1886 



GLEANINGS IN i5EE CULTUllE. 



425 



Gleanincs in Bee Culture, 



Published Seinl-Monthly . 



EDITOK AND PUBLISHER. 

 MEDINA, O. 



TERMS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



For ClQlitisg Bates, S«o First Pago of Eeadis^ Hatter. 



There is none other name under he.Tven given among men, 

 \vhereb.v we must be saved.— Acts 4: 12. 



THE CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT. 



Fifty plants, strong- and beallhj-, are all growing-, 

 as reported on page 331. They very much resemble 

 thistles. Wc have given them good rich ground, 

 between rowst)f small apple-trees, so they can re- 

 main in the same place three years or more. As 

 soon as they are in bloom wc will watch them care- 

 fullj', and probably have engravings made of the 

 plant in bloom. 



A COURSE IN ENTOMOLOGY. 



At Cornell, a summer course in entomology and 

 g-encral invertebrate zoology will be instituted un- 

 der the personal supervision of Prof. J. H. Com- 

 stock, of whom mention lias been made before. 

 Here is a chance for " bccists " and others who may 

 desire instruction in the special anatomy of the bee, 

 as well as of other insects. Further information 

 can be obtained b}- writing to the professer in charge. 



"A YEAR AMONG THE BEES." 



Tnis is the title of the book just out, written by 

 our old friend Dr. C. C. Miller. It arrived too late 

 for a review of it to ai)pear in this issue. If it is all 

 as good as the introduction, which we have read, it 

 surely will be a treat to peruse its pages. A glance 

 at the contents is .sufficient evidence to show that 

 no practical bee-kcepcr can afford to bo without it. 

 It is published by T. G. Newman & Son, and can be 

 purchased of them for 75 cts , postpaid, or uan bo 

 obtained at this olfico at that price. 



AN OLD ALMANAC. 



W. LiNCH, Maysville, Ky., sends us an old alma- 

 nac, dated 1839. Among other industries mentioned 

 in it we find a short article on the care and man- 

 agement of bees. The wiiter of said article dis- 

 courages the cruel use of brimstone, current at 

 that time. The hive ho describes is a plain box, 13 

 Inches square. Across the top of this arc slats 

 from which 1 presume combs arc to hang. The 

 bo.ves just mentioned are to be tiered one above 

 the other, according to the strength of the swarm, 

 and in this way the writer says he has tiei'cd them 

 four high. Tiering up, he chiims, will largely pre- 

 vent seconil swarms, which he asserts are almost 

 useless. The contents of the article shows that we 

 of today arc not so original in many things as wc 

 think. 



BUYING NUCLEI IX THE FALL, TO BUILD UP BY 



FEEDING, INSTEAD OF BUYING FULL COLONIES 



IN THE SPRING. 



On page 549 of our issue for Aug. 15, 1885, I wrote 

 an article in regard to building up nuclei by fall 

 feeding. If convenient, it maj- pay you to turn 



back and read the above article. A friend wanted 

 six colonics of bees to beg-in with in the spring. 

 Such colonies as he wanted, we told him would cost 

 him over $100 in April, 1886; but wc soldi him select 

 tested (jueens and nuclei for a litt'e over $25.00. He 

 was to buy sugar, and feed them up before cold 

 weather came on. Well, now, although our custom- 

 er was a comparati\'ely new hand at the business, 

 having only his ABC book, and such instruction as, 

 we briefly gave him, I am glad to be able to note that 

 the six nuclei are now six strong colonies — no loss 

 and no dwindling. The question I asked, when the 

 above-mentioned article was written, was this: Will 

 a pound of bees and a frame of brood and a queen, 

 started, say, in the middle of August, build up so as 

 to make what maybe called a fair colony by the 

 middle of November? Our friend's experiment an- 

 swers it in the affirmative. His address is Thomas 

 Painter, