512 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



small for drones. This Is the way I made some 

 bottom-hoards for friend Horsfall at his request, and 

 they answer fltidy. G. W. Gates. 



Bartlett, Tenn., Sept., 1883. 



AUhoiisli the above idea is old, it affords 

 a ready means of graduating the sizs of the 

 opening to the nicest fraction, by simply 

 sliding the hive backward or forward, and 

 this long narrow slot would afford the work- 

 ers the least obstruction possible, it would 

 seem, while the ordinary aspect of the en- 

 trance remains unchanged. When there is 

 no further need of keeping the drones out, 

 the opening can quickly be made larger. 

 Such an entrance also effectually excludes 

 mice. 



WHO SHALL BEAR THE LOSS? 



Just for once, let us suppose a case of importance. 

 We will suppose I come to you to borrow your old 

 gray mare to go to mill, and she should rear up and 

 kick up and break her miserable old neck, who 

 would j'ou say should pay for the animal, you or I? 

 The sequel of the whole matter is, my Gleanings 

 has not put in its appearance yet, and now who pays 

 the loss, you or I? Well, as I am no hair-splitter, 

 I can afford to pay the loss for it over again, for 

 it is the first failure in over 2 years. H. B. P. 



Fayette, Fulton Co., O., Sept. 18, 1883. 



Why, friend P., in the case of the old gray 

 mare I think we would talk it over in a 

 neighborly way, and adjust it to our mutual 

 satisfaction, without any quarreling or hard 

 feelings. If the" animile " was exceedingly 

 contrary, and you didn't get mad, nor get 

 drunk, I don't believe I should think you 

 ought to bear very much of the loss. In the 

 matter of a lost journal, the loss, what little 

 loss there be, is all ours, for we always print 

 some extra ones to send out in such cases ; 

 and even if you lose your paper going home 

 from the postoffice, or a neighbor borrows it 

 and loses it, just drop us a card, and we will 

 gladly send you another. You see, we take 

 so much pains in getting up a journal, we 

 want you all to have the benefit of it after it 

 is done. It is like a good dinner ; after it is 

 all ready, it isn't of any use unless it is 

 eaten, and I want all of oiir journals "eaten" 

 while they are hot, right from the oven. 



FROM ONE TO SIX, AND 210 LBS. OF HONEY. 



We started this year with (/no colony of light Ital- 

 ians, which we procured May 27th, and at that time 

 they had only five poorly filled cards of brood, and 

 no honey. This could not bo called a first-class 

 stand, as plenty of colonies in the same lot had from 

 seven to nine cards of brood at the same time; but 

 thinking it best to make the most wc could of a 

 poor bargain, we took it in hand, and at the present 

 we have on hand 210 lbs. of extracted honey, and in- 

 creased to sir good colonies, with plenty to winter 

 them, each having an average of 35 lbs., and all this 

 In a locality that is considered overstocked. This 

 is not a large yield compared with some that have 

 been reported; but please take into consideration 

 the treatment they have received, stirring them up 

 at night to extract, and just when attention was 

 needed, neglecting them because our work in the 

 apiary prevented us from supplying their wants. 

 We both work in an apiary of some 4CG colonies, so 

 Ave have little time for ourselves, for our work 



keeps us from sunrise until dark. I think we could 

 have added 100 lbs. to the yield if they had received 

 proper attention. Foulks & Lee. 



Ithaca, Richland Co., Wis., Sept. 19, 1882. 



TEMPERATURE NEEDFUL IN SEALING UP HONEY. 



I want to make this coiTCction of one statement 

 in mj' article (page 483). I said that we, in a box 

 with glass cover, could probablj get 110° or 150° of 

 heat almost any warm day in summer, or something 

 to that import. I (ind on trial that it is only on ex- 

 tremely hot days that we can approximate that de- 

 gree. In the ordinarily warm and partially cloudy 

 weather of last July, I could get honey in glass jars 

 in such a box heated only to 110°. This may do; I 

 have some jars put up, with some heated to that de- 

 gree, and others put up by artificial heat at various 

 degrees, from 100' upward, and will be able to re- 

 port next spring on the whole subject. 



Milroy, Pa., Sept. 11, 1882. J. W. White. 



DO BEES PAY? 



We often see an article in the papers, headed, 

 "Docs Bee-Keeping Pay?" I have been keeping 

 bees, and farming, for several years, and for myself 

 I can say that it does pay as well, or better, than any 

 thing else connected with the farm. The result the 

 present season has been very satisfactory. I com- 

 menced in the spring with 30 swarms, which I val- 

 ued at $5.00 each. My sales of bees, queens, and 

 honey, will foot up at least 200 per cent, or $10 00 per 

 stock. This has been the worst season here to pre- 

 vent swarming I ever experienced. My first swarm 

 came off the middle of Way. find the last about the 

 middle of August, making the swarming season last 

 3 months. The last was a buckwheat swarm. I 

 sowed 10 acres of buckwheat at three different times 

 after the 35th of June. There has not been a very 

 heavy flow of honey from it, but it is well filled, and 

 the honey stored in sections (not to speak of the 

 brood-chamber) will, I think, pay nil cost of sowing 

 and harvesting the cop. H. Barber. 



Adrian, Mich., Sept. 11, 1852 



DRONES, HOW TO GET RID OF. 



My bees seem to run a good deal to drones, es- 

 pecially the old swarm. I filled the hive with old 

 comb taken at random from the wreck of the winter 

 of 1880-'81, and which I think contained a good deal 

 of drone comb. I took out and threw away one 

 whole card of the drone brood, but there appears to 

 bo altogether too many of the lords of the bee-hive 

 yet for profit; and as they are neither ornamental 

 nor very useful just now, what shall I do with them? 

 On hot days there is a perfect roar of their buzzing, 

 though there is no scarcity of workers either. 

 Would Jones's bee-guards be what I want? and 

 would it be necessary to place them on all the hives 

 at the same time? O. W. Haynes. 



Hudson, Mich., Sept. 3, 1883. 



Perhaps the best thing you can do now, 

 friend 11., is to put on the Jones entrance- 

 guards ; for every day you board these fel- 

 lows is a loss to you, and I think I would 

 put them on every hive as you suggest ; but 

 it would have been a far better way to have 

 carefully assorted over your surplus combs, 

 and used for your bees only worker combs. 

 This one feature may make all the differ- 

 ence betM^een a success and a failure in bee- 

 keeping. 



