208 



GLKAiVTNGS IN JJEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



case. They are lOX^'O'.i inches, outside measure, 

 and lit over a Simplicity hive exactly. The ends 

 are of '/^-inch lumber, and the sides of 's-inch. 

 When they are placed on the hive, a honey-board 

 goes between, and they can be tiered up, one above 

 another, the same as the bodies. We believe we 

 have written to you how this plan of reversing 

 frames and sections can be utilized in a chaff hive. 



And now, having made it plain (as we think) how 

 all these new and valuable features may be added 

 to the hives we already have in use, with but little 

 trouble and expense, by only slightly repairing 

 them, we will mention only one of the many advan- 

 tages this plan presents above any other method 

 yet offered. This, of course, we consider the most 

 important of all. It is the retention of our good 

 father Langstroth's movable hanging-comb frame, 

 that we all love to manipulate so well. If, however, 

 we have not made it sufficiently plain, we shall be 

 pleased to try again. Hemphill & Goodman. 



Elsberry, Mo., Feb. 13. 1885. 



Thank you, friends, for the caution about 

 being in haste to drop our old liives and take 

 up new ones. I have ab-eady reversed Sim- 

 pbcity hives on a plan similar to tiie one you 

 advise. Instead of sawing off any thing 

 from the top edge of the Simplicity hive, 

 however, I would make a frame siich as 

 would be obtained by taking a common Sim- 

 plicity cover, and sawing half an inch from 

 the lower edge, clear around. This will go 

 right on the hive, and may be bradded fast. 

 The strips to hold the frames in place I 

 would make of tin, folded much like an or- 

 dinary tin rabbet, only being half an inch on 

 each edge. Push these down on top of 

 the frames, leaving the sharp edges of the 

 tin sticking up. A nail driven into the side 

 of the hive, so its head lies snug down into 

 its channel, with folded tin, will hold it in 

 place so the hive may be inverted. We 

 found, however, that a whole Simplicity 

 hive was pretty heavy ; and half - depth 

 frames would doubtless be more easily han- 

 dled, and would work nicer. See the article 

 from Dr. Tinker, on page 203. 



THE STINGLESS BEES OF MEXICO. 



MORE ABOUT THEM. 



fHE Statement of John L. Gr^gg, about the 

 small bees of Mexico, is by no means a new 

 thing. These bees are well known to ento- 

 mologists as the honey-bees of the tropics, 

 which are very small, have no stings, and 

 live in very large colonies. They are known as 

 MeliponcB. The wings are shorter than the abdo- 

 men, and the mandibles are not toothed. They are 

 found only in South and North America, and not in 

 the other continents. There are several species of 

 them. Some build their combs in hollow trees, 

 some in banks, and others suspend their nests from 

 branches of trees. One variety builds clay hives, 

 and its^honey is said'to be excellent. It is not prob- 

 able that these bees would thrive in our cool climate. 



MICA FOR BEE-VEILS, ETC. 



I send you a sample ot™our mica, which, as you 

 will find, can be split with a knife into very thin 

 sheets, which I think would rap.ke excellent eye- 

 pieces for bee-veils, also for observation- holes for 



hives. This is only a small size. It can be cut with 

 scissors with ease, and pierced with a needle so it 

 can be sewn. Plates or 8 inches square can be 

 procured; but this size is dear, on account of the 

 demand for it for stoves. The small sizes, like the 

 sample, can be procured quite cheaply, for S;2.00 a 

 pound, about; and a pound would make a large 

 number of sheets. This mica is very abundant 

 here. It was mined by the aborigines who built 

 the great mounds in Ohio and other parts of the 

 West, in which plates and sheets and ornaments of 

 it are found; but as a large quantity of rock has to 

 be moved to get to the mica, it has a market value 

 of from $4.00 to f 10.00 per pound, for merchantable 

 sizes. Henky Stewart. 



Highlands, N. C, Feb., 1886. 



Friend S., we are much obliged for the 

 additional facts you give in regard to these 

 bees; and although it may be true that they 

 will not live here in the North, what is to 

 hinder sending our boys and girls down to 

 Mexico to look after them? Who will vol- 

 unteer to see whether it be not possible to 

 produce honey that can be profitably shipped 

 north, from these new bees?— In regard to 

 tiie mica, it has been several times before 

 our people, and bee- veils have been adver- 

 tised with mica fronts. Many thanks for 

 your beautiful specimens. 



BEE-TALKS. 



AN is a mimic, it Is said; and this is true 

 to a large extent. We do as we have 

 learned from others. Uut I find that we 

 all have some waj's of our own. No mat- 

 ter how well we may have learned our 

 trade or profession, we will do some things dif- 

 ferently from others, or the way we were taught to 

 do. It is all right that we should do so. It is the 

 only way we, as a whole, make any improvements. 

 It is those departures from the old ruts that result 

 in our valuable inventions in every thing. Our 

 most successful bee-keepers differ very much in 

 their manner of management of their bees. Al- 

 most every one has a way of his own, and I have 

 sometimes thought I was an odd one, as I have so 

 many of my own notions. Still,' I have learned and 

 practice a great deal that I have learned from oth- 

 ers. I take the A. B.J. and Gleanings, two very 

 valuable papers, and I would not do without either 

 for three times their cost. But the best book that I 

 have is my bees. They are a great study, and I am 

 all the time learning something new about them. 



I have been the owner of more or less bees for 

 over forty years (I am now 63), and what I say or do 

 must be done soon; and if I write any thing that 

 would be misleading to beginnei-s, I ask the old 

 heads in the bee-keeping fraternity to correct me. 

 But we must bear in mind that location has a great 

 deal to do with results; and the more bees one has, 

 the more he has to change his manner of operations. 

 Plans that would do for ten or twenty colonies 

 won't do for one hundred or more. 



Beginners in the bee-business should do one of 

 two things— either start with a few bf es, or work 

 two or three seasons with a good practical bee- 

 keeper, one who has made bee-keeping a success, 

 and has handled a large number of colonies; and 



