was there to witness the operation, remove the trap, and, when the bees had gone in, released the queen. As you suggested, his hives must have been very near together, or such an occurrence would not have taken place. Directions for using the trap were published in the Amfrican Bee JournaJ, and I am quite sure that fi-iend F. had not read them, or he would never have had occasion to make such a report. The :!d edition of mj' book is in preparation, and I will en- deavor to give such directions for using the trap as will prevent other unfavorable reports of it. I append the report of one man who read the A. B. J., and you can see how he managed. It is evident that friend F. did not understand how to use it. The trap in this case worked just as I in- tended, with the exception of the bees going into other hives, which I am quite sure they will seldom do in such cases. As to the unfavorable reports, I can say that all the best hives, and, in fact, every thing we have in the "bee line," have had unfavorable reports made of them. But when people are taught how to use them, favorable reports will be made in all cases. H. Ar.LEv:— I had a colony that swarmed, and the trap did its work beautifully. I am highly delight- ed at being so successful at my first attempt. The bees went olf for a short time; but when they foiind their queen was not with them, they returned, and covered the whole front of the hive. I removed the parent colony- back, and placed a new hive filled with t'oundation on the old stand and let the bees go in, releasing the queen from the trap at the same time. B. F. Newcomb. I 100 Washington St., Chicago, 111. I Wenham, Mass., Jan. 16, 1885. H. Am-ev. I But, friend Alley, it seems to me the di- rections for using the trap should be sent with each one. It is always customary to fiunish piinted directions,' free of charge, with the article itself, if there is any danger of not being able to use it properly. Even though the directions have been" given a good many times in the journals, to make a sure thing of it a copy had better be pasted directly on the implement. I'rinted direc- tions cost only a few cents per hundred, when we buv them bv the thousand. FROM 23 TO 52, AND 2000 LBS. OF HONEY. .\ RKI'ORT FROM THE HEUDON STRAIN OK HEKS, AND SOME OTHER MATTERS. J' COMMENCED the season with 23 colonies, which ^ have done exceedingly well, considering the L season. The bees did well on white clover, but ■ at no time was the How of nectar rapid. Bass- wood was of short duration, not lasting over a week. This closed our honey season, as the fall blossoms were a failure. 1 kei)t 15 stands for honej , and the remainder for increase and raising ([ueens. During the season tne number of stands was in- creased to .")2, and from them 2000 pounds of extract- ed and comb honey obtained. My bees are Italians and hybrids, of James Hed- don's and Oliver Foster's stock, with which I am well pleased. Those obtained of James Heddou are 94 GLKANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Feb. a dark leather color, and are a very active, hardy bee, wintering- well, as they seem to bear confine- ment in the cellar in winter better than others. Those received from Oliver Foster are lighter col- ored, one queen being a beautiful, bright golden color. Some of the workers have four distinct bands. In one hive of the Foster stock the drones were the most beautiful 1 ever saw. By cross- ing these two kinds I expect to make a great im- provement, as each kind has marked qualities. I winter my bees partly in the cellar and partly on their summer stands. Those on the summer stands ai-e wintered something on the principle of the chaff-tenement hive. The difference is, that 1 use the Langstroth hive, placing two facing to the north and two to the south. Then I make an outside box to go over the four, with four inches of space between the hives and the packing-box, which is to be filled with chaff. The packing-box is made high enough to cover a two story hive, the bees being wintered in the upper story. A slat honey-board is placed between the two stories, which gives the bees a chance to poke the dead bees down below. An entrance is made by boring a hole In the packing-box and the front of the hive, and connecting the two with a tin or wooden tube. The lid is made with a gable roof; and, as the ma- terial used need be of only half-inch stuff, and of a cheap gi-ade, the cost does not exceed 20 cents a hive, which is a great saving, considering what a single hive will cost when chaff packed. This plan may not be new to many of the readers; but as I have not seen any thing like it described in the bee- journals it may be of interest to some. In an experience of seven years in bee-keeping 1 have met with many difllculties; but by reading books and journals of apiculture, a great many of them have been overcome. W. S. Df)RMAN. Mechanicsville, Iowa, Jan. 12, 188.5. HOW TO USE EMPTY COMBS. HOW TO MANAGE SO AS TO HAVE THE HONEY GO INTO THE SECTION BOXES INSTEAD OF INTO THE BROOD-FKAMES. N last number of Gleanings I gave you, byway of explanation, some comments on friend Hutchinson's article found on page 803, for 1884, but for lack of space did not say all I desired to. The main point in that article which I wished to speak of was, what caused the apparent failure of Mr. Hutchinson in using empty combs in the brood-chamber, while working for comb honey with newly hived swarms. Friend H says, " I aban- doned hiving upon empty combs, as the bees would fill the combs with honey in a few days— fill them so full that the (lueen found but little room to lay, then they ' loafed ' a long time before commencing work in the sections; and when they did finally be- gin it was in a slow, easy sort of way." Now, inasmuch as I always, of late years, hive new swarms on empty combs, and that with good results, it becomes evident that there must be a right and a wrong way to use empty combs, when working for comb honey with new swarms. As I have stated before, the queen going with a swarm is not in a condition for rapid egg-laying until the swarm has been hived long enough for the bees to get under full headway building comb; hence if a full hive of empty comb is given such a swarm, the first thing the bees will do is to fill it with honey, no matter how few or how many sections are given, for the bees have room in this brood-chamber for all of their immediate wants. If we extract from these combs we do not materially help matters, ex- cept to give a little more i-oom to the queen; for after extracting, the first instinct of the bees is to fill those empty cells again, instead of leaving an empty lot of comb in the brood-chamber, to go to work in the sections. Thus we get only a little ex- tracted honey for our trouble, while two such ex- tractings will effectually exclude all honey from the sections; while not to extract is nearly as bad, for after once filling the combs in the brood-cham- ber with sealed honey instead of brood, the bees are always loth to enter the sections, for the reason I first gave, which is, that they feel that all their wants are well supplied. Now the trouble was with friend H. in- giving the bees too many combs. By so doing the bees found room to occupy all their forces; while if only one-half or one-third as many had been given, the bees not being able to cluster and work on these combs, would have immediately gone into the sections, and gone to work on them. Having thus at once started in the sections, the lit- tle honey stoi'cd in the few combs below will be cai-ried to the sections as fast as the queen needs room for egg-laying, and the result with me is, that at the end of 1.5 days from the time of hiving, the sections are well filled with honey, and the combs below a solid mass of brood, except a little pollen and honey in the extreme upper corners of the frames. The object should be in all cases, whether you use combs, frames of foundation, or empty trames, to get the bees at work in the sections im- mediately upon being hived. I use six Gallup frames of comb (equal to 5 L. frames) for the very largest swarms, while others have but 4 or 5, ac- cording to the size of the swarm to be hived, and in this way I always secure good i-esults. The great- est secret of getting comb honey is to get the sec- tions just as near to the brood as possible; and any plan which allows of one or more inches of sealed honey between the brood and sections is certainly defective. By hiving swarms on empty frames with sections filled with foundation, friend H. placed his bees in the right position to comply with the above secret, while with the hive full of empty comb the condition was exactly the reverse. One other thing: While it is necessai'y, almost, to furnish a full sheet of foundation for every section when a swarm is hived, as H. recommends, such foundation is often nearly as good as thrown away while working on my plan, for I have repeatedly had sections filled and completed which contained only a small starter of natural comb, as quick as those filled with foundation standing by their side, while an examination of these latter sections show- ed that said foundation had not been touched, ex- cept as the bees added their wax to it. Now, why is this? The reason is very simple. All new swarms of bees have been preparing, for a week previous to the time of issuing, for the construc- tion of combs in their new homes, and for this rea- son we often see little bits of wax, from the size of a pinhead and upward, attached in many places to the limb of the tree they have clustered on, if they stay clustered for five minutes or more. This wax being secreted, must be used somewhere or wasted. In friend Hutchinson's case it is used in building comb down in the brood-chamber, while the bees 1885 GLKAXtXriS IN BEE CULTURE. Oo are drawing- out the foundation in the sections; while in my ease it is used in filling- the sections with beautiful combs, as they have no need for it below. From the above it will be seen that the rea- son friend H. and myself did not agree regarding- empty combs was, that wo did not manage alike, and I suspect that the different modes of manag-e- ment is what causes the " bee-doctors " to so often disagree. Brethren, let us use more charity one for the oth- er, for the different mode of manag-ement will al- most always explain all differences of opinion. Borodino, N. Y. G. M. Doulittle. Friend 13., I want to add emphasis to your concluding sentence. Your above paper makes it very clear why bee-l^eepers may obtain such opposite results when only a little variation is made in the metliod of management. You run very close in one place to this new subject of reversible frames; and if I am correct you have not given an opinion in tlie matter as yet, and, if I am not mistakpn. it will be just like you to say you don't want any reversible frames around, for the reason, perhaps, that you accomplish about the same results without them tiiat others would obtain with them. — I want to take out one of your sentences, and call attention to it : '' Any plan which allows of one or more inches of sealed lioney between the brood and sections is ccrtaiidy defective." That is the senliriifut exactly. 1 should want the best way to oljviate such a result. INTERNATIONAL BEE-KEEPEHS' CON- VENTION At the Exposition in New Orleans, Feb. 24, 25, and 26, 1885. )MK SlIOOESTIONS TO THE BEE-KEEl'KliS I.\ HE- G.\KD TO GETTING THEHK. N my letter to you of Deccmbei- 25, I tried to make every thing- plain; but thci-e seems to be a misunderstanding regarding- the sleeping-- car and passage-tickets. For the benefit of your readers I would say, it requires a ticket for passage, independent of the sleeping-car ar- rangements, and the sleeping-car rates quoted you were for one way only, and it would cost you just double the amount for the round trip Ihat it would for one way. The Sleeping-car Co. is separate from the railroad company, but they are each necessary to the other. The railroad fare, Cincinnati to New Orleans and return, g-ood for 15 days, is S18.00; from Cleveland to New Orleans and return, good for 20 days, is $25.25, and the same fi-om Medina; and the rates from all parts of the United States and Cana- da are in the same proportion, and it will save them all money to purchase their tickets to New Orleans and return of their nearest coupon-ticket agent. To ))revent any mistakes regarding the route, say to the ticket agent you want to go via the Louisville & Nashville Railroad from Cincinnati or Louisville, according to the section of country they ai-e start- ing from; and a good plan for each one is to read his ticket carefully, and see that one coupon reads Louisville & Nashville Railroad, from Cincinnati or from Louisville, to New Orleans. As Thursday, February 19, is a good time to leave Cincinnati, I would suggest that you set that day for all those desiring to accompany you to New Orleans to leave their homes so as to reach Cincinnati Thursday, the 19th, and leave there at 8:55 p.m., and arrive in New Orleans Saturday morning; then you have plentj' of time to get located, and be ready for the convention on the following Tuesday. For those going on the above date, and desii-ing sleeping-car accommodations, it will be necessary for them to send you their names not later than February 12th, so the necessary arrangements can be made with the Pullman Sleeping-ear Co. Herman Hoemes, Traveling Passenger Agent. Medina, Ohio, Jan. 17, 1885. MEETING OF BEE-KEEPERS AT THE EXPOSITION IN NEW ORLEANS. Your idea in regard to wearing badges, I think a capital one. You may count me one on your list of those who expect to attend the exposition in Feb. Hope to meet you and other bee-friends. This is the first friendly letter I have ever written you, but ex- pect to let you liear from me oftener in the future. J have about 1.50 stands of bees. My crop of honey was short last season. Of course, if the plan of wearing badges is adopted I shall wear one. Good old Gleanings is a wel- come visitor. J. M. Forrest. Midway, Texas, Jan. 10, 1885. A badge for BEE-KEEPERS. I for one object to a badge. Could you not design a small (say life size) gold or rolled gold bee or queen, which could be attached to the cravat or coat-collar? I think this would not be too conspicu- ous, and no bee-keeper would object to wearing one. I will take one or two at once; and if you have any made, mail me one. WMiat do you say? Bayou Goula, La., Jan. 10, 1885. P. L. Viallon. The subject was agitated some time ago. friend Y. A golden queen - bee would co.st quite a little money, but perhaps good plated ones might be attorded at a tol(i;ibly fair price. The oidy objection that 1 know of is on the ground' of expense, and a good many of the brethren are already indulging in more extravagances than they can well alford. I do not (piite like the idea of wear- ing a badge in ])ublic, but yet there are so many reasons why l)ee-keepers should know and recognize each other at a glance that I have a kind of feeling that it is the thing to do. Friend Newman, of the A. B. J., has for sale some very pretty badges ; but per- haps it would be a good idea to have one es- pecially for the exposition at New Orleans. Perhaps before this journal goes to press we may make arrangements in regard to it. THE CONVENTION AT NEW ORLE,\NS. I notice in Gle.4nings of Jan. 1, your suggestions in relation to attending the convention in New Or- leans. 