1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



885 



first, a glass of about 10 diameters magnifying- pow- 

 er (like one you have), a pair of flnc-pointed tweez- 

 ers, scissors suitable for clipping queens' wings, a 

 needle mounted in the end of an old pen-holder, and 

 a little ether or chloroform with which to stupefy 

 a bee while " cuttin' 'im up." You now have a very 

 fair outfit with which to begin. No doubt you will 

 find pleasure and profit in this work; that Is, provid- 

 ing you do have such a thing as spare time during 

 long winter evenings. 



There is one essential that I almost forgot, which 

 is, that you must have a good stock of patience. If 

 your eyes or back aches, don't complain. 



EuNEST R. Hoot. 



jMe^FEg ;^]\iD QaE^iEg. 



HEPORT OF AN A B C SCHOLAU. 



PURCHASED my first stand of bees in the 

 spring of 1884. I increased to three stands, and 

 took 60 lbs. of honey the first year. Last win- 

 ter I sent for the ABC book and Gleanings. 

 I began last spring with two stands; transfer- 

 red them to Langstrotli frames, and took 15)0 lbs. of 

 honey— 140 lbs. in sections, and .50 lbs. in brood- 

 frames. I increased to 10 stands, and all in good 

 condition for winter. It has been called a poor 

 season by the old-style box hive bee-keepers, not 

 one of whom has obtained half as many new 

 swarms, or half as much honey from the same 

 number in the spring. I attribute my success the 

 past season to a thorough, earnest study of Tj lean- 

 ings and the ABC. A. C. Bitokkk. 

 Lochiel, Benton Co., Ind. 



My two hives yielded ?3fi.03 worth of honey, and 

 have plenty to winter on. They cost $17. (K)— a good 

 investment on that amount of money in 7 months. 



Harlan, Iowa, (X't. 0, 1885. W. M. Bomuergeh. 



Bees are a failure this year. Only a few colonies 

 made any surplus. I have about 80 colonies, and 

 perhaps half of them will not winter without feed. 



Washington, Pa. L. W. Vankiuk. 



SOUR smell-what causes it. 



I have investigated into the cause of that sour 

 smell about the hives, mentioned by friend Scofleld, 

 and find it comes from the blue aster. 



Ridgeway, N. Y. D. C. Sullivan. 



A queen that measures fivk cells. 



I raised one (jueen this year that measured five 

 cells long; that is, she would reach or cover five 

 cells. Who can beat it? She was a Syrian. 



Oaklej', Iowa, Oct. 26, 1885. Wm. Malone. 



P.EPORT from OREGON. 



I will give you our report from Oregon, or 1 

 should say, perhaps, the northern part of the Willa- 

 mette Valley. Bees, we think, have done tolerably 

 well. Reports of 50, 75, and 100 lbs. of surplus are 

 made, and bees are booming now. The fir-trees in 

 many places are dripping with honey-dew. We 

 have warm d.ays, and have had for some time. 



Newberg, Or., Oct. 2J, 18S5. Cyrus E. Harkins. 



FROM i TO 11, AND 277 LBS. OF HONEV. 



Bees generally did well. They did but little on 

 buckwheat or fall flowers, except on boneset. I 

 started in last fall with 5 colonies on summer stand, 

 in chair, and came through with four— one very 

 weak. I have 11 now. I took 277 lbs. of comb hon- 

 ey. Thanks for your good words in GLE.iNiNGS. If 

 it were not for the assistance we beginners get 

 through the pages of bee - journals, beekeeping 

 would be up-hill work. Geo. Spitler, 4—11. 



Mosiertown, Crawford Co., Pa. 



the simplicity vs. THE GOLDEN HIVE; 17i LBS. 

 OP HONEY FROM ONE SWAR.M. 



I had four stands of common bees in Simplicity 

 hives last spring; sold $20.03 of bees and honey, and 

 have 100 lbs. of honey and five stands in good condi- 

 tion for winter. My first swarm, on June 3d, made 

 about 175 lbs. in Mb. sections. About 50 lbs. of it 

 was the nicest linn I ever saw. But bees do not fill 

 out sections with it as with some honey 1 have seen 

 from Michigan. Is it the bees, or docs the honey 

 come in too slowly? The "Golden" hive had quite a 

 run last year, but it makes them sick to mention 

 " Golden" now. Several will discard them, and use 

 your Simplicity. G. F. Ayres. 



Atherton, Ind., Nov. 11, 1885. 



ALFALFA AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



Almost all the honey made out in Tulare Co. is 

 made from alfalfa. That seems to be the main crop 

 lor honey this season. I like California pretty well, 

 but it is terribly hot in the summer. 



Hanford, Cal., Sept. 8, 1885. M. J. Twining. 



This has been the poorest year ever known in 

 this section for bees. But few colonies will winter 

 without feeding. My spring count was three; in- 

 creased to 7; fed 40 lbs. of granulated sugar. At 

 present I have but two colonics and two nuclei, 

 which I intend to take to Florida this fall, as de- 

 scribed in Gleanings of Feb. 1, 1885, page 97. 



Harrisonville, N. J., Oct. 19, 1885, J. D. COLES. 



MRS. COTTON, AGAIN". 



MORE $20.00 COLONIES CONTAINING NO QUEENS. 



T HAVE been humbugged by Mrs. Cotton, of 

 m ^Vest Gorham, Maine. I sent her S20.00, and 

 l|[ she sent me a Controllable hive and a few bees, 

 "^ but no queen. I wrote her about it, and she 

 has agreed to send me another colony, in the 

 spring. I made a few of her hives, and have five 

 swarms in those hives now, but I don't like the 

 hives, and don't think I shall make any more of 

 them. I bought five colonies of Prof. A. J. Cook, 

 of Lansing, pure Italians, very fine, but they were 

 Gallup chaff hives, and I don't like this hive. I 

 think I shall adopt the Heddon or the Simplicity 

 hive. Hiram Adams. 



Port Austin, Huron Co., Mich., Nov. 23, 1885. 



Our friends will notice that this is still an- 

 other complaint of no queen in the colony of 

 l)ees, even after the purchaser paid the enor- 

 mous price of S20.00 for it. The price would 

 not be so very bad if the colony were sent 

 very early in the sprin.o; ; but Mrs. Cotton. 1 

 believe, does not fill orders until along in the 

 summer, when bees are comparatively cheap 

 everywhere else. The number of complaints 

 that come in regard to these liigh-priced col- 

 onies being queenless. precludes the possibil- 

 ity of its being a mistake ; and her singular 

 directions, not to open the hive for a certain 

 number of days, also seem to indicate it to 

 be her regular way of doing business. 



