148 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Mar. 



trouble about swine, and the demons, etc. I can not 

 tell you how that number (May, 1879,) of the Homes 

 encouraged me; It made me happy again. 



I have often been unhappy since, and I have gone 

 to the same source in the same way, and have got 

 rid of my unhappiness. Not only that, but I have 

 felt twice the amount of energy about my work — 

 so much so that I have looked around to see what I 

 could do to make things better around home, and 

 havefoundmyself down cellar, sorting out the rot- 

 ten apples from the good. May God bless " Our 

 Homes"! E. Grainger. 



Deer Park, Ont., Can., Feb. 20, 1883. 



And may God bless you, my young friend 

 and fellow-traveler ; and may he be praised, 

 that these same Home Papers have had a 

 hand in the work of pointing you to the 

 Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of 

 the world. I am the more thankful for your 

 letter just now, and its closing words, be- 

 cause my wife has been criticising neighbor 

 Jones in the Menybanks story. She said 

 that she feared even religion, although it 

 should do so, did not often give a man ener- 

 gy to work, as well as strength to resist 

 temptation. Now you have struck the point 

 exactly, where you say it gives you energy 

 to go to work, even to going, down into the 

 cellar to sort the rotten apples. I wonder 

 how many there are whose eye rests on these 

 words, who need just this very kind of ener- 

 gy. If you are faithful with the rotten ap- 

 ples, God will certainly give you something 

 more to do, when they are finished. One of 

 my most constant prayers is for energy and 

 zeal in distasteful duties. 



Now just a word in closing. Some of the 

 friends have wished me to take more room 

 in this department to discuss Christianity 

 and infidelity. Is it worth while to use val- 

 uable space for such a purpose? Through 

 the influence of my monthly Home chap- 

 ters to you, the young friend who has just 

 written has given up tobacco and swearing, 

 and is growing happy in good, steady, hon- 

 est work. He has been won, as I have tried 

 to tell you this month, you must win your 

 way among men. With the love of God in 

 his heart he will win others, and they in 

 turn others still. Do discussions ever bear 

 such fruitV Will it not be better to discuss 

 in our hearts the evil we find there continu- 

 ally, and fight it out on bended knee before 

 God, as did he? If we do this, we shall be 

 able to win souls and to rule nations. 



Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a 

 right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy 

 presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 

 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and up- 

 hold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach 

 transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be con- 

 verted unto thee.— Psalm 51: 10—10. 



He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto 

 the end, to him will I give power over the nations. — 

 Revelation 3:26. 



Every nation on the face of the globe is 

 now open to the teachings of the gospel, and 

 never before since the world began was hea- 

 thenism so rapidly giving way to the en- 

 lightening influence of theJBible. My friend, 

 is your lamp trimmed and burning? Are 

 you ready and willing to lose your life, for 

 the sake of that glorious and heavenly awak- 

 ening? 



FL.OUK CANBY IN WINTER 



NOT NECESSARILY DETRIMENTAL. 



MY hives are frame hives, something like the 

 Langstroth. I winter in cellar, and remove 

 ' the cap on top of brood-chamber. I use two 

 boards crosswise of the hives, and when 1 put the 

 bees in the cellar I spread these boards apart so that 

 the bees can come on top of the hive any time. This 

 leaves a good draft, and keeps the combs dry. I al- 

 ways spread the combs in the center of the brood- 

 chamber, so that the bees can cluster together and 

 keep warm. I hardly ever lose any bees, unless they 

 starve to death. 



One year ago last fall I was not at home; did not 

 get home until it was too late to feed, and 

 my bees were very light. Some did not have 

 any honey at all. But 1 put them all in the cellar — 

 37 swarms. I put the light swarms so that I could 

 feed them. I fed sugar and maple molasses and 

 candy, but they would crawl all over the hive and 

 die; 5 swarms died, and I thought that I should lose 

 them all. 



I will tell you how I saved the best. I took 10 lbs. 

 of white sugar, and put it in a tin pail; set the pail 

 in hot water until the sugar melted in good shape. 

 When melted, let cool a little, and put in 1 lb. of 

 wheat flour. I took thin burlap and put inside of 

 the frame ; made two or three holes in the center 

 for the bees to crawl thi-ough. Now I spread on 

 the sugar and flour. When hot, it will stick to the 

 burlap; but when -cool, I put it in the hives. The bees 

 will do better on this than honey. I did not lose 

 any more bees, and those that I fed sugar did better 

 than those that had lots of honey. They swarmed 

 the first, and made the most honey. I call it Brown's 

 feeder. I shall feed all of my bees this spring in 

 that way. 



I have 53 colonics in cellar, all in good shape. I 

 had a swarm given me 1 ist 0-;tober, if I would give 

 back the honey. I took them home and fed them 

 sugar. I put three frames of sugar, two frames of 

 empty comb, and they went to work, and are as 

 good a swarm as I have got. My feeder is not pat- 

 ented. I think that is the best way to feed sugar. 

 You can put it into the hive any time, cold weather 

 or warm. When you melt the sugar, do not put 

 water in it. G. S. Brown. 



Salisbury, Addison Co., Vt., Feb. 20, 1883. 



When reading friend Ileddon's article on 

 p. 115, it occurred to me that if flour candy 

 did kill his bees, it does not always kill them 

 for other folks. A few years ago I built up 

 a late natural swarm on this flour candy in 

 frames, and I showed the bees to Professor 

 Cook, when he paid us a visit the last of De- 

 cember, and we saw plenty of brood in all 

 stages. The queen was fertilized in Octo- 

 ber ; but the next spring, when a customer 

 paid for the best colony in my apiary, he se- 

 lected this one. We have had many other 

 similar reports. Friend Brown, who gives 

 the above plan for putting the candy into the 

 frames, has, I think, by his sheet of burlap, 

 done away with the objection I have men- 

 tioned to frames of flour candy. The bur- 

 lap, you see, will prevent the bees from 

 building a comb, when the candy is all taken. 

 Many thanks, friend Brown. By melting in 

 water as you suggest, I presume we can mix 

 the flour and sugar, witnout the addition of 



