1885 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTUllE, 



31:5 



WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY. 



This beautiful April morning' I feel in some re- 

 spects as did Mr. Waldo, of Quincy, Ills.; not on ac- 

 count of my loss in bees, for I have succeeded in 

 wintering- two colonies out of t'hree, while I know 

 of some who have lost nearly their entire stock, but 

 on account of the remarks of other people, such as, 

 " What makes you fuss with your bees so much?" 

 " you fuss with them so much they never ivill 

 amount to any thing-;" "they are a nuisance to 

 you ;" " you never will make any thing- from them." 

 And when I lose, which is quite frequently, they 

 will say, " There, I told you so," and all such like 

 remarks. Instead of helping- a fellow by some word 

 or sug-gestion, most of these remarks come from 

 people who don't know a queen-bee from a blue- 

 bottle fly. Perhaps you have traveled over about 

 the same road that I am on now; if so, you know 

 something- how I feel. No one ever had a more 

 genuine love for the business than I. I have been 

 keeping- bees eight years, and now have only two 

 colonies, and have spent at least, for labor and ma- 

 terial, 4<150. If I must give up the business it will 

 be with many misg-ivings. Probably this will find 

 its way into the waste-basket. If so, of course that 

 is the place for it. H. 11. Uuadley. 



Eddyville, N. Y., April IT, 1885. 



Friend II, may be some of lliese remarks 

 come because you have been telling too 

 much what you are (jolng to do witli the 

 l)ees. Now, just stop telling, and go to 

 (loin(i. When they make such unkind re- 

 marks, reply pleasantly and mildly; ownaip 

 that the business is somewhat risky, if need 

 be, but let your acts speak iiistead'of words, 

 and by and' by you will lind that ymir neigh- 

 bors are all standing by your side, and (|Uot- 

 iug you. and feeling proud of having so en- 

 terprising a man in tlieir midst; tliat is, if 

 you ])erse\ere luitil you become uiaster of 

 your chosen avocation. 



He that tlllcth Ills hind sluill liavr bread: but he 

 that followeth vain iKTsons is \-(iiil dt understand- 1 

 lng-.-Pi(ov. VZ: II. 



SAVING THE SEED FISOM IIOKACE. 



How do you save the borage seed? ( )ur bees have 

 wintered well. I lost but one swarm out of 30, and 

 tliey were smothered. K. H. Mim.ek. 1 



Akron, Iowa, April 9, 1S8.5. j 



Friend M., it is a slow i)rocess. the best 1 

 way you can tix it ; for the seeds are ripening j 

 every day foi- a i>eriod of many weeks. The 

 way we do is to take a large sieve, bend over 

 tiie" plants when the seed is ready to jar out 

 easily, then strike the plant with a little 

 stick oi- ])addle. The size of meshes of the 

 sieve siiould besucii as to let dust and rub- 

 bisli ])ass through, but not the borage seed. 

 When you have been clear over vour borage 

 patch, take another sieve that will just per- 

 mit the seed to pass through, then you will 

 have it tolerably clean. Passing it "through 

 a famiing-mill afterward, however, will make 

 it still better. I know this is s(mie trouble, 

 but it is the only way to manage with seeds 

 that rii)en day after day for a long while, 

 like borage, spider flower, Simpson, and 

 most of our honey-plants. The difficulty of 

 gathering them is one reason why many of 

 these seeds can not be furnished at a lower 

 price. 



SAD AND SUDDEN DEATH OF ONE OF OUR BEE- 

 FRIENDS. 



I was called yesterday to look at the apiary of 

 J. H. Struberger. You know him somewhat, as he 

 has been taking Gleanings, and trading with you. 

 By the w-ay, you may not have heard of his sad death. 

 He was returning from New Orleans, about three 

 weeks ago; and in crossing the Ohio River at Ev- 

 ansville, Indiana, in passing from the transfer-boat 

 to the tug-boat, he fell overboard, and not even his 

 body has been found up to date. He was one of 

 our best citizens, having many ennobling qualities. 



El Dara, 111., April 2, 1S85. T. C. Bunker. 



We are very much pained to receive the 

 above news, friend B.; but I have given it 

 here because a caution is needed to those 

 who are not much accustomed to traveling. 

 Do not incur risks. There is rarely a case 

 where plenty of time is not afforded to get 

 on oroff frcmi boats or trains. Wait until 

 the proper time comes, and be careful how 

 you step, or what you do. Many lives are 

 lost because people get restless and uneasy 

 in traveling. They get out on the i)latform. 

 or get olf at stations, simply for curiosity. 

 Better keep your place, and move with the 

 crowd, in an orderly and careful manner. I 

 was not aware that" people are often lost in 

 the way you mention, so that not even the 

 bodv can l)e recovered. 



WOOD vs. TIN FOR SEPARATORS; ARK WIDE FRAMES 

 TO BE LAID ON THE SHELF? 



Before stating a few facts I wish to say I have 

 great faith in A. 1. Root. I believe he will publish 

 any thing he thinks is for tlie interest of bee-keep- 

 ers, even though his sales should be greatly less- 

 ened therel)y. It does seem a pity that so many 

 tons of tin are sold for separators, money wasted, 

 when (fact N'o. 1) there are bee-men in this county 

 wlio have raised comb lioncy for 10 or 1.") years, 

 keeping from 100 to ~'00 stands, M'ho would not use 

 tin for separators if it were furnished free ol' 

 charge; they like wooden ones better. Anothei- 

 fact, .lust now when the Heddon system is all the 

 rage, and wide frames are to be laid on the shelf, it 

 has been demonstrated in this county, by tw<) years' 

 e.xperienee, that a hive using wide frames will aver- 

 age double the honey to the hive, right through the 

 apiary, that a hive will using- the rack on top. 



Bees Inive wintered all right where taken care of 

 and fed. I liave lost and doubled down to 12") from IHO. 

 This is the first time I have worried the editor of a 

 l>ee-.journal. and jierhaps the last. 



\r^—v. .T. Fari!, i::.-s— hid. 



Rucknei-. .Mo.. Apiil S, IS.^'S. 



Friend F.. you will never weary the editor 

 l)y giving hin"i i)Iain facts from "experience, 

 like the aliove y(ui have stated. Our experi- 

 ence with wooden separators, however, seems 

 to be just the other way from wliat you 

 state it; but perhaps ours were not nuide 

 right. Although we have advertised wooden 

 sejiarators for some time, our customers seem 

 to prefer tin to any thing else, and this year 

 is no exception to the years that are past. 

 I am inclined to think a good colony will 

 usually store more honey in wide frames 

 than with any arrangement we have yet had 

 in the way of crates or cases. The extra 

 trouble of handling wide frames, however, 

 mav more than make up the difference. 



