1887 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTUKK. 



471 



only about 3J0 lbs. of honey. Next summer I hope 

 to make soraetliing out of them, although the price 

 of honey is very low— from 8 to 13 cts. per lb. We 

 shall have to find a market in Eng-land. There is a 

 large quantity of honey taken out of hollow trees 

 in the forests. One eousolation with us is, that the 

 bees winter on their summer stands. I should like, 

 though, if 1 had the time and means to put the 

 hives in rows and put up a roof and board ui) the 

 baek. We are kept pretty busy with our cheese 

 and butter farming, so I can not give that attention 

 to bees I should like. I am sorry to hear you have 

 had foul brood in your apiary. I hope by this time 

 you have got rid of it. We are not free from it in 

 this country. A neighbor, 8 miles off, has it among 

 his bees very badly. Charles Davy. 



Waugachu, Wauganni, N. Z., Apr. 18, 1887. 



A LETTER FROM QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. 



The price of honey has gone down half this last 

 eighteen months, with no sign of rising any more. 

 The price now by the bulk is 3 pence, or 4 cents. The 

 business is going ahead so fast that many are start- 

 ing in it. I have made a solar wax-extractor after 

 J. A. Green's pattern. It works well. I read, some 

 time ftgo, in Gleanings, about some stingless bees. 

 We have two sorts here, of no value as honey-pro- 

 ducers; but I have taken as much as 3 quarts from 

 a nest. All their comb is made of propolis, except 

 the brood-nest. The brood is in its own cocoon, 

 with no outer covering. S. W. Morrison, M. D., on 

 page 15, Jan. 1, 1886, refers to a so-called discovery 

 of a new use for honey, made by Dr. Comi, of Home. 

 In Book I. of " The Wars of the Jews," Chapter IX., 

 by Flavius Josephus, written in the first century, he 

 speaks of Aristobulus being preserved above ground 

 in honey. 



1 think the worst thing we have to deal with here 

 is excessive swarming. Mrs. Chaddock is put out 

 with it in America. In Queensland they swarm 

 from the first of September till the end of March, 

 with very little honey after the middle of November. 



I agree with Mr. Hutchinson on giving our new 

 swarms starters only, as I tried it this season, and 

 shall never give full sheets or combs any more. 



AUTHUR BENSLEY. 



Rosewood Gate, Qu., Aus., Mai-ch 38, 1887. 



house, and other l)uildings, to store away all of his 

 traps; j'es, and a honey-house, and racks on which 

 to hang his frames of comb. J. W. C. Gray. 



Montieello, 111., May SO, 1887. 



A VISIT TO A BEE-KEEPER. 



I was recently across the country some miles to 

 visit a bee-keeper by the name of Johnson. He has 

 about 300 colonies. He winters them in a cellar 

 uiade especially for his bees. Among other ingen- 

 ious devices he has a smoker. It is simply cnor- 

 nious— more than four times as large as mine, and 

 of a peculiar construction, based upon a principle 

 which seems to me to be good. He says it will not 

 go out in a ^vhole day, and is always ready for " biz" 

 or buzz. Two years ago he threw away separators 

 and burned over a thousand old style sections. He 

 has an odd section, 4!iX5xl?4, with open sides, or 

 bee-spaces, all around. He says that these open- 

 side sections are just as ^ood in every way as the 

 separator; and that, out of 8000 lbs. last season, he 

 did not have fifty sections but that were first class. 

 He makes his own foundation, and during the win- 

 ter he makes his own hives He also crates all of 

 his sections, and has them ready by spring. His 

 hives are all covered with clapboards nailed to nar- 

 row strips. He says this is better than dense shade. 

 His crates are old style, and hold 3) sections, and 

 pongt;j|;ute a part o^" tfje hiye. He has a shop, too)- 



PUTTING GLASS IN FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE TO 

 STOP ROBBING. 



I bought a colony of hybrids the first of May. 

 They have worked well. May 30th I found that the 

 neighboring bees were robbing mine. I threw a 

 wet sheet over the hive, then consulted Gleanings 

 that a neighbor had lent riio. I followed the sug- 

 gestion of putting a pane of glass before the en- 

 tratice. They seem very quiet now. I do not know 

 how long to leave the glass on. It seems to worry 

 the bees. I think 1 shall enjoy taking care of my 

 bees when I understand better how to do it. 



Mas. G. N. Harmon. 



Lawrenceville, N. Y., June 1, 1887. 



Glass, in some respects, works veiy nicely; 

 bnt one objection to it is, that it is apt to 

 worry the inmates of the hive as well as the 

 robbers. It should not be left before the 

 entrance more than an hour or so. A better 

 way is to contract the entrance so that not 

 more than one or two bees can get out at a 

 time. If you have a bee-tent, and they are 

 robbing badly, place the tent over the robbed 

 colony^ 



THE bee-keeper's HAT. 



The bee-keeper's hat came to hand in good shape. 

 It is a novel proceeding, to get a full-grown hat out 

 of an envelope that cost only two cents for carriage. 

 I improved mine by making a band of light zinc 

 and attaching four small wires, which adds nothing 

 perceptible to the weight, but holds the crown tight 

 like a miniature tent. A. A. Parsons. 



Avon. Ind., May 3J, 1887. 



Yes, it is a little strange that we can get a 

 full-grown hat into a small envelope. In or- 

 der tliat oin- readers may get the full force 

 of friend P.'s remarks, I will say that the 

 brim is four inches wide, and the whole hat 

 fifteen ia diameter. By a sort of sleight-of- 

 hand movement it is folded so that it can 

 be gotten into an envelope. It is slipped 

 snugly into one not so very much larger 

 than "the common size used in corj-espond- 

 ence. When the envelope is received, open 

 and proceed to draw out the hat, and when 

 about two-thirds of the way, you will be 

 surprised to see it flop into shape. It is 

 true, its weight is insigniticant ; and as a 

 hat for holding out a bee-veil, I can scarcely 

 imagine any thing more perfect. 



FULL SHEETS OF FOUNDATION VS. STARTEHS. 



Will you kiridly state, througlj your valuable pa- 

 per, what are the reasons for using full sheets of 

 foundation in the brood-nest, instead of starters 

 only? A Beginner. 



Ohio, III , May 31, 1887. 



By the use of full sheets of foinidation in 

 the brood-nest we can secure perfect combs, 

 and we can also ol)lige the bees to build all 

 worker comb or all drone cornl). as circum^ 

 stances in either case may demand. By the 

 non or limited use of foundation iii the 

 brood-nest, you are subject more or les^s to 

 the season and the inclination of the bees. 

 As a rule, without full sheets of foundation 

 >vp pan not secure nice, perfect, well-filjed 