1 shall be very happy to be one of the num- ber of bee-keepers to attend, as suggested by you. Will you be kind enough to inform me what ar- rangements, if any, have been made in relation to the matter? Does the gl30 named by Mr. Holmes, as the sum for which a car can be chartered from Cincinnati to New Orleans, mean for the round trip? S. P. Weaver. Leipsie, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1885. Mr. Holmes, in the paper at the liead of this, answers yoiu- question, friend W. 96 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. .Tax. BADGES FOR THE EXPOSITION. Your suggestion, that all the bee-men wear badg- es, and meet in Cincinnati when they go to New (3rleanp. just suits me. I propose that you make the badges, and let us know in the next number what you can furnish them at. It will be much more pleasant when we go in the cars, looking for a seat, to sit down with a brother kee-keeper than a baker or a butcher. Jas. P. Smith. Franconia, Minn., Jan. VZ, 1885. I agree with you, friend S. If it were not for looking too conspicuous, I sliould like the idea of having one's name on the badge. For instance, when M'e are looking about in a crowd, and a good many are talking, there probably would be hardly time to in(iuire of everybody who he was ; but if by looking at his badge we could see somethiiig like this, "I am xV. I. Root, of Medina, ().. who are you V" wouldn't it help us to get ac(iuaintedV I for one find it extremely ditlicult to re- member friends I have been introduced to and talked with, and once or twice I have found myself sliaking hands with one I had shaken hands with but a short time l)ef ore. I do not suppose it did any harm. l)ut may be some of the brethren might think I was a little eccentric or queer, and I for one don't want to be thought queer. I want to make my life count just as much as it possi- bly can for the Master, and tlierefore I want my influence to weigh every ounce it possi- bly can be made to. If having my name and residence on my badge would help me to help somebody else, I am willing to do it, whether it makes people stare or not ; but if it should have the effect of making me look queer and singular, and thereby lessening the weight of my iniluence, then I do not want to do it. ]May be somebody can help ns right here. We shall be a band of broth- ers down there, gathered from far and wide, and we may ride miles side by side witli somebody we wanted to see most, and not know it, "unless some precaution be taken. THE PIONEER APIARY OF BRITISH BURMAH. MAKINO THE BUHMAH BEES ADOPT SIMPLICITY HIVES AND ABC MANAGEMENT. fItlEND ROOT:— A B C has arrived, and so has another swarm of bees. The swarm I wrote of was driven ott by ants. I got another swarm, and robbers drove them off. ABC arrived, and now we are prospering. I do not know tliat you will yet admit me to the A B C class, but 1 have almost got my lesson— in theory I mean— but have little of the practice as yet. If it takes as many swarms of bees to make an apiary as hills of corn to make a row, we have hardly an apiary yet; but when we have one I think we must call it the "Pioneer Apiary of Burmah," for I don't know that there ever was an apiary before in liurmah. I have had my swarm nearly two months. I had a Simplicity hive, made by mj- Burman carpenter, as nearly like the pattern as I could get him to make it. He thought I was very particular, and I was obliged to undo his work several times before it was completed. In due time I got every thing ready, and " a few things more," as ABC directs, opened the old box in which the bees were bi-ought from the bills, and transferred. Half the bees left for the roof of the veranda, a lot elustei-ed on the head of my Karen boy, and the rest were on the comb and in the hive. In short, we made the trans- fer in a bungling way; but as we had brood, the little folks concluded to staj- with us, and the next daj' were at work. As there is an abundance of pollen about, and very little honey, I fed them slowly with syrup; and as a result thej' are multiplying very rapidly. Saturday last I opened the hive and spaced the brood and gave them a new comb in the center of the brood-nest, and they seemed to be immensely tickled with it, and set about gathering pollen, etc., with new vigor. I measured the cells, and found just six and a half to the inch; so you see tliey are little fellows. Nellie thinks that these bees have read Gleanings and ABC, for they act in almost every thing just as A B C says they ought to. It is most laughable to see the yoting bees come in with their first loads. Altogether they have brought a very pleasant element of pleasure and recreation into our mission circle. The natives are greatly in- tei-ested, and wonder that the bees ai'e so gentle, and that we can make them mind. They are veni gentle. I do not think they would have stung at all in transferring, if we had not used an old feath- er brush, to sweep them down from the roof into the hive. They didn't like that, and attacked it with great ferocity. Four shot by, and paid me their compliments. I notice that these bees are most active after four o'clock p. M. Then they are very busy bringing in pollen. At noon not one is stirring. In the morn- ing a few are flying. About 2 o'clock almost every day they fly out, to stretch themselves apparently. Whenever I lift the cloth over the frames they look up to see what is coming, but make no sign of com- ing out. They post no sentries, save just at even- ing, when a few come out and fan at the entrance, and make a show of flght to every bee that comes in. In a little while they return, and any strange bee could easily enter the hive. When we first got them they roamed the house over, alighting on our faces, and crawling over our persons. At first the timid took to the mosquito-curtains (I was far off at my office); but as it was soon apparent that they only wanted to get acquainted, they were not mo- lested, and stung no one. So much for the " Pioneer Apiary of Burmah." THE STING OF A SCOKPION. I see some one says in Gleanings that red onions are good for stings. The sting of a scorpion is the sting of hundreds of bees concentrated, and I have seen natives stung by a scorpion, writhe in pain on the ground, yet, in fifteen or twenty minutes, freed from pain bj'the application of the fresh surface of the small red onion. It is a specific with us, and the first and last resort. Ammonia, etc., will fail, but 1 ha\-e never known the onion to fail. 1 never tried it with liee stings. A. IU'NKEk. Toungoo, British Burmah, Nov. 21. 18S4. >\Iany tlianks for your kind descriiitive let- ter, friend J5. I was especially intt rested in this matter of the sting of a scorpion. I have sometimes wondered whether this scorpion poison is any thing like a bee-sting. IIow does the scorpion introduce the i)oison V It is not a sting like a bee-sling, is it? In re- gard to onion juice, I should think likely it might " hit the spot " if any thing would. So you have yourself really been stung by a 1885 GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. 5)7 scorpion, have you, friend B.?— I am glad to knowtliat your little bees behave themselves in accordance with tlie rules laid down in the ABCbook. Tell ^s'ellie I tliink she must be right, and that the little bees have got hold of the ideas in the A B C and (Clean- ings, even if they have not really read them, only that they had these ideas before ever the A B C book did. You pay me a compli- ment, Xellie ; don't you see itV God gave the bees this instinct, and the instinct away over in Burmali seems to be about the same as witli the bees here; therefore when I de- voted those weeks and montlis to studying the habits of these little friends. I mapped (unconsciously) just the way they would be- have under special treatment ovei- there. We should like to know liow nuicii honey you get. ua ■ 1^ COMPLICATIONS IN BUSINESS TRANS- ACTIONS. HOW .MTCH HONKV SHOUf-U NEIGHBOK S. 'inj. say iikdu'i/: and if you can possibly manage it. I would" pay the cash down for llie luvos, and take iliem home. Trades and swaps like the al)ove, or sometimes a great deal more comj)licated, have been the means of making more ([lutr- rels than almost any otiier one thing: whereas, liad it been a simple purchase there would iiave been no room for misun- derstanding and hard feelings. Almost every day 1 hear of some cpiarrels or jangles that come about l)y coniiilicated business transactions, when it might just as well as not have l)een a. simitle pin-chase. Perhai)s you have not got tlie money to pny. In tliat case, without knowing you or yoiu' neighbor, I should almost feel like saying, don"t buy the bees until you have the means to pay cash down. If you want the bees very bad- ly, you can rake and scrape uj) the money to pay for them in a few weeks, in all probabil- ity, before you will be ready to make any use of them. Probably you" will get some honey from the bees next year, yet a good many bee-keepers carry eleven (colonies or more through the whole season, without getting a pound of honey. I do not believe there is any need of so doing, in scarcely any locality, yet such things arereported. as yoii will see i)y Reports Discouraging. Now, if you want to make the sale conditional, I ' would give your neighbor a note for the j bees, something like this : j ''Oct. 1, 188o.— I promise to pay John Smith S30.00 for eleven swarms of bees now ! in my possession, providing I get honey I enough from them to be worth the abov"e i sum. Jf I do not get the above amount of 1 honey, what honey f do get 1 receive as pav j for the care of the bees, and the bees are considered his i)roperty as in the start."" ! Now, even though the above is a pretty long lingo, there will be a good many I chances for misunderstanding and hard feel- ings as it is. Jt is a fuss and bother too. Even if you get the agreement in black and white, sometimes so simple a thing as punc- tuation will leave a chance for a wrangle. I would not do it. Pay cash down for what you want to buy. (u- charge it on a book and show it to your neighbor, and ask him if the charge is right, or give him a note in the I usual way. Jesus once said, "' Let your I communication be yea. yea ; nay, nav ; for whatsoever is more than these "cometh of evil."' Now. if we make our trades and swappings in the same way. wouldn't it be a very great escape from '••evil""':' You feel ; happier, your neighbor feels happier, and all t the world looks liappier to you when you pay cash down for what you want, or else •'don"t do it." One nioie idea. I liave i thought that unprincipled men sometimes purposely entered into complicated bargains with a view of having convenient avenues to slip out of what was plainly understood at the time as a bargain. Our short-hand writer suggests that some tishes sometimes roil the water on puipose to make a cover for escape. SOME PLEASANT 'WORDS IN REGARD ^O FLORIDA. HOW TO I>1{EI'.\11E BEES SO TIl.VT FOIU COLONIES MAV BE (AUKIEIJ IN ONE HAND, I.IKE A VA- LISE OK TRAVELING-TKUNK. 0N the 2-tth day of November last I left my home in Indiana for Florida. I did not stop any- where until I arrived at this beautiful place, i on the Halifax River. I have hesitated for some time to write to you and your readers, I fearing that my first impressions might be too i highly colored and misleading; but after six weeks of close observation I find no cause to change them. T have not been in any way disappointed by the let- ters I have read of Florida, and I fully indorse the 1 statements made by friend Hart, of New Smyrna, i which is only eighteen miles south from Daytona. I find the winter in Florida most delightful; the I air is pure and balmy: flowers are blooming, oranges and lemons are ripening, and the bees have gathered honey and jjollen almost every day since I have been here. I When I left liome I took four colonies of bees with me, and succeeded so well that I think it might benefit others to know how I managed them. I use ! the Gallup frame. My hive is 12x12x18 inches long, inside measure, of very light and thin lumber. 1 made four boxes like my hive, only fi inches long, across the bottom of which I fastened two pieces with notches cut into them to hold two frames se- I cure in place. T then removed the hive T wished to OS GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTUllE. Fei?. transfer, imd put an oinptj' hive in its place; cut a small entrance-hole in iny box, and put it in the empty hive on the stand. I then selected two good Irainrs v ;tli some; honey, and put them with the bees on them, in the box, left the top of the box open, and closed the hive, and shook the rest of the bees in front of their old stand. They all ran in, and the next morning- they were all where I wanted them, clustered on the two frames in mj" bo.v. I carefully closed the entrance, and covered the top with wire cloth, and securely fastened the top of the frames. I now had them all on two frames in a box 12x12— 64 inches long, outside measure. These four boxes I fastened tog-ether with lig-ht hoop iron, with a handle on top like a gripsack. I now had a box 12x12—26 inches long-, with open top, covered with wire cloth, containing- four colonies of bees. They weig-hed about 50 lbs., and I could easily carry them from one train to another. In short, they were no more trouble to me than a common valise, and did not cost any freight. I kept them by my side ail the time, and once a daj- gave them some water. They did not like to travel in the cars, and made some considerable noise; but when I opened them in Daytona there was not over a teacupful of dead l)ees in the four boxes. I made hives for them, and gave them empty frames, and they are doing well, building combs and raising brood. On the cars, in hotels and depots, they were the cause of some friendly acquaintance and pleasant conversation. I met many bee-men, and they would notice the bees, and approach me, and you know how time flies, and how pleasant it is to have a friendly and interesting conversation. I am very favorably impressed with the climate and conditions of Florida so far; but you know the old adage, "No rose without a thorn." I intend to stay here during the summer and observe further; if the summer should prove endurable, I will make this State my future home, and have my family come here; for, as I said before, the winter in Florida is most delightful. Hemky Stinebach. Daytona, Fhi., Jan. 10, 188.i. THE HUTCHINSON'S HEDDON HONEY- BOARD. HONOR TO WHOM HONOK IS DCE. fRO. ROOT:-Gleamngs is just at band this Monday morn. After reading your account of what you saw at the Michigan State Con- vention, I want to remind j-ou of the fact that I call my hive " Heddon's Langstroth hive;" that brother Hutchinson's queen-excluding honey-board that you already offer for 1.5 cts. each, is Hutchinson's Heddon honey-board. To make it clear of my inventions there must be no raised rim around the outsides, and the slots must not regular- ly break joints with the top-bars of the frames be- low. 1 think by the cut that the slats do not so break joints, but I think the one brother H. had at Kalamazoo last fall did, and such would be much better, as I know by actual trial. Where they do not, the bees fill the slots with comb, and they fill the small (lueen-excluding slot much worse than the 'V double bee-passage slot, as strange as it may seem. I consider queen-excluding boards better of metal, and of no earthly use for comb honey at all. I have been therr too. To use two bee-spaces, outside of my inventions, one must create the upper bee-space bj^ virtue of the surplus receptacle, and not the honey-board. 1 think ui)t; but for the sake of the argument, let us suppose that the narrowing of the slots, to exclude queens, an improvement. No one can honorably build an improvement on another's invention; and I because of such improvement, rob the tirst of )iis improvements. Every civilized nation recognizes this in its patent laws, as you are well aware. 1 could have patented the raised rim and break-joint slots, but no patent could have been obtained on narrowing these slots so as to exclude queens. I have had a great deal to do with patents, and so have you had something to do with them lately, and you are undoubtedly aware of the above fact last set forth. I worked hard, experimented much, laj' awake, and wore down my nervous system when others were asleep (as I should have been), invent- ed, had these inventions laughed at, worked to get them before the public, and now, just as they are getting popular, I don't want them taken from me, neither in honor nor trade; and whoever does sO, I want him or them to give me some reason why they do so, or admit that " might makes right," and call ourselves heathen. You may publish this if you icisfi. P. S.