1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



449 



say in the advertisement. Unless you do this 

 you can not have our patronage." In other 

 words, the editor is to sell himself, body and 

 soul — his influence, his reputation, if he has 

 any, for which he is to receive so many cents 

 per line, or inch of space. You may say that 

 all periodicals are accepting these miraculous- 

 cure advertisements, and that everybody un- 

 derstands it, and so nobody is deceived. My 

 good friend, when the editor of a newspaper 

 heads an article in the n^ading-colurans with 

 " Almost a Miracle," and says, toward the close 

 of said miracle advertisement^ " We believe it 

 is true, every word of it," are none of his read- 

 ers deceived? If not, why then does the medi- 

 cine-man pay hundreds or thousands of dollars 

 for the privilege of making the editor say just 

 what he tells him to say? 



THE VARIOUS BEE - CANDIES FOR MAILING- 

 CAGES, ETC.; THE ADDITION OF ANY 

 QUANTITY OF EGG IS DELETERIOUS. 



From some preliminary tests that we have 

 made with the various kinds of bee-candy for 

 long-distance shipment, we have come to the 

 conclusion that, while the addition of the white 

 of an egg, as spoken of on page 167, to powder- 

 ed or confectioners' sugar, makes a soft nice 

 candy, it does not answer at all the requirements 

 of a bee-food. We find, by tests, that such can- 

 dy will keep soft for several weeks in a nice 

 moist condition; but so far it kills the bees 

 every time. We then tried making candy, tak- 

 ing confectioners' sugar, with equal parts of 

 the white of an egg and honev, enough sugar 

 being mixed in to make a stiff dough. For a 

 time at least we thought we had struck the ne 

 plus ultra: but every cage of bees which we 

 have tested with this kind of candy, in a few 

 days shows a lot of dead bees. We therefore 

 conclude that the white of an egg, even in a 

 small quantity, is decidedly detrimental. We 

 shall continue to test the matter in a small way; 

 but at present we know of nothing better than 

 confectioners' sugar and first-class honey, mix- 

 ed into a stiff dough; and we are inclined more 

 and more to the belief that it is thehoney which 

 the bees are able to extract from grains of su- 

 gar, that is the real food element, and that 

 which sustains life in the cage. With almost 

 any cage of this candy, the dry particles of su- 

 gar will rattle out. We believe it was Doolittle 

 who made this or a similar suggestion some 

 time ago. Po'^sibly he may be able to enlighten 

 us further. 



TAKING PAINS TO AVOID MISTAKES. 



A FEW days ago a friend went out into the 

 woods to get some basswood -trees. They were 

 to be from ten to fifteen feet — not less than ten 

 nor more than fifteen. I told the man to take a 

 ten-foot pole, but he said he could guess near 

 enough. But I remonstrated, urging that we 

 had had some sad troubles just from that very 

 fashion of guessing at the height of basswood - 

 trees. I told him we could get him a pole in a 

 minute or two; but he said he could measure 

 on his hands as well as with any ten-foot pole. 

 I felt sad and discouraged as I saw him drive 

 away, because so much of my life is made up of 

 trying to correct and make good the mistakes 

 and blunders of other people. In the afternoon 

 he came in with a great two-horse wagonload 

 of trees. The order was for ?>0 basswood- trees, 

 and they were to be shipped to New Jersey. A 

 great part of them were over 30 feet tall, and 

 the trunks of some of them were an inch or 

 two through. It took an extra half-day to get 

 a box to ship them, and perhaps the trees may 

 be a great deal larger than the man wants. 

 Some men would be satislied to pay extra freight 



in order to get bigser ones, and some wouldn't. 

 When I told him about it he said he was sure 

 there were none ol them more than 1~> feet high. 

 Trees exactly according to order would have 

 been easier to dig, much lighter to box up, and 

 perhaps more likely togrow. We chopped them 

 down to 13 and ir. feet, and fixed them up the 

 best we could; but it was not just what the 

 man expected or wanted. 



Again, Dr. Mason ordered a log house made 

 of beeswax, to be exhibited at the World's Fair. 

 He saw the man who was to make it, and I sup- 

 posed that there was a perfect understanding as 

 to what he wanted. I have just learned that 

 it has not as yet been on exhibition, because it 

 was made twice us large as ordered, and it 

 would not go into the place assigned to it. 



Once more: I wanted some boxes or cases to 

 shut up our hot-bed sashes from wind and 

 storm and breakage during the summer time. 

 They are to be stored right between the ends of 

 the beds, where they are to be used in the win- 

 ter time. I asked the man who made them to 

 take the dimensions carefully, and have them 

 so they would just clear the sashes, both length- 

 wise and sidewise. I think I asked him to take 

 a stick and measure carefully, because I wanted 

 them just right. They are just right sidewise; 

 but they are two inches longer than necessary 

 lengthwise. Well, two inches is a small mat- 

 ter, and the extra amount of lumber would not 

 cost any thing to speak of. What is the use of 

 being so precise? I wish I had time to explain 

 right along all day why some things must be 

 exact. Sometimes two inches makes a differ- 

 ence. In this case our paths are only 1(3 inches 

 wide, as you remember. The thickness of the 

 lumber, and the necessary "play" will take out 

 about three or four inches from the 16. Now, 

 you take out two inches more, and you have 

 only an eight or ten inch space to squeeze 

 through when you pass the cases of sashes. 

 You have to get through these passages day 

 after day, very many times, and these cases will 

 probably last a good many years. How much 

 money would it be worth to have that two 

 inches, where space is so needful? You may 

 say I should not work so close. But, my friend, 

 the ground where our hot-beds are cost me $3000 

 an acre; and with the exhaust steam and the 

 piles of manure, we want every available inch 

 for raising plants. These mistakes of things 

 not being made correct and according to order, 

 and the consequent refusal to receive work, are 

 happening every day. We see it in all kinds of 

 business. It estranges friends and makes law- 

 suits, unless somebody is so good-natured as to 

 swallow the disappointment and give up expect- 

 ing accuracy or comfort in this world of ours. 

 For many years I have begged of people to pick 

 up a stick and cut it off the length they want 

 a thing to be made; but they laugh at me, but 

 afterward they grumble and get mad when the 

 carpenter or somebody else dosen't do as they 

 told him. If you want to give two dimensions, 

 saw oft' your stick to the longest dimension, and 

 then cut a notch for the shorter one. If you 

 want to take the dimensions of a box or the in- 

 side of a room, take two sticks. Lap them so 

 one end of each just touches the inside edge of 

 your room or box. Now drive in two nails, and 

 give the boy or man your stick, and tell him 

 that is the dimension, and also bid him bring 

 the stick back again. He will not dare to bring: 

 the stick with work that does not match it. If 

 he loses the stick, or throws it away, yon have 

 a clear case against him. He can not dispute 

 what yon said, or tell you that it was your own 

 blunder. Now, friends, just try cutting sticks. 

 Such sticks are worth very much more than a 

 "sharp stick" after somebody has made you 

 something you don't want or can't use. 



