1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



495 



splendid cellar, the floor flagged evenly with large 

 stones from the extensive slate quarries near by. 

 The cane comes down on the floor, " It's paid lor!" 

 A large cistern across one side of the cellar, also 

 covered with large flat stones, receives another 

 whack— "It's paid lor!" We go upstairs; every 

 thing is substantial, neat as wax, and " paid for." 

 Although Mr. C. and his wife can not play on a 

 musical instrument, a costly piano graces the par- 

 lor, aud his hand comes down upon the keys—" It's 

 paid for!" So with the carriage, the horse, and the 

 woodpile—" It's paid for." 



Mr. and Mrs. C.'s pride, though they ;ire so far ad- 

 vanced in years, seems to run to the raising of 

 nearly all the garden luxuries of ihe season. Early 

 aud late potatoes, fine strawberries, fruits of all 

 kinds, and last but not least, honey. Mr. C. has 

 kept bees for many years, having them in old box 

 hives; and, getting but little profit from them, they 

 were transferred to movable-frame hives. His cel- 

 lar has proved a fine repository for wintering, and 

 is the first one the Rambler ever saw where bees 

 were wintered near a large cistern. Though the 

 body of water is covered with a mouse-proof cover- 

 ing, there must be more or less humidity in the 

 air of the cellar; mold does not collect upon any 

 article. The bees keep very quiet, and usually 

 come out in excellent condition; and if there is any 

 loss it is from starvation or weakness when put in. 



Mr. C. is very particular to place the hives up a 

 good distance from the floor. Nothing but flour- 

 barrels with boards placed across them will lie satis- 

 factory to him. His apiary runs up to about 50 col- 

 onies; and finding good sale for his strained honey, 

 an extractor was purchased, help obtained, and 

 several barrels were filled with the nectar. The 

 owner was much elated; and as every thing was 

 " paid for," the dollars that came in from the sales 

 jingled merrily in his pocket. 



Jericho, this 

 has been <* fiji^t 

 Squeeze, W0Ui 



BIG AND LITTLE END OF THE HORN IN BEE CUL- 

 TURE. 



The bees were carefully put in the cellar in the 

 fall; but it was observed that the hives were not so 

 heavy as when box honey was raised. When spring 

 came, and the bees were put out, a greater portion 

 of them were dead, starved to death. This was a 

 lamentable affair, and Mr. C. characterized the 

 operation as going into the big end of the horn one 

 year and coming out at the little end the next year. 

 And this is not only the experience of our Quaker 

 friend, but of many others, among whom maybe 

 found the Kambler. 



Friend R., we are very sorry to know that 

 your big friend came out at the little end 

 when he got to using the extractor; but, 

 judging from the picture, even the little end 

 of the horn must have been of pretty good 

 size. There is quite a moral that may be 

 gathered from that little sentence, " It is 

 paid for." I know full well of the satisfac- 

 tion and pleasant feeling it gives one to be 

 able to say when he has succeeded in getting 

 some work done to his notion, " It is paid 

 for ;" and I am afraid a good many of the 

 friends who read Gleanings lose a great 

 part of the enjoyment that God has prepar- 

 ed for us, simply because they go through 

 life with an uneasy and guilty feeling of 

 owning property, and using it, perhaps, day 

 after day, without its being " paid for.' 1 



DOUBLE BEE-STANDS. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN OBJECTS TO THEM. 



fOU will perhaps remember, that at our con- 

 vention in Columbus, Ohio, last autumu, I 

 objected to bee-stands being close together 

 in pairs. Perhaps the objection is not a 

 very strong one, as it consists only of this: 

 When a colony is made queenless on one stand it 

 will shortly after load up with honey and unite it- 

 self with its neighbor, they forming a long and un- 

 broken line into the next hive, if the stands touch 

 one another. Herein, perhaps, the bee shows 

 greater wisdom than man; for many queenless colo- 

 nies would perhaps be better united with one hav- 

 ing a queen than bolstered up; yet when other 

 aims are in view this trait is objectionable, and a 

 little greater distance will easily prevent the diffi- 

 culty. When, however, it comes to attaching the 

 two stands, I would say, most emphatically, no. 

 Perhaps such careful men as Dr. Miller, with years 

 of extensive experience, may be able to manipu- 

 late the one hire without jarring and irritating the 

 bees on the other; but how many bee-keepers have 

 not the capital that Dr. Miller has, and would get 

 the second colony in a very undesirable frame of 

 mind for handling. For this reason I think it ob- 

 jectionable that the general bee-keeper should have 

 a double stand in the apiary. 



SECTIONS WRONG SIDE OUT, ETC. 



It does appear extraordinary, when we think of 

 the simple facts required to be communicated to 

 some bee-keepers. The other day, in my travels 

 through the country I came across a bee-keeper 

 who was taking comb honey. The sections were 

 folded wrong side in, or wrong side out, whichever 

 way you prefer, and then the bee-spaces were turn- 

 ed the wrong way, to the side instead of top and 

 bottom. I begged for that crate, and told them I 

 was anxious to exhibit it at the Toronto Industrial 

 Exhibition, but I could not get it. But does it not 

 show us we are neglecting many simple facts in 

 bee-journals'? The individual I speak of had for 

 years taken one or more journals at a time. The 

 comb-honey venture is a comparatively new one. 



Brantford, Can. R. F. Holtermann. 



I decided years ago, just as you have done, 

 that I never wanted two hives attached to- 

 gether any more. I want each one on a 

 separate stand, and so arranged that I can 

 at any time walk clear around it. 



