4(50 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



Send to my address three of your 10c. American 

 knives. Charlie, Ted, and Juttie have saved this to 

 get them each a knife. J. P. West. 



Wells, Minn., Sept. 7. 1880. 



The shipment of queens and bees arrived yester- 

 day. To-day, the quiet little fellows are making- ex- 

 amination of their surroundings. Thanks. Permit 

 me to congratulate you on the saf« and satisfactory 

 manner in which you pack and ship bees. Evident- 

 ly you have an honest and efficient mechanic some- 

 where about your establishment. D. P. Lane. 



Koshkonong, Wis., June 18, 1880. 



The "A B C of Bee Culture" has arrived, and I 

 am more than pleased with it. It was packed, or 

 mailed, in the very best manner, came in good con- 

 dition, and has been read with great pleasure by all 

 the family. It is full of valuable information for all 

 who love bees, and whoever buys it has more than 

 his money's worth. Many thanks. 



Fred W. Tower. 



Lexington, Mass., Sept. 9, 18S0. 



I deem your counter goods a boon to all having 

 use for such articles, and I hope they will be a pei- 

 manent feature of Gleanings. Could you not af- 

 ford us a complete list (including all additions and 

 changes) each month? It would be much more con- 

 venient for intending buyers. E. H. Marsh. 



Danbury, Conn., July 24, 1880. 



[Many thanks, friend M., but I am afraid our read- 

 ers do not all feel as you do about it. It would like- 

 ly get to be monotonous, and would occupy a great 

 amount of space. I have put it in this month just 

 to show you, and because we have fewer advertise- 

 ments at this season of the year than usual, leaving 

 us more room for other matter.] 



I was disappointed in the ABC book that I got of 

 you: it turned out so much better than I expected 

 that I am perfectly delighted with it. It gives so 

 much information in so plain a manner, that I can 

 understand it easily; and it is arranged in such a 

 convenient way, that I would not be deprived of it 

 for Yi doz. swarms of bees. I am going into the bee 

 business, having bought my first swarm of bees, in 

 an old box hive, one year ago last spring, and knew 

 nothing about bees, until I got your ABC, only 

 that they could sting a person by a very little per- 

 suasion. I have now increased to 5 swarms, and 

 have taken 50 lbs. of surplus honey. 



Wm. B. Jones. 



Manchester, Iowa, Sept. 6, 1880. 



I must tell you how pleased I am with the new 

 cold-blast smoker. I have used one of the old hot- 

 blast for 3 years, and when ordering the new one 

 thought, if it was as good as the old one. I should be 

 well satisfied; certainly it could not be better. I have 

 used the new one only a few times, but enough to 

 know that it is belter than the old. It is the "boss." 

 It beats them all. I use the largest size, and can't 

 conceive how people get along with those little 

 things. When extracting, mine never goes out 

 from the time it is lit until I am done work for the 

 day. For fuel I use cobs made flue. We have had a 

 fair season so far. Bees are just beginning to work 

 on fall bloom. Forty stands, with an extractor, 

 have paid for my labor $100.0(1 net. not counting 8 or 

 10 gallons of honey used by my brother and myself. 



H. A. Harriman. 



Grand Lake, Ark., Sept. 2, 1880. 



I see by Sept. No. of Gleanings that a brother 

 bee-keeper sent for a queen and got it in a week. I 

 can beat that. I ordered two $1.00 queens June 17th, 

 and received them June 21st. One began laying 

 June 23d; the other, June 25th. I had no trouble in 

 introdvicing, and they are beauties too. Thank you 

 for your promptness. I have 18 stands, which are 

 doing well, and making pleniy of surplus honey. Tf 

 you want a thing promptly, order of friend Root. 

 Give us more of friend Merry Banks. 1 miss him in 

 Gleanings. I could not get along without Glean- 

 ings. Will bees make honey from radish blooms? 

 They seemed to be at work busily on the blooms in 

 our garden. Joseph E. Jewell. 



Shell Rock, la., Sept. 15, 1880. 



[Bees do work on radishes, and if there was a 

 large field of them, as in a market garden, it would 

 doubtless rank fairly with its near relatives, rape, 

 turnip, cabbage, etc.] 



