1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



141 



%ead4 of fulfil, 



From Different Fields. 



PAINTED MUSLIN FOR ROOFS FOR HIVES. 



^f?^.E, Mr. L..ngstroth and I, have a chaff hive of 

 Wrif ,n V own make, called the Langstroth Chaff 

 vJw Hive (which it is), standing- side by side with 

 one of yours. We have watched them closely all 

 winter, after rains and severe freezing, and we find 

 that, in spite of all your care in putting: tin strips 

 in the ro f. the dampness will draw in at the top and 

 eaves, while our? will be perfectly dry. Our roof is 

 made of wide boards 1 . 1 in. thick, on a frame, the 

 boards being neither tougued nor grooved, is very 

 lig-hl, and just covered plainly with common, coarse 

 muslin, painted 4 coats (2 coats ochre and 2 coats 

 white lead), without any cap board, and it makes the 

 best roof I ever saw. I think, if you try it, you will 

 find it less trouble, cheaper, much better, and will 

 never leak a drop. I have had nearly all my com- 

 mon hives covered with muslin for the last 5 years, 

 and they have never leaked a drop, while nearly all 

 of the flooring roofs will leak at times, in spite of 

 putty, paint, or anv thing else. 



My bees are all in good condition, with capped 

 brood in from 2 to 3 frames, and some young bees 

 out. I use the chaff stuffed separators, and chaff 

 cushions, and, in the fall. I rake the leaves from the 

 yard, close ar uud the hives, and set corn fodder 

 closely around 3 sides, and have never lost any. 



D. A. McCord. 

 Oxford, O., March i'4th, '79. 



Your kind of a roof, friend M., has been 

 recommended for many years, and the only 

 objection I know of is the cloth gets rotten, 

 as it were, and liable to be torn. For hives 

 that are stationary, it may do very well, but 

 it is not sufficiently substantial to bear 

 handling much, especially such handling as 

 they get in shipping. If "boards are not suf- 

 ficient, I would use tin, as we now furnish 

 it for the chaff hives. 



GRATE SUGAR. 



I used grape sugar last spring to feed my bees; 

 my family aie of it also. I saw no harm with either. 

 My bees, 8 colonies, increased to 29, gave me nearly 

 1,000 lbs. of honey, and are now on their summer 

 stands, where they have wintered all right and 

 healthy. I consider grape sugar harmless for either 

 man or bees, and had not knowing- ones raised the 

 awful cry, bee men might feed their bees on it with- 

 out harm to any one. But the cry has gone out, and 

 honey consumers have become alarmed, and dishon- 

 est men have learned that they can adulterate hon- 

 ey with it. 



Grape sugar is doing much more harm in injuring 

 the sale of honey than it can possibly do good in 

 feeding bees, therefore we should do our best to 

 stop the use of it, and also destroy every other 

 chance to accuse bee men of adulterating honey. 



Mendon, Mich., March 15, 1879. E. B. Southwick. 



We can adulterate honey with cane sugar 

 also, friend S., and on that account shall we 

 discourage keeping sugar in our houses? If 

 grape sugar is perfectly wholesome for bees, 

 as you state, all the objection that we have 

 to it. is its cheapness. I am afraid when I 

 am doing wrong, but I am not afraid when 

 I am doing right. I have no fear that I 

 shall ever have trouble in selling my honey, 

 because I use grape sugar for feeding bees, 

 in times of scarcity. I am not at all alarmed 

 by the line and cry that has been raised ; if 

 we are doing right in God's sight, it cannot 

 harm us. 



AN A li C SCHOLAR'S REPORT. 



A year ago I transferred my 6 colonies into Sim- 

 plicity hives, following directions given in Glean- 

 ings. 1 increased by dividing and buying some to 

 38 swarms, which I have wintered on summer stands, I 



losing but 2; so I feel quite satisfied. My bees are 

 now doing well, and have plenty of brood and hon- 

 ey. I hope to be able to make a good report this 

 season, for though I may have less enthusiasm, 1 

 certainly ought to have more knowledge. 



A few of us take all the bee papers; but we bor- 

 row and lend a little, these hard times. 



Huntington, L. I., Mar. 18, '79. F. W. Burgess. 



This is right. "Do good, and lend, hoping 

 for nothing again*'. Luke li; 35. 



By the way, I was one of Mrs. Cotton's victims to 

 the tune of about $25,00 for one swarm of Italians. 

 They lived 2 years but never swarmed or made any 

 honey, and then died after they had Italianized my 

 bees somewhat, for they were nothing but hybrids 

 when I got them. So you see I made a poor begin- 

 ning with Italians. I had no bee moths until the 

 Italians came. Lucian French. 



Dexter, Maine. March, 11, 1879. 



This does not look much like $50. from 

 every hive each season, does it, friend F? 



THE "BOSS" BEE VEIL. 



It is made of fly netting, as most of them are, with a 

 thin plate of mica sewed in the front, at such a dis- 

 tance from the top as will bring it before the eyes, 

 when placed on the head. You have no trouble in 

 ti tiding eggs or brood (provided there are any) with 

 this veil, and you can see about as well with it on as 

 with it off, which certainly can not be said of the 

 other kinds of veils. The mica should be thin— the 

 thinner the better. B. Nickerson. 



Norwalk, Conn., Mar., 10, 1878. 



Since reading the above, I have procured 

 some plates of mica, and had one sewed in- 

 to a veil. If split too thin, I think it would 

 be apt to get broken or cracked, and if left 

 thick, it is pretty expensive. You are right; 

 one can see eggs or brood almost as well as 

 with no veil at all, which cannot be said of 

 the other kind. If these veils, which we can 

 send by mail for 75c, prove to be practical, 

 I will pay you, too, friend Nickerson, $5.00 

 for your suggestion. 



A FOUNDATION MACHINE FOR 25 CENTS. 



I have not gone crazy this month because 

 of that California honey plant, but am per- 

 fectly sane. Listen and see if I am not. 



I took a couple of small blocks of hard maple, filed 

 a nail off, to make grooves for the walls, and in a 

 short time, by using my hammer for a lever, I had 

 my miniature press done. I shaved a thin bit of wax 

 off the cake, moistened my press, laid the wax on it, 

 hit it with my hammer, and the "decision" was 

 made; it can be done. I send you the bit of fdn. to 

 look at. The cells are too large, and the bottoms flat ; 

 but, if it can bo made in large cells and flat bottoms, 

 it can be in small cells and concave bottoms. 



Wm. L. King. 



Benton Harbor, Mich., Mar. 21, 1879. 



The fdn. is all right, and will work, with- 

 out any doubt whatever. It will be much 

 easier to make flat bottomed cells, for then 

 they need not necessarily be of exactly the 

 same size. A nail filed off sharp will do, 

 but a nice steel chisel of just the right width, 

 will be better, driving it deeper into the wood. 

 You can have higher walls, if you prefer. 



A very shallow wall will be easier to work, 

 and will probably be just as profitable for the 

 bees. When you get plates of wood to work 

 nicely, you might try a pair of rolls. The 

 sheets are to lie dipped in the usual way, of 

 course. The idea that there is, or can be, a 

 valid patent on flat bottomed fdn., is ridic- 

 ulous. The patent office people, in their 

 ignorance or carelessness, may grant one, 

 but it will amount to even less than did the 

 Wagner patent. 



