1S75. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



57 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



•<j]i ^ESSKS. A. I. HOOT & CO.: -i have lost no bees 

 fv/tf lor two yearn. Winter thcni on Hummer stands, 

 4>/>^ in Ajtiafv which is cndosetl on all sides with 

 I'ence six feet high, the boards placed close together 

 TO nioditv the air within by keeping out the cold winds. 

 Tliis I'ence is eertainlv a great protection lYom the 

 cold. The place thus I'enced is about lOO I'eet scpiare 

 which lor convenience we denominate "The Apiary." 

 There is plenty ol' room in it lor 100 colonies (or 

 more) ot bees, llave set out dwarl" pear trees, grape 

 vines, besides several varieties of choice or select 

 imall I'ruits, for sha<le and comfort, to say nothing of 

 the rich fruit prospect a few years hence. 



Have '20colonies of bees, '2 Italian, the others natives, 

 all strong in bees and honey. My bees made me about 

 JO lbs. nice box honey as a surplus per colony last year, 

 would have obtained more if I had furnished boxes at 

 .ill times in time for their wants. I am satisfied of 

 this, that there is nothing more important in success- 

 ful bee culture, than to have plenty of good hives, 

 frames and boxes on hand during the entire working 

 reason with bees. 



My bees are all in the Langstroth hives of the Sim- 

 plicity ])ersuasion. I have a circular saw for making 

 iiives, frames, boxes, etc., it is driven by hoi-se power, 

 cost me about SSO.OO, besides my work in fixing up. It 

 is just the thing for the hive business. You can see 

 friend Novice tnat I have attem]>ted to carry out your 

 valuable suggestions in Gleanings, for which you 

 have my thanks and kind wishes. 



Heavens benedictions, and blessings ujion you and 



vours and your readers of Gleanings in Bee Culture. 



C. Lakkins, Braggville, Lyon Co., Ky. 



"We should prefer a fence 8 feet high if possi- 

 ole, but it must be very securelj' supported, or 

 the wind will tip it at an ungainly angle. Put 

 the boards close together, and then cover the 

 cracks with lath. If the fence has been already 

 jnade 6 feet, a board or two may be put along 

 the top, leaving the lath battens to reach up 

 across them in a way ro give an appearance on 

 the front of fancy paneling, without much ex- 

 ]>ense or skill being needed. If you doubt the 

 advantage of keeping oft' the cold winds, com- 

 pare the difference in temperature some day in 

 the spring between a spot protected by hills or 

 buildings on all sides but the south, and one 

 not so protected. 



Whicli would you prefer, to purchase, bees in the 

 -pring in box hives at $o.'M each, or furnish hives and 

 have (ir.st prime swarms at §4.00 each ? Bees are wln- 

 Tering very poorly in this locality. Tliey come out of 

 V their hives, wheii the thermometer is io^ below zero, 

 the hives are frame hives and have the honey boards 

 removed and in i)lace is a piece of factory cloth, and 

 che cajjs tilled with straw so the inside of the hive is 

 dry and all right, but what makes the bees come out 

 atsuch times as they do I cannot say. The entrances 

 of the hives are all shaded, so the sun does not call 

 them otit, but this makes no difference, they are bound 

 to come out in cold cloudy days, as much as in sun- 

 .^hine. D. W. Fletcher, 'Lansingville, N. Y. Feb. -li. 



Take the whole colony at |5.00 of course, for 

 you will get the new swarm all the same, and 

 have your old one left, at an expense of only 

 ^1.00. We think your bees have the prevailing 

 malady, and perhaps there is nothing that can 

 be done more than what you have. You might 

 trj' giving them a fly as directed on page 32, 

 March No. 



I looked over my bees yesterday, put them all in 

 . clean liives and found them all in good condition. 

 Some very strong, none very weak, two had lost their 

 Queens. Brood was in almost every one. 



« HAS. F. MUTH, Cincinnati, "O. Feb. 23rd, 1875. 



The following is in regard to an improve- 

 ment on E. J. Worst's plan for guide combs 

 given on page 12, Vol. 2. 



