GLEANINGS 



IN 



BEE CULTUI\E. 



Devoted to Bees and Honey, and Home Interests. 



Vol. X. 



JAN. 1, 1882. 



No. 1. 



A. X. ROOT, 



Publisher and Propnetor, \ 

 Medina, O. 



PuWished Monthly. 



TERMS: $1.00 PKR ANVUM, IK AT)VA!fCE: 

 2 Copies for $1.90: 8 for S2. 75; 5 for $4.00; 10 

 or more, 75 cts. each. Single Number, 10 otK ; 

 Additions to cldba may be made at club 

 rates. Above are all to hit sent to one post 



Established in 1873. [iZf^i^J'^^l^L't^^^'''''''^'''''''^'^''''''' 



NOTES FRom the: banner apiary. 



No. 26. 



MY UEPOKT FOR 1881. 



*lJ^iUlEND O. H. TOWNSEND would like to know 

 Jpl ' how much those seven colonies, that I bought 

 of him, helped me in queen-rearing'. Well, as 

 our little girls say, they helped a "whole lot." Of 

 the eleven colonies that I owned one j'car ago, only 

 one colony remained alive last spring; and that was 

 80 weak that I united it with another colony that I 

 bought. Although it was up-hill work getting 

 started last spring, yet I did not become discour- 

 aged. It was with difficulty that I obtained money 

 with which to buy bees, while to And boos to buy, 

 unless at exorbitant prices, was an equally ditlicult 

 task. Every .swarm that I bought was in box hives, 

 or else in movable-comb hives having frames that 

 differed in size from mine; consequently, all had to 

 be transferred. Finally, June 1st, I found myself 

 the possessor of 18 colonics; all transferred, and in 

 fair working order. The weather continued cold so 

 late, that queen-rearing was not commenced until 

 about a month later than usual. Although white 

 clover was so abundant that some fields reminded 

 one of a snow-drift, yet the weather was so cool 

 that no surplus was stored until the latter part of 

 June. White clover yielded fairly from about June 

 2l8t until about July 8th, when it was deserted for 

 the bounteous, fragrant basswoods. A fair crop 

 was obtained from basswood, but the yields from 

 fall flowers was cut short by the drought. 



I have reared and sold 263 queens ; extracted 1100 

 lbs. of honey, and doubled the number of ray colo- 

 nies. Estimating the colonies now on hand (~8) at 

 15.00 each, my profits have been only $15.43 per col- 

 ony. 



In closing his report, friend I. U. Good fairly takes 

 the words right out of my mouth; that is, they ex- 

 press my feelings exacth). Please allow me to quote 

 them: "I wish to thank the many kind friends who 

 have sent me their orders for queens. If there is. 

 one among you who is not sati-sfled, lot mc know, 

 and I will try to satisfy you. I tell you it does mo 

 good to receive such liind letters as some of you 

 bee-keepers write." 



MR. ROOT didn't COME. 



How I did wish that I could go to the convention 

 at Battle Creek I but circumstances were such that 

 I could not attend. I could not help thinking, how- 

 ever, that there was a slight possibility, about one 

 chance in ten, that Mr. Boot (Novice) might swing 

 around this way on his way home. Saturday even- 

 ing, in hopes that he might come, I filled tho wood- 

 box heaping full of wood, so that we could " sit up" 

 and "talk" if he did come; and, as I started for 

 Rogersville, I laughingly told Mrs. H. that I was go- 

 ing to the train to meet Mr. Hoot. But no Mr. Boot 

 alighted from the cars; and then I even went so far 

 as to go through the cars to see if, by any possible 

 chance, he might be on the train. I saw only one 

 man that I thought could possibly be him, and 

 while I was debating in my mind whether or not I 

 had better speak to him, he up and squirted a small- 

 sized deluge of tobacco-juice behind the stove. 

 That settled it, and I left the car, went over to the 



