1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



131 



come soft, then put them into the strainer 

 and squeeze out the wax, or put your bits of 

 comb||into a ? coarse bag, not too large ; and 

 when it is boiling, drop it into the machine 

 and push down the lever. The latter ar- 

 rangement is also used for getting the juice 

 from berries, and where there are many 

 small seeds. If your paste or paint is 

 lumpy, put it through the press and all 

 your troubles in that direction are ended. 

 In the same manner it can be used for al- 

 most a hundred different purposes. The 

 regular price is 50 cents ; but by buying 

 them in quantities we can furnish them for 

 25 cents. If wanted by mail, you will have 

 to send 20 .cents extra. 



JlE/IDg 0F S^I]\[ 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



FASTENING FOUNDATION INTO BROOD-FRAMES BY 

 NAILING IN A STRIP. 



fOU will please find inclosed a small section of 

 an improved top-bar for honey-frame. As it 

 is very simple, it needs but little explana- 

 tion. The object of this device is to facili 

 tate the work of fastening the foundation 

 in frames, one of the triangular strips being nailed 

 fast, as you see. The comb being clamped between 

 the two strips, the latter can either be fastened by 

 nailing, or a little wax be used to make it stick. 

 As you are a practical man, you will readily see 

 the merits of this little invention (if it has any), 

 without further explanation. I have shown the de- 

 vice to several bee-men, and they all seemed to 

 think it a good thing. I do not send this as a " pat- 

 ent "to sell to you, but simply to give to you. If 

 you can make use of it it will be a gratification to 

 me if you do so. I am not a bee-man; in fact, I 

 don't think I ever shall be. Being a mechanic, I 

 am sometimes called upon to make a few hives, 

 etc., for bee-men. My wife is a little struck on 

 bees ever since she has been reading Gleanings. 

 Bellvilie, Tex., Jan. 15, 1889. J. J. Stopple. 



Your device, friend S., is very old. It 

 was illustrated in one of the back numbers 

 of our journal, Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture. It never came into practical use, for 

 the reason that such a fastening costs too 

 much, and was little if any better than the 

 comb-guide method of attachment— that is, 

 pressing a sheet of wax on to the guide. 



hives to the 100. About the same number are out 

 of honey. The rest are full of honey, and I shall 

 have to extract several tons before the new honey 

 comes in. My bees are honest, as well as the peo 

 pie in California. I had six hives that were upset. 

 They had been lying on their sides for months, for 

 aught I know, with the supers full of honey, but 

 were not robbed. This is a case of honesty or 

 home protection (or what is it?). L. E. Mercer. 

 San Buena Ventura, Cal. 



Friend M., it rejoices our hearts to hear of 

 instances like those you mention above. 

 The indications all seem to point now 

 to the fact that we may not only very 

 soon dispense with the fences around our 

 dooryards, but that we may save money 

 which we have heretofore invested in pad- 

 locks and expensive burglar-proof buildings 

 to protect our property. You certainly 

 have a very nice set of people around Ven- 

 tura. Why, even here in Ohio, where we 

 have schools and churches in every little 

 town, and at a good many of the road-cross- 

 ings, crops of wool and grain are quite fre- 

 quently taken out of barns ; at least, such 

 cases did happen a few years ago. 1 won- 

 der if it is not true, that the whole world is 

 climbing up a little higher in this matter. 

 I am very glad that you have received the 

 appointment of inspector of foul brood, and 

 I hope you will do your duty faithfully. 



A FODL-BROOD INSPECTOR FOR CALIFORNIA. 



The Board of Supervisors have seen fit to ap- 

 point me as foul-brood inspector for Ventura Co. 

 The county pays me for my time. I think that, if 

 the bee-keepers do not avail themselves of this op- 

 portunity of getting rid of foul brood it will not be 

 the fault of the new Board of Supervisors. 



HONEST BEES AND HONEST NEIGHBORS. 



I remember that, when you were here, you ex- 

 pressed some surprise at my leaving 15 tons of 

 honey in a frail shanty at the apiary, 10 miles from 

 Newhall. I just came from the apiary, and I found 

 every thing just as I left it in August. People 

 don't steal bees or honey in California. I have 

 been a bee-keeper for 16 years, but I never had my 

 bees winter as well as they have this winter. I 

 have 800 hives, and my loss this winter is only three 



CALIFORNIA HONEY ; ITS GRADES AND QUALITIES. 



I have been very anxious to see something from 

 you about the honey produced in California, as you 

 no doubt had a good opportunity while there of 

 .earning from what source, and in what part of the 

 State, the best honey is secured. I have bought 

 and sold a good many tons of California honey this 

 season. Some of the honey is, to my taste, the 

 finest in color and flavor that is produced in the 

 world, and, again, much of it is the most disa- 

 greeably flavored honey I have ever tasted, if I 

 may except some of the dark grades of Southern 

 honey. The white, or water-colored California 

 honey (when entirely free from that disagreeable 

 flavor found in almost all of the amber honey) is 

 superior to our best clover honey. Every time I 

 have sold this ill-flavored amber California honey 

 it has greatly displeased customers. I wish I could 

 find the producer or dealer in whom I could rely to 

 give me always the best grade. It would be inter- 

 esting to your readers to have what you must have 

 learned about the different grades of honey pro- 

 duced in California. J. A. Buchanan. 



Holliday's Cove, W. Va., Jan. 7, 1889. 



Friend B., the amber-colored honey of 

 California comes mostly from the valleys 

 and low lands. The beautiful water-white 

 sage is found only among the mountains, 

 and away up in the canyons, where the 

 bears, and lack of civilization and neigh- 

 bors, and many other things, make it un- 

 pleasant to camp out ; and most of the bee- 

 men, as I have told you, are getting back 

 away from the fruit-lands, into the moun- 

 tains, where the sages nourish. Other peo- 

 ple besides ourselves have discovered thn 

 good qualities of the water-white mountain- 

 sage honey of California ; and whoever gets 

 it in the future will have to pay a good price 



