116 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



may count on a fair yield each year, whether 

 other beekeepers get any or not. 



The farmer who has a flock of sheep need not 

 necessarily raise a lot of lambs ; neither need the 

 beekeeper raise swarms. Bees must, however, 

 have room to work freely, if we would get the 

 full benefit of a large colony. 



For several j^ears past I spent about half my 

 time in the bee business : but the past season I 

 have devoted all my time to it, besides having an 

 assistant occasionally, and have yet not been 

 able to do all that ought to be done. 



If our friend, who is curious to know what a 

 professional beekeeper can find to do in the win- 

 ter, will get into the business largely, so that he 

 will have full occupation for his time during the 

 summer, he will not be troubled to find employ- 

 ment in that connection in the winter also. 



The past season has served to demonstrate the 

 practicability of sending queens by mail. Out 

 of over two hundred sent by me in that way, the 

 loss has been only about three per cent., and 

 many of them have been sent a great distance. 

 One went to New Orleans, and one to the State 

 of Mississippi. They hav(! been in the mails, in 

 one or two instances, a week or more, though I 

 intended to have them all go to their destination 

 tlie same week they were put up. 



With many a wish for the prosperity of the Bee 

 Journal, I remain, as ever, yours, 



J. L. Hubbard. 



Walpole, N. H. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Divers Remarks, 



D. C. Hunt, Yankee born, forty-three years of 



age, a mechanic by trade ; after knocking about 



the world over, by sea and land, spending six 



years in the south, and being driven out by the 



^ rebellion, have settled in the good old State of 



j Vermont, and own a farm, yet make beekeeping 



I a speciality. 



I Furthermore, another correspondent suggests 



I that the patrons of I he Bee ,Tou'-nal send the editor 



their photographs, that he miglit, I suppose, be 



surrounded at least by the shadows of congenial 



j spirits. I wish to improve upon that, and have 



I the face of our respected editor in return — every 



I one, of course, not forgetting to inclose with his 



own photograph twenty-five cents ; to send his 



photograph to all his .subscribers would be too 



heavy a tax for us to ask of him. 



How is it, Mr. Editor, will that arrangement 

 be agreeable ? 



D. C. Hunt. 

 NoiiTii Trenbridge, Vt. 



j E^^The incoming photographs are always 

 i very acceptable, duly prized, and carefully pre- 

 I served for that " three ba>ided album" in posse. 

 I But we really cannot give any assurance as to 

 I rciturns — there being, as yet, no such thing i/i esse. 



[For the AnuM ic:Lii Bee Journal.] 



The Honey Slinger. 



I see a communication in the October number, 

 from Mr. H- Alley, about queens meeting the 

 drones twice. Although I have not raised as 

 many queens as Mr. Alley, yet I have raised a 

 large number within the last five years, and have 

 never known an instance when a queen returned 

 with the evidence of copulation to be seen, but 

 that she was fertilized. 



Three years ago, in the forepart of June, we 

 had a week or more of cold cloudy weather, 

 during which the drones in my apiary hardly 

 fiew out at all. On the 20th we had a briglit 

 beautiful day, and they were out in great num- 

 bers. [Just previous to the commencement of 

 the cold spell, or about the 12th, I found my 

 nuclei boxes were well supplied with young 

 queens, which I was anxious should become fer- 

 tile, as I had immediate use for at least a dozen.] 



On that day, at five P. M , I examined my 

 nuclei, and found eight queens had the unmis- 

 takeable evidence of fertilization. I then clipped 

 the wings of three of them, and in a few days had 

 them all in colonies, or used them in making 

 artificial swarms. They all proved fertile, as 

 they have in every case where I have found the 

 genitals of the drone protuding from the queen. 

 I have rarely seen it the next morning after the 

 trip ; and it is removed somelioiD. I think you 

 are mistaken in your conclusions, friend Alley, 

 although I wonder at it, with your experience. 



And now for Mr. Green's suggestions on page 

 81. For one, I fall in at once : so here goes. I, 



Ibelievethe " Melextracterer," " Hruschka," 

 "Honey-pump," or, as one of my neighbors 

 calls it, the "Honey-slinger," is going to be used 

 quite extensively. It has been made, thus far, 

 with a frame work, in which the comb frame is 

 placed, and this frame work is made to revolve 

 with cog-wheels, crank or string, within a bar- 

 rel, tin case, or wooden box, which catches the 

 honey as it flies out of the comb. The barrel, 

 can, or box, is necessarily large, clumsy to han- 

 dle, and difBcult to keep clean ; and I wish to 

 suggest what seems to me to be an improvement, 

 doing away with the barrel. I would use the 

 frame work and shaft precisely as now construc- 

 ted ; then have made a tin cylinder that will be 

 just large enough to drop down over the frame 

 work, and as long as the frame is deep. It can 

 be held in place, on the frame, when in opera- 

 tion, by any simple device ; either by pins at the 

 bottom or hooks at the top. Let this tin cover 

 revolve with the frame work. The honey will 

 he thrown out against the inside of this cover, 

 will run down to the bottom, and can be caught 

 in any receiver, as a tub, a large tin pan, or the 

 like. A tin pan made for the purpose would be 

 best. Let it be two inches larger in diameter 

 than the tin cover, and six or eight inches deep, 

 with strong handles on the sides. In the centre 

 of the pan, have fixed a socket for the foot of 

 the shaft to rest in ; and support the top of the 

 shaft by any arm fixed in a convenient place. 

 The advantage of this arrangement consists in 

 having the receiver in two parts, both of which 

 are light, can be easily handled, readily kept 

 perfectly clean, and cost but little. 



R. BiCKFORD. 



Seneca Falls, N. Y., Oct. 19, 1869. 