— By error, jou misjudged my circular re- garding the bees we sell. See bottom of page 12, last three lines. We do sell pure Italians. Thanks for your. frie/id/j/ words. I consider the bee matter just something you overlooked. James Heddon. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 19, 1883. Friend ir.. we did not have an engraving made of the honey-board sent us by friend Ilutcliinson. for our crate of sectioils itself fixes tlie liee-spaces, so that honey-boards for tlie Simplicity hives would need to be as we figure them" in the cut you mention. This cut is exactly the same honey-board we have been sellingfor years, with the excep- tion of the perfoi-atious. Now. the idea of making the perforatiouswith a circular saw. if I am correct, belongs to friends Taylor and Hutchinson ; but as they are exactly like the perforations in the Jones zinc, only on a larger scale, so that they may be made in a wooden board, I can not see that there is much invention about it. If I am correct, making something of wood that has been formerly made of metal is not a patentable idea. I'our honev-board must be something distinct and definite from any thing we have mentioned, and very likely y'oiu- idea of hav- ing tlie spaces so arranged as to break joints in the brood-frames is going to be wortli more than the queen-excluding arrangement. The one sent us by friend Hutchinson seems to have the perforations made at random, so I presume he did not have this point in view. I slu)uld say your honey-board, as you describe it. is, without (piestion. ])atent- able ; and I do not believe any of our supply- dealers will offer it for sale without i)ermis- sion from you.— In regard to the matter of pure Italian queens, I now see that I made a mistake in running over youi- circular hastily, and hei-eby beg i)ardon.— As none of the cuts ill your circular, nor any 1 have seen in print, show clearly how your hone.\- board is made, and its otlice, we will, witii your permission, have a good engraving made as s(/on as the sample you say you sent us comes to hand. 1S8.5 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 99 FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, HONEY FROM BANANAS; MOSQUITO - HAWKS IN FLOKIDA. SNE of 3'our correspondents says in Gleanings that either the rivers of California and Flor- ida flow with honey, or bee-journals are sadly in need of a department for our friends who re liable to err in statements. We can not speak of any of the rivers but the St. John's, which is a pretty fair place we think. We have not been able to give our bees very much attention, and can not complain, though we can not give as big reports as some have done. Ours are all blacks, and we have averag-ed 40 lbs. pei- colony. The honey is here not in the river, but about as near as it could well be, for the bees collect it from plants and trees that i grow in the water, besides a great many that grow on the land; but our industrious little workers have a great many enemies, and at times the havoc they work among the hives is dreadful. The i dragon-fly, or mosquito-hawk, is one of the worst. Sometimes there seem almost as many mosquito- I hawks as bees flying, and the way they do pounce . down on the bees and carry them oft' is astounding, and there are many other enemies of which we will not speak at present. ; We raise some bananas, but do not think much of them as honey-plants. The sweet fluid that drips I from the bloom is not thick, but (juite watery, about i the consistency of the maple sap; nevertheless the ■ bees seem very fond of it, and do not slight it when honey of better quality is abundant. When we get all those new appliances, drone-e.xcluders and queen-excluding honey-boards, and il' some invent, ive genius will invent some method whereby we can beat the niosquito-hawks and a few other bee- destroyers, then you may hear a big report from us. Ostccn, Fla., Jan. 13, 188."). Mauv Z. Kussel. KINI)IN(; DI.Al) IJEES IN FUONT OF THE HIVE. Why do so many bees die off in the winter? We have seen large numbers before our hives this win- ter, dead, and yet the colonies are very large, and doing well. It seems to be common among bees, and I should like to know what causes their dying ofl" so. Mks. Wm. Swic.akt. Dixon, III., Jan.li, IHS.j. Tliis (luestioii seems to come up fre(iueiit- ly, my friend, uiul we have given frequent answers, lam inclined to think your bees are nil right ; and the fact that it 'is a hirge colony, and has been well, would seem to strengthen that idea. AVitli a iiopulation of 40,(10(1 it would be uotliiiig strange if forty or lifty should die daily, fi-oiu natural causes ; and if you see these scattered about on the snow in front of the hives, you would be likely to thiidv something was wrong. Of course, you would see most dead bees in front of the most powerful colonies. Is not this all the trouble? lect on one end of the frames near their entrance. Do you think it is caused by dampness? Fairfax, Mo., Jan. 12, 1885. G. M. Shaver. I think there is nothing wrong about your bees, friend S. The frost is tlie perspiration from the cluster, and it is almost always found in hives made of a single thickness of boards, unless the colony is so very strong that it fills the hive so completely as to keep the frost out. " When the weather moderates, this frost will melt and run down, often running out at the entrance. If it collects on unsealed honey it dilutes it, and some- times we liave sweetened water running out of the hives. As a general thing it does no particular harm, unless so much ice collects as to wet the bees, or dampen their stores. The remedy is to use a chaff hive, which we always recommend for wintering, although bees usually winter all right in simplicity hives. UONEV FROM THE ISLAND OF CUBA. I send you by this mail a sample of campanilla (or bellflower) honey, which is just as thrown from combs to-day. Please sample it and report. Will give you flnal report after a while. A. W. Osburn. Cuba, W. I., Jan. 8, 1885. Thanks, friend O. The sample of honey sent is of a beautiful light straw color, very transparent, of good body, and of a fine aromatic flavor that we sholild think entitles it to a place on an ecinal with either bass- wood or clover. We should be glad to hear further reports from you. .MV UEES AND C.VIU'. I have three stands of bees, all in chaff hives, put away with chafl division-boards, and upper storj- with sack ttlled with chaff. I got only about 40 lbs. last summer. The drought cut short the white clover. As to carp, I built a small pond, I think about 1880. It contains about Vi acre. I received from Washington about IB German carp; intro- duced them in fall of 1881. I did not see them any more until last June, when I discovered my pond was alive with small flsh. I commenced to feed them, and also advertised them in our county paper, and succeeded in selling 1450, from one to two inch- es long, and have a goodly number yet remaining in the pond. Noah Hohx. Koseville, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1885. I'liOST INSIDE OF THE HIVKS. 1 lun e inj- bees in Simplicity hives bought of you last spring. Each has 7 frames of honey and chaff- cushion division-boards, and chaff' cushions over the frames; all are on their summer stands. During our coldest weather the frost collects on the ends of the ,tTamns and mptal ri.i;)bets. I find the bcoe all col- WHAT TO DO WITH HIVES C()NTAIXIN(! OLD Itr.ACK CO.MBS, ETC. In the spring we had 12 stocks, which have in- creased to 20. In the fore part of the season, bees did pretty well. I took about 300 lbs. of extracted and 125 lbs. comb honey. My hives ai-e all frame, of my own make. Most of the comb honey was taken from two-story hives, the second story being about six inches deep, containing frames that hold about 5 lbs. This is the most satisfactory size to my neighbors, and are handy to extract from. I have sold my whole crop right at our door, at prices ranging from 10 to 15 cts. per lb. I use a home- made extractor, made out of a barrel, which cost me f 1.34, besides my own labor. I have several hives in which the combs are so thick and black that it is unfit for use; how am I to get rid of it without sacrificinsr the brood? What would you do with light swarms at this time of the lOU GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Feb. year? 1 have not the time oi- money to experiment, so please give me your ideas of the matter. E. W. OSBUKN. North Adams, Mich., Oct. 13, ^SH. Transfer those old hives, friend O., and save only the good comb, or that containing brood. If there is brood scattered about in poor unshapely comb, fasten it into frames so as to keep it until the brood hatches out, then throw it away. Most of tlie transfer- ring done now. I l)elieve, is so managed that only the best of tlie old comb should be used, and the hive filled out with the modern kinds of combs built on fdn. placed in wired frames. If I had liglit colonies in October I would endeavor to take them through by feeding : if they are too weak to be fed, doulile them up ; and I do not know how you can manage it without taking some time or money. Uniting can be easily done in the cellar, but you will proba])ly lose one of your queens. " FRIEND FOX'S BEE-FEEDER; HOAV TO MAKE IT. I take a Langstroth rack to the tinner, and have him make me a tin box the exact size of the rack, with the exception of the depth, which is 6 inches instead-of g^s; put a '2-inch tin thimble in the cen- ter of top-bar, to fill from; insert a cork after fill- ing; put in the bottom, four tin gauze-thimbles, these to be filled with sponge; leave quite a bunch for the bees to cluster on. When filled, raise the cover and insert the feeder in center of cluster, and the bees will empty it in a short time, the outlet being in center of cluster, and there being no dan- ger from robbers, and no daubing of hive, and no escape of heat from the hive. Hillsborough, Wis., Jan. 5, 1885. E. Fox. The new feature in this feeder seems to be in arranging it so the feed will slowly ooze through bits of sponge, and these piec- es of sponge are held in place by wire-cloth tubes, so that a large number of bees can have access to them. By the time you have fed heavily for a day or two, I am inclined to think the bees would build a comb cover- ing the sponges all up. One trouble I have found with similar arrangements is, that when Ave are filling many hives it is dillicult to see just when your feeder is full, unless you pour very carefully and slowly. F. .1. FI.ORy'S SECTIOK-CLAMP. (Jet four pieces of stuff, cut the same shape as the hollow-angled sample sent, place 3 of these with hollow side up, put in a Mb. or any sized section near the middle, then put the other 3 pieces on the top of the section, and tack all with your very small wire nails, then you will see that you can slide in other sections the same size till you fill the clamp to whatever length you reciuire. another lot of sections in same shape will fit over these, and you can tier up as high as you like, and have a bee- si)ace between. When the top is filled you can re- verse in a moment, if necessary; and if only some are filled you can slide them out and put in others. The small wire nails can be drawn out with tlu! point of almost any knife. By tiering up in this style there is always a 'i-inch space between tiers, and by cutting your clamps the requried length j'ou can put in your tiers alternately endwise, or across, as you desire. I think you, better than 1. can appreciate this idea, which I feel sure is vei-y valuable to those producing comb honey. All credit is due to F. J. Fiory, of Lemoore, Tulare Co., Cal., who so unself- ishly presents it to his brother bee-keepers, without taking any patent on it. George Hobler. Hanford, Cal., Jan., 188.5. The sticks sent us by friend II. are made exactly in the way we make chalf-hive corners, only they are sawed out from a i board. They are sawed so that the thick- ness of the stuff isHnch. This will leave the sections about i inch from each other, and a tier of them can be handled as a sin- gle box. Now, allliough these S bee-spaces have become (piite fashionable, it seems to me they are quite obiectional)le. The lower tier of sections must have a bee-space under them. Why any more bee-space? It is true, it enables us to handle six or eight sec- tions as one box, but how are the ends to be closed? The same thing has been a long time in use, only folded tins were used instead of the wooden troughs. The folded tins would probably cost the same, but they would reduce the bee-space to little or noth- ing. It seems to me I woidd have a little square board at each end, and then these long boxes made up of sections can be sent to market if desired. The idea may find favor with many of the brethren, and we thank friend Flory for suggesting these V- shaped clamps which can be s"o cheaply made. TREAT.MENT OF FOUL BROOD ON THE CHESHIRE PLAN. We extract the following from a circular just received to-day. Treatment of "Bacillus alvci," or Foul Brood, by absolute phenol, according to the "Cheshii-e" method. ABSOLUTE PHENOL. To obtain it of the desired strength, dissolve 40 grammes of absolute phenol in crystals, in 10 grammes of water. PHENOL IN SOLUTION, FOR TREATING THE DISEASE. Put one part by measure of the above mixture in 20 parts by measure of water; shake carefully until the oily deposit has disappeared completely, and take great care to use no vessel that is not perfect- ly clean. MEDICATED SVRUP. Put one part by measure of the above-named so- lution in 30 parts by measure of syrup. TRE.\T.MENT. The following instructions are of the greatest im- portance, and should be strictly adhered to: Reduce the infected colony to the number of frames that the bees can cover, by putting any superHuous frames behind the division - boards, and then commence to feed the medicated syrup, which must lie fed reg\ilarly every evening. If the bees accept the tecil in the ordinary manner, all is well; if not, it must be siiilleil iiito'the eiuiity cells of the brooclchainlier (beside or above the brood), keeping the hive cjuite warm so as to encourage breeding. Do not rcnio\(> the (lueen unless it is suspected that she is sick. If there are enough bees to raise brood, tlie most severe cases will soon yiehl lo this treatment. .Vs fast as the bees need a larger nmnlier of eonil)s, gi\-e them one of the in- feeletl eoMihs placed liehin.l t he division-board. A rsipid raising ot lirood is most important: the quick- er tills is acconiplislied, the (iuiek(>r will be the cure. If at the end of some days the bet's take the feed well, it I'un tlu'U lie given in bottles on top of the frames in the ordinary manner. With a \iew to tacilitate a trial of the "Cheshire" cure I have had small vials, prepared which contain 40 grammes of alisoiiite phenol in crystals (the purest ol>tainahle), and will mail them anywhere in the Ignited States on receipt of 50 cents by postal note or stamps. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 101 This quautity is sufficient to prepare 2H quarts of medicated syrup— more than enoug-h to treat several colonies. Akthuh Todd. (iermantown, Pa. Tlie above is a wonderful invention, if it be true ; but if I am correct, several of tlie friends report, in the British Jice Journal, failures after having tried it faithfully. If foul brood can be cured by simply feeding bees medicated syrup, it would be worth thousands to our country. Please pardon me for being a little skeptical ; but the truth is. I can not quite see how cells containing diseased larvse in a putrid state are going to be cleansed by feeding the bees medicated syrup. RAISING PLANTS FOU CARP. Somebody sent us the following, on a little sera)) of pai>er : Tlie Fish Commission at Washing-ton had been in- formed that the plant called great bladderwort would furnish excellent food for young- carp. They procured a larg-e number of plants, and had them set out in the carp-jioiKis. The plants came liijrh, but. as they were ^doil \'ny tlu' fish, they had to have them. Then thev uatcli.Ml patientiv lor the carii to eat the plants. Tli.