1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



387 



gl^eWIiE^Y. 



HE following comes to iis on a postal. 

 xVs it was written in German, the 

 c'leik who opens the mails has trans- 

 lated it. I mention this, because 

 friend 8. may claim he did not mean 

 rough as it sounds below, but I be- 

 our translator has aimed to put it 



it as 

 lieve 

 mildly rather than otherwise. 



If yon had used me rig'ht you would have had 

 $50.0(1 worth of trade from me this season. The 

 wax-extractor leaked, and I lost ,'> lbs. of wax, anfl 

 had to have It fixed. Vou do not care whether 

 your goods come early or late. You could have 

 helped it, if you wanted to, so that my goods would 

 have gone right through. If you have your money 

 that is all you care for. I have lost all confidence 

 in you. P. Schons. 



Kellogg, Minn., Apr. 34, 1887. 



On reading the above I asked for the pre- 

 vious correspondence, and I can not see 

 that we failed to comply with any request 

 made by friend S., except that he directed 

 us to mark 6000 sections, one smoker, 

 foundation-fastener, wax-extractor, and 

 some wire nails, as perishable. He evident- 

 ly wanted them marked " perishable," so 

 the railroad companies would hurry them 

 through. I i)resume the shippiiag clerks dis- 

 obeyed orders here, and I certainly should 

 have told them to do so had the matter been 

 referred to me. The above goods can not 

 in any sense be called perishable, and we 

 can not consent to any thing that sounds 

 even like untruthfulness, even if we do lose 

 custom thereby. As it is customary to so 

 mark nursery stock, fruits, and vegetables, 

 where they are lisked to go by freight, ex- 

 pecting tlie railroad officials to take extra 

 pains on that account to hurry them 

 through, an extra price has to be paid for 

 this class of freight. Now, some might de- 

 cide that, if the owner is willing to pay the 

 extra transportation charges, he has a right 

 to mai'k a box of sections '' perishable," if 

 he choose. There may be a difference of 

 opinion in regard to the matter, but I 

 should not want to do it any more than I 

 would want to mark honey as molasses, in 

 order to secure a lower rate of freight. If I 

 c<in not do business successfully, and mark 

 the contents of a package exactly what it is, 

 then I do not want to do business. Is not 

 this the better way, friend S. ? 



In regard to the wax-extractor leaking, I 

 can not quite understand the matter. The 

 wax is expected tu lun right out of any wax- 

 extractor, just as fa^t as it gets melted. If 

 you lost live pounds of wax because of any 

 blunder or remissness on the part of our 

 tinners, I will pay for it ; and 1 beg to as- 

 sure you, dear friend S , that we try to use 

 all of our customers right. We do care 

 very much whether the goods come early or 

 late, and we will do almost any thing in the 

 world we can do to expedite business, con- 

 sistent with strict honesty and integrity. 

 I am sorry if you have lost confidence in us; 

 and I hope, after the above explanation, 

 you will reconsider your decision. 



A IiBTTEB FROM SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 



THE HONEY SEASON THERE FROM FOUR TO FIVE 

 MONTHS long; 500 L.BS. PER COLONY. 



JTo MONGST other things to which particular at- 

 SJIk t^'it'"" ^i^** been called of late, the bar-frame 



l^w hive has had a place. South Australia pro- 

 •*^*- duces a heavy crop of honey, and under the 

 old box system has been noted for years past 

 for the quantity and quality of honey produced; 

 but now since the ABC of 15ee Culture has become 

 a household book, the quantity of honey produced 

 threatens to swamp the market. Hut this, I think, 

 will work its own cure by exterminating those pro- 

 ducers who will not take the trouble to put their 

 goods in the market in good shape. We have a very 

 heavy honey -flow this year; and as the season lusts 

 for' about four or five months you may imagine 

 what a harvest might be gathered with the best 

 appliance and good bees. AVe have no winter here 

 —only a month or two of rough and rainy weath- 

 er, so that in settled and cultivated parts bees can 

 gather all the year; consequentlj' the brood-nest is 

 always pretty full. In country parts, the honey- 

 harvest is gathered from the various species of 

 eucalyptus, some of which bloom yearly, but the 

 bulk bi-yearly. The red gum is a wonderful pro- 

 ducer, and, being a very large tree, a single tree 

 will pi-oduce many cwts. of honej', so that a strong 

 colony of bees will gather, when the extractor is 

 kept going, 400 or .500 lbs. in a season. 



THE inferiority OF BLACKS TO ITALIANS. 



As this I'efers to the black German bee, we may 

 look for still better results as the Italian and Cyp- 

 rian blood asserts itself. I am running about SO 

 colonies this season, a few imported queens, a 

 large proportion of hybrids, and a few blacks; and 

 1 would just like to say that I find the blacks are no- 

 where beside the Ligurian or hybrid in the quanti- 

 ty of honej' gathered, or In general progress. They 

 are very easily discouraged, and, I think, lazj' with- 

 al. I expect about two to three tons of sections 

 this season, of a quality which leaves nothing to be 

 desired. I am just beginning to take off a few, and 

 expect to be at that pleasant occupation until the 

 end of April. 



hot WEATHER. 



The weather at present is very hot. Last week 

 we had it up to 113° right in the shade. A good 

 many poor bees suffered in consequence, where 

 not properly ventilated or shaded, by the melting 

 of the combs. I am sorry to say I was caught nap- 

 ping myself by having some good queens in nucleus 

 boxes with small entrances, and 1 lost six in conse- 

 quence—one imported queen and four purely fer- 

 tilized of my own rearing. None of the full colo- 

 nies suffered, as I wedged up the bodies of the hive 

 to insure plenty of ventilation. 



By the aid of a gas-engine, S'j H. P., I have turn- 

 ed out for others about 3000 hives and appliances. 

 In hive-making I adopted the same principle of 

 fitting as the four-piece sections. I had a machine 

 made to my own order which takes out a row of 

 ^i dovetails. It works speedily and well, and gives, 

 when knocked together and nailed both ways, a 

 strong hive-body, as well as insuring each part 

 coming up square into place. The Simplicity has 

 been pretty general Ij' adopted in these colonies, and 

 I think meets all i-equirments. 



PRICE OF HONEY IN AUSTRALIA. 



At the present time, honey is liringing here, 



