GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan 



I have many letters of a similar character to yours 

 to answer and have Ijut limited time to. give tliem 

 attention, etc. 



^E have received samples of jarreu hon- 

 t/uf cy from Jesse H. Lippincott, Pittsl)urg, 

 Pa., that arc much ahead of auything in the 

 line we have before seen. It is put up in 1 11). 

 tumblers, and 1 and 3 lb. jars, and is made 

 perfectly clean and secure by verj' heavy tin 

 foil caps. Besides we had the pleasure of 

 tastintr a jar of Harbison's great crop of San 

 Diego Mountain honey, and notwithstanding 

 what Mr. King says in regard to it, we all un- 

 hesitatingly 'Novice, Mrs. N., P. G. — or Presi- 

 d'/if/ Gc'tiiux, her name is too long to spell it all 

 out every time— ,aud last of all Blue Eyes ; her 

 opinion on all sweet things, by the way, is heavy 

 testimony in our ranch) pronounce it 

 Avithout exception the tinest honey we have 

 tasted. It luis a peculiar mild flavor, almost 

 suggestive of mountains, and yet we think it 

 one that we would never tire of. Of the two 

 samples, Extracted and Comb honey, we could 

 distinguish no difference. We heartily wish 

 we could give you all a taste. 



Mr. Tweed also sent us a sample of Blue 

 Thistle honey, and one of the plants. The hon- 

 ey will compare favorably l)oth in color and 

 taste with Clover honey. But what perhaps 

 Will interest us all most, is Mr. Harbison's 

 Honey box, or honey frames. We wall trj- and 

 describe it. Small frames, with close fitting 

 sides and top, are placed together so as to make 

 a box of any desired length. Will it not be 

 well in making these frames, to adopt one uni- 

 form size Y wiiere no good reason demands a 

 different one, we suggest Harbison's which is 

 as follows : 



c 



The sides and top, A, B, C, are all made of 

 t)ine ?8 thick and 1-^y wide. The bottom bar 

 D, is a stick -^fj square, nailed in with one cor- 

 ner downward; A, and C, are nailed into the 

 end of B, and D, with suitable brads. A, and 

 C, are just Gk, inches long, and have a notch 

 or rabbet 1-1(5 "deep by % wide cut in the out- 

 side of each as shown in the figure. When a 

 num])er of these sections are placed side by 

 side, thin strips of wood laid in these notches, 

 and tacked slightly into the end sections, holds 

 all together, the spaces l)etwcen the bottom 

 square pieces, admit the bees with every conve- 

 nience. One great advantage of these boxes, 

 is the fiicility afforded for cutting out the comb, 

 to be put in glass jars, and on tins account, we 

 would try and jtrocure enough empty comb for 

 a small guide in each frame; any other guide 

 Is in the way in cutting out the honey nicely. 

 If tlie comb can be secured accurately in each 

 frame, they will be very nice for retailing. 

 Glass may be used in the end sections or not, 

 as desired and the sections can be shipped all 

 together as they come from the hive. They 

 are easily broken apart, and can be (luickly 

 emptied and returned to the Apiarist. Thanks 



are due friend Tweed for the sample section, as 

 as well as for many other favors. We take 

 pleasure in saying that the house of J. H. Lip- 

 pincott, with which he is connected are both 

 able and ready to do all they promise in regard 

 to buying or selling honey. These sections 

 should be made for about fl.OO per hundred by 

 the quantity. P. S. — Notches are 25/g from top. 



Pertaining tro Bee diltnre. 



[We respectfully solicit the aid of our friends in 

 con<lncting this (k'liartmcnt, and would consider it 

 a favor to have them send us all circulars that have 

 a deceptive appearance. The greatest care -will be at 

 all times maintained to prevent injustice being done 

 any one] 



MITCHELL has recently paid a visit to 

 Lindsay, Sandusky Co., O., and succeed- 

 ed in getting $30.00 for "teaching a class" in 

 bee culture ; the instruction was all given in a 

 single lesson occupying only one hour and a 

 half. The '"great secrets" were printed, and he 

 had left them at hoiue but agreed to send them 

 to each pupil (?) by mail, and that was the last 

 of Mitchell, but the $;30.00 was gone safe and 

 sure. This "class" contained several who had 

 formerly taken Gleanings, but they had lost 

 their bees so badly in the winter and spring of 

 '74 that they thought it wouldn't pay to take 

 it anv longer. Economy certainly in a tine 

 thingi but liow about the'i^BO.GOV 



Mr. IJeneilict thoiiglit in the spring that he shoidd 

 come liere to raise tjueens but did not. From his in- 

 quiries I Ihouglit if he did, he exiiected to remove or 

 destroy all the diseased stocks. Mr. N. C. Mitchell 

 also wrote he would come here and raise (jueens but 

 he dill not. Said also he should want to have control 

 of my bees to insiu-e against contamination. 



CiiAS. Cakpentek, Kelley's Island, O. 



Several patent hive circulars have been sent 

 us, asking us to show them up, but we hardly 

 think it worth while to particularize them, as 

 our readers should all of them be able to decide 

 by this time that we have no occasion to pay 

 any one, for the right, to make anything about 

 a bee lave. The wrong these parties do, is in 

 trying to make out that you must buy their 

 "riglits" before you use their devices. Since 

 friend Muth and others have shown the advan- 

 tage of straw, chaff etc., as absorl)ents, the 

 patent men have "trotted" out hives with long 

 testimonials for wintering safely out doors. 



Says the Rural JVcin Yorker of Dec. IStli : 



Listen to a patent right vender, if you want to, or to 

 a dealer in clothes, or to a peddler oi' wonderful fruits 

 illustrated with highly colored pictures— listen pa- 

 tiently, say nothing, and linally, when he has reached 

 the cl'inia.v of his i)eroration and wants you to invest, 

 Khaki' j/oKr hntd. Don't oiien your mouth; say noth- 

 ing; tliink wliatxdu cluidse, but shake your head and 

 jioiiit lo the door as a idace of exit fur such fellows. 

 Uon't get into an argument with them ; don't ask any 

 i|uestions ; let your eyes twinkle as much as Ihey will ; 

 but shake olV the wool they arc atteniiitiiig to (lull over 

 your eyes by shaking your" ln-ad Ihudv , digniliedly and 

 decisivi'ly. "'I'liis reciiie has proved, in more than one 

 case, to IJc decidedly elVective, and if acted upon will 

 soon save many a rea<ler more than the cost of a year's 

 subscription to" the Kukal Nkw-Y<)kkei{. 



Our sentiments exactly, and if it were only 

 followed u]), such oily tongued scamps would 

 be absolutely driven to earning a living hon- 

 estly as other folks do. i^atent hive men have 

 almost ceased (yyiiKj to teach bee culture of 

 late. Whvisitv" 



