460 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



First, the market belonged 1o my beekeeping 

 friends living there; and. second, the prices 

 did not suit me. Having a little other business 

 I thought to supplement it by taking along a 

 few cases of comb honey and a few cans of ex- 

 tracted on this my first visit as a honey-seller. 



On my arrival I drove up to a grocery, and 

 tied my horse. The grocer was just placing 

 some newly arrived peaches out in front of his 

 store. After a little conversation as to the 

 fruit I told him I had brought some honey to 

 town and would like lo have him look at it. I 

 took a case of comb honey from the buggy, and 

 placed it near him where it could be insppcted. 

 The honey through the glass looked tempting. 

 I removed the cover, then took out a few boxes 

 for his inspection. He said he had never seen 

 any neater honey than that, and it was well 

 put up. Three or four townsmen came up and 

 looked at the honey. He asked me what I was 

 selling it at. I told him 15 cts. per pound. He 

 said he had no fault to find with the honey; 

 but when honey had to be retailed at over 13 or 

 15 cents it was slow selling in their town. 



I informed him that, in the other towns, I 

 was selling at 15 cts., and no complaint. He 

 declined to take any. I then had him sample 

 the extracted. He thought it fine. I gave him 

 the price, stating that no one should find fault 

 with the price he could sell this at; but my 

 efforts with him were apparently in vain. 



Right here I wish to say that, in this town, 

 those new in the extracting business had, years 

 before, taken unripe honey from their bees, 

 and sold it, which had nearly ruined the sale of 

 honey in this form, as it fermented, and was 

 not fit lo sell as honey. 



I next called at grocery No. 2. Finding them 

 busy I waited until they had a little leisure. I 

 noticed an old case containing, perhaps, twenty- 

 live lib. sections, all daubed with propolis, 

 sections and combs dark, looking as if they had 

 been in use many years. The combs were only 

 partially filled with honey, and, of course, not 

 capped. At a leisure moment I made my busi- 

 ness known, and I secured their permission to 

 bring in a case of my honey. It was viewed 

 through the glass readily. I removed the 

 cover and took out some of the boxes for their 

 inspection. The honey suited them. My price 

 was asked and given. 



" We have some comb honey over here," 

 showing that first noticed by me on entering 

 their store. I asked who produced it, and 

 learned that he was an old frii^nd, and a man 

 of intelligence quite above the average. I 

 knew him to be, as the reader knows well, not 

 made for a bee keeper. At first 1 sold them 

 one case of the honey. I stated that I should 

 not be in with honey that season again, and 

 would think they could readily sell more, but 

 that they were to be the judge'< in that matter. 

 They took one more case, thinking also that 



ihey could do so. As they had a supply of ex- 

 tracted I made no sale, but let them sample my 

 own. The price was 15 cts. per lb. for the two 

 cases. I left, with the encouragement of prob 

 able future sales. 



The next grocery was visited, and I found it 

 unsnpplied with honey; so I effected a small 

 sale of comb and extracted, and I shall try to 

 supply that store with honey in the future if I 

 am so fortunate as to get a crop of honey. 



Two other grocers were called on, but no sale 

 effected, as it was claimed by them that they 

 could not sell the comb honey at any profit. A 

 little extracted honey was on hand in one of 

 these stores, of a very inferior quality. My 

 own was sampled, and seemed to please; but 

 that on hand must go before more was bought. 

 A few cans of the extracted were sold before 

 leaving town, to private parties, for home use. 



Where I have made sales of any conseouence 

 of extracted honey at the stores I have not 

 retailed: but if no honey could be sold at the 

 stores I have felt free to retail it in any such 

 town, either in or out of the comb. The results 

 of the day in selling honey were limited, but 

 the start had been made in opening up what 

 may prove to be a fair market for honey near 

 home at fair prices. 



Milledgeville, 111. 



ONE OR MORE EGGS IN A CELL, FROM A GOOD 



QUEEN. 



Dr. Miller: — I have a queen which, last sea- 

 son, was one of the best ones I had — large and 

 very prolific. I examined the colony to-day, 

 and at first thought the queen was dead, and 

 had a laying worker, as I saw in some cells two 

 and in some three eggs. Still, the cells that 

 were capped were worker-brood capping. On 

 careful examination I found the queen large, 

 and a beauty. What is the reason of two and 

 three eggs in a cell ? They are not all so; but 

 in two framt'S I discovered I should think fifty 

 or more. Geo. L. Vinal. 



Charlton. Mass. 



[Dr. Miller replies:] 



It is possible that the number of bees in the 

 colony wa< not large, and that the queen, being 

 very prolific, could lay more eggs tlian the bees 

 could take care of; in which case, rather than 

 lay outside the brood-nest, she would lay in 

 cells already occupied. If the colony was 

 strong, and ihi^re were plenty of cells without 

 using each cell more than once, thim I sliould 

 say it was oni' of those abnormal cases that one 

 doesn't account for — simply knows their exist- 

 ence without knowing the reason. Among oth- 

 er possibilities is the one that there may have 

 been a change of queen; and young queens, 

 when ihey commence laying, are inclined to do 

 exceptional things. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111. 



