1885 



GLEANINGS m BEE CULTURE. 



FROM DIFFEHENT FIELDS- 



BEES AND— SEED cons. 



T COMMENCED in the spring- with oue stroug and 

 th one very weak eolony. The weak swarm 

 'jl dwindled down to a mere handful; but I saved 

 "*■ thein by giving- them frames of hatching- brood 

 from the strong- swarm. The strong- swarm 

 threw off one swarm the 15th of June, which was all 

 the increase I had. I took from the three, 100 lbs. 

 of comb honey in one-pound sections, which I con- 

 sider doing- exceedingly well for so poor a season as 

 we had here this summer. IJoth apple-tree and 

 basswood blossoms were cut short by severe frosts. 



I have a little matter in which I am undecided 

 how to act. Last spring I sold some seed corn to a 

 friend of mine. So little of it grew when planted, 

 that the crop was a failure. The one I sold it to 

 claims the seyd was poor. I claim it was ynotl, and 

 the cause of the failure was due to the seed being 

 destroyed I)y worms. I think I have very good rea- 

 son for so claiming, from the fact that 1 sold seed 

 corn to two other parties, bo#li of which were well 

 satisfied, and obtained good crops from it. Now 

 the question with me is, Should I or should I not 

 take pay for the corn I sold to the one that had the 

 failure? Of course, the friend suttered (juite a loss 

 by the crop being a failure. J'.iit for all that, it 

 seems to me I should not lose the price of my seed 

 corn, it being suc-essfully grown by two other 

 parties. H. H. ISu.vdf.ey. 



Eddyvilh', N. V.. Nov. :.'S, im. 



Friend 13., this matter of seeds liasjjeen a 

 good deal discussed, and tliere is aditTerence 

 of opinion in regard to how tar a seedsman's 

 responsibility should extend. A lew years 

 ago a decision was made against a seedsman, 

 because the crop did not grow, and you may 

 liavo noticed that most of our prominent 

 seedsmen straightway put a note on their 

 seed-packages, declining all responsibility. 

 Where proof has been' shown us that the 

 seeds we sendout did not grow, we have re- 

 funded tlie value of the seeds or furnished 

 more. Pint inasmuch as there is such a 

 diversity of causes that may produce a 

 failure of the crop, it does not seem to me as 

 if the one who sells the seed should be lield 

 responsible, further than this. If two other 

 parties obtained good crops from the same 

 seed, it woidd seem as if this were evidence 

 enough ; but very likely your friend may 

 have something to say oii the other side. I 

 think you ought to liave pay tor yoiu' corn. 

 as you state it. 



'HE 



I board in front of the hive to shade the en- 

 I trance, and all such arrangements, for manv 

 years. I have decided that 1 would let therh 

 tly whenever they want to. If bees are in 

 good health, and have not been fussed or 

 "tinkered" with. I do not think thev will 

 lose enough at such times as you mention, to 

 do any harm : any way. I am sa\ istied the harm 

 done by fastening bees in at such times is 

 greater than to let them " slide." I knowDoo- 

 little and some others have recommended 

 closing the entrance of the hives at certain 

 times in winter, and then opening them again 

 when the weather demanded it. IJut our 

 bees in chaff hives have wintered better with 

 the entrance open at full width all winter, 

 than in any other way. This matter we 

 I have tested liy many experiments. 



I HOW TO prx SIMPr-ICITY HIVES TOGETHEK KKJHT. 



I received my ten Simplicitj' bee-hives ordered 

 from you through my friend N. H. Burns. So far 

 they seem to be all right, as I have not put them 

 all up yet. Such a time as I did have trying to un- 

 derstand the things and get them put up in good 

 shape 1 1 at last called in the counsel of my good 

 wife, and every thing joined like a charm. 1 com- 

 menced four years ago with one hive. I now have 

 eight strong swarms in common hives; iiave given 

 them very little attention, and had a supiily of hon- 

 ey, besides disposing of a few hives, and now I wish 

 to commence at the first with Simplicity hives and 

 A B C book, and give my bees careful attention. I 

 have a fine ranch for bees as well as cattle, and 

 hope to be equally successful. Unless a very dry 

 season, we have a great variety of flowers, and 

 bloom of trees. Cat-claw and mescjuite blossoms 

 make the clearest and best honey of all. 



P. A. (iKAHAM. 



Albany. Shack. Co., Te.\., Dec. !», 1884. 



Friend (r.. that is what I call good sense 

 and wisdom. If many of us, when in 

 trouble, itracticed the plan given by friend 

 (i.. 1 think many of our trouliles would dis- 

 ap})i^ir like frosl before the rising sun. We 

 have the words of sacred Scrii)ture for it: 

 '•It is not good that the man should be 

 alone: I will make a helpmeet for him." 

 When you asked your wife to help yon out 

 of trouble, yon were fullilling the command 

 of Scripture : and if she is not already con- 

 versant with your work, and knows how to 

 wcnk intelligently, the fault is yours that 

 yon have not made her a partner in every 

 thing that interests you. 



I.EAi 



THE i;ntha.\(E wide oim-.n 



WIXTEU TIME. 



In GLEAXi.Nfis of Dec. 1, page 820, you say of bees 

 wintered outdoors, "They should by all means 

 have the entrance so they can get out and in when 

 the weather is suitable." Now, I know of instances 

 where at sunshiny days in spring, bees would come 

 out in large numl)ers; and if there were snow on 

 the ground the.\ would fall on it, and the owner 

 would lose most ol' his bees. What do you think of 



it? I". .\. [.AVOIE. 



Moiureal, Dec.:;, 1SS4. 



I know it. friend L.: but after having 

 tried shutting thepi uj). or patting a wide 



WIXTEU FEEDlXfi. 



A most interesting article on sugar syrup for bees 

 api)ears in the issue of Nov. 1.5. Not only is the sub- 

 ject fully discussed by Mr. Doolittle, but your own 

 extended remarks on the same are excellent. The 

 one point, however, on which some of your numer- 

 ous readers may, like' myself, desire yet more light 

 is the mode propounded for candy feeding, and the 

 possibility of successfully operating any day in the 

 year. Assuredly this, if so. goes far to solve the 

 problem of food supply. We need not be alarmed 

 on finding hives light, in going into winter quarters, 

 or having neglected to feed in time, or in finding, 

 during wintei-. suj)plies run low. Simply put on a 

 few cakes of candy, and all is well. No more fuss- 

 ing with feeders. The point is, will this disturbance 

 of piittinjf on the i-<mgenial supply, and excitement 



