190 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



of any of the hives, so that I V)elieve we have 

 now about as many bees per hive as we had 

 when we put them into winter quarters. 

 None of the colonies sliowed any indications 

 of dysentery. In all the colonies examined, 

 we found just one that we thought had bet- 

 ter be united to another. The results up to 

 date, certainly are gratifying, considering 

 that, a year ago at this date, 1 found we had 

 lost one colony, and two or three more show- 

 ed signs of dysentery. However, we have 

 two more months for the bees to pass 

 through, so that we can not count our chick- 

 ens just yet. 



FOUL BROOD. 



As I did not think it advisable to disturb 

 the winter brood-nest, we did not pull our 

 colonies apart to ascertain whether they had 

 commenced rearing l)ro()d. so that we can 

 not give any inf(M-ination yet as to whether 

 foul bi-ood has started, wliere brood-rearing 

 may have commenced. 



Gleanings in Bee Culture, 



fiil>li.sln-<1 Sriiii-MoiiiJll;/. 



EDITOR AND PUBLISHER. 



]ycEX3i3icr^a., OHIO- 



TERMS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



i - ♦»; • 



For Ohtting Eates, See First Page of Beading Matter. 



And in (liy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blefsed, 

 because thou hast obeyed my voice. — Gen. 22: 18. 



The number of our subscribers up to date is 6677, 

 a g-ain of 253 within tlie last month. Manj' thanks. 



ANOTHER SUGGESTION IN REGARD TO THE T 

 SUPER. 



Dr. C. C. Miller sugg-ests using- the loose T tins 

 on top of the sections, as well as beneath, and he 

 says the sugg-estion was given him by E. S. Arm- 

 stronfr, Jerseyville, 111. Of course, this arrange- 

 ment applies only to cases where the tins are loose. 

 When the supei'S are tiered up it prevents the bees 

 from putting the propolis in the space between the 

 sections. Friend Armstrong suggests further, that 

 with little trouble the whole lot of sections may be 

 reversed if it should be desired so to do. 



THE NEW .JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 



When giving the illustration on another page, I 

 omitted to mention that the buckwheat we have re- 

 ceived from Peter Henderson is not quite as large 

 as the cut shows it. There may be occasional grains 

 as large as the picture; and, very likelj', the grains 

 when they are first harvested are larger than they 

 are now. It is. however, considerably larger than 

 any thing we have ever before had in the line of 

 buckwheat. The European silverhiill, advertised 

 last season, is, as you may know, considerably 

 smaller than the old silverhull. The size of the 

 grain alone will make a ready distinction between 

 our older sorts and either of the new ones . 



TINKERING WITH BEES IN MARCH. 



We desire to enter a word of caution to some of 

 our beginning bee-keepers. If you find, upon peer- 

 ing under the quilt or burlap of your colonies, that 

 they are in nice compact balls, do not pull them 

 apart; disturb them just as little as possible. If 

 you have reason to believe that the colonj' is run- 

 ning short of stores, " heft " one end of the frames 

 to see whether they are light in stores. If you find 

 that their supplies are nearly exhausted, give them 

 bee-candy, or, better still, a frame of sealed stores. 

 This frame can be laid on top of the Hill device, 

 just over the cluster. When the weather opens up 

 warm you will have ample opportunity to pull the 

 colony apart; but for three or four weeks yet, let 

 the bees take care of themselves as far as possible. 



GREEDINESS IN ADVERTISING. 



It Is not right, and I am sure it will not pay, dear 

 friends, to declare in your advertisements that 

 your goods are better and cheaper than any other 

 in the world, and to the effect that people will get 

 humbugged if they buy of anybody except you. I 

 have noticed this particularly in our seed-cata- 

 logues. A seedsman broadly declares, and even 

 employs pictures, to illustrate what enormous 

 crops evei-ybody secures who buys seeds of him. 

 Then a counter-picture tells how the crops turn out 

 if you purchase of any one except the advertiser. 

 Now, I do not like this, even as pleasantry. Say, if 

 you choose, that people who buy of you are gener- 

 ally successful; but don't, I beg of you, try to 

 make it appear that all the world are cheats and 

 liars, with just one exception. 



CLOTH INSTEAD OF GLASS FOR HOT-BEDS, COLD- 

 FRAMES. ETC. 



A YEAR ago I was not very well pleased with the 

 new water-proof cloth substitute for glass. Since 

 then, however, I have learned to use it. and find 

 that it answers a most excellent purpose when our 

 heavy snowstorms and freezing weather are pretty 

 much over. It must, however, be fastened to 

 frames a good deal like the frames that hold glass, 

 and these frames must be fastened down so they 

 will not be blown away by the wind. After this is 

 done it will keep off frost tolerably well, although 

 not like glass; and as it permits the rain to go right 

 through it, there is no need of handling the sashes, 

 to get the benefit of warm showers. It also per- 

 mits sufficient air to pass through, so that there is 

 no danger of scorching the plants by the heat of 

 the sun, even if you do not ventilate at all. Add 

 to this, that it gives just about the proper amount 

 of shade for plants newly set out, and it promises 

 to be a great help in starting early plants for any 

 purpose. It also stops the circulation of air suffi- 

 ciently to keep the air and the soil just moist 

 enough to encourage almost all kinds of vegetable 

 life. It is ofiferfd at 3, 6, and 9c per yard, according 

 to the quality, by the U. S. Waterproof Co., 56 

 South St., New York. The cotton sheets that I ex- 

 perimented with a year ago by painting with boiled 

 linseed oil, are not what is wanted at all. The oil 

 soon makes the cloth rotten, obstructs the sunlight, 

 makes the cloth heavy to handle, etc. The plant- 

 bed muslin mentioned above is the best substitute 

 for glass; and although it is really superior to glass 

 late in the spring, ou accounts mentioned above, it 

 can by no means take the place of glass for hot-beds 

 or greenhouses in winter time, even if the manu- 

 facturers do advertise that it will. 



