298 



GLliA^^jiNGS I^ BiiE CULTUiiE. 



Apr. 



the house would have to be about 8 x 16 feet, and 7 

 or 8 feet high. There are two rows of hives on each 

 side of the house— one on the floor, and one on 

 a shelf about 3 feet high on each side. The house 

 is nearly full. There is no place to store or extract 

 honey. Above each hive there is a pigeon-hole, or 

 air-hole, about six or eight inches square. These 

 are opened and closed by a slide door; when it is 

 cold, these are kept closed; and when it is hot, they 

 are kept open. Friend V. tries to keep the temper- 

 ature at a point where the bees can build comb, and 

 evaporate and seal up honey at all times during the 

 honey season, and at the same time keep it low 

 enough not to excite the swarming fever. He said 

 he had not lost a dozen swarms from these houses 

 by absconding. In ten years. If a cold storm lowers 

 the temperature, friend V. drives at once to his 

 house apiaries and closes the little doors; when the 

 temperature I'ises, he opens them again. He uses 

 nine-frame hives; the fi-ames are about the same 

 depth as the Simplicity, but one inch longer. I be- 

 lieve he takes all of his honey in 2-tb. sections. He 

 uses a case something like the Heddon, except that 

 he uses separators, and has no partition between 

 each row of sections. The sections rest on a tin 

 made like an inverted T, thus: X- The sections rest 

 In the corners, and the separator rests on the knife- 

 edge; one tier of sections is put in, then a separator, 

 and then another tier of sections, and so on until 

 the case is full; then a false side, or follower, with 

 two steel springs. Is put in. These springs press 

 every thing tightly together. The case is placed on 

 the hive so that the sections are right over the 

 frames, and the space is often built full of brace- 

 combs. These, friend V. carves oft' with a long 

 knife. This would be distasteful to me, but he 

 seems to enjoy it; and as long as he gets the honey, 

 I suppose we have no right to complain. 



You spoke in your foot-notes to Bro. Clarke's ar- 

 ticle, about bees getting on the floor. They do get 

 on the floor, and die there— lots of them ; but friend 

 V. has got used to walking over dead bees, and 

 doesn't notice them. I was there in April, and the 

 bees in these houses were so strong that they were 

 building bits of comb; and in some hives the bees 

 were actually crowded out. No honey is ever tak- 

 en out of the cases at the house-apiaries. The cases 

 are taken to the honey-house at home, the honey 

 removed, the cases refilled, taken to the house-apia- 

 ries, and put on the hives. If I remember correct- 

 ly, friend V. told me that he pref^^rred to work his 

 bees in chaff hives out of doors; but this he can not 

 do away from home, on account of thieves. They 

 have tried to break into these houses; but when I 

 was there they had not succeeded in getting 

 through to the bees, although they had damaged 

 the houses some. I stated that the houses were 

 made in sections. I will say that it is not necessary 

 to make them so, unless you wish to; and if I were 

 building one for myself, I would build it solid, just 

 like any other building. 



If the above is not plain, and you don't under- 

 stand it, I will answer any question you nmy ask. 



Geo. a. Wright. 



Glenwood. Susq. Co., Pa., Mar. 13, 1886. 



Many thanks, friend W., for the informa- 

 tion you give us. You say no honey is ever 

 taken out of the cases at the liouse-apiaries ; 

 but how does friend V. get the bees out ? 

 This point has been one of the great troub- 

 les in planning expeditious work in tlie 



house-apiary. I have suggested letting the 

 cases of honey be until cold weather drives 

 the bees down into the brood-chamber ; but 

 tlie honey gets badly soiled or darkened by 

 so doing. I should think it would keep 

 friend V. pretty busy, driving to these 

 house - apiaries and moving these little 

 slides, every time the weather changes. 

 Can't he have an automatic regulator that 

 would work them the same way that we see 

 the dampers of some stoves operated by the 

 contraction and expansion of a bar of metal V 

 You see. I am first on this invention, do you 

 not ? We sliould be very glad to have 

 friend V. himself tell us something about 

 how he works, and the immense crops of 

 honey he gets. 



PROVERBS FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



BY HEV. W. D. RALSTON. 



fHE ways of bee-keeping are not all ways of 

 pleasantness, nor are all the paths thereof 

 the paths of peace. 

 2. Man is to eat his bread In the sweat of 

 his face, and there is no exception made in 

 favor of the bee keeper. 



3. To work successfully a man must work wisely. 

 To work wisely with bees, one must know their na- 

 ture and habits; these can be learned only by care- 

 ful study and observation. 



4. AVe live in progressive times, and the true bee- 

 keeper must be progressive. 



5. In bee-keeping, as in other things, the diligent 

 are crowned with success. 



6. The obstacles in the way of successful bee cul- 

 ture are, ignorance, carelessness, being too eager to 

 increase the number of colonies, and cold ivinters. 



7. A fair knowledge of bees, faithful attention to 

 the apiarj', and a thorough and timely preparation 

 for the honey-flow, swarming, and wintering, will 

 make any man or woman a successful bee-keeper. 



8. A tyrannical Pharaoh demanded of his workers 

 the full tale of bricks, but furnished them no straw. 

 Do not demand from your little workers the full 

 tale in pounds of honej', Avhen there is none in the 

 fields, or when you reside in a region poor in honey- 

 yielding plants. 



9. Carefully lay up your honey-crop where thieves 

 {especially rohher hces) can not break in and steal, 

 and your empty combs where moth worms will not 

 destroy them. 



10. Profitable bee-keeping gi-eatly depends upon a 

 gathcring-up of the fragments, that nothing be 

 lost. Fragments of time can be used in caring for 

 bees, fragments of lumber in making hives and 

 frames, fragments of combs for wax; and every 

 drop of honey is useful; even though mixed with 

 dirt, it can be fed to needy colonies. 



11. Some bee-keepers seek their profits in raising 

 bees or queens to sell; but remember, that the true 

 aim of bee-keeping- is to supply our markets with 

 delicious honey. 



13. Live not for self. Make your knowledge profit- 

 able to others seeking to learn bee-keeping, that 

 the coming generation of bee-keepers may excel 

 the present, increasing in numbers and in knowl- 

 edge, until every pound of honey secreted by the 

 unnumbered flowers of our land is gathered. 



Hopklnton, Iowa, March 8, 1886. 



