1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



5495 



plus arrangement I prefer to use empty combs, if 

 possible, instead of comb-foundation. I also prefer 

 to use two large or wide dummies, one at each side, 

 for a few days, so that half of the room is taken up, 

 which leads the bees along gradually instead of 

 thrusting a large amount of surplus room upon 

 them at once. As soon as the half of the hive given 

 them is partly filled with honey, the dummies are 

 taken out, the combs spread apart, and frames 

 tilled with foundation put between them. At this 

 stage I would just as soon have foundation as emp- 

 ty comb, for the bees are now ready to work upon 

 it, while before they were not. The time for taking 

 out the dummies is when you see the cells being 

 lengthened out with new comb built along the top- 

 bars of the frames. How you will proceed in the 

 future, depends upon whether you wish your hon- 

 ey ripened in the hive till the harvest is over, or 

 ripened in a warm room by evaporation. Some- 

 times I think that honey left on the hive through 

 the season is of better quality than that extracted 

 every week or so; then, again, I am not so sure 

 about it. Of one thing I am certain: More honey 

 can be secured with less hives and fixtures where 

 it is extracted when the bees first begin to seal it, 

 than can be gotten by the other method. As to la- 

 bor there is little difference, except that, when we 

 extract often, the labor comes at a time of year 

 when we are most crowded. To be sure, the opera- 

 tion is gone through with oftener; but to offset 

 this there is little or no uncapping to be done, while 

 the honey leaves the combs more clean with less 

 than one-half the labor in turning the extractor. 

 In my opinion the season has more to do with the 

 quality of the honey than the process of ripening. 

 If the season is hot and dry I would just as soon 

 have honey extracted as above, as that left on the 

 hive the season through. If damp and cool, I pre- 

 fer it ripened by the bees, and even then it is not 

 nearly ps good as that gathered in a hot dry season. 

 If you decide to leave all on to the end of the har- 

 vest, another story should be added just before the 

 first is filled : but if not, the one extra story will 

 probably be all you need. 



In conclusion, I will say that the getting of multi- 

 tudes of bees, just at the right time, has more to do 

 with the successful working for honey than any 

 thing else; and when all realize this, and work for 

 the same to the fullest extent, one-half of the colo- 

 nies now employed will gather as much surplus as 

 the whole do under our present management. 



Borodino, N. Y., Apr. 1, 1889. G. M. Doolittle. 



I believe I have nothing to add, friend D., 

 except that I heartily concur in almost 

 every point you make, and especially your 

 concluding sentence. 



RAMBLE NO. 14. 



ON A ( BEADING ) SPREE. THE RAMBLER DIS- 

 COURSES ON THE EVILS OP INTEMPERANCE. 



T HAVE had bee-keepers come into my apiary 

 flf who were evidently on a spree from strong 

 Til drinks; and it is a deplorable thing to see a 

 "*■ man of intelligence and reason submit himself 

 to this demon. But intoxicating liquors do not 

 bring all the misery, and there are other sprees 

 that seem to be nearly as bad. And, not to judge 

 others harshly, the Rambler would commence with 

 himself, and say that he is many times subject to 

 sprees. Let him get hold of a good story, and day 



and night it is pored over until finished; and what 

 is that but a reading-spree? The Rambler has no 

 doubt that others who read this will acknowledge 

 the same failing; and having in my rambles found 

 an extreme case of this sort of spree, I wish to 

 hold it up as a warning to those who may uncon- 

 sciously cultivate the habit, to their detriment, in- 

 stead of edification, and also to show that a reading- 

 spree will bring on nearly as bad results as the 

 slavish use of the intoxicating cup. 



A MAN WHO NEGLECTS HIS FAMILY. 



The man whom the Rambler found, not only de- 

 sired to read a book, but also to own it, so in the 

 course of a few years his hard earnings went into a 

 fine library of over 400 volumes, embracing works 

 of fiction, history, science, and medicine. On any 

 department of history he wished to post up; the 

 most expensive books were purchased; he essayed 

 to be a bee-keeper, purchased books and periodi- 

 cals, and a general study of the business was enter- 

 ed into. The theory of bee-keeping was at his fin- 

 gers' ends; but putting his knowledge into practice, 

 a failure was the result. Division and re-division 

 was made for rapid increase, with the usual result- 

 ruination to the swarms. And another trial led to 

 a failure in some other point. 



The poultry business was taken up in the same 

 way, with the same results. Meanwhile he took to 

 himself a wife, and five children were born to them. 

 These children are as bright and active as children 

 will average, and, though living within five rods of 

 the district school, the oldest have never been to 

 school. Their education is neglected, to the carry- 

 ing-out of some fine-spun theory about education. 

 This man occupies a farm of 60 acres of good land 

 which has been left by will to his children; he can 

 not spend it, but can work it and support his family. 

 Instead of working it, it has been much injured by 

 successive renting; and at the present writing the 

 wife is sick and is not expected to live. The chil- 

 dren are in rags, except when clothed by kind neigh- 

 bors, and all are thrown on the town for support. 

 The father is Strong and hearty— aged about 35, in 

 the vigor of manhood. Is it any wonder that he is 

 threatened by White Caps? While passing the 

 house the Rambler and his traveling companion re- 

 marked that there was a house that looked as 

 though an inebriate lived within— general dilapida- 

 tion all around. The Rambler has found that, to 

 be thrifty, a man must not be a slave to whisky or 

 even to books. A book carefully and slowly read % 

 and, better, re-read and marked, will give much 



