1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



109 



THE RASPBERRY AS A HONEY PUANT, 



AND SOHi: MINIS IN REGARD TO 



ITS CULTIVATION. 



fHE red raspberry is undoubtedly an excellent 

 honey plant. The black-caps arc also good. 

 J Both kinds are hardy north of about 41° of 

 north latitude. As you go south from this line, they 

 are more tender. Winter-killing, as it is called, is 

 the trouble. It is true that the vines die in the win- 

 ter, but the excessive heat of the sun in summer is, 

 in my opinion, the primary cause. To avoid this, 

 they should be set where they will get the full bene- 

 fit of the summer breeze. To set them behind wind 

 breaks, with the sun pouring in upon them, is to 

 kill with kindness. To avoid damage by the wind, 

 cut off an inch from the end of the new growth when 

 it reaches the height of about 20 inches, thus caus- 

 ing them to throw out side branches. This needs to 

 be done some time in May or June. Each side 

 branch should also be cut once in the same way, 

 when not quite so long. Shallow cultivation until 

 some time in August, with horse and light turning- 

 plow, will help them to endure the heat of summer. 

 The partial shade which young fruit trees afford is 

 sometimes useful, but the trees should not be so 

 large as to interfere with the free circulation of 

 air. 



Three by six or seven feet, according to strength 

 of soil, is the proper distance to set the black-caps. 

 The reds are most easily kept in order when set 5 or 

 (5 ft. apart each way, and cultivated both ways. 

 Where they are liable to be winter-killed none but 

 the hardiest varieties should beset. The Philadel- 

 phia, though generally considered hardy, is of no 

 value here. The Turner is perhaps as hardy as any; 

 we fruited it here the past season, and have strong 

 hopes that it will be a success. They are excellent 

 for bees, and for table use and canning nothing 

 could be nicer. P. Underwood. 



North Lawrence, Kas., Feb. 6, 1880. 



MAKING FOUNDATION BY THE SINGLE 

 OPERATION OF DIPPING. 



THK $100.00 OFFEH. 



fSEE that you and some of your readers have not 

 succeeded perfectly with our plaster of Paris 

 fdn. machine (See page 255, 1878). Since that 

 writing, I have been watching developments and 

 experimenting, and have succeeded, 1 think, in re- 

 ducing the plan to a practical success. I have made 

 about 1,000 sheets. I have used fdn. from you and 

 others, and decidedly prefer my own make to any 

 other I have used, for the following reasons : 



I. The grain of the wax not being broken by pres- 

 sure while cold, the sheets are stronger, none hav- 

 ing broken or stretched to speak of. 



II. The wax is soft, and ready for manipulation 

 by the bees. 



III. It can be used thinner than any other fdn., 

 as I make it thin at the top, and gradually tliiuncr, 

 until the thickness diminishes to nothing at the 

 bottom, by dipping several times, pail way at first, 

 before the final full dip, and "clap." I never weigh- 

 ed it, but think that none ran under 8 or 10 ft. to the 

 pound. It is a little rougher on the " off side," than 

 the rolled fdn., and does not look quite so " business 

 like," but the bees seem to think It more "business 

 like," judging from the way they "wade into it;" 

 the combs also scaz'cely ehcnr an imperfect cell. 



My frame is 93£xl2J4 in. Larger sheets have not 

 worked quite so well, but two sheets will work nice- 

 ly, I think, especially in the wired L. frame, by 

 uniting them at the middle support. 



My last machine was made as follows: Two wood- 

 en frames, similar to slate frames, but one inch 

 thick, were hinged together, with grooves inside to 

 hold the casts. These were closed together with a 

 sheet of rolled fdn. between them, which was held 

 in place by a loose board fitting in one side, while 

 the other side was filled with plaster, the fdn. hav- 

 ing been first moistened with a sponge, to cause the 

 plaster to enter perfectly. When set, the whole was 

 inverted, the loose board removed, and the other 

 side filled in like manner. Handles are attached to 

 hold and work the machine by. 



In working, only one of the casts is dipped in the 

 wax, and they should be clapped together hard, the 

 instant it is raised, sending the surplus wax from 

 between them. I took 400 or 500 sheets from one 

 cast, and it is, or was, nearly as good as new. I can 

 fill one with 15 cents' worth of plaster, in a few 

 minutes. I would send a sample, but what I had 

 made up, with machines, etc., was burned with my 

 little, hard-earned home, Dec. 30th., but not the 

 bees; thanks to outdoor chaff packing. 



Mt. Vernon, la., Feb. 0, '80. Oliver Foster. 



I, too. have succeeded in making very good 

 sheets, that the hees would use, on the plan 

 mentioned, hut it was a great deal of bother, 

 and only once in a while did I get good 

 sheets. They looked so rough and untidy, 

 as a general thing, that I felt glad to go back 

 to the rolls, where we could make the work 

 go along, and do a nice job. I think it can 

 be worked out, but I have neither time nor 

 money for more experiments. Go on, and 

 develop it. you that are out of work. 



HURRAH FOR TEXAS ! 



EVEN DOOLITTLE IN THE SHADE. 



W?] DITOR GLEANINGS:— As you failed to receive 

 Sm': my report last fall, I send another. Bees did 

 well; that is, mine did. From 09 swarms, I got 

 42 young swarms, and 4,000 one pound sections, and 

 (1,200 lbs. extracted honey. From one hybrid swarm, 

 in a three story, L. hive (which I use exclusively), 

 I got 402 lbs. It gathered, in 3 days, 54! £ lbs. I did 

 not build it up iu spring; the swarm was just the 

 product of one queen, and had 9 frames in each sto- 

 ry. Now, don't you think I have beaten friend Doo- 

 little, with his big yield in '78. 



Our big yield comes from linn, wild China, and 

 golden rod. Our winter has been very mild. Bees 

 commenced carrying pollen on the 10th of January. 

 They commenced swarming last season, on the 18th 

 of March. I am now making hives and repainting 

 old ones. An apiary kept in good style is something 

 nice to look at, and is something new in this part of 

 Texas. Mine is the only one I have ever seen, and I 

 would not feel at all ashamed, If you were to drop to 

 on me some day unexpectedly. 



There is beginning to be considerable interest ta- 

 ken in bee culture in our state. We havo first 

 class railroad and water facilities to all parts north 

 and east, and I think the day Is not far distant, when 

 we can competo even with California as a honey 

 producing state. J. W. Eckmaw. 



Richmond, Tort Bend Co., Texas, Feb. 13, 1SB& 