My plan of getting strait combs is the same as E. J. 

 \VorstV., only r make that straight edge just wide 



enoupfh to reach over where the gulile is to be, with 

 another i)lece tacked on so it won't slip over too lar, 

 making agnageof it that won't go any place but the 

 right on(!. Keep the strait edge in the left han^. and 

 spoon and wponge in right haml- need not lay either 

 down. I can guid-e four set to one, this wav. it is 

 just the thing. I am pleased to hear that Mr. \V. has 

 given it to you to publish; I freely give all my plana 

 to our brother bee-keepers. " 1). II. Ogdkn. 



Wooster, Wayne Co., O. Feb. -ilth, 1875. 



For the section honey boxes, these wax 

 guides will Ix; much preferable to v.ood, as they 

 will not interfere with cutting the combs out 

 close to the frames. Thanks ft-iend O. 



I am wintering my 73 stocks on their summer stands. 

 Yesterday I found every colony all right, and i)laced 

 rye meal out in the morning ; at 12 o'clock each colony 

 was very busy carrying in large loads of meal. Last 

 season iny bees yielded mo in honey and increase a 

 profit of 200 per cent. Will. Wilson. 



Bardstown, Ky. Feb. 25th, 1875. 



Boes have come through all right I think, despite 

 the cold weather. A. J. Cook, Lansing, Mich. Feb. 26. 



I have two stands now that I do not understand. 

 Out of one (two years old), there are drippings ol pure 

 honey In quantity sufficient to issue from the hive and. 

 run oft' the board at 8 inches distance. From the oth- 

 er (last summer's swarm) something like thin honey or 

 sweetened water has recently commenced to drip in 

 quantity sufficient to run along the board on which 

 they stand for 18 or 24 inches, I can see nothing wrong 

 with either comb, or bees in either hive. 



Rev. J. H. Buchanan, Huntsville, O. Dec. 34, '74. 



We think the trouble is insufficient ventila- 

 tion, and that the straw mats would prove an 

 eflectual remedy. In one of our own stocks 

 that has been out during our recent severe 

 weather, we find honey on the bottom board, 

 but the quilt was badly covered with propolis. 

 The freezing and thawing of sealed combs out- 

 side the cluster will sometimes start the honey 

 dripping, but the thin honey or sweetened 

 water, is almost a sure indication of gathering 

 dampness from the breath of the bees. 



I commenced the season with 15 hives and increased 

 them to 25. I run 12 of my best for the extractor and 

 made 1300 lbs. of honey, some of my hives gave over 

 200 lbs. per hive. The remaining liives I made build 

 comb for top frames and new swarms. My top 

 frames are only (5 inches deep and I use it frames on 

 each hive. I use the Peabody extractor, but it is a 

 heavy running machine. I use the Langstroth hive 

 and my frames are 19 inches long and when I put them 

 in the "extractor and turn them fast, the honey flies 

 out the top of the extractor. Will your extractor hold 

 my length of frames without throwing the honey out 

 of the top of the can ? 



Wm. Bence. Newburg, Ky. Feb. 14tli, '75. 

 We certainly do not intend to send our 

 friends extractors that will throw the honey 

 out at the top of the can. If the combs hang 

 two inches below the top of the can we think 

 it will never happen. There is one queer fea- 

 ture about this ; we have made them for sever- 

 al seasons, to hang only about i.s inch below 

 the top, and never had any complaint until we 

 commenced making the low machines for the 

 Gallup, American, and Standard hives, and 

 finally to make the revolving frames lighter, 

 we cut a circle out of the inside, supposing of 

 course this would make no difference. Finally 

 by actual test we saw that the machine would 

 sometimes draw in the air near the central shaft, 

 and send it out over the top of the can, carry- 

 ing with it a fine spray of honey. We remedied 

 the difficulty at once and before we had sent 

 out many. Still if any one has a machine 

 that we have sent them thus, we will cheerfully 

 pay all expense needed to make them good. 

 Any tin-smith can lower the revolving frame, 

 or put a narrow rim around the top. 



