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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



August . 



Gleanings in Bee Culture, 



Published Monthly, 



.A__ I. ROOT <Sc CO., 



EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS 



MEDINA, OHIO. 



Terms: 75c. Per Annxim. 



For Club Rates see Last Page. 



n^CEIDIISrA., ^TTG-- 1, 18-74. 



A. B. J. and B. K. M. , were on our table promptly, 

 and the World a few days afterward. All good. N. B. 

 J., at present writing has not put in an appearance. 



Warranted Queens for 1.50, we think full as cheap 

 as the dollar Queens without warrant, and our old 

 friend Alley has agreed to the former rate for the sea- 

 son. See Advertisem ent. 



"Blasted Hopes'' and doleful visages, have for the 

 past fe w weeks been giving way to "Reports Encour- 

 aging" and bright anticipations of long "Rolls of Hon- 

 or;" but we're too small to chronicle all of the latter. 



A beautiful expekiment— Give a natural swarm 

 a hive full of empty combs, and extract the honey as 

 often as the combs are filled. Th e nice part of it is, 

 that they frequently give you $10.00 worth of honey in 

 a week after hiving. 



We with pleasure notice that C. O. Perrine has 

 commenced settling up his old debts in a manner quite 

 satisfactory. As he has perhaps bought more honey 

 than any other dealer in America, we shall be quite 

 happy to hear he has regained confidence by an hon- 

 orable settlement of all old accounts. 



Cannot some of our subscribers advertise bees for 



sale? We have many inquiries, but cannot direct 



them where to send. Adam Grimm's notice would do 



very well for those in that vicinity, but 'tis expensive 



and risky sending so far. Who will furnish Italian 



colonies at a moderate price in the Southern and 



Middle states ? 



m !>■ m 



Our Agricultural exchanges although full of valuable 

 matter, contain little on bees beside extracts from the 



Bee Journals. The Rural New Yorker contains an 

 excellent plea, from a dealer in Groceries and 

 Provisions, for pure honey, and prices within the 

 reach of tne masses. Had they given his address in 

 full we might have shown him that laborers were al- 

 ready in the field. 



Kind Uncle Samuel now carries merchandise of all 

 kinds, as well as seeds and plants, for eight cents per 

 lb., and 4 lbs. may be sent in one package, instead of 

 12 oz. as formerly. In fact we could send a Simplicity 

 hive by mail now, if any one should desire ; the post- 

 age would be just about as much as the hive, viz, 90c 

 each, and they would have to be sent in about six 

 pieces. But half the amount mentioned on our price 

 list for postage on the articles we advertised, need be 

 sent for postage hereafter, with the exception of seeds, 

 which remain as heretofore. 



Our enterprising friend Muth, of Cincinnati, sends 

 us a sample of his 50c honey knives which we really 

 think will prove "as good as any" for uncapping at 

 least. It certainly cannot boast of much pretentions 

 to beauty in its "get up," but it has a fine steel blade 



very thin, and sharp, ready for use, and it is fixed very 

 firmly in its plain wooden handle. For the business 

 of uncapping only, we do not see how it can be im- 

 proved ; but for other, work, such as transferring etc., 

 the long slender blade and peculiar handle of those 

 we furnish, will be, we think in some respects, prefer- 

 able. We wish Mr. M. a large trade in them, as we do 

 every one, vt'ho aims to cheapen Apiarian supplies. 



* i»i * 



The Quinby Smoker, has become almost indispens- 

 able to us. 'Tis true it bothered by going out at first 

 but since we gathered a supply of "punk" we have 

 gone our way rejoicing. This can be gathered in any 

 forest containing maple stumps or logs; 'tis a species 

 of fungus that grows out of them somewhat like mush- 

 rooms. Carry along a heavy hammer, for they arc 

 hard to break off; when they are first gathered they 

 are to be choppad in pieces small enough to go into 

 the smoker readily, and dried thoroughly, in an oven 

 or otherwise. This substance burns longer than any 

 thing else with which we are acquainted and never 

 goes out where it can have even a very small supply 

 of air. Who will put some in the market, nicely 

 prepared ? 



After a Queen hatches, she usually leaves the cap 

 hinged to the cell like a door, and it often springs shut 

 after she has passed out. Now the bees sometimes 

 wax this cover down again, and the Apiarist looks at 

 his cell in disappointment, for several days perhaps, 

 waiting for his Queen to hatch, while she is crawling 

 about the hive as unconcerned as can be. We .men- 

 tion this because several blunders have been caused 

 thereby, one of which we were a party to, in tact we 

 assisted in persecuting a princess, as an interloper, 

 all because her cell seemed to be unhatched. Alter 

 she had flown away from such rude treatment and 

 was hopelessly lost, 'twas found that the iunocent 

 looking cell was only a hollow fraud with the afore- 

 said door shut. 



^i«i< ^ 



Any colonies not having a "hive full" of bees should 

 be fed at once, if honey has ceased coming in, to keep 

 brood rearing under full headway that we may have 

 plenty of bees for wintering. Never lose sight of the 

 fact that whenever brood-rearing is stopped, if it be 

 for ten days only, it will produce its effect, it may be 

 months hence, perhaps while we are getting them 

 through a snow-storm in April, but the gap will come 

 where bees too old, and brood too young, blocks pro- 

 gress for the time being. Give them all they can use 

 without filling the combs so as to crowd the Queen ; 

 this can only be determined by examination, say, once 

 in three days. Use sugar syrup, and should you thus 

 give them their winter supply it will be in the best 

 shape possible, and just as they naturally have it. 



Sending Queens by mail, Mrs. Tupper thinks to 

 be wrong, as there have been rulings by the assistant 

 P. M. G. to that effect. If such of our readers as are 

 interested in the matter, will read Vick's Floral 

 Guide No. 3, they can see that this is not the only 

 case in which theacsurdity of some of these "rulings" 

 has caused them to be ignored by every one, unless it 

 be occasionally some P. M. who imagines it a duty to 

 show his authority by hindering the progress of a 

 harmless and innocent branch of agricultural indus- 

 try. We can send queens safely to Texas now, for 

 one cent providing no writing is put in the package; 

 if sent by express the charge would be a dollar or two. 

 Are we to understand a dozen bees put up in a stout 

 metal cage are to bo an exception to all other kinds 

 of produce and merchandise ? Perhaps the new law 

 that took efl'ect July 1st, mentioned elswhere may in- 

 clude queens. We hope so. 



