340 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



have really been doing such a foolish thing 

 as this, have them prosecuted to the fullest 

 extent of the law, unless they will at once 

 pay in full for the property they have de- 

 stroyed. ^Vhere ignorance and superstition 

 go so far as this, it is high time they were 

 stopped. 



The following item relative to the above 

 matter is clipped from the Cleveland Herald 

 of June 2 : — 



A NEW VARIETY OF MEANNESS. 



Dr. AVilliam Calse, Willitim Brown, and John C. 

 Springer each has lost within a tow days many valu- 

 able honey bees, which have died in alarming num- 

 bers, as is" supposed, from poisoning. The tirst two 

 j^rentlemen possess u large number of valuable hives, 

 and their loss has been by no means small. The 

 bees may have been the source of a little annoyance 

 to some, but not sufficient, by any means, to war- 

 rant tbem in taking so decisive action, and if its 

 agents are discovered they will probably suffer the 

 penalty of their mean act. 



FIAKmG FOINDATION AVITH THE 

 GIVEN PRESS. 



FILLING THE FRAMES CLEAR UP TO THE WOOlJ, ETC. 



M)0, friend Root, I do not think you stubborn, in 

 the least. I never have had any trouble in 

 the way you speak of; but there may be more 

 danger with the L. frame than with the frame I have 

 been using, which is the crosswise L. I have never 

 had any trouble about the bees not fastening the 

 comb to the top-bar and end pieces, but they will 

 leave a vacancy at the bottom. To prevent that, I 

 cut narrow strips of foundation, lay them in the 

 frame against the bottom-bar, make them wide 

 enough so the sheets of wax will lap over the press, 

 or, if you cut your sheets large enough so they will 

 completely fill the frame, the bees will then work 

 them out to the wood every time. 



You say the wires in the frame I sent you were not 

 drawn tight, nor even straight, yet three of them 

 were broken, which may all be true, as I was in a 

 hurry when I made them. I received a card from 

 some one asking about putting fdn. in metal- 

 cornered frames with the press. After answering 

 them, I came home from the postofflce, went into 

 the house, and got a few sheets of wax that had been 

 dipped some time before. I warmed them well, it 

 being a cold day, then went into the shop with them, 

 where there was no fire, consequently the dies were 

 cold, which would cool the wax very quickly, which 

 would cause the wii'es to break much quicker than 

 they would if the wax had been warm. I filled three 

 frames, and sent you the best one of the three. They 

 were the first full-size L. frames that I tried to till, 

 for, as I have told you before, 1 never used them in 

 my apiary, but have now made 100 L. hives for my 

 own use. 



Now as for my coming out there to help you make 

 fdn., and have my expenses paid in the bargain, that 

 was a grand thought of mine, to teach such men as 

 A. 1. Root and Mr. Gray, and a host of others how to 

 make fdn! Well, I declare: just forgive me this 

 one time, and I will try to do better the next time. 

 Yes, I know you could teach me a great many things 

 that might do me good, and I am coming out there 

 to sec you when I can get time, and I will pay my 

 own expenses too. I shall not need to come to show 

 you how to work the Given press, because you can 

 do that as well as I can ; in fact, last season I had 



my brother's boy, 12 years of age, to make my fdn. 

 If the press you have ordered does not suit you after 

 you have tried it, just send it to me, and charge me 

 up with it, as I intend getting another one, at any 

 rate. I have never had any trouble with the dies 

 cutting the wires, or with the wires breaking after 

 the combs were built out. I. R. Good. 



Nappanee, Ind., March IT, 1882. 



Thaidvs, friend Good ; but the Given folks 

 do not seem quite as sanguine as you do. for 

 they have declined making a press according 

 to the requirements I mentioned on p. 180, 

 April No., or, at least, they said they feared 

 the press would not suit me if they sent an- 

 other. I have no doubt but that they will, 

 in time, give us all we require ; but it seems 

 we have not got it quite yet. I hope this 

 will not spoil that contemplated visit, how- 

 ever. Are we to understand you pressed 

 those sheets of wax without putting some 

 lubricant on the plates, such as soapsuds, 

 starch, or something of that kind? You say 

 the shop was cold, but make no mention of 

 putting any liquid on the plates. The rea- 

 son why I ask, is that friend fled don has 

 written repeatedly about pressing sheet aft- 

 er sheet, without even brushing over the 

 plates with any thing. If we could get rolls 

 to work without requiring any starch, or 

 substitute, it would be quite an achievement. 



NOTES FROM EAST-END APIARY, 



AND SOME "BEE STORIES" AMONG THE REST. 



EFIND, in Gleanings for April and May, several 

 articles, about which I wish to say a few words. 

 — ' The first I will notice Is in April No., page 167, 

 where Mr. C. C. Miller speaks of 



BARE-HEADED BEES. 



He says, "It may be all right, but I am getting 

 suspicious." My experience is, that it is not all 

 right, and I decided, two years ago, that these "bare- 

 headed bees" indicate a worthless queen. 



VENTILATION. 



I see a good deal said in Gleanings about ventila- 

 tion. Here we never trouble ourselves about it; at 

 least, I do not. I use nothing over the frames but a 

 plain board, which often leaves ij inch open on two 

 sides, and I find that the bees often close this; so I 

 decide they know more about what they need in 

 that respect than I do. I have never heai'd of foul 

 brood in Georgia, though there maj' be some. 



BUCKWHEAT. 



There is none raised here as a regular crop; i. e., 

 in this part of the State. I have had a little grow- 

 ing in patches for several years, but have never 

 planted more than J4 bushel any year, and have 

 never saved any grain but once, and then only a 

 few pounds. I do not know what time to sow it 

 here to procure grain. A friend living near me, 

 who came from Kentucky to this place 18 months 

 ago, says it should be sown about the first of Aug. ; 

 but in ISTO I planted some away from the house, out 

 of reach of the fowls, and if it brought forth a single 

 grain, I could not find it. Our representative, Clem- 

 ents, of 7th Georgia, sent me about a quart of silver- 

 hull, from the Agricultural Department, and I 

 should be glad to know just when is the best time to 

 plant to get the greatest yield of grain. 



SEX OF EGGS. 



Mr. Lane, in April No,, page 173, says he does not 



