1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



931 



when I mail the postmaster of the place selected 

 one of the little blocks, and write , to him. sending 

 terms, etc., asking- him to interest himself in the 

 matter by showing- this sample to those he thinks 

 would wish honey, as they come after their mail, 

 giving- him a certain commission on whatever he 

 can sell. As orders come in, take the boxes of hon- 

 ey, and after insv)ectiiig to see that all is right, drop 

 on top of the honey the slip, telling how to liquefy 

 it, etc. ; then put on the mRnillu paper as before, 

 and nail on the cover, trimming off the paper left 

 outside, with a sharp knife. This paper is put in to 

 make this upper joint dust and dirt tight. All that 

 is necessary to be done now is to direct and ship. 

 Without going- into further details, I think all can 

 understand that here is a plan that is not only cheap 

 as to package, mode of working, etc., but brings 

 our product to the consumer with as little middle- 

 men agency as possible, when a market away from 

 home has to be sought. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1887. 



Friend D., your plan has naany excellent 

 features to commend it. The principal dif- 

 ficulty, however, is with the wooden pack- 

 age. Prof. Cook mentioned it at Chicago, 

 and the matter was discussed somewhat. 

 Friend Ileddon said he had tried the wood- 

 en packages ; and while they did very well 

 for handling honey around home, he did not 

 believe they would ever take the place of 

 the square tin cans which we show in our 

 price list. He said he had been annoyed by 

 having the boxes broken, and by leakage. 

 As these packages are, however, cheaper 

 than any thing else we can get up, we should 

 like to have more reports from them. I was 

 somewhat surprised to see bow a rising vote 

 threw out wooden kegs for shipping honey. 

 Almost every one present had had some bad 

 experience with them. The greater majori- 

 ty by far were in favor of tin cans securely 

 bo.xed. 



VARIOUS MATTERS. 



IMPORTANT FACTS FROM FRIEND HYDE. 



SEE by Gleanings that there is a short crop of 

 honey in all parts of the country, and do we 

 know why it is so? I know that, in some parts, 

 it is too di-y, and in others too wet; but here 

 when white clover was in bloom we had what I 

 throught as good weather for honey as any I ever 

 saw; in fact, June and July were just such months 

 as I should have ordered if I ruled the atmosphere. 

 There was clover in abundance; and after clover, 

 sumac; but still there was not much honey— only 

 about enough to keep brood-rearing going or until 

 goldenrod came, which gave almost enough for 

 winter. Some colonies got sufficient from this 

 source, as there was no honey in the hive before 

 this came. So now I shall have a good opportunity 

 to test goldenrod for wintering. This honey has 

 the same peculiar odor as you describe the aster 

 as having, on page 8:^9. 



Two years ago some of my neighboi-s claimed to 

 get a large flow of honey from wild cherry, and 

 that year we had a host of cherries, so this year I 

 expected my bees to work on them; for, as expect- 

 ed, they were full of blossoms; but, on the contra- 

 ry, there wore but few bees to be seen on the trees; 

 likewise the cherries dropped before they ripened. 



There was no honey from buckwheat, and buck- 

 wheat yielded poorly. I sowed some the S.ith of 

 July, that would have yielded well if it had not been 

 for frost, and the bees were busy for a good while 

 upon it. This was European silverhull. Isn't it 

 (lueer that we have it dry here while you have it 

 wet, and vice versa, when the distance between us 

 is so slight? 



SUGGESTIONS ON SMOKERS. 



I use a grate like the one in the bottom of the 

 Bingham smoker, on top of the fuel, to keep the 

 Are in, should the conetop drop off. I also use one 

 in the Clark to keep the sparks from coming out. 

 I find, also, that the top of the Bingham will not 

 heat so badly with this in. 



THE BUTTER-DISH FEEDERS. 



I want to suggest a few thoughts about feeders. 

 Why not invert a large butter-dish over a smaller 

 one, after you have placed it on the frames over 

 the bees, first making an opening in the bottom of 

 the larger one sufficient to pour feed through, and 

 to see how full you are getting it? Then you can 

 cover the opening with enamel cloth, and pack all 

 around it with chaff to keep the feed warm. 



I want to suggest another idea to N. L. Gerrish or 

 C. C. Miller, in regard to filling empty combs with 

 syrup. Instead of using the machinery that 

 friend Miller describes on page 850, 1 take an empty 

 comb (those that are in wired L. frames are the 

 best to handle) and immerse it with the flat side 

 up, into a wash-boiler half full of syrup, or more, 

 pushing the comb down with one hand until the 

 syrup flows over it, and then pass the other hand 

 back and forth over the comb, lightly touching it. 

 This will suck the air out of the cells, causing the 

 syrup to take its place, until the whole side is 

 filled or rubbed in; then reverse, and fill the other 

 side in the same way. After they are filled, place 

 them in a comb-bucket, to drain off. You might, 

 before you set them aside to drip, wipe off with 

 your fingers some of the surplus. After you have 

 a sufficient number, take them to the hive, arid 

 the bees will repack them. You want your syrup 

 about blood warm, and thick. I make mine like 

 friend Heddon, using .3 lbs. of water with 10 lbs. of 

 sugar, adding one level teaspoonful of tartaric 

 acid when boiling. I know, friend Root, that you 

 object to using any acid; but have you known of 

 any harm that has resulted from it? If not, whj' 

 not use it, as it will keep syrup from sugaring 

 again? When I don't use it I find the sugar all 

 crusted on to the combs after filling the combs in 

 this way. 



CLEANING OUT THE SECTIONS. 



Friend Hilton, on page 851, says that he has no 

 trouble about getting bees to clean out the sec- 

 tions and carry the honey below. I have tried the 

 same way as he describes, without good success. 



J. L. HVDE. 



Pomfret Landing, Conn., Nov. 1.5, 1887. 



Thanks, friend H., for the information 

 you give us. I am inclined to think the 

 goldenrod gave the peculiar odor you allude 

 to.— Your remark in regard to the butter- 

 dish feeder is good ; but 1 don't quite see 

 how the bees are going to get at the feed, on 

 the supposition that the larger butter-dish 

 tits closely over and around the edges of the 

 butter-dish below. As a general rule, 

 however, the butter-dishes are warped a 

 little. In this event we have ample 



