1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



439 



ing for him, as her hands and nerves are 

 better adapted to such work than others that 

 are unsteady by years of toil. I wish read- 

 ers of Gleanings could all see this little api- 

 ary, located in the pine woods, where tne 

 saw palmetto is the source of supply, and 

 where Mr. S. harvested over 6000 lbs. last 

 year. Just back of them will be observed 

 the little palmetto shack where the work is 

 all done, away from the prowling bees, and 

 where Miss Florence transferred 165 larvae 

 to queen-cell cups — a process of which Ru- 

 ber was the inventor, as I understand it. 

 We had a good forenoon's work; and while 

 Miss Florence was grafting, Mr. S. and the 

 writer were removmg surplus honey and 

 shaking some bees to take home to form nu- 

 clei as well as getting proper larvae for her 

 work. 



By the way, I think that Mr. S. is the best 

 located for pure mating of queens of any one 

 that I have ever met with, as his own bees 

 are all that are on the key, and he can select 

 his drones to suit himself; and before queen- 

 cells are hatched they are all at the home or 

 queen yard, so there is a very small chance 

 for mismating. 



At the home, Mr. S. has built a two-story 

 honey-house at the end of the wharf, so that 

 he can run alongside the house and draw the 

 honey, by pulley, to the upper story for stor- 

 age, as well as to have it handy to lower 

 the boat to go to market, and he and the 

 sons hope to fill it soon to the capacity with 

 their own stocks. The lower room is for 

 general storage. Can any one else report a 

 honey-storage over the water? 



Picture No. 3 gives a view of the wharf 

 and honey-house. It was ours to sample a 

 gallon of that palmetto honey from this apia- 

 ry while we were in the South, by the court- 

 esy of Bro. S., and it was excellent. 



While I am aware that GLEANINGS devotes 

 most of its space to bees, yet it has other 

 home interests; and while at " Island Home," 

 although bees are the principal thought, at 

 spare times the sons fish for the markets. 

 In the afternoon, after we had returned 

 from the outyard we sat on the wharf at the 

 honey-house about an hour and a half; and 

 picture No. 4 will show what the writer did 

 with rod and reel; so you see that fish also 

 are handy and plentiful. 



Sunday dawned bright and clear, and after 

 noon we all took to the launch and went to 

 the Sunday-school. Monday Jesse piloted 

 us to our (}uarters after one of the pleasant 

 side trips of the season. 



Philo, Illinois. 



Well, friends, I do not know what you 

 think about it, but I am a good deal interest- 

 ed in that Sunday-school where they have 

 just clubbed together and bought an organ; 

 and as the same mail that brought the photos 

 and letters also brought a letter from our 

 good friend Shumard, I will give his letter 

 right here. — A. I. R. 



Friend RooL— Our bees have not done as well as last 

 year, although we have, to date, taken 3000 lbs., and 

 tiiink there is another thousand in siifht. We shall all 

 be tflad to welcome you and Mrs. Root bai k to our 



island home next winter, and hope nothing will pre- 

 vent your coming. I am sorry I liave had such poor 

 success in raising queens; but bees on the island did 

 very poorly this spring— too much cold west wind 

 sweeping over the gulf. I think they crossed the bay 

 ahead of the wind and could not get back. I have 

 thought of trying turkeys on the key, but could not 

 get to it this spring. 



Our little Sunday-school at our schoolhouse, organ- 

 ized two months ago, has an attendance of 40 to 60. 

 The young people are taking good interest— bought a 

 $50.00 chapel organ, and have $8.00 in the treasury for 

 supplies. I. T. Shumard. 



Osprey, Fla.. May 31. 



CARPENTRY FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



Selecting a Hive, with a Digression on 

 Comb and Extracted Honey Production; 

 No Economy in Home-made Hives. 



BY F. DUNDAS TODD. 



Let it be distinctly understood at the very 

 beginning that I am not advising anybody to 

 make his own hives. I made 25 last summer 

 because I had to, and I think I made a fairly 

 good job; but after the experience I am not 

 enthusiastically in favor of repeating. I kept 

 close track of the cost of every detail, and I 

 feel I can not start this article better than by 

 setting forth at length what I paid for the 

 material. Mv own labor is not charged in 

 the bill at all. As it will be interesting to 

 compare the cost with first-class goods of 

 factory make I append an estimate compiled 

 from a catalog oi one of the leading houses; 

 and since I made up quite a number it is only 

 fair to quote the catalog quantity prices. 



Cost of material used in 

 making a two-story di- 

 visible hive. 



Bottom-board 20 



2 bodies 26 



16 frames 32 



2 followers 05 



1 super cover 15 



1 cover 18 



Total $1.16 Total 



Catalog price for two-sto- 

 ry divisible hive in the 

 flat. 



Bottom-board 20 



2 bodies 42 



16 frames 32 



2 followers 14 



1 super cover 14 



1 cover 30 



.$1.52 



The lumber was procured at the miU, and 

 assurance was given that it was well dried; 

 but, although it was bought at a season when 

 every thing was as dry as a bone, I found 

 that it shrunk decidedly in use so that there 

 was a decided gap between the two parts of 

 the hive in many cases; in fact, I suspect 

 some of the bodies may have to be discarded, 

 while others will provide a job at planing. 

 So the wastage, when taken into considera- 

 tion, will add to the cost of the bodies fit to 

 use. 



Later on in the season I had a dozen divi- 

 sions cut out by a cabinet-maker from kiln- 

 dried spruce as an experiment, so that I 

 might learn how this kind of lumber would 

 stand our rainv winter season. These cost 

 me 35 cts. each; and if I substitute them in 

 my first estimate the total cost of the hive 

 will be ^1.60. Now as a matter of fact a sin- 

 gle division from the factory costs me in 

 Victoria just 35 cts., this including, of course, 

 freight and customs duty. There is simply 

 no comparison p'^ssible between the quality 

 of the goods. 



