36 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Get your bees to working on the meal now as speed- 

 ily as possible. Exercise your ingenuity in securing 

 a place lor it in the sun, but out of the wind, rain and 

 snow. A mixture of grains seems to please them best ; 

 we have just had ground up finely together, one bush- 

 el of rye, two of oats, and one of wheat screenings 

 composed largely of chess. For economy in using it 

 we would put it on a level platform large enough to af- 

 ford a foot square for each stock. But little attention 

 will be paid to the meal after they get natural pollen. 



I have 40 stands of bees, (Italians) use the Gallop 

 frame— bees in good order— have several " New Idea 

 Hives," did well last year— rather large— think I pre- 

 fer 21 frame hive to 32— my long hives did better last 

 vear than the standard or 12 frame hive— began last 

 spring with 20 stands, purchased them mostly of Gal- 

 lup—all Italians— season poor— basswood failed, sold 

 less than 300 lbs.— put the hives into cellar, all but ten 

 of the largest— and prepared them for winter accord- 

 ing to Gallup's mode. I think that I will make some 

 of vour form of hives this spring— if for nothing else 

 I like them on account of there being no waste ma- 

 terial. Name lost. 



Names of responsible parties will be inserteil in 

 either of the following departments, at a uniform 

 price of 10c. each insertion, or 81.00 per year. 



Names inserted in this department the first time 

 without charge. 



Those whose names appear below agree to furnish 

 Italian Queens the coming season for 81.00 each, un- 

 der the following conditions : No guarantee is to be 

 assumed of purity, safe delivery or any thing of the 

 kind, only that the Queen be reared from a choice, 

 pure mother. They also agree to return the money at 

 any time when customers become impatient of such 

 delays as may be unavoidable. 



Bear in mind that he who sends the best Queens, 

 put up neatest and most securely, will probably re- 

 ceive the most orders. Special rates for warranted 

 and tested Queens, furnished on application to any of 

 the parties. 



J. Shaw & Son, Chatham Center, Medina Co., Ohio. 



I. E. Daniels, Lodi, " " " 



G. W. Dean, River Styx, " " " 



E. C. Blakeslee, Medina, " " " 



Willis J. Phelps, " " " " 



W. J. Hosmer, Janesville, Minnesota. 



John L. Davis, Holt, Mich. 



James A. Buchanan, Wintersville, Jeff. Co., O. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown, Augusta, Georgia. 



Miss. Annie Saunders, Woodville, Miss. 



W. J. Standefer, Dry Grove, Hinds Co., Miss. 



W. D. Wright, Knowersville, Albany Co., N. Y. 



Who agree to make such hives, and at the prices 

 named, as those described on our circular. 

 Geo. T. Wheeler, Mexico, N. Y. 

 G. W. Dean, River Styx, Medina Co., O. 



HiiiglML'®®^ 4s W^wmmmmli 



Apiarist Wanted ; S. W. Greisinger, Carlisle, Pa. 



And "Lyons," care W. W. Barnum, Southport, Ind. 

 wants a place ; can make hives or handle bees. Also : 



Situation wanted; but we have lost the applicants 

 name, as we have also the names of several who had 

 empty combs for sale, etc., but if you'll send your 

 names with the respective " ten centses" we'll submit 

 the whole matter to our readers. Advertisers should 

 remember that Gleanings is so small every word is 

 usually read. 



We are pleased to note that Mr. Quinby offers emp' 

 ty comb for sale. At the price he has fixed— 50c. for 

 Quinby frames of ivorker comb — we think they should 

 go off rapidly. Those having empty comb in any of 

 the standard frames, we think would find a ready sale 

 for them by advertising. His new smoker it seems to- 

 ns would be cumbrous ; 'tis worked with a little bel- 

 lows. 



There are a few things in Mr. Q's circular that we 

 cannot help protesting against. For instance; 



" In consequence of the advantage which this hive 

 enables us to take of the labors of the bees, by pre- 

 venting their swarming, &c, it is safe in a good seasom 

 to calculate on an average of one or two hundred 

 pounds of box honey, or two or three hundred where 

 the combs are emptied With a machine — which will 

 sell for more in one season than the price of colony." 



This has appeared in his circular we believe for 

 three years, yet if any Bee-keeper in the U. S. has- 

 ever made an apiary of 50 or even 25 hives give such a 

 result on an average we should be pleased to hear of it. 

 We wrote Mr. Q. when we first saw his circular con- 

 taining the statement, asking him if it was wise to put 

 it so high ; even his own apiary since then, so far as 

 we can gather, has given an average of considerably 

 less than 100 lbs. either box or ext'd honey. Should! 

 the hive have a great advantage over those in com- 

 mon use for box honey, we can hardly think even Mr. 

 Q. himself intends to intimate, his hive has any espec- 

 ial advantage for extracted, yet it seems to read so ; 

 it consists when arranged for the latter, simply of 1<5 

 Quinby frames arranged horizontally with the en- 

 trance midway at the ends of the frames. 



The new swarming arrangment can of course be ap- 

 plied as well to any hive that affords them room to 

 work, but we believe it is now pretty generally con- 

 ceded that a faithful use of the extractor alone, rarely 

 fails to prevent an attempt at swarming, rendering 

 the queen yard useless for any but box honey. 



Is it well to hold out to beginners a statement like 

 the above ? 'tis almost sure to end in " blasted hopes."' 

 Would it not be better to estimate 50 lbs. on an aver- 

 age ? then if they did better than that there would be 

 no feeling that they had been humbugged by having 

 false hopes held out to them. Again : 



"In giving this hive to the puolic, it is not with the 

 idea of making it pecuniarily profitable. It is design- 

 ed for our own special use and advantage in connection 

 with this system of management. But being willing 

 that any person who might wish to give it a trial, 

 without subjecting us to the trouble of giving a de- 

 tailed description of it, should have the privilege, we 

 have given it publicity, and we will furnish the hive 

 as a sample to work from, cheaper than to give a full 

 description, with measurements, Ac., which we can- 

 not do." 



Has he ever considered that as the hive itself is only 

 a plain simple box, full directions could be published 

 in the circular, or even given in the Journals at the 

 trifling expense, to him, of making the measurements, 

 and descriptions once. As his price for the empty 

 hive with one box and Queen yard, is 88.00, and they 

 can easily be made for $4.00, it looks as if there must 

 be a " pecuniary profit" somewhere. Such cumbrous 

 hives should certainly be made near home to save the 

 great expense of shipping; almost every neighbor- 

 hood of Bee-keepers now affords some one who can 

 make good hives, at a moderate price. The express 

 charges, ( Mr. Q. recommends sending them only by 

 express) on such a hive is really "fearful," as many 

 of our friends in the Western States can testify. 

 Aside from the glass in the honey boxes, there can be 

 no trouble whatever in sending the hives safely as 

 freight, if a little extra time and expense be used in 

 crating them. 



