GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



ring VLM-y thin and quiti' broad; then give the 

 point much curve, !-o it will tit the bottom of 

 the cells nicely. Now, before trying to transfer 

 the first larva, dip the point in royal jelly till it 

 is thoroughly moistened with the same, when 

 you will note that, as you pass it under the 

 larva, said larva is floated up on this royal 

 jelly adhering to the curved point of the quill, 

 so that it does not touch the quill at all, so can 

 not be injured if you use any care in setting it 

 down in tiie royal jelly in the cell -cups. If you 

 are bothered about seeing, shave the piece of 

 comb containing the larva down almost to the 

 septum of the comb, or base of the cells, when 

 no one should have any difficulty in seeing per- 

 fectly who can read the print of these pages. 



But perhaps you tried the plan of queen-rear- 

 ing too early in the spiing, or during cool 

 weather in September or October. Or perhaps 

 you did not feed the colony when honey was 

 not coming in from the fields, or did not have 

 unsealed brood in the upper story; any or all of 

 which would tend toward a failure. If the 

 weather is cool, and no honey coming in from 

 the field, the bees should be fed till they are 

 all alive and active, the same as they are when 

 honey is coming in from the fields and at swarm- 

 ing time; for if we would raise good queens at 

 any time of year these conditions should be 

 brought about as nearly as possible. 



PINE TAR FOR FEEDERS. 



If Dr. Miller will take pine tar, and work in 

 air-slaked lime, to the consistency of putty, he 

 will find the article he asks for in " Straws," 

 Oct. 1.5. As it haidens quickly it is best to mix 

 but a small quantity at a time. For cracks in 

 hives, leaky pails, or other articles, it is easily 

 applied, and durable. For hive-covers of can- 

 vas, take pine tar, mixed with ocher into a soft 

 putty; let it stand 24 hours, and thin with lin- 

 seed oil to the proper consistency. After tack- 

 ing the canvas around the edges of the cover, 

 wet it thoroughly; and after the suiplus water 

 has run off, give it a gooJ coat of the paint, 

 which can be repealed, if necessary, with lead, 

 if the color is objectional. 



New Smyrna, Fla. .Inc. Y. Detwiler. 



LIST OF SURSCRIBKKS ON THE WHEEI.-ROUTE. 



I have recently received some back numbers 

 of Gleanings, from home. I would suggest to 

 Lncle Amos to put a list of his delinquent sub- 

 scribers in his pocket when he is out on his 

 wheel. He probably passed 603 South Metcalf 

 C' Wapak " road) the evening he was wanting 

 information regarding those " vast reservoirs of 

 oil." have been making 'em for the last nine 



years, and guess I could have told him 

 "sumpin" — a' done it too— probably got per- 

 mission to show him around our $2, (KKJ.OOO re- 

 finery and paraflfine works ; Chicago pump- 

 station, with its pumps that have pushed an 

 eight-inch line of water from Lima to Chicago, 

 210 miles; gas service, etc., sufficient to take all 

 the time he had to spa''e. J. K. McClurg. 

 Oil Centre, O., Nov. 26. 



[My good friend M., it is not only delinquent 

 subscribers, but subscribers of any sort, of 

 whom I ought to have a list when I go out 

 wheeling, i have resolved many times that I 

 would carry one the next time; but it is not 

 every reader of Gleanings who is such a de- 

 voted friend to A. I. 11. as yourself and friend 

 Matteson, of Kreidersville. Another thing, I 

 almost always go off into regions where I did 

 not expect to go. If I had a list of the whole 

 State of Ohio, then I could hit them. But to 

 get down to business. I am exceedingly obliged 

 to you for your kind offer of services ; and 

 when we have good roads once more 1 am go- 

 ing to make a second trip for further investiga- 

 tions. Many thanks. A good many times, 

 after I get home, I feel ashamed of myself to 

 think I liavH been so near some old veteran and 

 did not know it. — A. I. R.] 



LEARNING TO RIDE A BICYCLE. 



Seeing you are a great amateur bicyclist, 

 could you not publish instructions for begin- 

 ners? We are a family of eight, and we are all 

 trying to learn. X. Picquet. 



Salnte Marie, III., Sept. 28. 



[My good friends, as I learned mainly after I 

 was over .50 years old, and made pretty hard 

 work of it at that, at least on the start, very like- 

 ly my suggestions may bi^ of some avail. Per- 

 haps the most important thing is to find a good 

 place. You want level ground, tramped hard 

 and smooth. There is no better roadway for a 

 wheel than ground that is tramped hard and 

 firm and smooth by many feet. Then the place 

 should be wide enough — no stumps, trees, nor 

 any thing to hurt you. on either side. It takes 

 lots of room for a beginner. Lastly, theground 

 should be a little down hill, so the beginner 

 will not need to exert much strength to start 

 with. If there is plenty of grass pretty tall, 

 each side of the path, all the better. Take the 

 wheel to the top of the slope ; hold by the 

 handles; put your foot on the step, and ride 

 down hill. After you have done that a few 

 times, get on the saddle and learn to guide the 

 wheel. After you can ride from the top of the 

 slope to the bottom, sitting in the saddle, you 

 can soon get your ft-et on the pedals. You will 

 then n<'ed no further instruction from any one. 

 At about this stage, however, you will want a 

 long piece of nice level road before you. and there 

 should be a similar place (down slope) a little 

 distance away, where you can get on to start 

 back to the phi'-pof starting. The best place 

 we have around Medina is on the race-track at 

 the fairgrounds. In this case the beginner 

 comes around to the place of starting, and so 

 does not get away off from his companions or 

 his home. While in Missouri my nephew 

 learned to ride fairly well in about two hours. 

 The ground was very hard and smooth in their 

 dooryard. After he had got to going, he prac- 

 ticed by running around the house. I think he 

 could have ridden a mile without getting off, 

 within two or three hours after he first tried to 

 ride a wheel; and he had less Instruction than 

 1 have given you in the above. Perhaps I may 