-y had not watchi-'e thoroughly 1 wet you can place them in almost any position; if I kept so until they are dry they will stay in that shape. I In the barrel of 1V^'> is one of the leaves as it is [ taken from the flower-stalk of the yucca, " with the thorn and all." I think you will be pleased with 1 the brushes, as they are as fine a lot as I have ever ' seen. There are a few that are below the standard, ' but these are thrown in without counting. I would suggest that the brushes be left in the barrels until they are sold, as they will keep better in that posi- tion than in any other. See how nicely they pack in barrels. W. W. Bliss. ! Duarte, Los Angeles Co., Cal., Dec. 8, 1884. Thanks, friend B., for telling us where our bee-brushes grow. I would have the beauti- ful plant engraved, which you send, but it would be pretty expensive; and as it is not strictly a honey-plant, I think it would hard- ly be best. We present below an engraving made several years ago, of the same" plant: but of course it is not nearly equal to the one you have shown in the pliotograph. Perhaps I might inform the friends, that by buying these brushes in such large quanti- ties we can now sell them as follows: oc each, 35c for 10, or 82.50 per 100. If wanted by mail, add one cent each for postage. THE VLCCA SPANISH BAYONET. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 103 LUMPS OK CAKES OF ICE INSIDE OF A CHAFF HIVE. Yesterday I examined the bees in the one-story chaff hives which I received from you, and found bees in splendid condition, covering frames nicely, except in one hive, out of which I had talien last fall one frame with honey, and not filled up the space thus made, it being- an outside frame. That space was H inch thiclt with frosty evaporation. Had I better scrape it off and put a frame with hon- ey in its placeV W. A. Tholen. Port Washing-ton, Wis., Jan. 17, 1885. I would take out tlie ice if I could get it out handily, friend T., and then move up the division-board so as to occupy this space, and fill back of it with chaff. I should think the colony, however, that contained the ice was too weak to fill the brood-nest properly, so as to expel the moisture. Are your cliaff cushions over the cluster sufliciently porous? This is one reason why forest-leaves tlirovvn loosely into the upper story have been sug- gested. The dampness would pass up through them, and go out at the ventilators, unless the colony were very weak. In that case, ice might collect on tlie leaves; but as soon as the weather liecomes warm enough, it would melt and eva|)orate. tlie moisture being carried out by the current of air gen- erated by the cluster of bees beneath it. friend WILLIAMS TELLS US A SlTllE WAV TO CIR- tlllMVENT thieves. L(!t me tell how I manage to keep thieves away. Fo)- the last seven years, 1 kept a eu|>b()arurchase yearly, we are enabletl to give better retail prices than tliey would probably give any of our custoniers. If I am correct they do not sell less than a l()()-lb. keg of any si/e. I will send your letter to them in regard to the two-pronged wire nails wanted. I agree witii you. tiiat it would be a desirable thing for basket-work. CLEANING OUT SMOKER-TUBES WITH A HOT WIRE. When my smoker needs cleaning 1 have not time to scrape the sticky soot from the tube; but as " like cures like," heat fills the tube, and a hot wire or small rod cleans it out " quicker." A TWO-PKONGED WIRE NAIL WANTED. 1 should be pleased to be favored with the address pf manufacturers of the wire nails you sell, for the wn\-i IS n HEsiDES wax th.\t honev-comh is MADE OFV I tliui that when all the wax has melted out of it the cells retain their perfect shape if n. J.: 1 will give my reasons for preferring the style of frame illustrated, aliove all others that I have yet seen described. At a glance, almost any one can estimate the extra cost of constructing such a frame. I believe this frame to be worth se\eral times more than the extra cost, more tlum tlie com- mon ii()n-i-e\ crsilih' frame for only once reversing lor till' jiurposcs Just mentioned, if for none of the iiil\ aiitiiyes hopeii to be ^•iiiiied in the ways spoken of in the tiist iiaif of this aiticle. Again, 1 much prefer this frame to tlie old style, even if I never reversed it at all: 1. I am not tr<)uble will not sag. In revei-sin.-. I eit her shake olf the l.ees or revolve th<' iiHier frame \er\- slowh'. I ncTieralh prefer to shake oil the hulk of the bees, and I have found that on an average 1 sjx'nt live minutes to each hive (counting oix'iiing and elosinji) in pertorminj;' the reversal of all the eight frames. Bits of comb and I)ropolis bother but little, as the sharp corners of the wood pieces shave them away like a pair of shears. U. It will be nntieod in that while the toj) and bot- tom bars of this frame form "bei^ spaces ' with the hi\-e the same as other frames, the ends do not, and in Ihisditferenee I lind an improvement. It will al- so be noticed that the short end-pieee is taperinji-, reganliny its thickness. Xow, the wln.le end while in the hive comes, lop ', ot an ineh awa\- from the hive end, the bottom of the short piece '„ of an inch, and all below that, ', of an inch away. This large opening, while it gri'atly facilitates in the rapid and eas.^• withdrawal or insertion of the frame, is in no danger of the bees building combs in even so large and handy a space where such space is no hiyhcr up than shown in the illustration. While this frame is of slightly less capacity or surface than the standard Langstroth frame, it has a greater brood capacit.v when reversed, and tits the same hive as the standard. The above frame certainly possesses some very marked advantages — cheaply made, strong, quickly reversible, witliout any loose pieces, aiid will be one of tlie nicest frames to handle, so far as lifting it out of the hive is concerned, that has ever been constructed. In fact, our British friends have adopted and used, to a considerable ex- tent, a frame made smaller at the bottom than it is at the tO]), to be set in a hive with sloping ends, just to accomplish what friend II. has with his reversible frame. Now, if we were to build new frames right out, I do not know but that the above management is the best thing we can get ; but if they are to be used in the same hives we have been us- ing, a frame of smaller dimensions must be adopted. We have less space for honey and brood, and our old combs must be either cut down, or thrown away. A good deal of waste space is also occupied right over the brood-nest. In fact. I do not know where friend il. is going with an extra top-bar and honey-board, and two extra bee-spaces. I do not really gather from the description, whether a bse-space is to be left between the two top-bars or not. AVill friend II. tell us in regard to thisV OTHEK REVERSIBLE FRAMES. l^ast month we spoke of an invention of Mr. Nimslii Nuzum. Well. so many other new things have come up since then, that we will not have an engraving made of it. It is substantially the same as the Howes revers- ible frame.' illustrated and described last season. AVe give the cut again, however, to illustrate reversible frames in general. Well, friend Nu/.um"s device was almost exactly like the above, only it was made of one piece of metal, without soldering. AVe found the blanks could be cut out very cheaply: but when it came to folding them we found it a pretty slow process. Tlie Bro- ers frame, mentioned just before we went to press, is also made of one piece of metal i but instead of being hinged as in the cut above on the, //a^ sidi of the end-bar, it has two arms, and is hinged in eacli edge of the above end-bar, making a sort of stirrup ar- rangement, or like a swing, as it were, swinging on Urn pivots. The corner is much like the corner in the cut above. Now, in both or all of tlie above arrangements, a good deal of accuracy is re(iuired, for the support- ing arm must just slip over the corner of the frame. If it should be too long it would look awkward, and fit badly: and if it were too short it would not slip over at all. This 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE, lOo would be quite an objection in adapting it to the various frames already in use. And here comes in friend John McGonnell, of Mill Village, Erie County, Penn., with an arrangement made of one piece of metal, no solder required, that is like the Howes frame shown above, but does not go over the top-bar at all. We thought once it was ahead of all others, and made a modified model, from which the engraving below was made. Well, this Avorks nicely, and it does not matter whether it fits exactly to the frame it is intended for oi- not : but it can not be made without solderin.i;-, and it has. also, the sliarp corners that liave been objected to on our metal-cornei-ed frames. Tlie supiJOil- ing arms are also liable to get bent, unless made of (|uite heavv metal. We figured on tliis a day or two", and tlien Mr. O. C. Thouipson'. of Emporia. Kansas, sent us an arrangement m:itie enti/elvof stiff wire. that does all tliat Mctiounell's device does- makes a niie corner to handle— nothing to iiint tlie lingers. It is. however, hinged by a single rivel. like Die Howes arrangement." Well, now, friends, from all these we have made one of wire, that will re\ut on to any frame in an instant, almost, with- out screw or tack or wire nail, and yet re- (piires no great accuracy. It is made of a single niece of wire, and swings on two piv- i ots. The ai'ms are mad(^ of stiff wire, bent a good deal like the arms of our metal-cor- ■ nered frames. We aic too late for engravings ' this mouth. l)ut the arrangement looks a good deal like the loop on the top of an old- fasiiioned door-kev — two folded ovals of wire, as it were. The stem of the key would rei)resent the arm of wire that they swing on. The corner of the frame comes between these two ovals. We put oui' frames togeth- ' er, using all bottom corners. After the frame is done, the wire-reversing attachment is i)ut on bv making an awl-hole throuuii the center of the end-bar. boring through edge- wise. If you take a frame in your hand in the oi'dinary Avay. holding it by the support- ing arms, oiie ineach hand, you can reverse the frame in less than a second. keeping your lingers hold of tlie supporting arms." Of com-se. sonipthing mav come in still ahead of this: but the prosiiect seems to be that the invt'iition is to lie the woik of a great mun- bin- of minds. It is a little remarkable, that the same thing exactly comes from individu- , als far remote fi'om each other; thus, .1. "W. ! Martin, (ireenwood, W. V'a., sends a model j (Xdcflj/ like the Hroei-s model. Now. you know I have commenced paying for such devices as pleased me— for such as I wanted to use : but 1 really can not tell how to ]Y,iy in i-egai(l to this r(>versil)le-frame bus- iness. ^Vhat we have at present decided on , is unlike any thing sent in to us. I have given friend Hutchinson S25.00 for the idea of his perforated honev-board. I have also given friend Heddon $100.00 for the privilege of advertising his hives; and I have agreed to furnish them at his prices— no less. If I understand it, friend Heddon is willing that all should make his arrangements for their own use, but he. does not Want any persons to advertise " Heddon's hives and fixtures '' unless they make some arrangement with him, as I have done, for the privilege of so doing. This is certainly no more than just and right ; and any bee-keeper who savs in his catalogue ov price list that he will fur- nish •' Heddon's hives and fixtures,'" with- out making an arrangement with friend Heddon, ought to be publicly held up. I told friend H. tluit. if he preferred. I would not make any of his things at all, c/r that, if agreeable to him. I would give him slOO for the above privilege. Another thing, friend H. is to lis. the price on his own goods. If he charges more for them than you thiidv the.\ can be mad(^ for. it will leave you a margiii for very nice w JJOfiO I,HS. or IIO.NKV. {PLACED ;W colonics and :} nuclei in cclliir; they arc all riKlit. I commenced last year with :.'!>; increased to 74, mostly natural swarminy: lost :> in the lull— drone-brcedcri; sold ;5. and Inim- stoned JJl). 1 ottereil tlieni lor the value of hives and honey, Itut could lind no purchaser. 1 ex- tracted ahout :«rj1 lbs. box honey. 12.'. lull ones, and 61 more or less full: extracted ;i ) lbs. ot wax troni cai>i)lnA:s. l{ecai)ituIation: In the sprin^jr o!' 18S:i, bej;aii wilh 4 box hives; have now :{8 colonies, ;i nuclei, and about 700 spare frames, the greater part buill on I'oundation. Thanks to GLEANixns. .Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 2, ISH5. H. H.r.ss . [It seems to me, friend l^., you cjuld h:i\e foun I u purchaser by advertising'' a little. I may be mis- taken, however. Hrimstoning 30 colonics seems to me to be a i.retty sad thing: to rep Jr' in this d ly of Iirogress.l THE U(JXEY-PE.\S. I got three pints of honey-peas from the five-cent package of seed you sent me. I did not see any bees at work on the blossoms. S. H. IIoi-gii. Saybrook, Ohio, Nov. l!l, 1884. [Perhaps your plat was too snuiU, friend H., for the bees to find them. Ours made a magnificent growth of foliage, but " nary a blossom," although they had the whole season to get at it.] 106 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Feb. AGE OF DRONES. How old must drones be before they are capable of fertilizing a queen? J. G. Sharp. Rockside, Can., Jan. 12, 1885. [If I am correct, friend S., they need to be only old enough to fly outdoors, and they usually take their flight at the same time the young workers do, so far as I have observed— say when they are two or three weeks old.] MAKING SHEETS OF FDN. WITH A WOODEN WHEEL. On page 56, Feb., 1880, you dip sheets of wax " very thin and even" "to the best advantage with a wooden wheel about 3 ft. in diameter." Why not use such a "wheel" altogether, instead of dipping- boards? Imker. Philipsburg, Can., Jan. 14, 188.5. [Friend I., we abandoned it because it was, like a thousand other things, "too much machinery." The sheets were too long to handle easily, and the girls with the dipping-boards would run i-ight away from the wheel. I believe the wheel has been uni- versally abandoned, unless by our friends Vandeu- sen. of Sprout Brook, N. Y., who make the flat- bottomed fdn.] CIRCULARS RECEIVED. A 4-pii(fe circular from C. L. Brooks, Deaiisvillo, X. Y.; sup- plies generally. M. S. West, Flint. Mich., sends out a one-page circular of Sim- plicity hives and L. frames. A 4-page circular from Mi.ss Alice Fisher, Anna City, 111. Poultry. Printed at th-s office. A 80-page circular from E. Annstrong. .lersevville, 111. Spe- cialties. Standard Crown bee-hive, and bee-supplies generally. J. M. Killough & Co.. Sun Marcos, Texas, send out an 8-page circular, printed at this office; specialty, bees, queens, an 1 supplies generally. A 3-page price list from J. C. Newman & Son, Peoria. N. Y. Specialties, sections to nail, separators, section honey-racks, and Bingham smokers. An 8-page price list from F. L. Douyher'-y. successor to Dougherty & McKee, Indianapolis, Ind. Specialties, bees and hives, and other supplies. A 16-page price list, M. Richardson, Port Colborne, Ont. This circular contains much valuable information; gives the cut of one-story chaff hive, and Canadian supplies generally. An 8-page circular from Dr. S. F. Haskins, Hudson, Mass. Specialties, poultry. Italian bees, and Simplicity hives. This circular folds up into » sort of envelope, and has a pictui'e of an incubator on the outside. G. B. Lewis & Co. send out a nice new circular, reduced prices on hives and sections, and quite a lot of new "picture D.A.Jones sends out a 32-paee price list— lots of pictures, and much valuable matter. Friend J. is up to the times every time, you may be sure. He has a little book on foul brood, its management and cure. In the latter part of his circular are terms to students in bee culture. Watson & Theall, Brooklyn. N. Y., .send out a circular that looks a little as if they were not well posted in regard to mod- ern bee culture. Prices of hives, $30.00 a pair. etc. They quote " -M. yuinsby " quite a little, and father Langstroth, which might lead one to think their work was in harmonv with Langstroth and (Juinbv. Perhaps they have always lived in the city, and are not posted. A. C. Kendel. Cleveland, O., sends us his annual 32-page price list of seeds, etc. On the last leaf he mentions honey and bee- keepers'supplies; and clear down in the last corner he gives prices of (Jerman carp for stocking ponds. Prices are from ST.OOperlOO to 81.00 per dozen. Friend Kendel has been the means of selling » good dcHl of honey for many of the breth- ren, and wp think von will fliul him a nice ninn to deal with, in on, la., sends out a specialties, bees by Friend F. offers a valuable mutter, and is woitli .