GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



i^Efi. 



I ask you as a brother for j-our opinion. I should 

 not want to go into any thing that had even the ap- 

 pearance of wrong. Please give me your idea from 

 a moral, not a business, standpoint. 



Yours truly,— C. A. Hatch. 



Ithaca, Kichland Co.. Wis., Dec. 29, 1S81. 



To the above I replied as follows: 



I have used 4000 i\i x 4'4 x 7-to-the-foot sections, 

 and they will not weigh a plump pound; but it is so 

 near a pound that 1 did not hesitate in deciding that 

 a section of that size, and plump 1% wide, would 

 weigh a pound. But, suppose a section does lack !4 

 ounce, or even an ounce, of weighing a pound, what 

 is the objectidnV ■ It will pass for a pound section, 

 and dealers. prefer a section that falls short to one 

 that overruns. I do not, and would not for a mo- 

 ment, cling to the 4' i -\ 4'4 l)Cfause('J<i lit of that size 

 fill an L. frame, as tliat iiirthoil is. 1 l)elii'\e, passing 

 away. I cling to it because it is a injiilur size, and 

 bids fair to become the ,s^^n/(y/■(/ size, and a standard 

 size would be a blessing to everybody. Other sizes 

 may be bought as cheaply ?ioi<\ in most i)laces. but 

 it may. not always be so, and is not now in .some 

 places. Should you ever wish to sell your apiary, it 

 would be more salable if your fixtures were "like 

 other folkses.". Were not the sections in your 

 friend's apiary finished more quickly because of 

 their tliinnrss, rather than because they were % of 

 an inch taller? Are you not mistaken in thinking a 

 large comb will bear transportation with greater 

 safety than a small one? 



I do think that Mr. Heddon would be pleased if 

 others would not inanufaeture his wares for sale, 

 and he has set the e.xain|)lc by i-ef raining from man- 

 ufacturing oUu:r pii}jjk'!< inventions. Did all have 

 such clear ideas of right and wrong as .vou have, 

 patents would be unnecessary. Were I you, I would 

 write to Mr. Heddon and learn how lir feels about it. 

 <'an I publish your letter and my reply? 



As ever yours,— W. Z. Hi'T( hi.nson. 



Mr. Hatch replied as follows: 



Friend W. Z. H.:-\t seems 1 did not make my 

 meaning clear, for you say: " It must have been the 

 thinness that caused the Cdmbs to lie tinished lirst." 

 That was just the point I /»' tnif tomake; tliat is, the 

 extra size would, of course, make them thinner, if 

 the weight remained the same. I give up the other 

 point as to the larger combs standing shipment bet- 

 ter. I fear you give me credit for having cleai-er 

 ideas of right and wrong than I deserve. If you 

 think any good can come from having my letter 

 published, of course you can do so; but pei-haps I 

 would have taken more pains in the manner of say- 

 ing things had I known that my letterwould be seen 

 bv other eyes than yours. C. A. H.4TCH. 



Ithaca, Wis., Jan. 8, 18S5. 



There is no question but that thin combs are more 

 quickly finished, but it does not necessarily follow 

 that the thinnest combs are the most profitable to 

 raise. If eight sections are used in place of seven, 

 the cost of sections, fdn., and manipulations, is in- 

 creased one-seventh. I see no way in which the 

 fjuestion can be settled, except by careful experi- 

 ments upon quite an extended scale. I have now 

 .5000 section boxes, iU x Hi by I'i, and I shall order 

 5000 more that are 4'^ x 4'.i x 7 to the foot, and I 

 shall select, say, 40 colonies, and upon them use only 

 the sections \\i inches wide, and upon 40 other colo- 

 nies I will use only those sections that are "7 to the 

 foot wide." In this manner I hope to throw some 

 light upon the subject of which width is the more 

 desirable. Will others please do the same? 



In regard to inventions, discoveries, and patents, 

 I should say that the inventor has as good a right to 

 his invention as a wood-chopper has to 7i/s cords of 

 stovcwood. Unfortunately for inventors, many of 

 those who would consider themselves disgraced by 

 stealing stovewood, are not troubled with conscien- 

 tious scruples in appropriating inventions, hence 

 the patent laws and their attendant abuses. There 

 seems to be r growing disposition among bee-keep- 

 ers to refrain from manufacturing for sale the in- 

 vention of another, when the inventor is himself 

 nianufacturing the article for sale; or, if the in- 



ventor does not care to manufacture his invention, 

 the one who docs commence making it for sale is 

 usually willing to pay the inventor something for 

 the privilege, without putting him to the expense of 

 getting a patent; and when a man thus pays for the 

 privilege of manufacturing for sale, his "right" is 

 usually respected. W. Z. Hutchinson, 68—94. 



Rogersville, Genesee Co., Mich., Jan., 1885. 



BEE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. 



A VARIETY' OF QUESTIONS, AND FIUEND HART'S 

 ANSWERS TO THE SAME. 



MOSQUITOES and sand-flies are seldom very 

 troublesome at Orraond or Daytona, on the 

 Halifax lliver; very few at Enterpi'ise, and 

 almost none at Orange City, De Land, 

 Lake Helen, and other settlements along 

 Orange Ridge. I think all first-class locations for 

 bee-ranches in this State are troubled more or less 

 by these pests during a portion of the year, but I 

 have never known any one to be entirely eaten up 

 by them, as many of our pine-land neighbors have 

 stated. In fact, after we get fixed for them we 

 manage to live very happily. 



At the above places there are quite large settle- 

 ments of pleasant, intelligent, and cultured people. 



We never have such extreme heat here as at 

 the North, owing to the formation of the State, 

 which lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the 

 Atlantic Ocean. It is always comfortable in the 

 shade in summer, and has been so far this winter, 

 as we have had no frost, except in spots. 



I do not think biliousness is much more prevalent 

 hero than at the North. I have been troubled less 

 in that way here than there. Near the mouth of 

 the Miami River is a very healthful location, but 

 not more so than some other portions of the State. 



I thinli there is regular transpoi-tation from Miami 

 to Key West, and from there north. 



Pineapples, coooanuts, guavas, and other tropi- 

 cal fruits can be raised in that part of the State 

 with good profit. I think canning guavas and other 

 fruits could be made very profitable, from Merrett's 

 Island, on Indian Rivei-, south; or on the southwest 

 coast of the State. 



I can not advise a person where to locate and car- 

 ry on other kinds of business in connection with an 

 apiary, unless I know what that business is to be. 

 Generally speaking, the north third of the State is 

 considered a farming country; the middle third, 

 the " Orange Belt;" and south of it, tropical fruits 

 and truck-growing are getting to be the leading in- 

 dustry. 



Life and property are as safe here as elsewhere, 

 except for the hogs that run loose, and often break 

 through fences, and destroy crops. We hope soon 

 to have laws compelling their owners to fence them 

 in. 



The prices obtained for our honey are the same 

 as those received for white clover, as most of it is 

 shipped to the Northern markets, and is of as good 

 quality. 



Write to Hon. C. Drew, agent for the Bureau of 

 Immigration, Jacksonville, Fla., for Information as 

 to transportation routes. Send him six cents for 

 pamphlet issued by the Bureau. 



Prices of orange-groves have a large range, eight 

 hundred dollars being about the lowest. 



New Smyrna, Fla., Jan. 12, 1885. W. S. Hakt. 



