OS 



GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTUllE. 



Fei?. 



transfer, imd put an oinptj' hive in its place; cut a 

 small entrance-hole in iny box, and put it in the 

 empty hive on the stand. I then selected two good 

 Irainrs v ;tli some; honey, and put them with the 

 bees on them, in the box, left the top of the box 

 open, and closed the hive, and shook the rest of the 

 bees in front of their old stand. They all ran in, 

 and the next morning- they were all where I wanted 

 them, clustered on the two frames in mj" bo.v. I 

 carefully closed the entrance, and covered the top 

 with wire cloth, and securely fastened the top of 

 the frames. I now had them all on two frames in a 

 box 12x12— 64 inches long, outside measure. These 

 four boxes I fastened tog-ether with lig-ht hoop iron, 

 with a handle on top like a gripsack. I now had a box 

 12x12—26 inches long-, with open top, covered with 

 wire cloth, containing- four colonies of bees. They 

 weig-hed about 50 lbs., and I could easily carry them 

 from one train to another. In short, they were no 

 more trouble to me than a common valise, and did 

 not cost any freight. I kept them by my side ail 

 the time, and once a daj- gave them some water. 

 They did not like to travel in the cars, and made 

 some considerable noise; but when I opened them 

 in Daytona there was not over a teacupful of dead 

 l)ees in the four boxes. I made hives for them, and 

 gave them empty frames, and they are doing well, 

 building combs and raising brood. 



On the cars, in hotels and depots, they were the 

 cause of some friendly acquaintance and pleasant 

 conversation. I met many bee-men, and they would 

 notice the bees, and approach me, and you know 

 how time flies, and how pleasant it is to have a 

 friendly and interesting conversation. 



I am very favorably impressed with the climate 

 and conditions of Florida so far; but you know the 

 old adage, "No rose without a thorn." I intend to 

 stay here during the summer and observe further; 

 if the summer should prove endurable, I will make 

 this State my future home, and have my family 

 come here; for, as I said before, the winter in 

 Florida is most delightful. Hemky Stinebach. 



Daytona, Fhi., Jan. 10, 188.i. 



THE HUTCHINSON'S HEDDON HONEY- 

 BOARD. 



HONOR TO WHOM HONOK IS DCE. 



fRO. ROOT:-Gleamngs is just at band this 

 Monday morn. After reading your account 

 of what you saw at the Michigan State Con- 

 vention, I want to remind j-ou of the fact 

 that I call my hive " Heddon's Langstroth 

 hive;" that brother Hutchinson's queen-excluding 

 honey-board that you already offer for 1.5 cts. each, 

 is Hutchinson's Heddon honey-board. To make it 

 clear of my inventions there must be no raised rim 

 around the outsides, and the slots must not regular- 

 ly break joints with the top-bars of the frames be- 

 low. 1 think by the cut that the slats do not so 

 break joints, but I think the one brother H. had at 

 Kalamazoo last fall did, and such would be much 

 better, as I know by actual trial. Where they do 

 not, the bees fill the slots with comb, and they fill 

 the small (lueen-excluding slot much worse than 

 the 'V double bee-passage slot, as strange as it may 

 seem. I consider queen-excluding boards better of 

 metal, and of no earthly use for comb honey at all. 

 I have been therr too. 

 To use two bee-spaces, outside of my inventions, 



one must create the upper bee-space bj^ virtue of 

 the surplus receptacle, and not the honey-board. 1 

 think ui)t; but for the sake of the argument, let us 

 suppose that the narrowing of the slots, to exclude 

 queens, an improvement. No one can honorably 

 build an improvement on another's invention; and 

 I because of such improvement, rob the tirst of )iis 

 improvements. Every civilized nation recognizes 

 this in its patent laws, as you are well aware. 1 

 could have patented the raised rim and break-joint 

 slots, but no patent could have been obtained on 

 narrowing these slots so as to exclude queens. I 

 have had a great deal to do with patents, and so 

 have you had something to do with them lately, and 

 you are undoubtedly aware of the above fact last 

 set forth. I worked hard, experimented much, laj' 

 awake, and wore down my nervous system when 

 others were asleep (as I should have been), invent- 

 ed, had these inventions laughed at, worked to get 

 them before the public, and now, just as they are 

 getting popular, I don't want them taken from me, 

 neither in honor nor trade; and whoever does sO, I 

 want him or them to give me some reason why 

 they do so, or admit that " might makes right," and 

 call ourselves heathen. You may publish this if 

 you icisfi. 



P. S.— By error, jou misjudged my circular re- 

 garding the bees we sell. See bottom of page 12, 

 last three lines. We do sell pure Italians. Thanks 

 for your. frie/id/j/ words. I consider the bee matter 

 just something you overlooked. James Heddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 19, 1883. 



Friend ir.. we did not have an engraving 

 made of the honey-board sent us by friend 

 Ilutcliinson. for our crate of sectioils itself 

 fixes tlie liee-spaces, so that honey-boards 

 for tlie Simplicity hives would need to be as 

 we figure them" in the cut you mention. 

 This cut is exactly the same honey-board we 

 have been sellingfor years, with the excep- 

 tion of the perfoi-atious. Now. the idea of 

 making the perforatiouswith a circular saw. 

 if I am correct, belongs to friends Taylor 

 and Hutchinson ; but as they are exactly 

 like the perforations in the Jones zinc, only 

 on a larger scale, so that they may be made 

 in a wooden board, I can not see that there 

 is much invention about it. If I am correct, 

 making something of wood that has been 

 formerly made of metal is not a patentable 

 idea. I'our honev-board must be something 

 distinct and definite from any thing we have 

 mentioned, and very likely y'oiu- idea of hav- 

 ing tlie spaces so arranged as to break joints 

 in the brood-frames is going to be wortli 

 more than the queen-excluding arrangement. 

 The one sent us by friend Hutchinson seems 

 to have the perforations made at random, so 

 I presume he did not have this point in 

 view. I slu)uld say your honey-board, as 

 you describe it. is, without (piestion. ])atent- 

 able ; and I do not believe any of our supply- 

 dealers will offer it for sale without i)ermis- 

 sion from you.— In regard to the matter of 

 pure Italian queens, I now see that I made 

 a mistake in running over youi- circular 

 hastily, and hei-eby beg i)ardon.— As none of 

 the cuts ill your circular, nor any 1 have 

 seen in print, show clearly how your hone.\- 

 board is made, and its otlice, we will, witii 

 your permission, have a good engraving 

 made as s(/on as the sample you say you 

 sent us comes to hand. 