•^cihIiiik' lor. 1 .should say it was a pretty expensive busint>ositi()n find it best and cheapesi to rent rooms, and take their meals at the rt'stii\nants. Furnished rooms will cost from 7.") cts. to .oi)lar nailed sections, (iiven foundation, etc. Wa.\ worked at 10 and 12 cts. per lb. English Kabbif s. Send for price list to GEO. F. WILLIAMS, 3-Sdb New Philadelphia, O. 1 liees by the colony or nucleus. E.vtractors to hold L. or Sim))licitv trames. lor sti..')!!. Saw-man- liids for hive imikiiig, with babbitted bo.\es, all turned in good order, ~'T inches long, for !?6.(I0. All supplies very low, by wholesale and retail. Send toi circular. E. Y. PERKINS, 5 Udb Jefferson, Greene Co., Iowa. ICO Colonies of Italian Bees, AND 100 TESTED ITALIAN CUEENS, FCH SALE. For particulars and ])i-ices address W. H. HOBSON, M. D., 35J Irving, Monlgcmery Co., Illinois. TWEyTY - FJ ryif ANNUAL CATALOGUE & PRICE LIST T'uJt (.'oloiiics, y'lirleHS Colonics, ami Ckkhs, J'roin Our AVir Strniiis; Also i>lirK, Consisting of Bee-Hives, ichitc-poplar Sections, Comb Fo^inclation. etc. Write j-cur name t.nd address plainly on a postal, and get my prices before ordering your supplies. Address Wm. >V. GARY, Jr., Coleraine, Mpsb. 3tfdb Successor to JTm. 11', Cary & Son. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 109 Bee-Hives # Sections! I Kee-hives, sections. &c, NEW SHOP AND NEW MACHINERY. The liurgest Mauiilacturer of Bee-Hives, Sections, etc., in tlic AVorld. Oiii' (tijxiriti/ >u 'loiiil of (iooils Ititili/. DECIDED. The courts have (iccidfd the patent on the One- Piece Section to be null and void, t'oi- want of novel- ty. We are now manulaeturing- them ag'ain as first placed on the market by Lewis & Parks. Write tor our new jn-ice list for WK. G. B. LEWIS, 19tfd WATERTOWN, - WISCONSIN. FOR SALE. Al'jH. P. wroujrhtiron tubular boiler and cti- {fine, In working order. Price on cars, $115.00. l-4db Address J. D. ENAS, Xapa, Cal. Bee-Hives and Supplies. We ha\e remodeled our machinery , and can fill orders on short notice. If wanted, odd sizes made. Send orders now before the rush comes. We have a larjre stock on hand now. We give 3 per cent dis- count till Feb. 1. J'ricc list free. B. J. MILLER & CO.. 3-13d ' Nappanee, Elkhart Co.. Ind. REVERSIBLE -FRAME HIVES. WHITE BASSWOOD AND POPLAR SECTIONS. Snill fnr CilTUl:!!-. 0. J. HETHEEINGTON, EAST SAGINAW, MICHIGAN. :i-.5-7d ]<: .St a Mi. shell JSr,-,. .^ — ^ HEADQUARTERS \V eeswaX We liavr .-..nstaritly nn liaii.l a .A A. ocU ried, |)e, which we at ion at low- in < oiiipUtiiJ, uiiil Jr BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES The Only Stotnn Favtory J£rect;L•S" k-orked on shares. Extractors, Smokers, ^^/Jr,u.!P;:;-^;^ytS needed in the Italian Queens and Bees. the iiei^lihorhood. The superi No other races in my apiary or in iliood. The superiority of the queens reared in iTiy apiary is so well established, that no commendation is required. I send out no queen that I would not have for myself; and an.y one re- ceiving- a defective or worthless queen from me will have it replaced. Proposals from Dealers to mail a jj-iven number weekly, solicited. Untested Queens !;^^l!e*^'Si^!^f'IV]i^: Kates i>er dozen given on application. TESTED QUEENS g;^; il^^!}t^?!^o6'"'^' ^^^• SELECTED TESTED QUEENS. ^Sr^Hn^t hreed from, $;i.OO. All my queens are reared from selected imported mothers of my own importation, and from selected daughters. 4-Frame Nucleus, SS Tiu'e^mad^e sjiecialty of the 4-framc nucleus for the last seven years, and have sent them out to all parts of the United States and Canada without loss. Early Every ami The Mllplaiio T send out cont nUUIBUd i)()unds of tier ns at the full-size Laiigstn and more advantaucou; 'ast three received DAD ANT'S FOUNDATION is asserted by hundreds of practical and disinterest- ed bee-keepers to be the cleam^st. lirightest, quick- est accepted b.v bees, least ajn to sag. most reguhu- in color, evenest. and ni'atcst, of an\ that is made. It is kept for sale by Messrs. A. H. Xewman, Chi- cago. 111.; C. F. Muth, Cincinnati, ().: .las. Heddon. Dowagiae. Midi.; I^oughci-tv \- McKee. Indianapo- lis, Ind.; ('has. H. (ireen. licrlln. Wis. : (has. Hertel, .Jr.. Freeburg, 111.: K/.ra Haer. Dixon. Lee Co.. 111.: E. S. -Vrnistiong. . Jersey ville. 111.; H. Drum. Adelphi.O. ; Arthur Todd, (iermantown. Philadelphia, Fa.; F.. Kritclinici-, Coburg, Iowa; E. F. Smith, Smyrna, N. v.; ( . T. Dale, :Mortonsville, Kv.; and mimerous other deal. 'rs. Write tor .«tiin)l's frit, and price list of sup))lies. acconipanied with 1 .'>U C<>iii]>liiiieiitary and inisn- liritid trstiiiiiniiiils, troiu as many bee-keepers, in ISKj. Il'c ijtKinnitri: rcrn/ imii af mir finniddtiou eijiuil It) sample i)i evrni rrsiicct. CHAN. I»ADANT A: SON, :tbtt(1 Haiiiiltoii, Haiicovk Co., lIliiioiM. (thJrxt BirPaprr in Ai -f:. If you want Italian Bees that will work on red clover, and that are gentle to handle, you can get them of me. Send tor my circular. It tells you how to successfully introduce queens, and of the SafeUi Introduciua and Shipping Queen-Cage. Address F. BOOMHOWER, Itfd Gallnpville, Schoharie Cc. N. Y. JOB LOT OF WIRE " CLOTH AT ijiticATLX iii:i>rcFi) rmcEs. Such a brisk demand has sprung up for this, and our customers seem to be so much pleased with the goods, we have succeeded in getting another still larger lot, of one of the largest manufacturers of wire cloth in the world. Please bear in mind that the only way in which we can afford to sell it at the very low price of IVi cts. per sq. ft. is b.v selling the entire remnant just as it is put up. We have now in stock the following pieces. As fast as it is sold, each piece is crossed out, and the next issue will show what remains. Width, 8 inches.— 3 rolls containing respectivelj- 50, .W, and 60 square feet. W^trlth 10 inches.— 4 rolls, containing respectively 72. 70, te, and 75 square feet. Width. 11 inches.— One roll, containing 80 square feet. Width 12 inches— 5 rolls, containing respectively, 80, 100, 90, 90, nnd 101 squ Te feet. Wi.itn, H inches.— 1 roll, containing 116 square feet. Width, Ifi inclies.— 1 roll containing I3'l square feet Width. 20 inches.— 1 roll, containing 150 square feet. Width, 22 inches.— 2 rolls, containing respectively, 250, and 180 sou re feet. Width. 24 inches.— 8 rolls, containing respectively, 50, 65. 72, 'Vet. containing respect! ve'y, 53, 97, 142, rs.~10 n>lls. containing respectively, 69, 216, i, 'Jill, O.'i. and 20 1 square feet. < -(^)ne ro 1, containing 23 sqna'-e feet. s.-lO rolls, containing respectively. 58, l!iO, 2!0, 190, and 264 square feet. fs —4 rolls, containing respectively, 110, 25, feet. -4 rolls, containing respectively, 160, 172, L-et. 6 rolls, containing respectively, CO, 270, 200, IM i:io iiiid I'jo square feet. Widtli, .W in. Nelson's Feeder-block 1'2S Obituary 115 Patents, Moral 117 Peaches in JuH" 137 Plants for Honey 118, 119 I'lcunsv-n.ot 11» K .1,1 ii ■ i:io Spanish-needle Honey.. Spiing in CelUr Stings. To Cure Strain's Letter Sunday at New Orleans Tea-plants Thieves - . Town with no Saloon... Trout, Ctleliiug Ventilation Warts, Keinoviuif Waste-basket What John has Dune... Wind-bivak.- Woman at Cuiivi-ntions Zinc Hoiievbojid^ ... tribution, as I am teaching' in the country, and have a g-ood many boys in charg-e, ages from eig'ht to eighteen, and I think they would appreciate them, Koss, Te.\., Nov. 11, 1S84. Mks. M, Tali.^ferko. Obituary. \Vk arc pained to beolilijred to elironiclc tlie death ot our old friend \V. \V. Cary. He was for year^ an intimate friend of L. L. Langstrotli, and during- Mr. L.'s visit to us. he had a good deal to say of his most hlg-hly esteemed friend Mr. Cary. Me learn by the Dec-Keeperx' Ma(iaziiic of Jan. 1 that ho has been a bee-keeper for .5:i years. He made; the ac- quaintance of Mr. Langstroth in l^'O; and when the Italian bee first made its advent to our shores, .Mr. Tary was one of the most active in giving it a chance, and he has furnished nice Italian <|ueens for perhaps as long a time as any American bee- keeper. The magazine above mentioned contains an excellent portrait of our friend ("aiy, tog<'ther with a biographical sketch of his life. Although many may not know it, our bee-keepers' medley i'ontains an engraving of fritMii] Cary. While get- ting it up, Mr. Langstroth remarked to me that many for years have noted the resemblance be- tween .Samuel Wagner and W. W. Cary, and that a photograph of one would answer for the other. Ac- cordingly friend Cary's iihotograph was given, with the above explanation, as no photograph was ever taken of Samuel Wagner. Mr. Cary's t)usi- ness will be carried on, and, in fact, has been for some time carried on, by his son. W. W. Cary, .Ir. DIED— In Haltimore, Md., .Ian. '-S, IS.-i.j, Elenora, only and beloved daughter of C. H. and Susan H. Lake, aged 12 years, 2 months, 6 days. KIND WORDS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. Thanks Cur \(iui- kiiwliic-.< jn \v :iii in-- so i>atiently on me. The iiiHuis I oi-ili red a I ilill iTint times were all received With the brst ol sat isl act ion, especially the bee-keeper's wheelbarrow, which has bei-n faith- fully used by myself, wife, and chiUlren. Logan, Kent Co., Mich., Oct. 1). N. L.anhi:kt. 1K>4. Please find #;2.(i0, for which send me the latest edition of the A H C tiook, and Ulkanings for !»»."). 1 can't think of doing without them, and keep bees and make a success of it, for I think one may lose ten times the cost of both, in trying to do without. (iLEANiNfis is alwavs welcome in our home. G. A. Wii.i.is. Kntield, White Co., III., Dec, 15, 1884. SOME KIND WOItDS, AND NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. The goods came all O. K. Many thanks. The carpet-sweeper, my wife thinks, is the nicest thing out, and 1 think "How the Farm Pays "is some- thing that every farmer ought to have, and every young man who intends to be a farmer, or even if he doesn't ever intend to be one. He may become the owner of a farm, and with what information he would get out i/f that he would know at a glance what kiiid of seed to sow to be the most prohtable, and he also may know whether his tenant is compe- tent to conduct a farm or not, and every thing per- taining to a farm, farm implements, etc. The book has paid me already in one article on grape cul- ture. If I am a blacksmith and a bee-keeper also, the A U C book has paid me double and tenfold for itself, just in one point of dressing saws. Some- times 1 could dress a saw, and it would saw well, and the next time it would hardly saw at all, and my neighbor was about to get all of my custom. But a glance at the article in the A li C turned the scale, so 1 dress from 8 to .5 saws every week, where, before I got the A R C, may be I would dress one a month. Somebody else would dress it the next time. Hut that is not the case now. .MV UEPOHT ON BEKS. This season was almost too dry; spring count, 11: sold six. and increased to 22, all alive at date. Hon- ey \ery dark, and strong to taste— very bitter. Honi-v-d«'w was the cause. l-:ve'rv liouscliold or family ought to take Glean- ings, for the one heading. Our Homes, Myself and my Neighbors, and, in fact, every heading in it is worth tenfold tlie j)rice of Gleanings for one year. Waynesburg, Pa., Jan. I.'j, 1883. T. A. Inohram.D [Why, my good frieml L. it seems to me you must be unusually easy to get along with, or you -would not be pleased at otir hiiniblc ctforts in every direc- tion, as you seem to be in the above letter. I con- fess I am very glad indeed to tlnd that our publica- tions, and the goods we furnish, have been the means of df)ing you so much good in your home.] SOMETHING NEW. As I have greatly increased my facilities for man- ufacturing It will be to your advantage to send for price list before purchasing elsewhere. Cash paid for bees- wax. A. B. HOWE, 2tfdb Council Bluffs, lo-wa. SECOND-HAND FOUNDATION MILLS, We ha\ (• at iiresent four mills, which we have tak- en toward new ones. The tlrst one is a.')', -inch Washburn mill; price, when new, §20 or $:W— can't iust remeniber now; Imt our i)re8ent price for a tf- inch mill is >tI-,M. Wc will sell the mill for SlO.OO. The second one is a 9-inch mill, such as we used to make for the L. frame. We will sell this for ?17.00. The third one is a 10-mill, our own make. The pres- ent list price is .*'.'.'>.Oii. We will sell it for *18.()0. The last one is a 12-inch mill, our own make. Present price of a new 12-inch mill, ?40.(A). We will sell this for $'25.0n. All the above mills have been worked over so as to make the new style of cell. Samples of the work will be sent on application. We will al- low r> per cent off from i)rices mentioned above, for cash with order. A. I. EOOT, UEIINA, OHIO. We subscribed for Gleanings last year, and like it much; but haviufr been iinlortunate with our bees, we lost our enthusiasin aii. Cor. -Ith & Walnut Sfs., K. C. Mo. St. LoviA.— Honey.— The cold weather has check- ed demand for honey. Comb neglected. Extracted, in barrels. Southern, worth i}'-A(q>ec. Northern, worth more, but slow sale. An occasional sale of 1 and 2 g-allon cans at 10c. Choice white clover, 1.5@16 cts. in one pound sections. Dark honey unsalable. lieettivax quiet at iOCw.'Wc. Stock small, and not much arriving. W. T. Andekson & Co.. Feb. 10, IbSS. 104 N. Third St., St. Louis, Mo. Cleveland.— Hon^)/.- The honey market, like ev- ery other kind of merchandise, is very dull; sales during .January were scarcely any thing. Februa- ry, so far, has been no better. Choice 1-lb. sections of white honey move slowly at 14@l.')c; 1'2 and 3 lbs., i:^214c: second quality not wanted. E.xtracted in no demand. Beeswax scarce, 3t^(a3(ic. A.C. Kendel, Feb. 11, 1885. 115 Ontario St., Cleveland, O. Fob Sale.— I have on hand 3 barrels of choice fall honey, which I hold at 8'ic per lb. It was well ripened before extracting, and is put up in alcohol barrels. H. W. Funk, Bloomington, 111. For Sale.— One keg extracted clover honey. 110 lbs., for ^lO.CO. M. IsBELL, Norwich, N. Y. Russian "White Oats Single bushel SOc Five bushels 75c Ten bushels or over 70c Sacks, each 20c Put on board cars at directions of purchaser. ALBKRT L.. ITIAKTIN, 46d LconarJhburti:, Delaware <'o., O. FRUIT, SHADETaND HONEY. Bee-keeiH>rs, ))lease see mv advertisement in Gleanings lor Nov. 1.5, 1ks4, page ;i;o, and order at once. Two dozen for ?<1. on. iiostpaid. .\d(lr(>ss 4tfdb JNO. W. MAKTIiT, GKEENWOOD EEPOT, VA. ^ Colonies, Nuclei, and Queens, ^ VJU For terms, address 4-5-7-!>d ^^ Wi S. P. McLEAN. COLUMBIA, MAUR7 CO., TEITITESSEE. C^ AUINT'S FOUNDATION FACTORY, Whole- sale and retail. See advertisement in another coUimn. ^ 3btfd WANTPn ^^"•'' ^° work into foundation by the llAniLUi pound, or for a share. For particulars address O. H. TOWNSEND, Alamo, Mich. 3-4d Situation Wanted. AdJii Stone, Vicmuv, Onejda Co., N. Y, '" Itfcjb HEDDON'S 32-PACiE CmCULAHioilSSS NOW READY. JAMES HEDDOn7dOWAGIAC, M!CH. Mtfdb ■' RASPBERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES FOR 1885. ()lii beautiful an instruiucnt for so small a sum of money. Prico 35c. By mail, JUc e.