S88 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



similar to the one that followed his revival 

 work in the city of Dublin, several years ago, 

 when more than half of the police force of the 

 city could b<' dispensed with. A. I. R. 



Liiv not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth 

 and rust doth eorrupt.and where thieves break througrh and 

 «teal.— Matt. 6: 19. 



TiiK portrait-plate showing Bro. Iloltermann, 

 in another column, came from the office of the 

 Arnerican Bee Journal. 



By error, the article on " Imported (Queens.'" 

 page .")4G, was credited to Harry Lathrop, when 

 it should have been J. R. Reed, of Rrowntown, 

 Wisconsin. 



liKo. Hutchinson is making a great success 

 of the hobby that he rides between times- 

 photography. Before us lie some beautiful 

 l)hotographs illustrating various phases of api- 

 culture. 



G. M. DooiJTTi.K has a valuable and season- 

 able article under " Seasonable Questions," in 

 this issue. Don't fail to read it, if you are 

 troubled with honey dripping from one ship- 

 ping-case to another. 



This morning, July 11, the bees have been 

 roaring on the basswoods stronger than we ever 

 knew them to do before. Great swarms of them 

 pour over the tops of the evergreens, and indi- 

 vidual bees drop down as if they had just 

 strength enough to get to the entrance. 



Mr. Emekson T. Abbott, of St. Joseph, Mo., 

 President of the N. A. B. K. A., the date of the 

 next annual convention having been fixed (Oct. 

 IG-IS, at St. Joseph), requests that the readers of 

 •Gleanings, who think of going, send him a 

 card at once. This will aid him greatly in get- 

 ting reduced rates. 



Although Gi-kanings has the distinction of 

 loeing an illustrated journal, this one seems to 

 be especially full of pictures. Fact is. it is 

 now, or ought to be, a busy time for the bee- 

 keeper, and he has to review his journal by 

 glances rather than by extended reading. En- 

 gravings are great tiqie-savers to tlie reader. 



Skverai- days ago I expressed a wish that 

 the above text might be printed in very large 

 black letters, and placed on an immense banner 

 in the city of Chicago, so high up that every 

 man, woman, and child in that turbulent city 

 might see it. My suggestion was met by the 

 remark that most of the law-breakers could 

 not read it, for they could not speak a word of 

 English. Then I would have it printed also in 

 43very man's mother- tongue, and I would beg of 

 Mr. Moody and his army of workers to go ear- 

 nestly to work explaining the text to the peo- 

 ple. Then I should expect a result something 



Did it ever occur to you that thick-top bars 

 are much easier handled, because of their 

 affording plenty of finger-room along the thick 

 edges, than the ordinary old thin top-bars? It 

 is almost impossible to handle the latter, when 

 filled full of capped honey, without running 

 the fingers into the honey. Not so with thick- 

 top bars. We have just been handling the bees 

 at our out-yard on both kinds of frames, and 

 we notice that there is a marked difference in 

 the relative convenience of handling. 



At this time of year, propolis has a way of 

 sticking to the fingers, daubing up smokers, 

 and sometimes making it difficult to let go of a 

 tool when we want to. All this may be avoid- 

 ed, says Alfred Mottaz, of Utica, 111., by smear- 

 ing the tips of the fingers with a little grease. 

 Perhaps it would not be a bad idea, just before 

 starting to work among the bees, to dip the 

 ends of the fingers in a little vaseline or grease; 

 and then, for instance when we go back to re- 

 plenish our smoker, dip the fingers in again. 



infer.— After writing this much we conclud- 

 ed it would be best to put the thing to an actu- 

 al test; and, procuring a small box of vaseline, 

 we smeared the tips of the fingers, and so far it 

 seems to keep the fingers clean of propolis 

 stains. ^ 



those tahent colonies. 



The following letter, received, will explain 

 itself: 



InGLEANiNos for July 1, pag-e .")54, you give an 

 interesting- account of a bicycle visit to the apiary 

 of Ml-. Vernon Burt. Near the close of the iu-ticle, 

 in describing- Mr. Burt's metliods in hiving- sAvarms, 

 you say lie, in a day or fwo, runs another swarm 

 into tlie old liive he liad removed to a new location. 

 This is a new idea to me, and probahiy is to many of 

 your readers. Will you kindly describe fully in 

 Glk..\ninos tlie proper w:iy to go atiout tiiis nietliod 

 of handling- swarms to keep down increase? Will 

 tlieynot be inclined to fight ? and should queen-. 

 cells he removed from tlie old hive ? 



Torch. O... July 6. L. PosEV. 



We did not desire to convey the impression 

 that Mr. Burt ran a swarm into every one of 

 those parent colonies that were set on another 

 location: only a few of those, comparatively, 

 were thus treated. As to the queen-cells, he 

 cuts them out if he has time; otherwise he lets 

 the bees fix things their own way. As to the 

 rest of the old colonies, they are allowed to 

 build up for winter. If they gather any sur- 

 plus it is in combs for extracted honey. Of 

 course, this method does not prevent increase- 

 that is, in numbers — altogether : it simply 

 checks it. But in Mr. Burt's case he desires 



