136 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov 



Oct. I'th- Sure enough we have larva' well supplied 

 w iili it- milky food, and are so far along in the work 

 of rearing bees entirely in an artificial temperature. 



Oct. 28th— Just before going to press— Four of the live 

 hives liave eggs and brood and every 1 1 1 i n u." serins 

 thrifty except the number of bees (perhaps 200 daily) 

 that fly against the glass and fall on the ground with 

 distended bodies, and die. We should very much like 

 to know how many dead bees were found in Mr. Bid- 

 well's hot beds in the spring. In our next we hope to 

 be able to tell you of perfect young bees reared en- 

 tirely <m artificial supplies. 



Gleanings in Bee Culture, 



Published Monthly, 



.A._ I. IROOT &z, CO., 



EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS 



MEDINA, OHIO. 



Terms: 75c. Per Annum. 



[Including Postage.] 



For Chib Bates see Last Page. 



INffEZDHST-A., 3SrO"V- 1, 1874. 



We have unfortunately mislaid Seth Iloag- 

 land's circular in regard to the N. A. B. Con- 

 vention at Pittsburgh, on the 11th 12th and 

 13th, but think that to secure the benefit of the 

 half fare rates granted on most of the R. R's, it 

 is necessary to write first to Mr. II. at Mercer, 

 Pa. 



We have just ree'd the semi-monthly German 

 Bienen Zeitung for the year 1874. Atpresent it 

 is of just about as much value to lis as a 



work on astronomy to Blue Eyes "We have 



a "big time" looking at the pictures. If the 

 Germans use hives and implements as well 

 made as the plates that represent them, per- 

 haps their American cousins can with profit 

 learn more than one lesson from them. 



KIND reader, if you arc in any way interested in 

 Bees or Honey, 



we will with pleasure send you a sample copy of our 

 Monthly "GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE." Simp- 

 ly write your address plainly on a postal card and 

 address ' A. 1. BOOT & CO., Medina, Ohio. 



'. Iny Periodical giving this one insertion ami sending 

 • is marked cojijf trill reeeive < .'leu nint/s tine t/etn:} 



As we are paying considerable money for 

 the insertion of above advertisement in various 

 papers, of course we shall consider it a favor 

 to have you give us the names of bee-keepers 

 who you think might Wish to take it. Don't 

 send any stamps j simply put their address 

 plainly on a postal card, 



— «•- •»• -«» 



Wiiit/e we are much obliged to the Ed. of B. 

 K. M. for his pleasant mention of our Litho- 

 graph, we can hardly forgive him for not look- 

 ing at it closely enough to discover that it 

 really is a Hexagonal Apiary, having the 

 whole number of lines arranged so that each 

 one is the center of six others, at equal distan- 

 ces from it and from each other. Had he been 

 in the habit of extracting honey each season. 

 carrying the combs into the extracting house 

 and then back to the hives, he certainly could 

 not have failed to note that the nearer the hives 

 were located to this room, the less would be 

 the labor; an'! hence would not have made the 



remark that he could "see no reason why an Api- 

 ary exactly square, is not quite as good and 

 convenient as one hexagonal in shape," and 

 that "bees build their combs hexagonal for 



very good reasons" "which, however. 



would be very poor arguments for having an 

 Apiary in that shape." 



If we grant that 6 feet, or any other distance 

 for that matter, is as close as hives should be 

 placed, can we not get them much nearer on 

 the plan mentioned, than if placed in the form 

 of a square? Is not economy of steps as im- 

 portant to us, as is economy of wax and labor 

 to the bees ? 



— ^a »- -*&+ ii^ 



"FEYIN« BEES INDER GEASS." 



^r7]KlENl) NOVICE:— I see in Oct. Gleanings that 

 jspil you allude to Mr. Bidwell's experiments in win* 

 r^J tering bees; also make some criticisms in refer- 

 ence thereto. Will you please allow me space in 

 Nov. Gleais'inos, for an explanation. 



At the spring session of the Michigan Bce-Keeper's 

 Association, held at Kalamazoo, in May last, I was, 

 in absence of our Secretary Mr. Frank Benton, elected 

 Sec. pro tern, and took charge of all papers presented 

 at that meeting. In making out the report of the pro- 

 ceedings for B. K. M. (which was condensed as much 

 as possible consistent with perspicuity of statement). 

 we purposely refrained from making an} - extended 

 remarks in reference to Mr. Bidwell's paper, inasmuch 

 as the paper itself, was to be published. Being re- 

 quested by their several authors to return the original 

 manuscript to them, we copied the different papers 

 and forwarded the same to Mr. King from time to 

 time lor publication. Owing to ill health, which al- 

 most entirely precluded mental labor on our part 

 during the summer, we deferred sending a copy of 

 Mr. Bidwell's paper until about the tenth of August, 

 for the Sept. No., supposing it seasonable at that time ; 

 not even dreaming that any one wished to try the "ex- 

 periment" of placing bees under glass, with the mer- 

 cury indicating 100°"m the shade. 



Now about suppressing Mr. Bidwell's P. O. address. 

 Mr. Bidwell is extensively engaged in horticultural 

 as well as anistical pursuits, and being corresponding 

 Sec. of the South Haven Pomological Society, has very 

 little time (and possibly— inclination) for answering 

 inquiries relative to bee culture. He has repeatedly 

 stated that he intended to write nothing more about 

 bees, having had "his say" on that subject. We there- 

 fore did not feel at liberty to give his address, and so 

 withheld it. But in view of what has been said, we'll 

 simply say that he resides only a short distance from 



the writer, and receives his mail at= South Haven, 



Michigan. 



We are well acquainted with Mr. B. and know him 

 to be perfectly reliable and trustworthy. Moreover 

 we are Conversant with his experiments, and feel eon- 

 tideilt that the value of this method has not been 

 overrated. For the benefit of Gleaning's readers, 

 we submit the following in reference thereto. 



l'he "hot-beds" alluded to in Mr. B's paper, were. 

 excavations in dry sandy soil (about two feet in depth) 

 sloping gently to" the south. Boxes made ofl)£ inch 

 plank, and some 15 inches in width, were set over 

 these and banked up with earth. Each "bed" was 

 covered by four sash, 3x6 feet, and straw was scattered 

 over the 'bottom of the pit to keep the bees from 

 alighting on the earth. The sun was the sole source 

 of heat. 



The bees were all put into a house cellar in Nov.. 

 but becoming uneasy in Jan., were carried out and 

 placed in these "hot-beds'' for a fly. Many of them 

 were left there until a "cold snap" in March, when 

 they were returned to the cellar, as the "beds" were 

 not made sufficiently tight to exclude a great degree 

 of cold. Mr. B. flew 10 stocks at once in a sin.ulv bed, 

 as set forth in his paper, and encountered no aifficid- 

 tv in having all bees return to their respective hives. 

 And finaUy, his bees that flew under glass, all came 

 through to May in good condition, and have stored a 

 large amount of surplus honey the present season. 



Herbert A. Bcrch, South Haven, Mich. 



FRIEND NOVICE :— Yours of 3rd, at hand. I had a 

 temperature as high as 85' to 90' when the bees flew. 

 I think the bees all returned to their proper hives 

 that returned al all. 1 had onh one tier of hives. 



oh! yes, you could have seer, them go out and fly 



