1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



617 



ever his profossion. If any tblngr is offered for sale, 

 and you wish to purchase, know that the would-be 

 vendor either owns the article, or is authorized by 

 the owner to sell it. If a patent is claimed, /f)iou' all 

 about the patent, when issued, to whom, and what it 

 covers; and if there is any interference. A patent 

 may be offered which has expired, or it may cover 

 only some unimportant part of the article you wish 

 to purchase, and thus is practically of no value, or 

 nr> patent may have been issued at all, or there may 

 be such interference with others as to make it valu- 

 less. Be as careful in the purchase of a patent as 

 you would be in the purchase of a horse or a home- 

 stead. Don't buy, unless you think, after reflection, 

 the article (whether patented or not) will be useful 

 to you. A patent neither injures any thing nor 

 makes it any better. Sign no obligation of any sort 

 for a stranger. J. M. Shuck. 



Des Moines, Iowa. 



All of which I most heartily indorse, 

 friend Shuck. I would b^ no means object 

 to an article because it "is patented, but [ 

 would object to any man who travels about 

 with " rights for sale." 



PERFORATED SEPARATORS, ETC. 



Has the matter of perforating separators been 

 sufiiciently tested to enable you to advise as to its 

 real practicability, and that it is a real advantage? 

 In theory it would seem a good thing, by lessening 

 the amount of tin, and thus perhaps making them 

 more easy to keep warm, and also making them 

 more easy to communicate through, subject to the 

 disadvantage, of course, that the comb may be made 

 more irregular on its capped surface. If you can 

 assure me, however, that you deem it an advantage 

 to have the separators pierced with '2 or fi holes, I 

 shall want to have a machine with which to pierce 

 my separators. Will you please give me your ideas 

 on the matter? I would test it myself thoroughly, 

 and report, were I somewhat differently situated; 

 but my own profession takes up my time so such an 

 extent that 1 have not the time to devote to my api- 

 ary that I should like; and consequpntly I do not 

 like to experiment in a direction where the proba- 

 bilities are that no advantage will be gained. 



I have to-day tested the extractor, which, as I have 

 informed you by postal, I received, and must say 

 that its work is simply perfection. Nothing can be 

 better, or do better work, and I am much pleased 

 with it. Our minister has never learned any thing 

 In regard to bee culture; but I have succeeded in 

 getting him interested somewhat in the study, and 

 he, although a cultured and scholarly man, and 

 thoroughly versed in theology, says he has got a bet- 

 ter and grander conception of the wonderful wis- 

 dom and power of the Creator, by what little he has 

 seen in two examinations of my hives, than he ever 

 had before. And so it goes. How cait a man disbe- 

 lieve in the God of the Bible, if he once sees his 

 works in such form as he can not but see them in 

 the frame of comb or the hatching egg? 



J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Poxboro, Norfolk Co., Mass., Nov. 1, 1883. 



I am sorry to say, friend Pond, that 

 although we have sold quite a good many 

 perforated separators, and at least a dozen 

 machines for perforating them, we have, so 

 far as I can recollect, no reports from them 

 of any kind. Will the brethren wlio have 

 tried "tliem please stand up and report? I 



am very glad to know that you and your 

 pastor are personal friends, friend P. 



$€l^§ and %n(ivl(i§. 



EF it is not too late I will report. I commenced 

 '82 with one hive of blacks; increased one by 

 dividing on Maj' 7th; got C7 lbs. comb honey. I 

 made the new colony May 7th, by giving a dollar 

 queen, young bees, and brood. They were soon 

 stronger in bees than the parent stock, which was 

 of black bees; but the Italians gathered 27 lbs. sur- 

 plus, and the blacks 40 lbs. Now, would you advise 

 destroying the queen whose progeny gathers the 

 most honey, to replace it with an Italian? 



D. D. Lester. 

 Christiansburg, Va., Nov. 22, 1882. 



[I would most assuredly replace all black queens 

 with Italians, friend L. Vour test is on too limited 

 a scale; and besides, an oldcolony will nearly always 

 go ahead of a new one.] 



Dr. Blanton has just sent me another lot, 17 bar- 

 rels, and quite a lot of comb honey. We are still 

 getting large shipments, and are turning out large 

 amounts of honey. Have had now for some time, 

 steady, two men washing bottles, filling and mark- 

 ing them. C. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, O., Oct. 30, 1882. 



The season was very dry and cold up to Aug. 1; 

 oceans of white clover, but the bees gathered just 

 enough to keep brood going on in those stocks which 

 were moderately strong; one natural swarm, and 

 three artificial. I realized $6.50 per stand, all comb 

 honey, buckwheat. Net price, 14 cts.; 24 stands of 

 blacks, 3 Italians; sold one, bought two, all in good 

 shape, and packed on summer stands. 



T. F. Srepard. 



Town Hill, Luzerne Co., Pa., Nov. 11, 1882. 



I must tell you what I have done this summer with 

 one of your Simplicity hives. I got 56 one-pound 

 sections from upper story, 55 of them as white as 

 snow; not a cpll of bee bread or brood was in them; 

 but one section was full of drone brood. I removed 

 the honey-frames and gave 42 sections of li4-lb. size, 

 and they filled and finished 30 of them, and partially 

 some of those left; and, stranger still, they were 

 black bees — real wild. My Italians filled all the 

 boxes I gave also. I have other bees ten miles from 

 the place. They have not made me a pound of sur- 

 plus honey. J. A. McDowell. 



Louisville, Ky., Nov. 18, 1883. 



sweet potatoes as bee feed. 



I have one weak colony, and shall have to feed 

 them through the winter. I use sweet potatoes, 

 baked very done. They will eat a good-sized potato 

 in one night. 1 will ask others to try the potato as a 

 bee food; and if it proves to be good, it Avill be quite 

 a convenient article for winter stores. 



Elias Chambers. 



Newcastle, Tenn.. Oct. 21, 1882. 



[Sweet potatoes were some years ago recommend- 

 ed as containing the elements of both pollen and 

 honey; but I would be verj- careful about using any 

 such substance for winter stores. Better stick to 

 the safe granulated sugar, and use this substance 

 only when bees fly freely.] 



