102 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



l^g', a few 13^, and the rest IK inch. You have 

 suggested a rather new idea to us on thel3^-in. 

 spacing. If that distance will make the old 

 ix^g" top - bars proof against brace and burr 

 combs, it will effect quite a saving in the cost of 

 frames. We must confess, however, that we 

 are skeptical; but as the idea comes from a 

 large and practical bee-keeper— one who, we 

 believe, has nearly a thousand colonies — we 

 should give it a careful and unprejudiced trial. 

 In the mean time, our American bee-keepers 

 have said that 13^-inch spacing was too close. 

 What will they say of 13^ spacing? Who is 

 there among our readers who can affirm or dis- 

 prove Major Shallard's point? — Ed.] 



7 stfatei 



^6Pages7xI0 

 90 PER YEARj 



O Lord, what shall I say when Israel tuineth their backs be- 

 fore their enemies?— Josii. 7:8. 



Eight extra pages this time, and, for aught 

 we know, for several Issues to come. 



Our colonies under telescope covers keep 

 much drier and nicer than those under other 

 sorts of covers. 



We have had so much printing to do lately 

 that we have been running night and day, and 

 are now nearly caught up. 



Our symposium on the subject of bees and 

 fruit will be continued in our next issue. It is 

 hardly time to hear from our correspondents so 

 as to get their articles here in time for this 

 present number. 



We learn with pleasure that Bro. York is 

 also having a flood of renewals for the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. This indicates that bee- 

 keepers are not yet discouraged, and that they 

 have hope for the future. 



Those new sections, sanded and polished on 

 both sides, are taking like hot cakes. This 

 year's business is starting out unusually brisk. 

 In fact, we have been obliged to add more help, 

 new machines, new blower, more line shafting, 

 etc. 



We call special attention to Major Shallard's 

 statement, in Trade Notes, viz., that top-bars 

 % thick and % wide, spaced 1>8 from center to 

 center, will prevent burr-combs more satisfac- 

 torily than any other arrangemcnit. We ask. 

 Is this true? and is I'l^ spacing practicable and 

 possible in this country, for all conditions and 

 times in the apiary ? 



We have sent and got Dr. Mason's Given 

 foundation-press, and are experimenting with 

 it with the view of putting them on the market 



at some future date. By the way, can any of 

 our readers tell us whether the widow of D. S. 

 Given is still living? We do not wish to take 

 advantage of a good thing without making 

 some satisfactory arrangement with the parties 

 who first brought it to light. 



Our list of subscribers is not for sale at any 

 price. Nearly every spring we are asked what 

 we charge per 1000 names. We do not wish 

 those who favor us with their subscriptions to 

 be loaded down with circulars and other stuff, 

 ad nauseam, without their consent. We do, 

 however, sell lists of our catalogue names of 

 live bee-keepers at $3..50 per 1000, printed from 

 type. ^ 



We hope our readers will not get the impres- 

 sion that, when an article does not have a foot- 

 note, it does not receive our editorial indorse- 

 ment. On the contrary, such an article is fre- 

 quently so complete in itself that there is noth- 

 ing we can add to it by attaching a footnote. 

 W^e have several very valuable communications 

 in this issue that have no footnotes whatever, 

 and yet we consider them just exactly as good 

 as those that have our comment attached to 

 the end. 



A correspondent has sent us some pressed 

 specimens of yellow- jasmine flowers and leaves, 

 a poisonous honey-plant. The flowers are bell- 

 shaped, light orange-yellow in color, one inch 

 long, and about Jo inch wide at the widest part 

 of the bell. The leaves are lanceolate, or 

 lance-shaped, and are from % to l^X in. long. 

 If we could get some fresh specimens we should 

 be glad to make an engraving, so that all of our 

 readers in the South may be able to recognize 

 the plant at once. 



Bro. York, of the American Bee Journal, 

 calling attention to the fact that we said that 

 Prof. Cook had been writing more sugar-honey 

 articles for the agricultural papers, says Prof. 

 Cook has not written for such papers for 

 months. That we did see articles on the sub- 

 ject of sugar honey, signed by Prof. Cook, we 

 are certain; but we now think they must have 

 been reprints of old articles not credited that 

 friend Cook wrote a year or so ago for the api- 

 cultural journals. We have mislaid the papers 

 so that we can not now refer again to them. 

 You see, when a thing once gets started it is 

 hard to stop it. We accept the correction with 

 thanks, and hereby tender our apology to Prof. 

 Cook. 



We are getting quite a number of inquiries 

 asking whether we will not take queens in pay- 

 ment for advertising, or articles for Gleanings 

 in payment for supplies. We have arranged 

 for all the queens that we can possibly use for 

 another season; and in justice to our customers 

 we furnish queens only from breeders who we 

 hnoiv can produce just as good queens as we do, 



