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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



May and one raised in June. The June queen 

 is a great help toward non-swarming. 



I'll shout with you, Mr. Editor, for sweet 

 clover, only I want the whole truth to be known 

 about it; and I doubt whether its honey can 

 ever compete with white-clover honey. [But 

 when you are trying to give the whole truth, 

 don't give the impression the sweet-clover hon- 

 ey is bad. While it is not quite equal to white- 

 clover, it is very good. — Ed.] 



You'be bight, Mr. Editor, in placing much 

 value on drawn combs in sections. But after 

 you've made a good start with a super of drawn 

 combs, I suspect there is not so much difference 

 between combs and foundation. Raise a super 

 half filled, and put under it a super of founda- 

 tion, and I think the bees will commence on the 

 foundation nearly as promptly as they would 

 on drawn combs. [May be you are right, but I 

 can't quite believe it. — Ed.] 



I've known queenless bees to make good 

 work storing honey in combs already built; but 

 I think I never knew them to make good work 

 at comb-building without a queen. You know 

 you can often tell that bees have raised a young 

 queen by the amount of white wax on the 

 black comb. [Some comb-honey producers de- 

 queen to prevent swarming, and yet they get 

 lots of comb honey. Either you are partly 

 wrong or they don't get the honey. — Ed.] 



Leading bee-keepers are, on the whole, 

 rather conservative. Of the 21 who reply in 

 American Bee Journal, only five seem to use a 

 hot plate in fastening foundation in sections. 

 Melted wax, the Parker fastener, a screw- 

 driver, and rosin and wax, are used. If they'd 

 once try it, they'd find the Daisy fastener a 

 daisy. [Most men think their ways are better; 

 and, right or wrong, they are not going to give 

 the other man's method even a trial. We've 

 learned by experience that it is best to try 

 every thing of this kind, and we have only 

 to find the Daisy ahead.— Ed.] 



Isn't it true that a " bait " in a super is one 

 factor toward preventing burr and brace combs? 

 If there's no bait, bees will crowd the brood- 

 nest and build all around it before starting on 

 the raw foundation in the super, whereas they'll 

 start in a bait without waiting to be crowded 

 into it. [We have some supers with only the 

 bait sections filled out. When we give more 

 baits they fill them out, but do little or nothing 

 with the foundation. In other supers a bait is 

 sufficient for a general start; but if a?Z supers 

 had drawn combs instead of foundation, we'd 

 get more honey. — Ed.] 



This year keeps up its record as a fast one. 

 I took off my first finished super of sections 

 June 30, two or three weeks earlier than ever 

 before. July 15 I took the fifth super from one 

 hive. [Whewatlon, Doctor! Excuse slang; 

 but as I can't throw my hat up high enough 



for you so that every one can see it, I had to 

 use something else than common English. I 

 have several times advised you to "pull up 

 stakes" in view of your repeated yearly fail- 

 ures of the honey crops; but if you had follow- 

 ed my advice it would have been just your 

 luck to drop into some locality where there was 

 no honey, not even this year. Notwithstanding 

 my foolish advice to you, I have repeatedly 

 advised bee-keepers to stay where they are, 

 and the wisdom in such advice has been demon- 

 strated again and again by a final onslaught of 

 honey, such as you have just been having. 

 There is no reason why you should not have a 

 lot more such good seasons. The spell is bro- 

 ken; the seasons of drouths are being replaced 

 by copious rains, so necessary to the growth of 

 white clover. As I write, it's pouring hard, 

 and we have been getting from one to two good 

 rains a week.— Ed ] 



I take the following clipping from the Amer- 

 icaii Bee Journal : 



Mrs. M. Louise Thonaas, of Philadelphia, at the 

 last meeting- of the American Farmers' Institute 

 Club, delivered an address on bee-keeping, in whieli 

 she is reported to have said she knew of "two wo- 

 men who have incomes of $5000 each, annually, sell- 

 ing- queens." Of course, we don't like to doubt 

 Louise's word; but in plain language we can only 

 say we don't believe it. At least, we won't vintil we 

 have some proof for it. 



But this is not all. The editor goes on and 

 gives Mrs. Thomas a large amount of garden 

 sass for nothing. " Some proof for it," forsooth ! 

 What do you want more proof for? Hasn't 

 Mrs. Thomas stated in plain words that she 

 "feneu) of two women who have an income of 

 1.5000 each annually, selling queens?" What 

 more do you want? Well, I can satisfy Bro. 

 York, and prove the truth of what Mrs. T. says. 

 1 will illustrate, and take myself for example. 

 If I stand sidewise to the moon, and look at it 

 at a certain angle — with my right eye — I can 

 see 16 moons. If I get away from a lamp fifty 

 yards or more, and look at it in the same man- 

 ner, I can see 16 lamps. If I set up a silver dol- 

 lar so the light will shine on it, I can see, in the 

 same manner, 16 dollars — 16 to 1. I have often 

 attempted to secure the extra $15 by bounding 

 forward to gather them in. But they always 

 elude my grasp — fade away before I get there. 

 I always was unlucky, anyway. 



But I never could convince my left eye, un- 

 der the same conditions and the same angle, to 

 see more than one moon, one lamp, and one 

 dollar; so no false hopes or delusive dreams are 

 ever nurtured in my gentle bosom — by my left 

 eye. 



