272 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



appear at the bee's mouth, in the form of a beauti- 

 fully transpai-ent s'lobiile. Mr. Beach pronounced 

 the honey perfectly delicious— as fine, he said, as 

 he ever tasted. 



To see the little fellows fall on the ground be- 

 fore they reach the alig'hting--board, and panting 

 for breath, reminds one of summer time. The 

 bees are getting- this honey from the maple, willow, 

 and elm trees that grow on our creeks in this 

 county. I live near the South-Carolina line, in 

 Mecklenburg Co. J. A. Akdrey, M. D. 



Pineville, N. C, Feb. 17, 1887. 



ARMSTRONG'S T SUPER — S(JMETHING FURTHER 

 PROM FKIENI) ARMSTRONG. 



Manj' thanks for kind words spoken in regard to 

 my T super. I was thinking some of making it to 

 have only one side to open; but then in case it 

 should be reversed it would have to be reversed 

 back again before the sections could be taken out, 

 and the difference in the cost of construction would 

 not be over 3 cents each, or 2V2. so I have concluded 

 to let it be the way it is until the jjresent craze of 

 reversing is over. I think it would make a better 

 case to have one side made whole, or in one 

 piece, and, of course, our object should be to have 

 every thing about our hives as simple, cheap, and 

 practical as possible. That has been and is still my 

 aim, and I know these are your sentiments. One 

 good feature about my super is the double clamp- 

 ing wedges. They hold the sections so firmly to- 

 gether that we do not have to use such heavy T 

 tins. .lust examine this feature and see how firm 

 they are held together. You could almost jump 

 uiion them with your feet, and not break through, 

 and that with onl.>' '■'» of an inch base to the tins. 

 E. S. Armstrong. 



.Jerseyville, 111., March 5, ]8«7. 



the large sweet clover ov the south. 



Referring to J. p. Caldwell's nameless plant (see 

 (tLeanings, Jan. 1.5, and Feb. 1. 1887), and melilot in 

 the South, I will say 1 have seen, near (jreenville. 

 Alabama, the sweet clover in question in thousands 

 of acres of pasturage and roadsides, gone wild, and 

 as tenacious as the pahuetto of the same locality. 

 It grows quite large, so that stock which will eat it, 

 hrouse off only the branches. It is only a soft wood, 

 hollow stem, never growing large, or moi-e than six 

 or eight feet high. It is good for bees when season- 

 able, but hot sun and drought render it useless. It 

 blooms and seeds once a year. Now, our beautiful 

 white-bark mountain shrub, blossoming every time 

 it rains after a considerable drought, is a deciduous 

 and perennial bush, with large grub of hard roots. 

 It grows naturally in my yard among cedars among 

 limestone. Because of its stinking smell when the 

 leaves are mashed, some call it " polecat." Othei-s 

 name it wiesatch. I am told it is neither of these 

 shrubs, which are well known out West, along with 

 the great honey-plant, catclaw. Our sweet-flower- 

 ing shrub grows much like privet, only with whiter 

 exterior. Many call it the bee-bush, so much is it 

 besieged by them for honey. A. W. Bryan. 



San Marcos, Tex., Feb., 1887. 



HIVING SWARMS ON EMPTY FRAMES, A StJCCESS. 



I hived 10 swarms on empty frames the past sea- 

 son, and it was a complete success. I hived them 

 on 8 frames, L. size, spacing them just 1 .5-16 inches 

 apart from center to center. I think this is very 

 essential. There was but little drone comb, and the 

 combs were very straight, except in one rather 



small swarm the frames had fdn. starters. Sections 

 were put on about two days after hiving. I do not 

 have any trouble in getting the bees in the boxes 

 when the frames are close together. I have tried it 

 two years. My bees are mostly blacks or hybrids. 

 All the bees in this localitj' are more or less mixed 

 with Italians, I think, as yellow bands can be seen 

 in about every swarm during the honey season. 

 Clinton, 111. Henry Willson. 



FIVE DOIiliABS PER DAY AMONG THE BEES. 



I am not discouraged with my experience during 

 the summer of 188(5 among the bees. I Started with 

 13 colonies and increased to 36, except 3 lbs. of bees 

 and 5 queens. I realized about $5.U0 per day for the 

 time I spent with the busy workers, besides the in- 

 crease. Nearly all of my bees are pure Italians, 

 and they are as good as I want. 



HOME-MADE COMB-BUCKET. 



Some time ago I saw an account in Gleanings of 

 a man who wanted legs to his comb-bucket, but you 

 thought the cost wo)uld be too much. As brains are 

 cheaper with me than dimes, I made one. I went 

 to the tinner and got a sheet of tin 20x28 inches and 

 bent it thus: LJ The sides are 10 inches high, and the 

 bottom 8 inches broad; then I put in pine ends, one 

 inch thick. 1 slip them in only 'i inch, leaving it 19 

 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 10 deep, in the clear. 

 Now, you have pine ends, and you can put on as 

 long legs as you wish. A small strip of wood, nailed 

 on the inside of the ends, supports the combs, 

 and a strip of molding around the top protects the 

 tin, and the bucket is done. The cover is made of 

 wood. 1 got the tin for 30 cts.. and the wood was out 

 of the boxes in which goods were shipped to me. 

 My bucket doesn't cost over 2.5 cts., and is robber- 

 proof. You can put handles to it to suit. As good 

 a way as any is to fasten two pieces of small cotton 

 rope to the ends, like a bail, and both can be taken 

 in one hand. S. C. Frederick. 



Arcadia, Kan. 



bees ELYING (.)UT IN WINTER. 



Why do my bees fly when the weather is below 

 freezing": I packed them in boxes i ft. wide x 12 ft. 

 long, holding 18 hives. The bottom is 4 in. thick, 

 and is stuffed with dry sawdust, and there is an 

 opening of 3 inches for each hive. The hives are 

 set close together each way, and 6 in. of clover 

 chaff is in front, and the same on top. To-day I find 

 the snow covered with dead bees, and roaring in the 

 hive as they do in hot weather. Do you think they 

 are too warmV 



My crop of honey for last year from 42 colonies 

 was 3600 lbs., and all June honey. I increased to 

 91. I sold one-third of the honey at home for 1 

 dollar per gallon, and will try to sell twice that 

 amount this year at home. Bees had a good fly 

 Jan. 26. Chas. Buddington. 



Attica, Mich.. Feb. 4, 1887. 



I fear your bees are too warm, as you 

 have them arranged. Can you not give a 

 little more ventilation through the covering 

 on top? I sliould prefer the entrances a lit- 

 tle larger, to those colonies that seem to be 

 making so much noise. 



WHAT ought we TO EXPECT FROM TEN ACRES OF 

 .-VLSIKE '/ 



I had, in the spring, 20 colonies, and from the 20 

 colonies I received 840 lbs. of comb honey, and in-- 

 creased to .56. My honey was nearly all from red 

 clover and motherwort. Though white clover was 



