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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



Gleanings in Bee Culture, 



Published Monthly, 



J±. I. ROOT &c CO., 

 EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS 



MEDINA, OHIO. 



Terms: 75c. Per Annum. 

 For Club Rates see Last Page. 



rMHEDDinST^A., JS&JkTZT 1, ie'74- 



A. B. J., for April came to baud March 31st ; 

 B. K. M., April 5th, and N. B. J., April 18th, 

 all in good time, and all excellent. 



Up to this date, half past one o'clock April 

 27th, the World has not yet shed its "mellow" 

 light (as B. K. M. has it) upon us. 



We omitted to mention that the dimensions 

 of the side boards for the Standard hive, were 

 15x30, that is, the dimensions of the board be- 

 fore the strips are ripped off to go under the 

 cover. 



We learn R. Wilkin, family and employees, 

 have removed from Cadiz, O., to Oskaloosa, 

 Iowa, where they expect to engage extensively 

 in the honey producing business. May suc- 

 cess attend them. 



We would refer the many who write to us 

 for tested Queens, to Mr. Cary, whose adver- 

 tisement will be found in this No. He is not 

 only one of the pioneersin the business, but so 

 far as we know, has been prompt and trust- 

 worthy in all his dealings in years past. 



We have just succeeded fn making a Queen- 

 cage both for shipping and introducing. 'Tis 

 all of metal, is stronger than the wooden ones 

 of last year, will hold securely an abundant 

 supply of food, requires no paper stoppers and 

 and can be closed and opened quickly; yet has 

 no loose cover, nor anything to get lost. Dia- 

 gram and directions will be given next month, 

 that will enable any tinner to make them. 



Price 10c, or $1.00 per doz. By mail, 2c. ex- 

 tra. 



So invariably do we get both favorable and 

 unfavorable reports, from almost every local- 

 ity, we hope we are excusable for concluding 

 that there is no very great difference in locali- 

 ty after all. 



If any thing, our Southern friends seem a 

 little behind, but we are inclined to think the 

 main trouble is, that they have not yet given 

 their bees a chance. 'Tis not unfrequent to 

 hear of an enormous yield in the midst of a 

 neighborhood complaining bitterly of bad sea- 

 sons, and nothing for the bees. 

 Therefore be of good cheer, for "we shall (most 

 assuredly) reap if we faint not." 



HOW TO WIXTliR lOO COLONIES 

 WITHOUT LOSINO ANY. 



PpHERE! there! don't be hasty, we know 

 j_L| very well we can't do it, and therefore 

 take pleasure in introducing to our readers 

 Mr. James Bolin of West Lodi, O., who will oc- 

 cupy the " Editorial Chair" (not a word of re- 

 monstrance friend B.) while we ahem, sit by 



Novice while he interrogates. 



FRIEND B., we shall recognize you as undisputed 

 authority, on the ground that "the proof of the pud- 

 ding etc., and would like to be inquisitive somewhat . 



In the first place were vour colonies all strong in 

 the fall ? how many combs would there be bees on 

 in Oct ? 



No. Some of them were what I call weak, 

 others very strong. The bees occupied front 

 four to seven spaces between the combs in com - 

 mon colonies ; and I had a few extra strong 

 stocks in which the bees covered all the combs. 



These extra colonies had been transferred, 

 on the approach of winter, from double width 

 hives containing 21 frames, to common ones 

 having 10 frames. There were more bees in 

 them than was desirable, but not liking to kill 

 any of them, I concluded they might take their 

 chances. The result was, a great many more 

 bees died in them, and the consumption of hon- 

 ey was much greater than in the ordinary 

 swarms. 



Did the}' store honey in the fall.and how late ? 



They stored honey from a piece of buckwheat 

 I had sowed, until the latter part of Sept., and 

 from golden rod and other fall flowers, from 

 the time the grass-hoppers disappeared, until 

 we had severe frost. 



Are there any cider mills in range of your bees ? 



There is a small mill at which some cider 

 was made, a trifle over half a mile from here. 



The nearest large mill is about two miles' 

 away. 



How thick are the walls, and what arc the dimen- 

 sions inside ? how are the doors fixed ? 



The walls are fourteen inches thick ; two 

 thicknesses of inch boards and twelve inches o-f 

 sawdust. Two floors with nine inches, be- 

 tween them, and there are ten inches of saw- 

 dust on the ceiling overhead. Dimensions 13 

 x 21 feet, and H% high inside. A window in 

 one end, with sash and glass, and a blind both 

 inside and out, thus having two dead air spa- 

 ces ; double door in the other end, with 12 inch, 

 space between. 



How are the ventilators arranged ? 



There is a ventilator ten inches square, 

 through the floor, near the. center of the room. 



It is closed by a slide that can be opened or 

 shut from the outside. In the house it is cov- 

 ered in the winter with a box, made by nailing 

 three boards together, that extends almost the 

 length of the room. This is placed loosely on 

 the floor, with the open side down over the 

 ventilator ; and the sides of it are bored full of 

 holes to distribute the air equally. In the sum- 

 mer it is put in the attic out of the way. ( >ve r 

 head there are two ventilators, six inches 

 square, that extend from below the ceiling to 

 three feet above the peak of the roof, and cov- 

 ered so as to exclude light and rain. 



Did the temperature ever get down to freezing in 

 your hives ? 



No; thirty six degrees was the lowest point 

 reached, and the temperature varied from that 

 up to fifty degrees. I would keep it at from 

 forty to forty two if I could do so. 



