1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



947 



its shape in exposed positions, 'l^he only 

 fault is in the thinness of the inside cover. 

 I winter my bees on their siunmer stands, 

 and :'s of an inch of hnnber is not enough 

 when the thermometer crawls down to zero 

 and below. I recollect that my father's ice- 

 house, in Pennsylvania, kept cool in siun- 

 mer because the space between the studding: 

 was packed with sawdust; and I also rec- 

 ollect that, when living at Leadville, Col., 

 I wanted to give my California wife a warm 

 reception, and so packed the spaces between 

 the sills and studding with sawdust, and 

 the rooms in that house would get so hot we 

 were compelled to put a ventilattjr in the 

 ceiling; and when the stove got down to 

 business it was sometimes necessary to open 

 an outside door to cool off . Now, why can't 

 the ventilated covers be sold with a small 

 strip to close the sides, and the bee-keeper 

 till in the space between the two covers with 

 sawdust? This would give us, a cover warm 

 in winter and cool in summer. The added 

 cost would not exceed a cent a C(jver, as 

 sawdust can be had everywhere for the ask- 

 ing, and it would not be necessar}' to pay 

 freight on it, as the bee-keeper would fill 

 the covers when nailing them up. I should 

 like to see this sawdust cover tested in hot 

 and cold climates in comparison with the 

 ventilated cover, and the results given — two 

 hive-bodies with a thermometer in each, 

 over these a cover of each style, iind the 

 record of the thermometer in heat and cold 

 given. Arizona and Minnesota bee-keepers 

 could test it thoroughly. It is the actual 

 test that proves the merit of an invention. 

 Sawdust may be an ideal padding in ice- 

 house and iceland sections, and be found 

 wanting in a hive-cover. 



Murphys, Cal. E. H. Schaekfle. 



[You will see by the 1902 catalog of the 

 Root Co., soon to be issued, that we have 

 already anticipated the demand for a dou- 

 ble cover. This cover is provided with side 

 cleats so that the space between the two 

 boards can be filled with packing-material 

 or left empty according to circumstances 

 and conditions. — Ed.1 



bef;-sting poison in homeopathic prac- 

 tice. 

 iMr. Root: — One even'ng while wjiiting 

 my turn in a barber shop I picked up the 

 Oct. 1st number of Gleanings, and came 

 across the article by Mr. S. P. Holmes, in 

 which he reports the cure of rheumatism by 

 bee-stings. I also noted your editorial 

 notes in which you question whether the 

 disease might not have disappeared or have 

 been removed by the outdoor exercise of 

 taking care of bees. Either one may have 

 been true; but it is also the case that we, 

 especially of the homeopathic school, use 

 Apis viellifica a great deal, and for some 

 conditions it is the most powerful remedy of 

 which we know. But it must be in a case 

 in which it is well indicated, as, in fact, 

 of all other remedies, that it will do biul- 

 liant work. Its most common use is in in- 



ilammation of the kidneys, accompanied by 

 dropsy, and iilso the summer trouble known 

 as urticoria, or "hives." It is not at all 

 unreasonable to suppose that Mr. Holmes' 

 case was one well adapted to treatment by 

 the bee-poison — in fact, many cures of rheu- 

 matism have been accomplished by it. 



H. R. Miner," M. D., 



Secretary of Nebrastca State Homeopatliic 

 Medical Society. 



Falls City, Neb., Oct. 7. 



proportion of sulphuric acid. 



You state in Gleanings that sulphuric 

 acid in water will clean dark beeswax, and 

 turn it yellow, but you don't give the pro- 

 portion. Please tell me the amount to a 

 gallon. I tried it, but it was not satisfac- 

 tory. B. Haynes. 



Grand Isle, Vt., Oct. 30. 



[Sometimes a five-per-cent solution will 

 do the work; then as strong as is required. 

 That is to say, one part raw acid to ten 

 parts water; but if the wax is very dirty or 

 black you may require to use as high as 

 25 per cent. Use acid enough to get the 

 yellow color. It is cheap; and when you 

 have secured the proper color you can inake 

 your wax enough more valuable to more 

 than pay the expense of the acid. — Ed.] 



HOW THE little UTTEK BROTHERS RAN 

 from the CROAKING FROGS. 



This story is about two brothers who 

 used to live in York State. Their names, 

 as I remember, were Joe and Bill Utter. 

 They were two little boys. They, at the 

 time this happened, had been fishing. They 

 were told not to stay late, as something 

 might catch them. Well, they disobej'ed, 

 and they began to be somewhat supersti- 

 tious. Strange noises were heard in the 

 woods. Pretty soon they heard the deep 

 bullfrog guttural, "Bill" Utter! Bill Ut- 

 ter-r-r-r ! That ain't j'ou, Bill." Then it 

 came, "Joe Utter! Joe Utter-r-r-r-r ! " The 

 boj's dropped their line and ran. At last 

 account Bill was still running. 



Oberlin, O. Chalon Fowls. 



[Mr. Fowls does not say whether thsee 

 two boys were the same as the two broth- 

 ers in the now celebrated Utter bee and 

 fruit case ; but from the fact that "Bill was 

 still running," the fruit-man who was de- 

 feated in the recent lawsuit, we are left to 

 infer that he is the same one. — Ed.] 



Will you please tell me how you form nu- 

 clei to the best advantage where you keep 

 nuclei over a strong colony separated by 

 screen wire? Carl F. Buck. 



Augusta, Kan., Nov. 8. 



[We generally use hatching brood. Two 

 frames of such brood, with adhering bees, 

 are set down in one of the compartments. 

 Even if the adhering bees go back, the 

 young brood just hatched will, of course, 

 remain in their new quarters. You will 



