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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



" True wit is nature to advant.^ge diessod; 



What oft was thought, butne'er so well expressed; 

 Somethlnff whose truth convinced at sight we find, 

 That gives us back the ima,ge of our mind." 



I might go on and preach a sermon a yard long-, 

 and what results as regards arousing this latent 

 talent? If you "vill," you "oi//;" hut if you 

 "voont," you "' voont." just liae the Dutchman 

 when he avowed, "I vill not be convinshed excent 

 by my own con^-inshun." 



Seeing that bee-keepers observe the weather 

 changes so much more attentively than any other 

 class of people, would it not be mutually advanta- 

 geous for them to occupy the positions at the vari- 

 ous meteorological station.s? 



Pretty cute plan, that of Frank Coverdale (see 

 Review) of preventing after-swarming Ijy the use of 

 the Heddon plan and the bee-escape on the other- 

 wise closed entrance of the old hive, whilst it re- 

 mains near the old stand. 



Now is the time the average farmer bee-keeper is 

 after the specialist red hot for " just a few of those 

 patented hives." Wonder if it wouldn't pay to keep 

 a few nailed up for this purpose. 



What of this? 



If honey is adulterated, eharee the blame to the extractor; 

 this has made it possible; it is one of the inventions that 

 never should have been invented.— A. C. Tyrrel, in A. B. J. 



Where is the army of extracted-honey producers? 

 To the front! Forward, march! and march riglit on 

 to this A. C. Tyrrel, and anhihilate him. or, rather, 

 this doctrine of his. If because, along with honey, 

 a thousand and one other things can be adulterate!!, 

 would the world have been better off had it never 

 known the articles? For a single instance, milk, the 

 first sustenance of man. Bah! Too thin! Too much 

 chalk and water about that kind of reasoning. Give 

 us something pure and unadulterated. 



Here is another from " Stray Straws:" 



That genial German, C. F. Muth, with his usual persistency, 

 has succeeded, as reported in A. B. J., in getting freight rates 

 on extracted honey the same as on svrup. instead of iO or .50 

 percent higher, as heretofori'. I don't linowjust how much 

 territory is covered by this ruling." 



Just like that exasperating Miller. Somebody 

 please be a little more charitable and furnish the 

 very much de.sired information on this subject. 



"Theworsi. spring here in thirty years," heads 

 " Stray Straws." Lots of company, Doctor. Never 

 have we watched so faithfully for the clover bloom. 

 Want, oh so badly! to attend the Chicago meeting 

 October 11, 12, and 13, but that has no effect on the 

 clover. Entirely too shy as to putting in an ap- 

 pearance, either as to date or quantity. Quality 

 also lacking. 



" Will bees really build up faster with daily feed- 

 ing in spring than without it, providing abundant 

 stores are in the hive? " 



Don't all speak at once, assuring us you " don't 

 know," but somebody who does know please tell. 



June l.st Gleanings gives Aikin Bros. & Knight's 

 system for tlie prevention of swarming by trans- 

 fer) ing every few days tlie field forces of two colo- 

 nies from one to the other by inversion, and June 

 15th the new Bingliani smoker, witli reversed liel- 

 lows, wire hanrile and cuived nozzle. These im- 

 provements add much to the value of the old Bing- 

 ham. 



E. R. Root speaks of cleating tlie bellows-boards 

 of the Crane smoker, to prevent warping. It will 

 also add to their durability. The first breakage 

 about a smoker, with us, is the splitting of the bel- 

 lows-board immediately beneath the fire-box. Of. 

 course, this is due to careless handling, but is it 

 always possible to have careful liands? 



What's to prevent me having one of those Crane 

 smokers? I am very willing to promise never to use 

 tobacco nyaifi. But may be he doesn t send out the 

 Crane on those terms. 



Gleanings has concluded the white of an egg de- 

 cidedly detrimental to candy for queen-cages. Con- 

 fectioner's sugar and first-class honey are the best, 

 the honey being the real food-element which sus- 

 tains life. 



Thimks to Ameriedn Bee Jimrmtl and Gleanings 

 for kind expressions regarding "Wayside Frag- 

 ments," and please accept an apology right here. 

 Friend York, I hope you, nor any one else, ever en- 

 tertained the idea that f was so conceited as to im- 

 agine that I could walk around in my sleep and 

 gather items of interesffor the bee-keeping public. 



