1g6 



GLEANINGS IN JJEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



and zeal of your good Avife ; and it 

 does me good to loarn of instances showing 

 liow much we are indebted to our wives. — 

 I shall be very much obliged indeed, friend 

 K.. for some seeds of the CIcoma speciosis- 

 .mito : and I am rejoiced more than you can 

 tell, to know that you are determined to lis- 

 ten to the voice of God which came to you 

 through one of your pupils in your Sunday- 

 school. Do not, I beg of you, turn back on 

 this message, but hold on and press forward, 

 Christ helping you. You can not tell how 

 heartily I thank "(iod for having given me 

 the means of helping to lead souls to purity 

 and godliness, as well as to teach about the 

 honey-bees. 



FRIEND KLIMITZS QUEEN-CATCHER. 



AN INVENTION FOR I'EOIT.E WHO FEEL NERVOUS 

 WHEN THEV ARE OBLIGED TO HANDLE QUEENS. 



fITH to day's mail I send you a sample of 

 what I call my queen-catcher. You may 

 smile at the simple thing-, or perhaps throw 

 ^ it aside with contempt; but I assure you it 

 has been lor twentj \ cai«, and is ^ et a per- 

 fect boon to me. 



Years ag-o, when I would not think of opening a 

 hive of bees without having my hands protected by 

 thick mittens, it was out of the question for me to 

 pick up a queen with such clumsy fingers, and I 

 had to get up something to help me out of the 

 difficulty. This catcher was the result. All I have 

 to do is to take out the plug from the open end, 

 which has to be made in the shape of a funnel, and 

 set this end lightly over her. As the light strikes 

 her from above through the wire she will instantly 

 run up into the cage, which is then closed by re- 

 placing the plug. Catching a queen in this way is 

 just as quick as picking her up with the fingei-s, and, 

 above all, she is never hurt. For a number of years 

 1 have not used gloves when at work with my bees, 

 but I rely mostly on my catcher when I want to 

 catch a queen, because I am a very nervous person, 

 and can not keep my fingers quiet enough when I 

 am in the least excited. They will tremble in spite 

 of all I can do; and the more valuable the queen is, 

 or the more an.xious I am to secure her, the more 

 unsteady my fingers are. But with my catcher I am 

 always safe, and would not feel content, especially 

 in swarming-tirae, without having several of them 

 in my pocket. 



To make the queen come out quickly I remove the 

 plug and fold my hand around the cage to exclude 

 the light, when she will run out at once, and Into 

 any thing I want her to. The string is only for the 

 purpose of hanging the thing up in my honey-room, 

 for I like to have every thing handy. This catcher 

 I use especially when I want to make some disposal 

 of the queon right away, except introducing. For 

 this purpose I bore the other end out too (not fun- 

 nel shaped, and as largo as the piece of wood will 



allow), and shut it with a plug, which is made hol- 

 low for about 'i inch, and the hole filled with candy. 



Now, friend Root, if you think it worth while to 

 assist the )tcici)us class of bee-keepers by mention- 

 ing this (lur-encatcher. you may do so; if not, you 

 may throw it away. T shall lie satisfied in either 

 case. ("HAS. Kli-MITZ. 



R.itavia, Genesee Co.. X. V., Jan. 2), 1885. 



Friend K.. your idea is certainly very in- 

 genious, and tiie cage as sent us is a marvel 

 of tine workmanship. Your idea of getting 

 the queen out of the cage is especially a neat 

 trick. I have been annoyed more in getting 

 queens out of the cage, perhaps, than in get- 

 ting them out of the hives, ^'ery likely, 

 when the (pieen is llrst intt in there, and is 

 anxious to get out, she would shoot out at 

 once by simply shutting out the light with 

 the closed hand ; but after she has been in 

 the cage several days, say by taking a trip 

 by mail, I am inclined to think she would 

 not go out so readily. Your whole imple- 

 ment would make a beautiful (piepn-cage. 

 1 tnay explain to our readers, tliat instead of 

 wire cloth a great number of straiglit wires 

 are used, about the size of a line knitting- 

 needle. We can furnish sucli queen-catch- 

 ers to those who may want tiieni. for an 

 even 10 cents; and if the demand should be 

 larger, possibly less : but I think we shall 

 make them of wire cloth instead of wire rods. 



CARP CULTURE IN TEXAS. 



V FISH RECEIVED FROM THE GOVERNMENT, DEC. 



10, 18«), WEIGHS 21-4 LBS., AND IS 159 INCHES 



LONG, IN SEPT., 1884. 



D. GLEANINGS:— I am not a subscriber to 

 Gleanings, nor am I a bee culturist; but 

 my friend Buckner, of this place, is both, 

 and he handed me your journal to see what 

 you and your friends have to say about the 

 German carp. In your Jan. No., 1885, I notice a let- 

 ter from W. S. Kaler, of Andersonvillc, Ind., in 

 which he states that he has a carp five years old 

 that is ^5 inches long and weighs about 11 lbs. 1 

 want to tell Mr. Kaler that I can double discount 

 him. On Dec. 10, 1880, I received from Prof. Baird, 

 20 carp, from 2' -2 to 3 inches in length. I cared for 

 them well, and last September I took out one and 

 weighed it. Result, 39 inches in length ; weight, 21^i 

 lbs. This was one of my oldest fish. In Jan., 1882, 1 

 added 260, about the same size of the former when 

 received, to my pond. I now have in a pond cover- 

 ing one acre in area, 280 old fish, and younger ones 

 without number. My pond when full has a deptli 

 of 21 feet, and after a drought of six months' dura- 

 tion last year I had 15 feet of pure clear water. I 

 depend alone upon the rainfall for water. 



Now, this is a big fish story, but there arc num- 

 bers of good men in this city who have seen my fish 

 and will testify to my statements. I have made 

 fish culture a study for the past ton j'cars, the last 

 four of which have been especially devoted to the 

 carp. Carp do not hibernate in this climate, no go- 

 ing into kittles for a long winter sleep. They begin 

 spawning here at two years old; and if well cared 

 for, spawn by the million. They spawn but once a 

 year, and the spawning season lasts only from 4 to 

 10 days. They begin to spawn hore fvom the 1st to 



