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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



Pertaining to Bee Culture. 



[We respectfully solicit the aid of our friends in 

 conducting- this department, 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.] 



fi WANT to tell you about a little transaction be- 

 tween myself and a Mrs. Lizzie E. Cotton, of 

 I West Gorham, Me., who sends her circulars all 



round the country, advertising %er system and hive 

 as something new and wonderful. I have not time 

 or space on this card to tell you very particularly, 

 but her circular says, "Send me six dollars, &c, and 

 I will forward you one sample hive, one sample hon- 

 ey box, one feeder, receipt for feed, with complete 

 printed directions for managing bees on my plan." 

 She sent a special circular saying she would send 

 the same, up to July 1st for $4.00. 1 sent the money 

 and received in return, an imperfect model of a bee 

 hive. I call it a regular swindle, and have told her 

 so. Her description of her hive is, 2 feet square, 1 

 foot deep, with 30 glass boxes— boxes top and bot- 

 tom. I've seen one hive made after her model. The 

 boxes are ten on each of two sides, and ten on top. 

 The feeder is made of tin, and the bees have to climb 

 down the perpendicular sides to get the food. Her 

 directions contain nothing more than what all expe- 

 rienced bee-keepers have known for years. Her 

 hive is not patented, for the reason, in my opinion, 

 that every thing about it that is patentable is already 

 patented, and still she says the "patent bee hive 

 fraternity" are slandering her. and she is determin- 

 ed to drive the patent bee hive men all out, &c. I 

 presume her name is familiar to you. I have told 

 her, if the patent bee hive men have called her a 

 "fraud," I was convinced they were right. 

 Bartonsville, Vt., Aug. 20, '79. A. P. Fletcher. 



The Mitchell fellows have been through here. A 

 man of my acquaintance was played on,- to the tune 

 of $10., for a smoker and a farm right to make his 

 hives. They never have come near me yet, for they 

 can find out very easily that pedlers of all kinds 

 have to keep out of my reach. 



St. Patricks, Mo., July 1, '79. E. F. McDonnell. 



I have been intending to write to you a long lime. 

 Last spring, one N. C. Mitchell, of Sandusky, Ohio, 

 sent some circulars into this county, representing 

 that he had a queen nursery on Kelley's island. 

 Well, the result was, several of my be'e fiiends 

 clubbed together and sent him $28.00 for 8 queens; 

 and, strange as it may seem to you, at least, one of 

 them was one of your subscribers. They have re- 

 ceived no queens yet. Mitchell keeps making ex- 

 cuses, and promising to send them soon. Do you 

 know anything about Mitchell? Is he reliable? Do 

 you think he will send the queens? I ask these 

 questions for the benefit of my friends. Now, don't 

 be too hai'd on Mitchell; he says his wife has been 

 sick this summer, so that he could not attend to his 

 bees. M. E. Parker. 



Somerset, Ky., Sept. 8th, 1879. 



Mitchell has been doing this same thing 

 for years past, and has told the same sort of 

 excuses. Many of his letters have been sent 

 me. (Should I let him go on advertising 

 thus, without proclaiming 111111? Is there 

 any excuse for his advertising as he does 

 year after year? What do yon think about 

 it, friend T\? 



Should not the way of the transgressor 

 prove a hard one? 



Mrs. Cotton has finally sent some of her 

 customers what she calls a sample hive. In- 

 stead of being a sample, it is a rough model, 

 too small to lie of any practical nse ? and 

 these customers are but little better oft than 

 those to whom she sends nothing. Her "di- 

 rections'" are contained on a single leaf. 



printed on one side. Her "celebrated" se- 

 cret for bee feed is as follows: 



MRS. COTTON'S RECEIPT FOR BEE FEED. 



To 8 lb. coffee crushed sugar, add 2 quarts of soft 

 water, and the whites of 2 eggs, bring this to the 

 boiling point, over a slow fire, and skim carefully. 



The rest of the leaf, which she claims will 

 enable any one to secure $50. per year from 

 every colony, comprises nothing that is not 

 well known. 



Mitchell advertises an extractor (at a very 

 low price), in about the same way ; after you 

 get the extractor, yon must pay more for 

 gearing, wire cloth, honey gate, etc. The 

 reports of the swindles of both parties are 

 coming in almost daily. 



DOOLITTLE'S REPORT FOR 1879. 



R. EDITOR:— Thinking the readers of Glean- 

 ings would, perhaps, like to hear how we are 

 ~ making bee keeping pay, we send you our 

 report for 1879. We shared the fate of many others 

 last winter and spring, in losing quite a number of 

 stocks of bees, and many more were so weak as to 

 compel us to unite them to give us any chance of 

 success. This, with the sale of a few stocks which 

 we promised during the winter, left us only 60 to 

 commence the season with, which opened rather la- 

 ter than usual. Bees did not obtaiu pollen plenti- 

 fully till about May 1st, while there was scarcely 

 any honey gathered until the first of June. At this 

 time, apple yielded quite plentifully, sufficient to 

 last the bees over the period of scarcity we always 

 have between apple bloom and white clover. White 

 clover opened June 15th, and only yielded honey 

 enough to keep the bees rearing brood plentifully 

 while it was in blossom. Basswood opened about 

 July 12th, and yielded a steady flow of honey (al- 

 though the yield at no time was great) till Aug. 1st. 

 Buckwheat yielded no more than the bees con- 

 sumed; and so, take it altogether, the season has 

 been an unfavorable one for surplus honey. How- 

 ever, we have obtained in box honey, 2,909 lb., and 

 572 lb. of extracted honey, making 3.181 lb. in all, or 

 58 lb. per stock, as an average yield. This is the 

 lightest yield we have had dining 7 years, with the 

 exception of 1876, when our average yield per colo- 

 ny was but 50 lb. We contracted all our honey this 

 season, early in Aug., at 15c for box honey and 10c 

 for extracted. AVe shall go into winter quarters 

 with 100 colonies. 



Perhaps, it may be interesting to your readers to 

 know how our report stands for the past 7 years; 

 for it is only by a number of years' experience in 

 any business, that a true result as regards the profit 

 or loss can be obtained. Our average yield for each 

 stock in the spring, in 1873, was 80 lb.; in 1871, a 

 fraction of a pound less than 100 lb.; in 1875, a little 

 over 106 lb. ; in 1876, it was 50 lb. ; in 1877, a little less 

 than 167 lbs.; in 1878, just 71 lb.; and in 1879, the 

 present season, 58 lb.; making an average yield, for 

 the past 7 years, of a little over 90 lb. per stock, 

 seven-twelfths of which was box honey. By look- 

 ing over our diary, we ascertain that tins honey has 

 been sold at an average price of 21?4c per lb., the 

 highest price (28' / 4c) being obtained in 1871, and the 

 lowest (10-;yc) in 1878. 



From past experience, we believe a thorough, 

 practical man can do all the work required to be 

 done with 100 stocks of bees, and, according to the 

 above figures, he would obtain, for an average term 



