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GLEANINGS IN BEE OULTUEE. 



Sept. 



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BLACK BEES VERSUS ITALIANS. 



^jjjfi AST spi-ing, I moved from the great State of 

 MJ\\ Ohio, to Holliday's Cove, W. Va., and here, 

 *—*\ among other relies of the dark ages, I found 

 an apiary of nearly all pure black bees. This apiary 

 is manned by Mr. Wm. Griffith, an honest old bache- 

 lor, who does not take much stock in "new fangled 

 fixtures about bees". Mr. G. uses the old fashioned 

 box hives, of course, to match his bees, and has a 

 "bee shed" for them, where they are all jammed up 

 within whispering distance of each other, altogether 

 contrary to the rules of bee-etiquette nowadays. 



On examination, I found his bees in splendid con- 

 dition, notwithstanding there was a hole two inches 

 square in the top of every hive right over the clus- 

 ter, and left open into the "top boxes", all winter, 

 with no protection to the hives, save the bee shed, 

 which is merely a roof of boards. Now, if 1 had 

 come in possession of that lot of bees last fall, I 

 should most certainly have carefully closed that big 

 hole in the top, to save all the animal heat possible, 

 and would have "tinkered 'em muchly;" but, would 

 that have done any good? or would they have come 

 out better in the spring? It has been a long time 

 since I kept black bees, and, from reading the bee 

 journals and my own prejudice against them, I had 

 about brought myself to the conclusion that black 

 bees could not make any more honey than would 

 answer to keep up their miserable existence; but it 

 has been a source of great annoyance to me, this 

 whole season, to see those old bob-tail black bees of 

 Mr. Griffith's keeping away ahead of my pet Italians 

 both in numbers and in surplus honey; and such 

 honey, too, just as white as snow! Yes, sir: they 

 trotted out the first swarms in the neighborhood, 

 and, actually, the miserable looking old fogies fin- 

 ished up their top boxes several days before any 

 Italians about here. Now, I should like to know 

 what we are going to do about this. Vote 'em a nui- 

 sance, eh? I have bought a swarm of these blacks, 

 and, next season, if all goes well, I shall give them 

 eighty to one hundred sections, and "try their bot- 

 tom" as we do our Italians. 



I have a good many colonies in chaff hives that 

 have eighty and eighty-eight sections full, notwith- 

 standing we have had a poor season. Had Mr. G's 

 blacks been given an abundance of room like our 

 bees, I cannot say how near they would have come 

 to making as much per colony as our Italians, but 

 judge from their strength and the rapidity with 

 which they filled their fifteen pound boxes, they 

 would have done as well as the Italians. I hate the 

 looks of black bees. I am prejudiced against them, 

 and when I find a colony of them fully up to, or a 

 "leetle" ahead of, our nice, bright Italians, with all 

 our chaff packing, chaff pillows, &c, &c, I just feel 

 a good deal like kicking that hive over, and telling 

 the owner, if he wants to get any good of his bees, 

 he would better have them Italianized, transferred 

 into a good chaff hive, and then his bees would be in 

 shape to do him some good. I want to say, while I 

 am on this subject, that it is my opinion that to pro- 

 duce the best all-purpose-bee, you should have pure 

 black queens fertilized by Italian drones, and then 

 you will not need to grumble about bees not work- 

 ing in surplus boxes. I expect to get a good many 

 knocks across the knuckles for this doctrine, since 

 it is not in perfect harmony with the Italian queen 

 business; but let them come. There will be more 

 to the front when I get wound up. 



Holliday's Cove, W. Va. J. A. Buchanan. 



It seems impossible to keep up this de- 

 partment all the time, but about once in so 

 often, some body comes round to»give it a 

 lift. Eriend B. has, at least, given us a 

 strong illustration of the importance of 

 plenty of upward ventilation, during a win- 

 ter like the past one. He has also given us 

 a report from an energetic strain of blacks ; 

 but I think we shall have to admit such 

 cases are the exception, and not the rule. If 

 I am wrong, Why is not this department 

 kept up, and why do its advocates all sub- 



side and go back to the Italians, sooner or 

 later. Suppose, friend B., you start an 

 apiary of hybrids, or pure blacks, if you 

 choose, and get rich selling honey. 



HOME HIAPE COMB FOUNDATION. 



ALSO FDN. MADE BY THE SINGLE OPERATION OF DIP- 

 PING. 



MR. A. I. Root:— I send you to-day a sample of 

 comb fdn., such as I have been using this 

 " summer, which I make myself. You remem- 

 ber that, sometime last winter, I sent to you for 

 some fdn. with which to experiment. It broke up 

 badly, but I got a piece of brood fdn. about five in- 

 ches square, and from that I cast plaster plates, and 

 from plaster, cast lead plates, the lead being made 

 some harder by adding pewter, and from one lead 

 one, cast another, so as to have a pair to fit each 

 other. Both together are just as thick as a type is 

 long. These I wedge up in my press, a "Quarto 

 Novelty," and print out fdn. When I want larger 

 sheets I make several impressions on the same sheet. 

 The first sheet made, I put into a hive, and, after 

 48 hours, found it about y 2 an inch thick and full of 

 eggs. 



For drone fdn. to put into sections, I engraved a 

 cigar box cover, and dip starters. Of course, one 

 side of the fdn. is not perfect, but the bees seem to 

 work it just as well. I made a couple of engraving 

 tools cut of an old clock spring, like these: 



\z 



The first cuts like this, and the last finishes. With 

 a little practice and sharp points, a nice plate can be 

 made. I send a little piece as sample. I have been 

 thinking that to make these dipping plates of wood, 

 a couple of cast iron plates might be made, and 

 hinged so as to be heated. Then let thin wood be put 

 between them while hot, and burnt so that it will do. 

 If this can be done, and I think it can (if I was con- 

 venient to a foundry, I'd try it immediately), they 

 might be made and sold for 5 or 10 cents, or, perhaps, 

 to cover mailing, &c, 25cts., and large enough to 

 make— say four starters, two on each side. I can 

 cut one out of wood in about an hour. After read- 

 ing the "Home Papers" for nearly two years, I think 

 you will rejoice if something of this kind can be done. 



Geo. C. Green. 



Factoryville, Penn., July 21, 1879. 



STARTERS MADE AND FASTENED IN THE SECTIONS AT 

 ONE OPERATION. 



I send you a sample of dipping plates for starters 

 in sections. I have used them sufficiently to give 

 them a thorough test. They are durable and very 

 cheap, and make a very pretty starter. In using, 

 keep them moist on a wet cloth, dip in melted wax, 

 set them in the top of the section, bevel edge next 

 to the frame, pour just a little melted wax along the 

 angle of the frame and plates, remove the plate and 

 leave the starter firmly attached to the section. 

 They never pull off and are readily accepted. Put a 

 little screw or tack in the back of the plate to handle 

 by. H. R. Boardman. 



East Townsend, O., July 18, 1879. 



