28 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



REPORT FROM THE REVERSING DEVICES, ETC. 



Thanks for the bellows spring-. It came just in 

 time for use; it works admirably. I will see that 

 you lose nothing-. I shall need some more reversers 

 in the spring-. 1 couldn't make the bees take the 

 honey out and store it in the sections. I would 

 break their capping-s, but they would repair them 

 and seal them up. But they are very handy to have, 

 and I prefer them to the tins. If any one has been 

 successful in getting the honey taken out and stor- 

 ed above, I should like to see a report, in Glean- 

 ings, of the manner and mode of operation gener- 

 ally. 



ASTONISHING THE " OLD WISDOMS." 



I had six colonics in the spring-, all in good shape. 

 One lost the queen early in April, and didn't do very 

 much till I put on a new queen. I had no increase, 

 and took out 359 full sections of white clover and 

 basswood honey, and have from .50 to 7.5 lbs. in part- 

 ly filled sections. I took 94 full sections from one 

 young swarm, and there is fully 15 lbs. left in partly 

 filled sections. This large result astounds the " old 

 wisdoms," who still put their trust in box hives and 

 nail-kegs, and now they are "goin' to git" some of 



" THESE 'ere new FIXIN'S." 



I prevented increase by following the directions 

 of Prof. Cook, by hiving No. 3 where No. 1 went out. 

 There was a great yield in basswood, but the buck- 

 wheat yield was almost nothing, though there was 

 100 acres within a radius of two miles. With us, 

 buckwheat usually gives a large yield; but it was 

 wet and cold this year, just when the buckwheat 

 blossomed. I raise honey for my own amusement 

 generally, and to give to my friends; but I like to 

 make a success of it. A.Potter. 



Bennington, Vt., Sept. 33, 1885. 



A poor season. 



Our bees are laid up for their winter repose. We 

 have no large reports to make, but still the ball is 

 rolling. This has been one of the poorest j-ears 

 known for fifteen years. We have been using the 

 Heddon cover, but do not like them, for the bees 

 build ladders of wax to them; and when the covers 

 are raised it.pulls the frames with them, killing a 

 number of bees. One desirable point is their cheap- 

 ness. "Where there is a will there's a way," is an 

 old saying, but a good one. We are not in Blasted 

 Hopes, but our bees have gathered but little honey 

 —about 30J lbs. in all, or not enough to supply our 

 home market. We have been helping some of the 

 brethren out of the fire by selling th^r honey. We 

 also have to show for our work a fine lot of home- 

 bred Italians. W. S. Dornan. 



Mechanicsville, la., Dec. 5, 1885. 



EIGHT SWARMS LOST BY COWS KNOCKING THEM 

 OVER. 



As I am a beginner in bee culture, I do not know 

 that my report will be of any advantage to the 

 science of bee culture. This is my third year in the 

 business. The winter of 1884 I carelessly lost eight 

 colonies out of 16 by my cow getting to my hives 

 one night when it was raining hard, and knocking 

 the tops off to get the leaves they were filled -with; 

 so this past winter I concluded to remedy that trou- 

 ble by covering with old carpet, setting my stand 

 on the ground with only inch pieces under them. 

 I then put boards to the sides and back, as high as 

 the first story, and banked with dirt; and as we had 

 an unusual amount of snow, my bees were covered 

 ■with nearly 18 inches of snow and two heavy cx-usts, 



so I know they did not freeze. I had 19 stands to 

 start with, but three of them I knew could not get 

 through without being fed through the winter; but 

 when winter once set in, the feeding played out, so 

 they " went." 



INTERFERING WITH THE LOWER STORY. 



That hive I bought of you I filled with a swarm. 

 They filled the lower story full, and then 28 1-lb. 

 boxes on top. Had I taken the top crate off, and 

 let the lower story alone, I am sure they would 

 have gone through all right; but I took out the 16 

 pound boxes from belovv, when they could make no 

 more honey; consequently they starved. So I have 

 learned that it will not do to risk interfering with 

 the lower stores in this countr}\ 



SMOTHERING BEES WITH ICE AND SLEET. 



Last winter I had two stands I think smothered, 

 as the whole hive was hermetically sealed under 

 two crusts of ice, and at one time the sleet sealed 

 the entrance for a few days before I discovered 

 their condition ; and when I opened them this spring 

 the covers were as wet as water. They had 15 or 30 

 lbs. of honey apiece left. I have about 3 hives, 

 where I ought to turn in, on the racks of comb, a 

 pound of bees and a queen, but I know of no bee- 

 man handy for me to get them. 



Daleville, Ind. W. W. Cornelius. 



Friend C, had your hives been made prop- 

 erly, I do not think your bees could have 

 smothered, even under two crusts of ice, as 

 you mention. What I mean by "properly 

 made " is, with ventilators under the cover 

 that can not be stopped with ice and snow, 

 and a porous covering over the brood-nest. 



A good word for GEO. E. HILTON'S CHAFF HIVES. 



I have noticed the cut of friend Hilton's hive and 

 apiarjs with a great deal of admiration. I have 

 used this hive for the past three years by the side of 

 others; and for a hive to produce comb or extract- 

 ed honey, as a non-swarming and wintering hive, I 

 feel it would be hard to excel. The large capacity 

 for stoi-ing surplus in crates or super he uses, gives 

 them so much room at the right time, and the ad- 

 vantage of replacing empty sections has a tendency 

 to retard if not prevent swarming. The heavy 

 walls and winter cushions with large air - space 

 above make them an excellent wintering hive. I 

 now have 57 of those hives in my apiary, painted in 

 six colors, which renders them very atti-active. In 

 this part of the country, where losses by wintering- 

 are quite heavy, I can especially recommend them. 



TROUT CULTURE. 



I notice, also, you are interested in fish culture. 

 'Well, I raise speckled trout, the common brook 

 trout. I now have specimens which will weigh 2'/4 

 pounds— little beauties. I am hatching 40,000 this 

 winter. My ponds ax'c not completed, which will be 

 seven in number. The work, however, is being rap- 

 idly pushed by the contractor. They are costing 

 $1300, and it remains a conundrum whether I ever 

 get back my money. The trout is not as easily 

 raised as the carp. They require cold water; they 

 can not live in water above 70°. The price of trout 

 is usually 50 cts. per lb. here, and often more. Per- 

 haps I may write you again upon my success or 

 failure. W. D. French. 



Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 16, 1885. 



Friend F., I am very glad indeed to know 

 that speckled trout can be propagated in the 

 way you mention. Has the matter ever 



