1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



207 



swarmer, or managed on the common swarm- 

 ing plan. The surplus honey may be taken 

 from the interior of the hive on the frames, or 

 in upper boxes or glasses, in the most conven- 

 ient, beautiful, and salable forms. Colonies 

 may be safely transferred from any other hive 

 to this, at any season of the year from April to 

 October, as the brood, combs, honey, and all the 

 contents of the hive, are transferred with them, 

 and securely fastened in the frames. That the 

 combs can always be removed from this hive 

 with ease and safety, and that the new system, 

 by giving perfect control over all the combs, ef- 

 fects a complete revolution in practical bee- 

 keeping, the subscriber prefers to prove rather 

 than assert. Practical apiarians, and all who 

 wish to purchase rights and hives, are invited 

 to visit his apiary, where combs, honey, and 

 bees will be take"n from the hives ; colonies 

 which may be brought to him for that purpose, 

 transferred from any old hive; queens, and the 

 whole process of rearing them, constantly ex- 

 hibited; new colonies formed, and all processes 



"^ connected with the practical management of an 



apiary fully illustrated and explained. ..." 



The gist of the whole matter is found in my 



■ offering to give to all who would visit my apia- 

 ry a practical demonstration that the perfect 

 control over all the combs effects a complete 

 revolution in practical bee-keeping. The more 

 a man knew about bees, the easier it was to 

 convince him that there was no exaggeration in 

 such a claim, and this was the reason why Mo- 

 ses Quinby, Prof. Jared Kirtland, and men of 

 that stamp, became such ready converts to the 

 movable-comb system. L. L. Langstroth. 

 Cnntiniied. 



MANUM IN THE APIARY. 



REDUCING STOCK AND JIET.TING UP COMBS; UN- 

 FINISHED SECTIONS NOT PROFITABI.E, ETC. 



"Good- afternoon, Henry. I think you must 

 be very courageous to traver six miles' this 

 stormy day.'" 



" Well, Manum, you see it did not storm like 

 this when I started from home. But then, this 

 storm is nothing to be compared with what you 

 and I had to endure at times, during tlie war. 

 Do you remember the time we came in from 

 picket duty, in February! 18G3, during that 

 storm of snow and rain, driven by a strong wind? 

 and how wet we were, and no warm house like 

 this in which to change our wet clothes fOr dry 

 ones? I well remember what you said when you 

 were trying to pull off your wet woolen shirt in 

 that cold dreary tent. You looked up to me, 

 shivering and smiling, and said, ' Hen, this is a 

 little tough on one"s patriotism; but then, it 

 must be endured for the love of union and free- 

 dom. But if I ever get out of this scrape, Hen, 

 and get back lo old Vermont, you can then 

 mark me down as a home boy. Here! do help 

 me off with this wet shirt.' Ha. ha, ha!" 



'* Yes, Henry, I well remember those dreary 

 days of our army life; also the circumstance to 

 which you refer, although it occurred .30 years 

 ago. I am also reminded that time is passing 

 very rapidly, and that you and I are not the 

 sprightly youths that we were then. Thi'rty 

 years have passed since that terrible storm we 

 experienced on the picket line. Is it possible? 

 and yet our gray hair is ample proof that the 

 milestone to. which you refer is all of 30 years 

 in the rear of us; and still we are journeying 

 on to another mile-stone, which will be appro- 

 priately numbered and added to the many we 

 nave already passed. Will it be the last? I 

 sincerely hope, however, that Henry B. Isham 

 will be spared to pass many more bright and 



shining mile-stones ere he is called to the grea 

 tribunal." 



"Thank you, Manum, for your good wishes. 

 What are you doing, now that the bees are quiet 

 and nothing to do among them?" 



"Well, Henry, I am doing a little of every 

 thing; and while I am telling you all about it, 

 let us go over to the honey-house. But, first, I 

 want to show you a sample of a new variety of 

 oats I am introducing among our farmers. 

 There, Hen, is one head: look it it and heft it." 



"My! is that just one head?' 



" Yes. one head; there were over 300 kernels 

 on it; but some have fallen o'.Y, as it has been 

 handled so much." 



" Well, that is far ahead O' any thing I ever 

 saw, in oats. What do you call them?"' 



"They are the • White Plume," a new varie- 

 ty which is being introduced this season for the 

 first time in this State.'" 



" What is claimed for them as being superior 

 to other varieties?" 



" In the first place, they are more prolific than 

 any other variety, they having yielded 107 bush- 

 els per acre on a 20-aci'e field. They are ten 

 days earlier than our common oats, hence es- 

 cape being damaged by rust; and, again, the 

 straw is very stocky, so they do not lodge like 

 other varieties." 



" Do they sell well?'" 



" Yes, quite so. Not every farmer buys them, 

 but enough so they will be well introduced by 

 another season; and those whodo buy them this 

 year will have some to sell at good prices to 

 their neighbors next fall, for I sincerely believe 

 they will eventually supersede all others. Here 

 we are; let us go into the storehouse first." 



" Well said! What are you doing with these 

 combs that you have here all cut out of the 

 frames?" 



" I am melting them up for the wax. You 

 see, Henry, I had combs enough for 1000 colo- 

 nies, and did have ^KX) colonies at one time; but 

 owing to the past few poor seasons I have re- 

 duced my number of colonies to 500; and now, 

 as I have decided to reduce the number still 

 lower, I am melting my surplus combs.'" 



" Why! it seems too bad to melt up such nice 

 perfect combs." 



"Yes; but then, I don't want them, and it is 

 too much work and care to preserve them 

 through the summer, although I have succeed- 

 ed in keeping the moth-worms out of them by 

 placing the boxes of combs over a sheet of tar- 

 red paper, with another sheet over, as you di- 

 rected me to do; and, as yoasee, it has proved 

 a success." _ ' 



" But, Manum, why are you going to reduce 

 the number of your colonies?" 



" Well. Henry, the basswoods have been cut 

 oft' about here to such an extent that I think it 

 will be as well for me to have fewer bees and a 

 less number of apiaries. I think two out-apia- 

 ries, with my home yard, will be all I care to 

 look after alone, inasmuch as I am going into 

 the growing of small fruit. I think that few6r 

 bees and more fruit will pay me as well, one 

 year with another, as to devote all my time to 

 bees." 



" What are you going to do with this great 

 pile of old .sections?" 



" I am going to cut the comb out of them for 

 wax, and use the sections for kindling-wood. I 

 have formerly used my sections over the second 

 and third time—that is, those that were not 

 finished by the bees, and from which the honey 

 was extracted; but such, even if filled with the 

 very whitest honey, always sell as second qual- 

 ity, hence I have decided hot to use any sections 

 the second time, unless they are perfectly free 

 from stains, and unless the comb in then is per- 

 fectly clean and white. There is no use, Hen-- 