\tra. Per 10, $3.00; per 100, $35.00. A. I. ROOT, MEPiNA, Ohio. Vol. XIII, FEB. 15, 1885. No. i. TKRMS; Jl.no Pru AvNi'M. tN AnvmoR:'! Tr»,,^ .^ 7, 7V< » 7. ^ ^7 •/-.•. 7 t? 'y 3 ( Cliihs to different postoffioes. kot lkss •3Cople8for«1.90;3rnr«3.75;Sfr.r8».00; rjSTClULlbHCiV III lO / c) . I tho n 90 ots. each . Sent postpaid, In the 10 or more. 75 ets. each. Single Number. ! ; U. S. and Cannda«. To all other conn- Rets. AddltionB to cluhs mavhe made f nnr.isiiED bkmi-monthi.y CY ■ tries of the UnlversaH'ostal Union. IKc atclnhrates. Ahoveare all to be Kent | . i or\/"kT' ■\ri>"iT\TV \ t\xxtf\ I pervenr extra. To all conntries not of TO OXE P08T0FFICB. |A.l. UUUi, ..M Jl/l-'l^ A, Ul liU. I the tj. P. U., 12c per year extra. HEDDON'S LETTER. Moral Patents. DON S HIVE, HONEY-B(JAKI), !I()N KV ri.ANTS, &C. N first page of your last issue I find a letter from brother Hatch to brother Hutchinson, from which I gather the idea that brother Hatch thinks that our government sells a mo- nopoly to a person when said person takes out a patent. I think he is in error. What we pay the office is record lees, and the monopoly is only a monopoly of the inventor's own discoveries; a mo- nopoly of what he has produced by the labor of his own brain and hands; a monopoly of what did not exist before his efforts brought it into being. The office gives him the 17 years' exclusive right, charg- ing only fees to support the recording and other office labor. WIDTH AND SIZE OF ONE-POUND SECTIONS. Brother Hatch also says, that in my "circular, page 20," I claim that the 4'.ix4'i.\7 to-thefoot (or Pi scant) sections do not average one pound. He does not say whether he means my 1883 or 1885 cir- cular. I can't find a word about it on page ~0 of either circular. Neither can I find on any other page where I' call that section a scant one-pound section, except when used with separators. Well, be that as it may, I have the fresh fact to state, that the past year we learned how to get this section so plumply filled, attached to the wood all arnumi, that the part of our ci-op stored between separators, in this size section, averaged almost or quite exactly one pound per section, gross weight; that is, sec- tion and all. We can also average one pound with I'i-inch wide, •l'.i.\4'i, when used without scparU' tors, if I recollect correctly. Regarding the system ' of management, I will give that at n future time. PUICE OK CASE.S. ! Brother Hatch says he could also furnish niycases ! at half my price, and make money. Has he seen I my 1885 circular, where, on page 4, I quote these ' cases, in quantities of 2B or over, at 16c each? This ! includes handles and the five tin strips. I should i like to buy of him at He each. No doubt he thinks he tells the truth. Does not much depend upon the I quality of the material givenV But suppose, for ar- gument's sake, he could. Suppose he has the ad- ! vantage of very cheap lumber and cheap power, j and cheaper laborers. Must I, on that account, go I entirely without any remuneration for my inven- j tion and introduction of this case? 1 infer that brother Hatch is a "Christian," and I think he should have seen these moral points sooner. mooke's hack. This, I think, is properly named. I do not see that it is like, or fills the place of my case. The tin strips at the bottom are not original with me. They are very old; so neither are the wood partitions. I claim them only in combination with a case that is to need no outside covering; that uses open-top sections; is bee-space taller than said sections, and adapted to the tiering-up plan (a splendid plan of manipulation), and taking the cover of the hive in the same manner that the brood-chamber does, and so arranged at the bottom as to be adjustable to the ordinary hive with bee-space above the frames, or 1 my honey-board with bcespace in its upper side. Is brother Moore's like that? I think not. If so. It could not be made of material 2?i inches wide, un- less 2' i-inch sections were used. I think that the 1 tlifffrence in the popular growth between the rack lis GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. Feb. and the case is illustrative of their difference in construction. I don't think that brother Hutchin- son, Cook, Seai-8, and a host of others, use a case or anything- else, just because I tell thcra to or ask them to. hutchinson'.s heddon honey-boaru. 1 see you published my letter (bj- permission) on page 98. All right, only I don't see the clause wherein I said that brother H.ANTS, And I will close. I think we should avoid all plants not indigenous to our climate and soil, or readily adaptable to them. I am quite sure that Epilobium, or willow-herb, will not prove a success so far south as we are. 1 hope you will prove or disprove this statement. I can see no returns for labor, land, and seed, unless a plant is tough, generally sure of secretion, self-sustaining, and I am not sure but I may add, will thrive, spread, and increase in waste places, with only just starting. 1 know of no plants that combine these successful points except JIELILOT CLOVER AND PLEURISY-ROOT. I have watched the latter closely for three years. It has never "shied" once, but every year is covered with bees all through basswood bloom, or that latter part of it which it laps on to. One great advantage that it has over melilot clover is, that it is a peren- nial plant. Another is, that it is a perfect success on the poorest soil. I am of the opinion that it might be made to settle the problem of reclaiming worn-out land, or land so poor that nothing else could be made to shade the ground till other fertil- izers could get started. Melilot clover will back out of this poor soil. Ti-y pleurisy-root, brother Koot, and report. The plant that will grow Avell, and re- claim worn-out land, at the same time yielding a honey dividend, or take possession of grassy and weedy fence-corners, is what I want, and what I think 1 have. James Heddon. Dowagiac, Mich., Feb. 4, 1885. We do not find the sentence yon mention, friend II., and nothing was omitted from yonr communication, by mistake or other- wise. Yon may liave put tlie sentence in some other letter.— In regard to the epilobi- um, you will see from our last issue, page H(). that it does tlourish as far south as I^a Salle Co., III., and .Medina Co.. ().. friend (ireen being just west of us. We will sow some of the pleiu'isy-root seed in the green- lu)use to-day. It is noticed in Gleanings for Sept., 1«H0. Three repoits are there •■ given in regard to it. Its botanical name is Asdepias Tuherosa. Prof. Beal there de- scribes it as follows : T)jc s))fc|infnp sent arc dSi'JrijiUli Tiih(riim,^^lUn- terfly-weed or Pleurisy-root. I have received it be- fore as a bee plant. It is one of the milkweeds, and thrives in dry hill-sides and fields, but does not con- tain much milky juice. It is a very pretty plant, and is sometimes cultivated. ^\^ J. Beal. Michigan Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. rrobal)ly friend Hatch did not know you had advertised these cases at 10 cts. each, and very likely the Moore rack will answer his purpose : if so. he can, of course, adver- tise them at what price he chooses ; but he would, to be sure, call them Moore's rack, instead of Ileddon's. SABBATH OBSERVANCE AND THE NEW-ORLEANS EXPOSITION. WHAT SORT OF A STAND SHOULD A CHRISTIAN TAKE IN THE MATTER':? fHE decision has been rendered, and the Sab- bath-breakers have won the day! The New- Orleans Exposition is to be opened on the Sabbath, during the whole period of its con- tinuance. Not only open, but special attrac- tions are provided, and special privileges granted to induce a large attendance on that day. The con- duct of the managers contrasts sharply with that of the directors of the Centennial, who firmly and persistently resisted the demands of the godless, to open the gates on the day of sacred rest. It is not only an outrage upon the moral sentiments of the best part of the nation, but a dethroning of Jeho- vah, and the consecration of his day to Mammon. This act deserves the severest rebuke from every God-fearing, Sabbath-loving citizen. The Methodist Recorder says : Exhibitors who respect the Lord's day should ut- terly refuse to exhibit their goods on that day, or entirely withdraw from the Exposition; and relig- ious people everywhere should decline to visit and patronize such a Sabbath-breaking institution. Are not A. I. Root and myself included in the last sentence';* Yes. If the managers of the Exposition are determined to violate the Sabbath, religious people should with equal determination refuse in every way to coun- tenance the desecration. Jos. Somerville. Brady's Bend, Pa., Feb. 4, 1885. Friend S., I am very, very sorry to receive the above. On lirst reading your letter it seemed to me as if I could hardly attend a place of that kind, where no respect is paid to God's holy day ; but after a little further reflection I concluded it was one of those questions that often come up, that every Christian ought to pray over before making a positive decision. I should not want to decide for others ; but so far as I am con- cerned, I think it is my duty to go, all the same. Of course, I should not go on the grounds on Sunday, neither should I want any thing belonging to me open to inspec- tion on tlie Sahiiatli-day. Of coiu'se, many perple.xing(iu('stionscoinein. If tlie grounds and buildings are full of visitors, somebody must he there to look after the goods; and wliile there it would seem hardly couitecnis to refuse to explain things, and answer ques- tions. It seems to me if I had any loose valuables there I would take them away Saturday night, and take them back Monday morning, if the regulations permitted it. If they did not, I would do one of two things: Withdraw all such loose valuables, or let l88o gLeaNixcjs in bee culture no them remain, and take the risk of having them injured or stolen. I would not allow any possible inducement to persuade me to go on the gi'ounds on the Sabbath-day, and take part in the proceedings. Sometliing has been said about holding meetings on the Exposition grounds. From what experience I have had in holding meetings in similar circumstances and places, I do not believe it is advisable for any Christian to encourage them. There are plenty of comfortable churches in Xew Orleans, I am sure, and I feel pretty sure, too, that those who love the Lord will be found in those churches. Do not let us stay away, friends, but let us go. carrying Christ with us ; and if we tind cus- toms different from our notions, let us strive to do as Paul did when he said,— I am made all things to nil men, that I mig-ht hy all means save some. And this 1 do for the p-ospel's sake, that I mi^ht be partaker thereof with you. -I. COK. 9:22,23. WIND-BREAKS, THIEVES IN THE API- ARY, AND HONEY-PRODUCING PLANTS. FRIEND LAWSON TELLS TS HOW TO KILL THE ABOVE THREE BIRDS WITH ONE STONE. fRIEND RO0T:-Tn your issue of Jan. 1, 188.'), in your answer to John F. Whitmore, concern- in;? thieves in the apiary, you may well say the laborers are few, while the harvest is plenteous. We also have a promise to those who help themselves. Suppose we take this prac- tical side of the case; that is, hedpre in our apiary with something that will be a har\est for the Ijets twice ill the year, a protection agaiiist thievefi, a wind-break tor the apiary, and a lastinjf pleasure to the owner. This is a subject of vital importance, not only to the apiarist, but to all who have inclos- ures to make, as this combines cheapness, strenjfth, durability, and will be defensive against the inroads of men, stock, pigs, and rabbits, at all times. To such I would recommend the Japan quince; two varieties {Ctidonia Japnnica), scarlet Howering, and (i'lldonia Japonicn alba), white flowering; also tlie l'l)raciinth((. The two former have peculiar (lualifl- cations for the position 1 would assign them as a hedge. They have a rich, dark-green foliage, pro- ducing in April a profusion of flowers which keep the bees busy and happy (I have seen them in bloom as early as March, and snow lying on the ground). W'hat could be more attractive? They ai-e defended by innumerable tliorns, which make them impenetrable! against all interlopers; they thrive in all kinds of soil and locations; thej- will make a good defensive hedge in four or Hve years; hear pruning admirably, and are not subject to in- sect depredations, either in branch or root; and lastly, they occupy but two feet on either side of the row. Propagation of the abovt^ is similar to the Pyracantha, hence I will speak of them together. The pyracantha is essentially a hedge-plant, which can not be said of many others, especially the Osage orange, which is, perhaps, the most familiar example to most of your x-caders, growing some- times to a tree in height, with strong roots extend- ing to cither side for many feet, running so near the surface, and exhausting the soil, preventing the i)lauting of crops to within several feet of the hedge-row. Not so with the Pumranthn; it requires but two feet and a half on either side of the row; it is a beautiful evergreen, with a very rich dark- green foliage, producing, in June, snowy -white flowers, much frequented by the bees. In winter it has a profusion or red berries, making it very attractive. It is also defended by innumerable thick set thorns, making it impenetrable to all alike. Almost any kind of soil and location will suit it. Like the former spoken of, it grows rapidly, bears pruning admirably, and will be a defensive hedge In four or five veal's. I Propagation is effected by suckers and prunings of either hedges, cutting them up si.x inches in length. Have the ground spaded or plowed, and leveled off. Set a line; now strike the spade firm ' against it, and downward at the same stroke, deep enough to set the slips one inch below the surface. The object of this stroke is to make firm the soil against the line; set the slips six inches apart against ; the straight side; fill up to near the top of slips, press them in with the feet; till up now one inch over 1 their tops, leaving it mellow and level. This must j be done not later than the middle of March. In the I following fall lift them, and set them out 15 inches I apart, alternating the plants as the work goes on, making it attractive all along the row, the flowering time of either being some three months apart. Prune them well in. after the fall of the leaf, so as to make them grow close and thick. The pyra- midal form of training is to me the most practical, as a shower can get at the surface of every side- shoot, hence no dead limbs at the bottom. I have been minute in detail, as the time for ac- tion is at hand, and perhaps many of i'our readers may have the above in their gardens or lawns as shrubs. They may go to work on them now. I have been a practical horticulturist and apiarist for some years, and have had the above hedges under my care; I would assuredly recommend them as worthy I of consideration. With the help of a good gate and [ lock, it is what all apiarists need. 1 It is seldom 1 take the pen to write what I know, as my hand is more used to the pruniug-shears; ' but should this effort do your readers some good, you may hear from me again. J. J. Lawsox. Point Lookout Mt., Tenn. Tliank you. friend L. It is the men who are used to pruning-shearsand sucli like iin- l)lements. that we like to liave send us arti- cles like yours. Every apiary should have a wind-break of some kind, and we have at consideralde expense planted evergreens all aroiuid ours. We did not think of the thieves nor the honey-posies when we did; it. Xow, while 1 do not much fear the thieves, 1 shoidd be very glad indeed to have our evergreens bear "llo'wers; but I did not know, until you mentioned it, that that could be managed. In regard to thieves. I believe it is seldom that they venture into an inclosure when it is surrounded by a hedge. It is a sort of uncomfortable predicament for a body to get into, and thieves are usually cowards. Who can furnish us plants for sale, and what are they worth? I have no- ticed the Japan quince, but I did not know before that it was a good hedge-plant. If I understand you, the (piinees and evergreens are to be planted alternately. The effect, it seems to me, would be beautiful, and I do not see why it wotdd not be just what we want— usefiU and ornamental. 