1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



127 



Hamlin organ, worth $135, for a two-horse- 

 power engine." Among the numerous 

 answers received to this advertisement was 

 one received from B, who stated that he 

 had a two-horse-power Shipman engine that 

 had been " used only a year," and which 

 was " in perfect running order." This he 

 offered to give in even trade for the organ. 

 B referred A to the postmaster, who an- 

 swered that B was a wealthy farmer, and 

 that his reputation for honesty and veracity 

 was not to be questioned. Certainly it 

 would seem that A had taken the necessary 

 precautions. The exchange was made ; but 

 A was greatly disappointed to find that the 

 engine w r as one of the oldest styles of Ship- 

 man, and he did not think it had been used 

 within five years. The shipper was careless 

 enough to ship it without even crating it. 

 The result was, that some of the legs, pipes, 

 and gauges were broken. Indeed, A says it 

 is not worth the freight he paid on it. A 

 wrote B at once, and the latter sent $7.00 to 

 make good the repairs, stating that he had 

 never used the engine at all, but supposed it 

 was all right. He also said that he was 

 more than pleased with the organ. A im- 

 mediately felt relieved, and sent to the 

 manufacturers for the necessary repairs. 

 The latter stated that the engine was so old 

 in design that they had no duplicate parts 

 or patterns, and could not make the parts 

 except at a great expense. A then wrote B 

 to this effect ; but B made no response, and 

 A has not been able to get any response 

 since, although he has written him a num- 

 ber of times. The engine is utterly worth- 

 less to A ; and as he is at a distance from 

 any shop where the necessary repairs could 

 be made, he does not feel warranted in run- 

 ning the risk on the mere possibility of doing 

 it any good. 



A, the receiver of the engine, was in close 

 circumstances, and the loss was a severe 

 one. He says he did not mind so much the 

 loss of the organ as the fact that the engine 

 will not help him to make a living. In con- 

 sequence of this trade, to meet a pay- 

 ment on a certain debt, he was obliged to 

 sacrifice his bees at $2.40 per colony. Each 

 colony was bright yellow Italians, in double- 

 walled chaff hives, and should not have been 

 sold for less than $10.00 or $12.00. A says 

 he feels no ill will toward anybody. He on- 

 ly wishes us to make it a warning to others 

 who enter into such transactions. 



The Exchange Department is, beyond 

 question, a great benefit to honest advertis- 

 ers, but it can be the means of fraud on 

 the part of one or both parties. We have 

 given the above incident in order that our 

 readers may exercise caution. Be sure to 

 ascertain that the article for which you 

 wish to make an exchange is as good as rep- 

 resented, or that it is of a recent pattern ; 

 how long it has been used, and how much it 

 is worth from a dollars-and-cents point of 

 view. Be sure to ascertain all the facts in 

 regard to the responsibility of the party 

 with whom you think of making the trans- 

 action ; and if the amount involved is con- 

 siderable, be especially cautious. If possi- 

 ble, employ some competent party in the 

 place to look at the goods for you. 



QUESTION 102 RECONSIDERED. 



ARE THOSE COLONIES WHICH CONSUME THE MOST 



STORES IN WINTER THE BEST COLONIES 



FOR BUSINESS? 



«i NSWERS to Question 102 show so wide a differ- 

 &, ence of opinion, that one must surely be at a 

 loss to decide how near any of the answers 

 *• might possibly be correct. Likely no defi- 

 nite answer can be given to the question. 

 The time given from October to May, seven months, 

 is too long a time to reckon on for the consumption 

 of stores per colony for wintering. With us, brood- 

 rearing is carried on very heavily during April, and 

 commences early in March. For those two months, 

 as much honey will be consumed as during the four 

 previous months. This is for our locality. There 

 are exceptionally few localities where bees are con- 

 fined seven months to their winter quarters; and, 

 with such, brood-rearing must necessarily be going 

 on. I think 30 or 40 lbs. of stores for a colony, 

 seven months, with brood-rearing going on, is not 

 too much. Messrs. Dadant & Son have not over- 

 estimated the amount for that period of time. Dr. 

 A. B. Mason gives 6 to 11 pounds. He may be cor- 

 rect also; likely not, from October to May. 



We have made cellar wintering our way for safe 

 wintering for the past five years; and, to tell to a cer- 

 tainty what we gained besides the security of safe 

 wintering, we weighed a sufficient number of colo- 

 nies to get an average of what our colonies con- 

 sumed while in confinement from the time they are 

 put into the cellar and taken out, which is generally 

 from Nov. 1st to April 1st— five months. We find 

 for the past three winters that our colonies con- 

 sumed from 3 to 12 pounds. The most of the num- 

 ber weighed consumed 8 and 9 pounds. We think 

 those numbers would be very near an average for 

 ours, only one colony consumed less than six 

 pounds, and that one consumed 3 pounds, and was a 

 strong colony. Said colony did as well as any that 

 season (the summer of 1886). 



In answer to the question, " Which is the more 

 profitable, a colony which consumes more or less 

 stores ?" we could hardly say the one that con- 

 sumed the most, if Question 102 means strictly 

 the amount consumed in wintering. If 20 or 25 

 pounds of stores are used in wintering, and none of 

 that amount is used for brood-rearing, that colony 

 is no better off than if it had consumed 10 pounds if 

 wintered in a suitable place. Colonies that we have 

 wintered with suitable packing on their summer 

 stands, consumed from 20 to 30 pounds in five 

 months. Knowing the difference in stores used for 

 outdoor and cellar wintering, we built another cel- 

 lar two years ago at our out-apiary, and have now 

 100 colonies in it doing nicely. We have also 101 col- 

 onies at our home apiary in a cellar in which we 

 could easily winter lull colonies. The temperature 

 at which our cellars are kept ranges from 40 to 45°. 

 We haven't a single colony out of doors; and with 

 the assurance of saving an average of 10 pounds of 

 honey per colony, we think it pays to winter in the 

 cellar. J. Nebel & Son. 



High Hill, Mo., Jan. 21, 1889. 



I know, friends, that certain colonies 

 sometimes consume great quantities of 

 stores, without being any better for it. But 

 what I had in mind was where a colony 

 consumes its stores in healthy brood-rear- 

 ing, so as to require the larger amounts to 



