636 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



A NOVEL BEE-CATCHER. 



Herewith I send you a sample of my bee-catcher. 

 Well, who has got it patented? If by any possibili- 

 ty nobody has, then, if you wish to, you arc at liber- 

 ty to make and supply all demands. 



A 



ANDRUS BEE-CATCHER. 



It is convenient for picking- bees off the windows 

 and turning- them outdoors, or, better, putting 

 them in a box like the one in which this is packed, 

 and then step to the door and let them out. Take 

 the ends only off the box, and pull out the catcher. 



Almont, Mich., May 19, 1889. J. H. Andrus. 



The bee-catcher sent by friend A. is a 

 very ingenious and pretty little machine ; 

 but I think very likely they will prove to be 

 more convenient for the women folks than 

 for a genuine bee-keeper himself. They 

 might serve very usefully, not only in get- 

 ting bees off the windows, but for picking 

 up and removing any bug, worm, or spider 

 that might invade the home 



HONEY FROM TOBACCO. 



In Gleanings for July 1st are some comments 

 upon bitter honey. I wonder if you ever stumbled 

 upon honey gathered from a tobacco-patch, when 

 other sources were lacking— perfectly clear, decid- 

 edly bitter, genuine to a T. This may have been 

 the cause of much of the bitterness alluded to in 

 your journal. I notice the bees prefer to gather 

 water from the outlet of a certain tile, although 

 there are many other outlets never visited. I won- 

 der if they distinguish any chemical properties 

 from this percolating through certain strata. 



Assumption, 111., July 12, 1889. W. N. Root. 



OLD COMBS IN SECTIONS. 



As you ask for testimony from experience, I will 

 say I have us°d sections filled with comb, for the 

 past 8 years, and I can not get enough of them. I 

 always get the highest price paid in market for my 

 honey, and we use a large amount at home; and 

 while we object to. foundation honey, we see no 

 fault with old comb. If I use foundation at all it is 

 only as starters. I usually raise my starters in the 

 bee-hive, according to G. M. Doolittle's plan. Old 

 comb should be entirely clean from old honey. 



Grattan, Mich., July 8, 1889. A. P. Cowan. 



THE T SUPER. 



As I use a lot of T supers I will give my plan how 

 to keep the sections down to their place, and at the 

 same time protect them from propolis. I put T 

 tins down from the top between the section rows; 

 this is not new, but you know some of the sections 

 will spring up— that is, they are not square. To 

 keep the T tins down I lay ^-inch tacks, one on 

 each end of the T tins, with the points toward the 

 sides of super. With one-hand 1 press the T's down, 

 and with an iron or an eight-inch tile I press the 

 tacks in the wood, which keeps the T tins down. 



La Paz, ind. c. A. Bunch. 



The same idea has been suggested before. 



PROSPECTS GOOD. 



fHE prospect for a crop of honey during the 

 next three months is very good. I have 170 

 hives, about one-half one story, and weak at 

 that, as the bees do not gather honey much 

 in June, and about June 1st they kill their 

 drones, and the queen sometimes stops laying. This 

 year they gave us a. few eggs all the time, but did 

 not lay more than half their usual amount. I have 

 just finished extracting 170 gallons of choice honey, 

 and the prospect is good for 15 tons extracted and 2 

 tons comb honey this year. G. W. Camp. 



Armona, Cal., July 10. 1889. 



I took from two colonies last summer nearly 300 

 pounds of honey. Around here, if they get 10 

 pounds they think they are doing well. 



Marshalls Creek, Pa. J. Gilbert. 



booming. 



Bees are just booming at this date. I wintered 

 14 colonies in your one-story chaff hives. They be- 

 gan swarming May 5th-, and increased to 31 by 

 June'JKth. Bees in this section have had a great 

 swarming mania this season. F. W. Lamm. 



Somerville, O., July 15, 1889. 



" HONEY UP TO OUR CHINS." 



The wax-extractor is just rolling out the yellow 

 stuff. The strainer is " boss," and our " other half " 

 says, " Bless Mr. Root;" and whoever saw a better 

 smoker? We are in honey up to our chins. I will 

 ship you some beeswax soon. D. H. Tweedy. 



Smithfleld, Ohio, July 13, 1889. 



HONEY FLOWS LIKE WATER. 



I am rushed to death. Honey Hows like water. I 

 have taken off 2000 lbs. of white-clover honey. 1 

 have 75 swarms now. I had 15 swarms to-day. If I 

 did not understand some of the habits of bees I 

 should get clogged up; but so far every thing is 

 lovely, and every bee doing his level best. Bass- 

 wood is not yet open. When it opens 1 shall have 

 eave-troughs on. E. A. Morgan. 



Chippewa Falls, Wis., July 3, 1889. 



A BIG YIELD; 200 LBS. PER DAY FROM 25 COLO- 

 NIES. 



I suppose you begin to think my orders are com- 

 ing thick and fast. If you were in my place you 

 would not wonder at it. My bees are gathering in 

 something like 200 lbs. of honey per day, and part 

 of them are out of storage room, and building comb 

 on the outside of their hives. I never saw such a 

 honey season. I started in with 25 good colonies 

 and 3 very poor ones; I had 58 supers filled with 

 sections and starteis, and have 62 very strong colo- 

 nies now. We had some heavy rains, which insures 

 a good fall crop of honey. J. A. Maxfield. 



Saxon, Ills., July 15, 1889. 



IfeipeTO Digceni^6iN6. 



LITTLE SWARMING OR SURPLUS. 



I had 31 colonies, spring count; very little swarm- 

 ing; and as to honey— well, I have not enough to 

 supply my table. Except one hive there is not 10 

 pounds of surplus on hives; i. e., on all, old and 

 new. G.F. Ayreb, 



Atfaerton, Ind., July 5, 1889. 



