122 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



A PROPOSED SHIPPING-CASE. 



I have in ray mind's eye a (any) shipping-case for 

 comb honey, with four little india-rubber balls, one 

 under each corner. The balls should be solid, but 

 with a hole through the center, just large enough 

 to take a 2-inch wire nail. I suppose ?i or 1 inch 

 in diameter would be a good size for the balls. The 

 wire nail should be " set in " so that the head would 

 go to the center of the ball, and thus not interfere 

 with its elasticity. I imagine that a case provided 

 with 4 such balls under its corners would stand 

 considerable bumping before the combs would break 

 loose. What do you think of it? Would it be worth 

 while for you— to have them manufactured, and 

 keep them for sale? Or would the balls interfere 

 with the piling of cases on top of each other? 



I once heard of a double packing-case with rub- 

 ber balls between the cases, but I do not know if 

 anybody ever used such. They would be too ex- 

 pensive, at any rate. Wm. Mdth-Rasmussen. 



Independence, Inyo Co., Cal., Jan. 7, 1889. 



HONEY-EXHIBIT AT SPBING MILL. 



AS ARRANGED BY J. W. NIMAN. 



f" HAVE taken the liberty to send you a photo of 

 !§? my apiarian exhibit at our county fair. As the 

 W name in the picture is something of a novelty, 

 **■ and has been admired by many thousands of 

 people, I thought it might be of interest to the 

 thousands of readers of Gleanings. I will here 

 give you a brief description of the picture. At 

 the extreme left is a bee-tent; next is a solar wax- 

 extractor, and adjoining it is a queen-excluding 

 honey-board. A bee-hive with a capacity for 100 one- 

 pound sections is next in order. Thirteen stars of 

 solar - extracted wax, representing the thirteen 

 original States, stand out conspicuously in the back- 

 ground; beneath it is a queen observatory hive. 

 Next is a pyramid of glass jars of different sizes; 

 above it, a glass case five feet long; in it the name 

 of your humble servant, made by the bees, as you 

 see therein the picture, and over five feet in length. 



.1. W. NIMANS IIOXEY-EXHIB1T, SPRING MILL, OHIO. 



I believe you are right, friend M., on all 

 the three points you make. The rubber 

 balls have been suggested, and used to 

 some extent, not only for honey, but for 

 shipping eggs for hatching. The trouble is 

 with honey, that, where one has 100 cases or 

 more, it would not be practicable to have 

 them all set on these rubber balls. Where 

 one has a good crop of honey, he had better 

 load it on the cars himself if possible. Put 

 a good layer of straw under the cases, and 

 pile them up one on top of the other. Pack 

 straw between the cases, at the side of the 

 car ; then if you can have some careful man 

 to attend to unloading them, they can be 

 shipped by freight without injury. ' If it be 

 necessary to transfer from one road to an- 

 other, then comes in a difficulty that can be 

 obviated only, perhaps, by securing the 

 whole car, if the crop warrants, thus having 

 it shipped to its destination without trans- 

 ferring. 



A Novice hfney-ex tractor is at my right. In my 

 hand is a Langstroth brood-frame of new comb 

 partly capped over. At my back is a large case of 

 honey and wax, and near them are bee-smokers. 

 Back of the Clark smoker you can see a corner of 

 an old box hive, with brimstone matches sticking 

 in it, such as were used in old times to kill the bees 

 to get their honey. On the ground in front is 

 the apiary tool-box and swarm-arresters on the top 

 of it. J. W. Niman. 



Spring Mill, Ohio, Oct. 10, 1888. 



Friend N., your exhibit does you great 

 credit. Your name, built out in honey- 

 comb by the bees, must have proved quite a 

 curiosity to the many visitors. Those little 

 bits of comb built in the frames, showing 

 how the bees start their work, not only ex- 

 hibit the beauty of workmanship on the part 

 of the bees, but it teaches people how comb 

 is built, and the way in which bees go 

 about it. 