120 cLH.vxiN'CJS IX i;!:k cui/rum-:. Feb. LETTER FROM AN ABC SCHOLAR. REVERSIBLE-FRAME DEVICE. SENT 20 cts. for Gleanings this month and ne.\t. I have received the .January numbers, and have not been gretting- enough sleep since. They keep me readingr very late at nig-ht, and then in the morning- 1 read and shake this cold weather until the Are gets warm enough to thaw my boots, and I am convinced that I can not do without Gleanings, and do myself justice if I keep bees. Through the kindness of a friend I got a col- ony and a nucleus in 1883; but I read the ABC through twice, besides a lot of old Gleanings, and constructed a buzz-saw and made four Simplicity hives before I owned a bee. I caught the bee-fever from one of your old patrons. I still have the same enthusiasm that I started out with. 1 had one strong colony and three weak ones last spring; increased to ", and took 140 lbs. of comb honey in your 1-lb. sections. The season was cut short by dry weather. I started out to build up an apiary, and make it pay its own e.vpenses for keeping. I have enough profit to run it next year. I more than doubled the money I invested. Bees are all right at present. I will send you a reversible metal-corner frame I have been thinking about. U. F. Strain. Spring Valley, O., JaiL 27, 18S.->. Thanks, friend 8., for yonr kind words. Your rever3il)le corner is the Broers corner, mentioned in our back numbers. This makes three wlio have studied up exactly the same thing. Now, then, we have a great moral here. A common want has sprung up; in- telligent minds have been at work at it, and after mature deliberation the wisest heads seem to center, as it were, around a certain point. Tn all such cases as this it is a com- forting thought, that the best device will be brought out sooner or later, and these inven- tions are almost always like a honey-comb— the product of the united work of many in- dividuals. DESCRIPTION OF BOOMHOWER'S API- ARY. FOR CUT OF SAME, SEE PAGE 8,3. fRTEND ROOT:-Had I thought that the picture of my apiary would have appeared so soon, I would have sent you a description of it in time to appear with the view. You have done pretty well in explaining the details, except that the picture was not taken in .Tune. The view was taken the last of September. Only a small por- tion of the fertilizing hives are shown, having unit- ed the rest in full colonies for wintering. The art- ist has omitted a portion of a row of hives which should have been seen between the fence and the first row of hives at my right. The instrument you speak of is a frame-holder, onlj' the artist has not got it quite right in the engraving. I have been pretty much my own employer since I have kept bees. The past season T had some help from April until July; from July out I did all my own work. I have another apiary 2' i miles out of the village; and as August is our main honey month, you can think how busy I must have been. I took care of both yards, and ran some on shares, II miles away, and did every bit of the work myself. Some days I would visit my out yard twice a day, part of the time traveling the whole distance on foot. As an e.xplanation why I went on foot part of the time, I will say that our minister has no horse; and when he wanted a horse to use he was at liber- ty to take the pony whenever he chose to have it. My out apiary contains 85 colonies; my home apiary, 75 colonies. The product of my home yard the past season was nearly 2 tons of comb honey and about ,500 queens, so you see I did not idle much time away. My home apiary has a hard coating of sawdust over its whole surfaeo. Not a weed nor a spear of grass is allowed to grow anywhere near the hives. I have often offered the sum of .50 cts. for every spear of grass or weed that could be found within range of the bee hives. Over a ton of the comb honey from this yard was gathered from the common red clover. I sent you a sample of the honey. What do you think of it? When I purchas- ed this place, three years ago, where the hives now stand was nothing but a thick hedge of old apple- trees and lilac, and other worthless bushes; in fact, one could not see from the window to the street; but the pick-ax and crowbar did the work pretty well, with me as their motive power. You know wc are commanded to earn our bread by the sweat of our face. F. Boomhower. Gallupville, X. V. WB "^ »» HEDDONS HONEY-BOARD AND HIVE- COVER. Ft'UTnEK P.\RTICL'LARS. X the cut given last month, page 8;"), which friend Ileddon furnished, the cover is represented as a Hat board, E. The friends may remember that I was a little tenacious of the opinion that sucli a cover would warp. When the hive came to hand, however, it transpired that the pic- ture did not represent the cover at all. The cover friend II. sends us is shown below, at fig. 2. You will notice that, to prevent the warping I spoke of, he has put a piece of one-inch lumber, set up edgewise, on each end, and these pieces are fully as wide as the cleats around our Simplicity cover. To be sure, we can hold them from Marping, if clamped in the above manner; but even if warping is prevented, the arrangement shown is not proof against twisting, and the sample hive furnished by friend II. had the cover so badly twisted when it reached ns (I can not .say how it was when he started it) that I would undertake to get robbers under it in less than half a day. in our apiary. \>ry likely such covers will work all right generally ; but after four or five years of use, if they do not trouble by letting "bees under during a severe dry spell, it will be contrary to all my experience. Another thing, this cover, with its great clamps on the ends, projects over the hive all around; and in shipping bees in a hive or otherwise, it would get knocked loose unless very securely nailed or screwed fast to the hive. ' A cover can be made on the plan of the Simplicity, just about as cheap, and I should very much prefer it : and if you can make bee's push under a .S/h;)'//(v7// cover so as to get rob- bing, I should like to see it done. The Sim- plicity cover also slips into place, and stays pretty securely. The above cover has no 18&J (;j.eani2n'c;8 in i;ki-: cuj/ruiiK place, but stays just where you lay it. Of will put the chaff hive in the stable, with course, all the friends can make covers as I the opening into the rabbit-pen ; then, you they think proper. see. wlien the bossy is covered up with that pile of leaves, the'little '' tads." as you call them, will be right in the same nest with '• bossy." I* I ^ OUR IMPROVED CUTTER-HEAD FOR MAKING THE ENTRANCES TO SECTION BOXES, AND OTHER PURPOSES. E have formerly made oiir cutter-heads so that a pair of spurs were used in connection with the knife. Tliese require frequent sharpening, and there is a difficulty in getting them adjusted so as to work exactly with the knife. The engraving below shows a knife bent at eacli side so as to form a spur on the edge of the knife itself, without necessitat- ing a separate spur. tbe Fig. 1.— Slatted honey-boiird. Fij>-. 2.- Hive-cover. Fig-. 3.— End of honey -board, showing- how slats are let in. j Figure 1 represents the slatted honey- j board. The piece acro.ss the center is a i piece of tin. to keep the spaces a little more I accurate. The ends of the honey- board are i rabbeted, so that the slats catch into the ■ rabbet, as shown in figure 3. The honey- board is framed all around like a slate - frame, and this frame rises } incli above the slats forming the bee - space. The pieces forming the sides of tlie frame are beveled off on the inside, so as to allow the bees to go up into the sections on the extreme out- side. This honey-board , outside dimensions, is exactly the same as the top of the hive. The crate of section boxes is also the same, outside dimensions, so tliat liives, lioney- boards, or crates of sections, can be piled up '■ at liberty. No matter how you pile them, you always have the bee - space between them. Tiie first bee-space is formed on the top of the hive, brood-frames coming i below the outside edge of the hive. Tlie honey- | board, being Ihit on tlie under side, rests rin j these edges. The crate of sections is also j flat on the under side ; tliat is, the sections come doM-n even witli tlie lower edge of tlie ! crate; but on the top of tiie crate the sec- ; tions are this bee-space below the outside j edge of the crate. i If there is any thing more that is not fully | understood in regard to Ileddon's hive anil j system, I shall be happy to explain it. MACHINE FOR SCORINO PI.ANK SO AS TO FORM EN- TRANCES FOR THE BEES IN SECTION RO.XES. The above arrangement makes the wliole niacliine plain, without much explanation. Tiie niaiKirel is is indies long; pulley, :U-inct» face, and 'M inches in diameter ; boxes, 2?- inclits wide. Tlic liead that holds the cut- ters is i:fx;!i. I5y loosening the bolts on the heads, cutters f(ir different purposes may be attached. A HINT FROM FRIEND FEADENBURG IN REGARD TO RABBITS. 1 a word of caution, I will sug-R-est to you that. If you have not provided a suitable place for your doe rabbit to make a nest for younj? ones, that you do so at onee, as she might be likely to have young at any time now; yet she may not l)efore March or even Ain-il, and it would be a pity to lose the first litter for the want of a suitable nest. I have now five nests of young kids. If she is out of doors, I would suggest an old chaflf hive would nuiko an e.xceHent nest-bo.\-. with a hole cut in one end to let the doe in and out; but whatever is fixed, the hole should be as near the ground as possible, or a banking of earth made up to the hole, for the little tads will come out some- times, and not be able to get back, and so get chill- ed and die. A. A. Fhadenburo. Port Washington, O., Fob. 8, 1885. Thank you. Friend F. Our bunnies shall have a nice nest made forthwith. As they adjoin the Jersey cow's stable, I think we A REPORT PARTLY ENCOURAGING AND PARTLY-DISCOURAGING. ORDEKINO GLASS AND ALL WHE.N YOU ORDER CRATES, ETC. T COMMENCED with 7 last spring; increased to m 15 by natural swarms, and about 200 lbs. of nice ^l comb honey, most of which is sold at 20c. per '^ lb. The honey was in 1-lb. sections, and went like hot cakes. The ne.vt thing to do is to get goods for another year. First, send to an honest dealer, even if he is oH' a good way, and the freight is high; better do that than to buy of some one you don't know, and then not get any thing. Buy every thing that goes to make one piece or one ar- ticle. P'or an e.xample I will state my experience. Early last fall 1 wanted some goods, so 1 sent to you. Goods came as I ordered, on short notice. Among the rest wore some shipping - cases. To save expense of breaking tbe glass, 1 said leave it out. 1 expected to buy here as cheap as there; but when I came to buy, the dealer told mo the glass would cost me 40c. per crate; so I just took glass for one, and thought that would do until I ordered again, and so it did; but, here is the result: 1 put the glassless crates in a room I supposed to be tight, but 1 suppose there must have been a nail hole to start; and after a start was once made, no stop. The bees were almost as thick in the room as a swarm. I opened the door and window to drive them out; but in spite of Clark's smoker, muslin, needle, hammer, tacks, nails, strips of wood, and 122 GLEANINGS IN JiEE CULTURE. Feb. every thing else but glass, they got twice as much honey as the glass would have cost, besides the fun of the stings, which is legion. After this I want glass, glass, glass, for my honey-cases. Coal Vale, Kas. S. C. Fkedeiuck. Now, friend F., let me make a suggestion, (iet your price lists in winter, lonj? before you need the goods. Study them very care- fully, then go to your nearest store, and ask how they sell glass. Ask them, also, what they charge for the exact size you want. If the' price named is more thaii the freight from tlie supply-dealer, then order of him ; and I would suggest to supply-dealers that it may be well for them to take some lessons in packing glass. Glass can be T)acked so as to go safely across the United States, but it is not always done.— About the robbing ram- page you had. friend F., next time you get into a scrape like that, if your windows can not be made tight otherwise, tack a sheet or table-cloth up over the window, and put strips of lath around the outside. Fix all other rooms in a similar way. Let the rob- bers out at night, just before dusk, and 1 guess it will be a pretty good idea to have each case of honey so secure that it is of itself bee-proof. Sometimes the bees have made pretty bad work on a case of honey dining transportation. every article brought into contact was sure to get " stuck up." Of course, the sales were slow, and oft- times required considerable argument to effect one. } I expect to have a considerable quantity of honey , to market this coming season, and have made up [ my mind that, to create a demand for the product, it must be placed on sale in a pregcnttMe condition, i to say the least. ] purpose to make a glass show- j case, of a sufficient height to hold an ample number j of one and two pound sections, tiered to show otf : the contents to the best possible advantage. The [ top of the case can be used for storing up a quanti- 1 ty of extracted honey, either in glass jars or tin pails, the whole in summer season to be covered j with mosquito-bar, to protect the labels from flies; I and being placed in a convenient position for secur- [ ing notice, it seems to me that such a method will I command ready sales, and that honey will not go a i begging. L. S. Walker. ; Vernon Center, N. Y . g^eWLEJ^Y. HANDLING HONEY. AND PREPARING IT FOR MARKET. SKNSIIU.K StTGOESTIONS nv A fJIJOCEKS ILKIIK. V " better half " is very much interested in reading Gleaninos, for the many appro- priate suggestions it contain."? in regard to the handling and care of bees. It is cer- tainly of great importance, if one designs to make bee keeping a permanent business, to thoroughly understand all the little details that go to make the venture a paying one; and the season being a favorable one, and an abundant honey crop being secured, comes the last but not least item, how can the product be successfully marketed to the best advantage to both seller and buyer? I have recently been employed in a store where a •large amount of butter, honey, eggs, and various other country produce was brought in for sale by the farming community, and I know that the readi- est sales were always effected by those who took extra pains to bring their packages in a neat and tasty condition. A poor quality of butter, if brought in a clean tin pail, nicely stamped and cov- ered with a clean white cloth or napkin, would command a readier sale than a much better quality brought in a rusty pail, eight or ten pounds in a roll, jammed into a pail any way, instead of being laid in with car(>, not stamped, except by finger- print*, a liberal allowance of hair and straws, the whole surmounted by a brown dish-rag for a cover- ing, or something similar. You may think Uiis a strong assertion, but it is solid fart. Our grocery department was located in the rear part of the store, and what honey wc took in was there stored on skelves, mostly in two-pound sec- tions. Of course, it dripped; and every little while u wash-basin of water and cloth were called Into re- quisition; the shelves were a bait for the flies, and §OMEIIOAV this department of late has been rather laid on the shelf ; and, in fact, 1 iiad almost forgotten the years in which I used to get unkind letters tln-ougli tlie j)re?s and otherwise. The writer of tiie following has. at different times, attacked nie publicly, and called me hyi)ocrite. etc. As nearly "as I can remem- l)ei-. Ills complaint is, tliat 1 refused to i)a\ the return charges on a box of fdn. which 1 sent liim, and which he wished to return, loiKj (iflcr (he houri/ .srrf.s'of* iviis tircr. 