382 



G1.EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



FROM OUR ABC CLASS. 



This department is designed primarily to cover questions 

 either not already answered in the A B C of Bee Culture(priee 

 in cloth $1.25), or, it incorporated in this work, are here dwelt 

 upon more in detail on account of the importance of the 

 question. While these answers are of vital interest to the 

 ABC scholars, they will doubtless be fouml, in many in- 

 stances, to be of considerable value to the iiune advanced 

 student. ' For lack of space, the question itself, instead of be 

 ing directly stated, is omitted, the same being implied in the 

 answer. It is hoped that the class will first consult their 

 text-book before sending in their questions. 



MISTAKEN IN STORES. 



J. TT.— The boy was probably mistaken as to the 

 amount of stores the bees had. They should have 

 had twenty pounds by weififht. It is well for begin- 

 ners to wei?h the combs. If the aggregate will 

 make twenty pounds, all right. If not, feel until 

 they have enough. 



SHUTTINO BEES IN CHAFF HIVES DURING WINTER. 



C. P.— Do not shut bees up, packed in chaff, out- 

 doors. Give them a full entrance, and let them fly 

 when they will. You m:iy kill them if j on keep 

 them shut up. Bees that die in the snow, probably 

 are of not much use to Iho colony. They are dis- 

 eased, and hence fly our. 



ARTIFICIAL FORAGE. 



J. H. I.— It will not pay you, if you area beginner, 

 to plant for bee-forage. But very little is gathered, 

 usually, from artificial forage. Natural sources 

 are usually depended upon. Alsike clover, buck- 

 wheat, and rape, are usually safe to sow. See " Ar- 

 tificial Pasturage," in the ABC book; also "Al- 

 sike," " Buckwheat." 



MARKET VALUE OF DARK HONEY. 



Miss JJ.— Dark-coloi-ed honey never sells for as 

 much as light- colored. As a general thing it will 

 not bring much more than half; 35 cents at retail 

 certainly would be very h-gh for dark honey, es- 

 pecially if the flavor were of an inferior quality 

 also. The best way to dispose of candied comb 

 honey is to feed it to the bees. 



ABOUT WHEN A SWARM MAY BE XPECTED. 



H. G.— You can not tell exactly when bees will 

 swarm; but from conditions in the hive, you can 

 say they will swarm in a day or so perhaps. The 

 conditions are, an overcrowded hive, large amount 

 of brood, several queen-cells which will hatch in 24 

 or 48 hours, and a good honey-flow. See "Swarm- 

 ing " in the ABC book. 



PROXIMITY TO THE HIGHWAY, FOR BEES. 



C. TF. r.— The outskirts of the apiary should not 

 be closer than 100 feet to the highway, and on ac- 

 count of the children it would be better to have it 

 that distance from the house. With a high board 

 fence, or a hedge six to eight feet high, the apiary 

 may reach clear up to the highway, and very little 

 trouble, if any, will be experienced by passers-by. 



SENSE OF HEARING NECESSARY OR NOT FOR A 

 BEE-KEEPER. 



A. T. G.— Impaired hearing would have very little 

 to do with your failure or success as a bee-keeper. 

 The only difference, and that would be slight, would 

 be that you would sometimes be unaware cf the 

 issue of a swarm, from your inability to hear the 

 swarming-note; but by keeping on the watch dur- 

 ing swarming time, as every bee-keeper should, 

 you would lose few swarms. Again, you might miss 

 some of the pleasures of a bee convention. One of 



the best beekeepers in the State of Ohio is hard 

 of hearing. 



3F0B^cce Gdmw. 



CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH WE GIVE SMOKERS TO PERSONS WHO 

 STOP USING TOBACCO. 



First, the candidate must be one of tho^e who have given up 

 tobacco in consequence of what he has seen and read in this 

 department. Second, he promises to pay for the smoker 

 should he ever resume the use of tobacco in any form, after 

 receiving the smoker. Third, he must be a subscriber to 

 Gleanings. Any subscriber may, however, have smokers sent 

 to neighbors or personal acquaintances whom he has labored 

 with on the matter of tobacco-using, providing he give us his 

 pledge that, if the one who receives the smoker ever uses to- 

 bacco again, he (the subscriber) will pay forthe smoker. The 

 one who receives the smoker in this case need not be a sub- 

 scriber to Gleanings, though we greatly prefer that he be one, 

 because we think he would be strengthened by reading the 

 testimonials from time to time in regard to this matter. The 

 full name and address of every one who makes the promise 

 must be furnished for publication. 



A MINISTER WHO USES TOBACCO. 



I enjoy Our Homes very much. It is all written 

 in such a practical way, just like the experience of 

 so many others, that it is of great help to resist 

 temptations. 1 have had a temptation all my life — 

 that of smoking. Although, through the careful 

 training of parents, I never used tobacco ia any 

 form, yet there is still a desire for it. Now, while I 

 believe we should have a great deal ot charity for 

 the failings of others, when a servant of God who 

 sets himself up to leach others the truth and purity 

 of the word, one can hardly tolerate the use of to- 

 bacco. A minister of this class called at our house, 

 and during the time he was offering up prayer and 

 thanksgiving to God, he was compelled to stop 

 three times to expectorate the vile quid. Now, this 

 seems pretty hard ; but still It has its influence on 

 others by disgusting them. But, friend Root, what 

 ought one to say to f uch a person? God hasten the 

 day when tobacco will become extinct. 



Linn, Kansas. J. T. Van Petten. 



Friend Y., I can not tell you exactly what 

 you ought to say to a minister who persists 

 in the use of tobacco ; but I would say, in 

 general terms, try to say that which will do 

 the most good and not do him harm. Pray 

 for him. and pray for yourself before you 

 say any thing, and ask the Ifoly Spirit to 

 help you to act and speak wisely. With 

 such a preparation before you, you will be 

 very unlikely to do harm. But even if he 

 does not stop forthwith, give him to under- 

 stand that you consider him a brother still. 

 And let us remember that it is everybody's 

 privilege to do as he sees fit or thinks prop- 

 er, in all these matters where there are dif- 

 ferences of opinion. In returning from a 

 convention in Michigan I rode several hours 

 in the night with a good brother who is a 

 professor of religion, but who acknowledged 

 10 me that he used tobacco, and either could 

 not or had not given it up. His son in the 

 seat with him listened to all our talk. I 

 told him I should pray for him, and told 

 him that it would be good uews to me at 

 any time to hear that he had, with God's 

 help, broken away from the bondage. In a 

 few months the son wrote to me that hia 

 father broke right square off shortly after 

 our talk. I am now waiting anxiously to^ 

 hear that the son has come out before men 

 and confessed Christ Jesus. May be when 

 he reads this he will gain courage. 