I have read Langstroth, Quinby, King, Mrs. Tup- 

 per's "Bees and Their Management," and the first 

 ideas of bee-keeping I ever received, I got from a 

 phamphlet by N. C. Mitchell. I considered all good 

 as far as they went, and thought I knew all about 

 bee-keeping, but the ABC gave me many ideas I 

 had never thought of, which common sense ought 

 to have suggested. It far surpasses all works I ever 

 read, and is so plain and simple that a bee-keeper, 

 "though a fool, need not err therein." Every bee- 

 keeper who expects to succeed, should make it his 

 "vade mecum." S. C. Fox. 



Marystield, Milam Co., Tex., Aug. 2, 1880. 



Extractor was all right side up with care. I 

 think you are getting as expert in packing your 

 goods for shipment, as you are in handling bees. I 

 have just put the extractor to a practical test, with 

 a few combs from some of my Italians, on which it 

 performed just as all the extractors that I have 

 been fortunate enough to order of you have done, 

 with perfect satisfaction. 



The scales were all right too, and I must say 

 right here that it is not reasonable that such an ar- 

 ticle can be manufactured for so small an amount. 



Bees are doing well in this community at present, 

 but there was great mortality among bees last win- 

 ter and spring. Most of the bees here did not make 

 enough last season to winter on, and people having 

 bees did not take proper care to feed them. The re- 

 sult was they died. Bee culture is comparatively 

 dying out in this country. Ben F. Clardy. 



Rolling Home, Mo., July 6, 1880. 



The extractor which Geo. Baker and myself or- 

 dered was received without a scratch; thanks for 

 good packing. Expressage, $1.00, was reasonable. 

 It was not a great while before we were trying it. 

 We were new hands at the "trade," but succeeded 

 very well. As our homes are near, we help each 

 other in the bee business, so it mnkes our work 

 lighter. George has at present colonies, and I 

 have 10. The surplus crop was a complete failure 

 up to August, but since then has been very fair. 

 There was an abundance of white clover, but it did 

 not yield honey. The bees would not work on it to 

 any extent. Bees have built up very well, but there 

 has been very little natural swarming. George 

 started this spring with 5 colonies, and increased to 

 9, by dividing. AH are now in good shape. He has 

 taken 108% lbs. extracted, and 4 lhs. comb honey. I 

 did not divide any, as I was so busy with my work, 

 and have not given them the attention that I should, 

 but have taken 123 lbs. extracted, and 40 lbs. comb 

 honey. If the flow continues for a week or two, 1 

 will extract from them again, as they are filling 

 their combs very fast. This season we have intro- 

 duced 12 Italian queens, all of our own raising, with- 

 out the loss of one. We will winter all in one-story, 

 chaff hives, with chaff cushions over frames. We 

 tried them last winter, and like them very well. 

 From one of your ABC class, — 



Lewisville, Ind., Sept. 6, '80. David C. Smith. 



For some time I had wondered what sort of a 

 looking customer Mr. Root must be, to stand all the 

 abuse and slander, and go through what he has to, 

 and all at once on comes Mr. Root and "Blue Eyes." 

 You can't think what a satisfaction it is. Some 

 time, if you should see your humble servant, with 

 his face all smut, and with sweat streaming down 

 his eyes and nose, you might say, " Can any good 

 thing come from such an object?" I say, " Yes, 

 when God is in the heart." Smut washes off, and 

 leaves the handiwork of God for his own glory. 



Bro. Root, the gold is never brought out until the 

 rock has had a dreadful sight of pounding. So with a 

 Christian; you can not tell hew much toil and hard- 

 ship you can stand until you try. God's promise is 

 to those who are honestly trying to obey; but, if we 

 only put on style, and try to deceive by an empty 

 profession, we are doomed to disappointment, and 

 ruin will be sure as our reward. 1 am no bee man, 

 but my son takes great interest in Gleanings, and 

 has taken to reading " Our Homes." I hope others 

 will do the same, and receive much good. 1 am 

 aware your time is valuable, but a little encourage- 

 ment will hold up your hands to fight for good in the 

 fight for life,— eternal life. J. B. Goewey. 



Lansingburgh, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1880. 



[Many thanks, my good friend. Such words do 

 hold up my hands more than you can think. Never 

 mind the sweat and dust; God knows what is under- 

 neath, if the world does not.] 