1 wrote iiim tliat if. on examination, we found tlie j fdn. in our opinion not wliat it ought to be. 1 we would return him the money, paying all j charges bolii ways. If tlu^ fdn." was. in our i opinion, faultless^ lie must pay the cliarges 1 both ways. On receipt of it I carefully in- ! spected it, and pronounced it fully up to tiie I average we sent out, and therefoie remitted j him what lie paid, less charges. May be our fdn. is not equal to some sent out by j other mainifacturers; and if tiiis admission". I or this letter which we give below, injures i our trade in the commodity, let it be injured. j Here is the letter, written to our postmaster : ! Postmaster, Medina, Ohio:— ! .De<(r Sir .-—Will you please be so kind as to inform I me of the whereabouts of one A. I. Root, late of j your city? He owes me a little bill, and has failed : to respond to my requests for a settlement. Per- haps he has left for other parts. Can you tell me j where he may be addressed? 1 believe he has been j a dealer in glucose, and advertised a 3-cent counter. I Please answer on enclosed curd, and oblige yours, j etc., — — Feb. 9, 188.5. I am not aware that any letter received from the friend above has remained unan- I swered, and 1 can not see that it would be right for me to hand over the money in an- I swer to any such demands. I have no ill ! will toward" the writer, and I do not know ' what more I can do than to i)ray that (Jod I may lake away his unkind, unreasonable, and bitter spirit. If 1 have not stated the j above correctly, and he wishes to reply in a courteous manner, 1 am willing to jjive I him as much svnice here as I have occupied. 1885 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 1^^ SOME EXPEKIMENTS. MORE ABOUT PREVENTING THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF SUGAR SYRUP BY THE ADDITION OF HONEY. N page 13, friend Root sajs to J. D. Gehring, " Very good, friend G. But if honey effectu- ally prevents crystallization, what is the use of going- to the trouble of boiling it? Just pour boiling water on your sugar, put in the iiuautity of honey mentioned, stir it thoroughly, and there you have it, without taking it near the stove at all." But the trouble is, " there you don't have it," and that is often the ti-ouble with us when we attempt to make theory take the place of prae- itce, and scientific thought the place of fact. When making my difTerent experiments last fall, to see if I could not get a syrup for feeding purpos- es which would not crystallize, and thus bother the bees, I also tried another, which was, to see what quantity of sugar syrup must be added to honey to keep it from granulating, as I had a few people who desired honey fl.xed so it would remain a liquid for an indefinite time, while all know that nearly all of our honey will granulate in a few weeks after being liquefied by heat. As in these experiments the hon- ey must still hold the same flavor afterward that it did before, of course I could not boil it, for by so doing the flavor is always changed. So I made a syrup of the consistency of honey, and let it cool until it was no warmer than that I could hold my hand on the outside of the vessel which contained it. I now took six glass dishes, and in the first I put all it would hold of the regular bee-feed, such as 1 told you of last fall. The second I filled with clear syrup as it came from the vessel spoken of above. For the third I took three parts of this syruj) and one part of my best honey, which had not yet be- gun to granulate. This honey was first carefully mixed with the syrup, by putting both in a vessel together, and stirring until thoroughly incorporated, when it was poured where it was to stay. The fourth contained a mixture of one-half honey and one halt syrup, incorporated together as was the third. The fifth glass contained a mixture of three i)arts honey and one part syrup, while the sixth was filled with clear honey. All were now carefully secured from dust and moisture, and set away in a dark jilace in my shop, where they have been left unmolested for 8'/2 months. The mercul-y has been as low as 1::° below zero in this shop during this time, and as high as 80° above. To-day I got out these dishes, and this is how I find them: The first, or bee-syru|), remains exactly as it was when placed there, thus showing that I have a permanently good thing in the shape of 30 lbs. sugar, 1.5 lbs. of water, and 5 Its. of honey; the water first being brought to a boil, then the sugar poured in and stirred half a minute or so, when this is allowed to boil. The honey is poured in, and the whole mixed as soon as the vessel containing the syrup is taken from the fire. I have given the pro- cess in short again, thinking yoti might have some new subscribers lor 1885 who would not see my 1884 article. The second, containing clear sugar syrifH has the dish one-half full of clear, transparent, and whitish crystals, while the liquid portion is nearly as thin as water. The third {}.i honey, ^^_ syrup) has a few crystals attached to the sides of the glass, while the bottom is quite thickly covered with crystals, the syrup be- ing a little thinner than when first made. In the fourth, which is 'i honey and 'j syrup, I find little change, except here and there a little speck of granulated honey the size of a pinhead and smaller. I can not detect a'single crystal any- where. Were it not that this takes ;» instead of 1-10 honej-, it might be equally valuable as a bee-feed. The fifth (i'^ honey and ^ syrup) is granulated in- to a soft pliable candy, which would do quite well for shippingqueens with.if it will not soften so as to run in warm weather. It is very much whiter than the sixth (clear honey), which is granulated very hard and solid, except having a little moist look on top. From the above it will be seen that it becomes almost a necessity to boil our bee-feed, no matter how much the " gude wife " may object, if we would have a first-class feed in every respect. Those of us who have steam-engines can boil it with steam, and by the barrel, to which the " gude wife " will not object; while those having an oil-stove will find a convenient place in almost any unoccupied room where they can prepare the feed. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. V., Jan. 26, 1885. Friend 1)., perhaps yoti did not mean to accuse me of attempting to make theory take the place of practice ; hut the close of your lirst iiaragraph looks a little tliat way. I think \vc have fed about as many tons of the sugar syrup as most of the lire'thren. and I believe our bees generally winter pretty well ! too, and we have done it without boiling the ! syrup either. J.,ately we have used a steaui- j pipe in a large tin can, because Ave can get ! the sugar boiling quicker that wav than bv pouring boiling water on it. If ."() lbs. of sugar. I.> lbs. of water, and o lbs. of honey behaves itself right along as it has with you, I do not see what more we desire, and we owe you a vote of thanks for the experiments you have made. SEPARATORS FOR SECTIONS, AND HONEY-BOARDS. ALSO SOMETHING AltOUT RECALLING THE DISCARD- ED H(}NEY-BOAUD. DITOH GLKAN1NGS:-Many of us are sur- prised at the evidence presented before the N. W. Bee-keepers' Convention against their use. But for the first time it is admitted by Mr. Hutchinson that the whole case must be taken ofi" at once, for to put in new ones beside those partly filled would surely cause bulging. This was one of the points I made last summer in my letter. A <.emedy for that was suggested, it is true, by a number, that by crowding to one side unfinished sections, and facing new ones by those capped over— a vain remedy, for it only increases the evil when those are done. What bee-keeper would advise leaving snow-white capped sections in till new ones alongside are completed? Wouldn't they become soiled? 1 know it is no light matter to question the evi- dence of such producers as Messrs. Heddon and Hutchinson; but repeated experiments in my racks, and in wide frames, to get honey I could crate has failed every time, even when using whole starters. I would, therefore, advise beginners to go slow. When honey is booming, in tiering up and some- times transposing sections, is the way to help the 1-J4 GLEANINGS 1^' JJEE CULTUilE. Vem. beey; but using cases or racks spread over the whole of a ten-frame L. hive, we all have colonies which will do more and better work without tiering-, if we can quickly take out sections as fast as they are filled, and put in others; and we are far less likely to be caught with a large number half filled at the end of the season. Uy closely watching the seasons, and liaving a hive on scales, we can tell when to draw in and close up, and in time contract, by not replacing the sections drawn out, and using separators shoved up to one issening the space between the sections. I have found it to greatly diminish the number of brace-combs, to bring the rack down so as to leave only I4 inch space, above brood-combs. A friend tells me he succeeded well with strips of enameled cloth across and directlj'on the brood-frames. With my rack rest- ing on a 'j-inch strip across each end of it, T can, with a knife, loosen the rack without disturbing the brood-frames. In manipulating we have frequent need to get in- to the brood chamber, and any honey-board is in the waj'. Did we not all think it a grand step for- ward when the flexible (juilt was substituted for tbe cumbersome honey-board? J. W. Portek. Charlottesville, Va. MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION. What I Saw and Learned.— No. 4. A BEE-CELLAK WITH A KUKNING SPUING IN IT. J II. IIOBERTSOX Still succeeds nicely J in wintering with his large cellar witli ft a s]tring in it. lie did not agree, tliat *^ • V'"'ll('" was the cause of the dysentery among his bees. Prof. Cook suggest- ed it was liecause of the stream of water tliat e(}ualizes the temperature. ]Vow. it oc- curs to me riglit here that possibly a stream of sprip.g water running througli the cellar may be as good, or better. than the sub-earth ventihitor. The water would l)e constantly l)ringing lieat from the body of the eartli, and tlie stream might be spread out in its I)assage through, so as to yield up a great part of its heat before it goes off. S.WING HONKY UY CKLLAH WlXl'KHIXG. A number of testimonies seemed to indi- cate pretty decidedly that a saving of some- thing like ](» lbs. of honey ]»er colony was made by wintering in cellar. (•omi>ared with outdooi- wintering. I suggested tliat a good chair liive sliould give almost as good re- sults as a good cellar: l)ut 1 was' told by (|nite a number that I was mistaken. Xow. I kjiow there is a saving of lioney by liaving bees in a good cellai': l)iil in oiir State of Ohio I can hardly think it amounts to as ' much as .3 lbs. per colony. This o lbs. of stores, at the present price of sugar, need iiot rei)resent more than i") cts.: and I do not believe we could put our colonies into the celhir. and take them out. including the ; prei)aration needed to make the cellar dark, well ventilated, etc.. for much less than 2■'^ ' cts. per colony. J^Jesides, with the change- ■ able weather we have here, sometimes almost i a week when there is not a bit of frost right I in the middle of January, most of our Ohio people are, I believe, decidedly in favor of i outdoor wintering, especially late yeai's. I I was not present at the afternoon session I of the last day. and therefore I take the fol- lowing from notes sent me : Friend Hutchinson says he would prefer i frames for queen-rearing not over S or K) 1 inches square. This levives the old question j of a divided Langstroth frame, or a frame to hang crosswise in the Ileddon Langsti-oth Hive. now KAI! .VTAKT 3IUST HIVES 1!K rLAC'ED IN TIIK APIARY? James Ure thought they should be placed about f> feet; Dr. Mason thought (1 feet, and Dr. Wliiting thought they might be as near as ftix inches. I think all of the gentle- ! men may be right; but if entianees are only I ('} inches ai)art. there should l)e some strong- j ly marked difference between the entrances. ! With our arrangement of the house-apiary , there is no confusion, even though the en^- trances are but a few inches apart, because I there are only three entrances on a side, I wliile with lawn chaff hives, made exactly ] alike in every respect, and facing the same way, there is often confusion when they are i as much as U feet apart. Prof. Cook illus- trated it in this way : His house and Prof. Carpenter's liouse are almost exactly alike in ; appearance and points of the compass. Now. although they are several rods apart, when honey w^as exposed on Prof. Cook's back i porch, so that the bees got to robbing, they 1 would swarm around the back porch of the other house, and I should be pretty sure they would, had he not said so. This is one considerable trouble in not making a lot of hives alike, even if they are several rods apart in a large apiary. "I once before sug- gested that we might make use of this fea- ture in making artilicial swarms and nuclei. Nobody has worked it out yet. that I know of. A methodical bee-keeper likes to have his hives uniform ; but if he does, he will be pretty sure to have bees getting into the wrong hives. Making them face to the same points of the compass helps the matter; but then we have bees wasting their time while heavily laden, trying to get in at the back side of some hivt where there is not an en- trance. AVe copy the following paragraph from the A)ner)C0i Bee Journed : GETTING NICE HONEV. Upon request. Miss Wilkiiis told how she and her sister maiiayi'd to secure such nice honey. They used the Doolitlli' s> stem and removed the honey as soon as sealed. 'riu'\' use the nicest white-poidar sections that tliev can procure, as thev tlKnight that this UKKle a gieat dmerence in the appearanee of the honey. Tlii' propolis is not only scraped from tile sections as soon as they ar<' taken from the 1885 gleani:ngs in jjee culture. 125 hive, but all stains caused liy the propolis are eare- I'ully scraped away with g-lass. Another and im- portant reason for their honey being- so nice, is the source from which it is gathered; viz., the willow- herb. From the above it would seem that tlie Wilkins sisters are troubled with propolis and stains from letting the bees have access to the sections, as well as we are. I tell you, friends, we don't want bees tramping over our nice white basswood sections. VEXTIL.VTroX. Dr. \\' biting recommended raising the I iiive from the bottom-board. Tins is equiv- | alent to the plan of ventilating the Simpli- ' city hive, and I do not believe any tiling can ; be invented more simple than the entrance ' adjustment of the Simplicity hive, for ac- ' commodating tlie bees as they go out and in. and for giving all tlie ventilation that may be needed. MY URPORT KOK 1884. T COMMENCED the spring? of 1884 with 24 colonies, j 4^ all blacks; increased to •")": ol)tained 24J7 lbs. | ■l'' comb honey from top story, about 800 lbs. in ' ■*■ section boxes; the rest in brood-frames: ten colonies made no surplus; average weight of ' hives, put in cellar Nov. U'S, "iH lbs. Kroin all reports I 1 read, 1 think my yield fully u)) to the average; i but the slow sale or no sale at paying i)rices nuikes | me wish I had never engaged in the business. : A WOKIJ IN FAVOH OF THK ZINC IK ).\' KV-ltO A l< OS. I used the zinc honey-board on nearly all of iiiy i hives; in only two did I lind the queen in upjier I story; almost invariably 1 found brood in upper ! story when I used wooden honey-boards. This ; lroul)le cost me more than the zinc li<)nc.\-b