To my first articlel simply signed " Sleepy Head;" 

 but ye editor, probably wanting some high-flown 

 name, and still more probably not wanting any 

 sleepy heads among his correspondents (they and 



progressive being antagonistic) substituted " Som- 

 nambulist." and that's the way I became so chris- 

 tened; and as I have borne the cijmber.some name 

 this long without serious damage, I live in hopes of 

 surviving. 



Friend Root, if the similarity of which you spoke 

 has an existence, then 'twas born out of my admi- 

 ration of those men's writings, and is highly illus- 

 trative of the infiuence we possess over eacli other. 

 I sincerely hope they will not feel that it detracts in 

 the least from their lionors. But as tor the other 

 sentences sounding " like no one elm," they certainly 

 sound like me. 



This kindness from both of you carries me back 

 to childhood's days when we .sang. 



How sweet to have earned 

 The blest recolle< tion 

 Of kindness returned ! 



And while on this subject, permit me to add that 

 that bee-keeper s b<^nef actor. Bingham, seeing I was 

 still traveling in the same old ruts with a smooth 

 road just alongside, gave me a deliC'te hint as to 

 where I was, by sending me a wire handle and a 

 detachable curved nozzle for my old-style Bingham 

 smoker. Thanks. 



Such hints are duly appreciated; but oh, the dis- 

 sension such small things can create! You remem- 

 ber that wielder of the Conqueror I told you of. 

 Well, she was determined to decorate her smoker 

 with them, and I— oli, what's the use lor a man to 

 say what he wants, when there's a womar, around 

 who will have her way? She probably laughs in 

 her sleeves at the advantage she now has over me 

 every time my smoker concludes to fall to pieces, 

 or refuses to do business longer for want of ammu- 

 nition. 



By the way, those suggestions from Marion Miller 

 seem to be good. What is more aggravating than for 

 the cone to fall dff, and alwajs just at the time 

 when we most need vigorous work? 



There never will come a time when brojid fields of 

 knowledge will not be open to every progressive 

 mind, and there never was a time when more op- 

 portunities for improvement were offered than are 

 now presented. Error must ultimately be over- 

 come; but as long as it exists, it retards progress 

 and lessens by so much the happiness of the world. 

 Therefore, we all rejoice in the fact that Michigan 

 is to have an experiment apiary, and that it is to 

 be in charge of such competent hands as those of 

 R. L. Taylor. This fact insures success. 



Doesn't it seem as if Friend Hutchinson, and 

 through him the Rn^icw readers, had "struck luck," 

 inasmuch as the reports are to be given to the Re- 

 rieivf With us, there is but one discordant feeling 

 mixed with this gladness; and that is, a feeling 

 Sf mewhat akin to jealousy that Michigan is to be 

 so much more highly favored than her sister States. 

 Accept our congratulations and very best wishes. 



What do you think of exttacting honey at the rate 

 E. France says he does? (June Review.) He goes six 

 to eight miles from home, extracts 2000 to 3000 lbs. 

 per day, one doing the extracting and one the un- 

 capping, and another overseeing nine men keeping 

 every thing running smoothly. I fell in love with E. 

 France years ego; but just think how he works that 

 uncapper! Doesn't it seem as if he should be hand- 

 ed over to some humane society? 



In some localities having an abundance of either 

 or both black or honey locust, bees have bred up 

 surprisingly. 



I think, with Friend, Pond the danger attending 

 the introduction of queens is greatly overestimated; 



Friend Flanagan, how much I desired to see a 

 date somewhere attached to your article, after 

 reading the first sentence, but failed to find one. 



Bro. DornBlaser's eulogy on J. W. Rouse could 

 not be improved, and we all feel a pleasure in know- 

 ing it to be well merited. 



What aliout that promise in the beginning? Oh, 

 yes! Au revoir. Somnambulist. 



Naptown, Dreamland. 



Whoever you are, Bro. Somnambulist, we ex- 

 tend our right hand of fellowship, and hope you 

 will continue on with your " somnambulatiiig." 



I bought one of those Crane smokers of you five 

 or six weeks ago, and have used it constanly ever 

 since. It gives excellent satisfaction. I run my 

 smoker 10 to 13 hours a day, and it is run full blast. 



New Smyrna, Fla. A. F. Brown. 



