i8y3 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



565 



did stand me on my head a few times, and run 

 me into fences and ditches occasionally at first, 

 and even attempt to ride me, seemingly. I am 

 master of it now. I rode it four miles over a 

 common country road last week, and succeeded 

 in making a sleepy, inruicent-looking mule I 

 met run away with a bug^y and two men, and 

 tore the buggy all to smash. The festive mule, 

 the innocent travelers, and the wicked " wheel "' 

 with its rider escaped injury. It seems as 

 though anybody with two good legs could do 

 well with a bicycle, if I can ride one. It is 

 going to be a great blessing to me, for I can't 

 walk half a mile or more without pain and 

 fatigue, and it is fun to run a good bicycle. In 

 walking, my artificial leg has to do half the 

 work; but on a wheel it need not do any of it, 

 except, perhaps, in climbing a hill or incline. 

 I'm sorry I didn't have one long ago. You 

 know the rest. I indorse all you say in favor 

 of the modern safety bicycle. J. M. Jenkins. 

 Wetumpka, Ala., June 28. 



BEES REFUSE TO GO INTO THE SECTIONS. 



What shall I do to get my bees to store honey 

 in -surplus boxes? I have put on boxes from 

 other hives containing bees, and partly filled 

 boxes from hives that were working well. The 

 brood-nest is full of honey. I have three colo- 

 nies in this condition. I have also filled boxes 

 with dron<! brood, and placed them in the 

 middle of the crate. They cleaned out cells 

 having eggs and unsealed brood, and allowed 

 sealed brood to remain. Ten other colonies are 

 working well. J. N. Hoavell. 



Green way, Ark., June 22. 



[We should be tempted to pinch off the heads 

 of the queens in the three colonies, if the other 

 bees in tlie apiary are working briskly in sec- 

 tions. There are some strains of Italians that 

 seem determined to stay in the brood-nest. 

 Such bees do very nicely for extracted honey, 

 but are not very satisfactory for box honey: 

 and. sooner or later, we would introduce into 

 those three colonies queens whose bees will go 

 above. If you do not care to kill tiie queens of 

 the tnree colonies, place the bees on empty 

 frames. If there is any honey coming in. it 

 would be more convenient for them to store it 

 above than to wait to build out combs. 1 



CONTKACTING THE BROOD-CHAMBER FOR HON- 

 EY; HOW MUCH AND AVHEN ADVIS- 

 ABLE. 



We are much pleased with the Dovetailed 

 hives which father ordered of you a short time 

 ago, and have nice big swarms in five of them. 

 The question I wish to ask is, whether it would 

 be advisable to contract the brood -chamber on 

 the eight-frame Dovetailed hive to about five 

 or six frames for prime swarms. We have read 

 Mr. Heddon's views upon this subject, but we 

 should like to know whether you think it ad- 

 visable to adopt the system for the eight-frame 

 Dovetailed hive or not. We have contracted 

 the five swarms which we have in Dovetailed 

 hives to six frames, using two division-boards 

 and pi^rforated zinc strips on top of the frames. 

 One of the swarms left its hive the second day, 

 and took to the woods. What is the reason ? 

 Does the zinc strip take up too much of the 

 bee-space on top of the frames? 



Lke Thomi'Son. 



Monument City, Ind., June 8. 



[Very much more used to be said alwut the 

 advisability of contracting the brood-nest to 

 crowd the bees up into the sections; but as the 

 years have gone by, bec-keppers are l)eginning 

 to feel that more harm than good is often done. 

 The bees are more apt to swarm, with the con- 



tracted brood-nest, and are liable, if contrac- 

 tion is carried too far, to carry pollen up into 

 the sections. As a general thing, we would not 

 contract the brood -nest of an eight-frame hive. 

 If the eight combs are pretty well filled with 

 brood, the bees will be compelled to put the 

 honey above. A good deal, however, will de- 

 pend upon the locality. In some places the 

 eight combs, when well filled with brood in 

 various stages, brings on a big force of bees 

 after the honey season — just the wrong time of 

 the year — that is, when they will be consumers 

 and not (jathcrers of honey. Where the honey- 

 flow comes on early in the summer, and there is 

 nothing more, and no increase is desired, it may 

 be desirable to curtail by contraction the brood- 

 nest just at the approach of the honey -flow.] 



SEVEN-TOP TURNIP AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



Fnend Root: — I have for some time been 

 thinking of writing to you to know if you grow 

 as much soutliern seven-top turnip seed as you 

 could dispose of. I have just filled a contract 

 for over two thousand ijounds. I contract 

 with seedsmen to gi'ow as much as they wish. 

 This is the largest contract that I have ever 

 filled, but I don't think I should have much 

 dil'ficulty in supplying as much more, as my 

 land is well adapted to this variety. 



I don't know of any thing that we have in 

 this section that builds up bees faster. Had it 

 not been for it this year I don't know whether I 

 should have had any increase in bees. It put 

 my bees on a boom; but, alas I after it was 

 over, there had not been honey enough for bees 

 to whiten their combs, on account of the cold 

 windy weather. 



I never set out with brighter prospects, but I 

 have no hope of any more honey until cotton 

 blooms. J. D. FoosHE. 



Coronaca, S. C, June 23. 



OUR RESPON.SIBIUrriES, ETC. 



Friend Root:— In your footnotes to Mrs. 

 Hawliins' remarks about having their house 

 burned for reporting an illicit distillery, you 

 say that it "indicates the. tremendous need of 

 more Sunday-schools and more Endeavor soci- 

 eties." To my mind, the great responsibility 

 lies in the hands of the voters, who can, by 

 electing men who would make laws, prohibit 

 the making and selling of alchohol. The 

 cliildren in our Sunday-schools, and the young 

 people of our Endeavor societies, can never put 

 down intemperance so long as their fathers 

 vote to sustain it, or vote for parties who do 

 sustain it; and very likely they will grow up to 

 vote as do their parents. 



A friend of ours lies very low with consump- 

 tion. Doctors advised her to use new milk, but 

 she could not us(! it, as it hurt her. I took her 

 Gleanings, and had her read what Mrs. John 

 Collins has to say about adding a tenth water, 

 and heating the milk to l;.'0° ; and now she is 

 able to use it without any ill effi^ct, and finds it 

 very refreshing, and is delighted to find she 

 can use it. Many thanks to Mrs. Collins, and 

 Gi.EANiN(;s for niporling it. 



Roseville, 111.. .lune 26. Mrs. L. C. Axteli,. 



FERGUSON'S QUEEN-CAGE. 



Mr. Root:—^ s'-nd you to-day a queen-cage 

 which I invented three yoars ago. I will not 

 describe it in detail. . Your trained eye will 

 readily take in all its points of excellence. I 

 have never known a queen to be lost, intro- 

 duced in this cage. Take a little piece of 

 square stick and charge the space in the center 

 full of candy: then run the (jueen in and tack 

 down the l(jose imd of the wire; suspend the 

 cage between the combs by running a wire nail 



