390 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



about M, of an inch too narrow. In that I put a 

 "dutchman" to fill up, and my hives were complete. 

 1 had them painted ready for the bees, but when I 

 came to think of it, it was necessary to fill them with 

 frames. These I had not ordered, so I got out the A 

 B C book to see how they were made. There is no 

 person I know of about here who uses frames. I 

 had rigged up a circular saw on an old turning 

 lathe; so at it I went, and soon had my stuff out for 

 the frames. I had sent to you for a sample frame, 

 and now I must make them juxt like the sample. I 

 measured and measured to be exactly right; I laid 

 your frame on mine, and found I was just right; and 

 now thought I to myself, I am ready for the "blessed 

 bees." But lo and behold! when I came to put my 

 frames in my hives, they all rested on the bottom. 



I won't tell you what I said, but there was some 

 pretty tall thinking about that time. I turned to A 

 B C again; I got your dimensions, measured your 

 hives, and found they agreed; then I. pimped at con- 

 clusions and said, either your hives or your book 

 was wrong, for they would not agree. So I went to 

 work and cut 3 8 of an inch off all those frames, and 

 while I was doing that, I hardly think my thoughts 

 would square with teachings in Our Homes. I am 

 glad, Mr. Root, you were not present just then, for I 

 might have said something that would not have been 

 pleasant to think of afterwards. Now to think you 

 were not to blame at all! Your hives were just 

 right, and my frames were just right if I had not cut 

 them down, and, like the nigger at camp meeting I 

 have been "makin' all dis fuss for nothing." In 

 looking through a drawer, the other day, I came 

 across some tin strips. At first, I did not know what 

 they were, but I remembered they came with the 

 hives. I turned to A B C again, and found they were 

 rabbets for the frames to rest on. I wilted, I had no 

 more to say; but thought I ought to apologize for 

 the way I had been thinking of you. 



Buena Vista, Pa., Aug 7, '79. W. M. A. Belt,. 



^ m — i 



AN ABC SCHOLAR IN MAINE. 



^P WILL now take time to tell you how we are get- 

 M ting along down here in the wilds of Maine. 

 The season, thus far, has been very wet and 

 cool. I think it better for bees than hot, dry weath- 

 er. Honey is coming in very fast this week, from 

 linden. I never saw bees work faster than they 

 have for three days past. The golden rod is just 

 commencing to blossom. We shall have millions of 

 it soon. During the month of Aug., the country will 

 be completely ablaze with it. 



I started the season with 13 colonies of bees, most- 

 ly weak ones. I have taken off 300 lb. of honey, 

 part box and part extracted, and doubled my stock 

 by natural swarming. I think they will do better 

 the remainder of the season than they have thus 

 far. 1 hare fed grape sugar during the dull spell, 

 and think it the best food for out door feeding. It 

 has been a great help to my bees. 



I have the best roofs for bee hives that you ever 

 saw. They are made of slate. I have used them 

 two seasons, and they prove to be the boss cover. 

 No matter how hard it rains, my hives arc dry. I 

 could hardly do without them. One piece of slate 

 makes one side. I think my bees feel the heat much 

 less under them than when they are covered with 

 boards, and they always look neat and new. 



I think I have found a case to pack sections in. I 

 have been bothered much about doing up my box 



honey for customers. If I do up the sections in 

 paper, they are sure to jam their lingers into the 

 comb or smash it in some way. My customers gen- 

 erally want from four to twelve sections. I was 

 doing up four sections, the othor day, and happened 

 to find a box i\i in. wide, by 8 long. The box was 

 one inch deep, and the cover also. I S3t four boxes 

 in the bottom, and put glass on the outside boxes, 

 then put the cover on and wrapped them with curd, 

 leaving it loose for the fingers to go in. It looks 

 nice, and I think it just what I want. 



Aug. 9th.— Twelve days later.— Since writing the 

 above, I have tried those little section cases, and 

 find tkey work to a charm. I went up to Moosehead 

 Lake with 310 lb. of honey, and got $77.50. I was 

 just an hour in selling my load. I would like to 

 have you try those box cases. I think, three sizes 

 would be necessary,— to hold 4, 8, and 12 sections. I 

 would like to buy them of you, if you could make 

 them. I think rubber would hold them together 

 nicely. Since July 28th, I hive taken off 407 lb. of 

 honey and shall take off GOO lb. more next week. I 

 have one colony, that has made 140 lb. box, and 30 lb. 

 extracted honey, and thrown out two swarms. 



There, I thought I would not say anything about 

 the new smoker you sent me, but [ cannot keep 

 still. I have always used a mouth smoker, which I 

 think better than any bellows smoker except the 

 cold blast. I will tell you just what I would do, if I 

 had to pai't with that or my best swarm; the swarm 

 would go, by all means. W. H. Green. 



Parkman, Maine. 



REPORT FROM AN APIARY RUN BV 

 HIRED LABOR. 



S but few apiaries are run by hired labor, I 

 jg§\ thought perhaps you might like the report of 

 one managed mainly for extracted honey this 

 season. The yield is only moderate; the linn season 

 was short and slow. We have 27 bbls., (about 10,COO 

 lbs.) clover and linn honey. We use oak barrels, 

 made for the purpose, which do not leak and are not 

 waxed. 



Our May count of bees was 65 colonies. We now 

 have 115 in fine condition for buckwheat. We use, 

 in our apiary, 250 regular hives, full of regular 

 combs, and about 75 hives containing no combs, but, 

 in all other respects, like the others. The empty 

 hives are set on the bottom boards of each strong 

 colony, and the hive or hives containing the bees set 

 over or on them. The hives of empty co jnbs are ad- 

 ded at the top from time to time, as the bees and 

 season require. 



All the work is done by a hired man. Nearly all 

 the honey is capped before it is considered suitable 

 to extract, oris extracted. The uncapping is done 

 with a Bingham & Hetherington uncapping knife, 

 and the bees are controlled with two large Bingham 

 smokers, one of which is usually in use. 



HONEY VINEGAR. 



In some recent number of Gleanings, inquiry 

 was made as to the amount of honey needed for vin- 

 egar. Our cappings are drained 24 hours, and then 

 put into a whiskey barrel (having one head) nearly 

 full of spring water, and allowed to stay a few 

 hours to rinse. Then the cappings are squeezed 

 into balls like snowballs, and laid away. This pro- 

 cess is continued till the water used to rinse the 

 caps will float an egg. It is then put into a barrel 

 with but one head, and covered with mosquito net- 

 ting and loose boards. In about one year, it is vin- 

 egar in the loftiest sense of that word, better for all 

 purposes than any cider vinegar ever made. 



T. F. Bingham. 



Otsego, Mich., Aug. 9th, 1879. 



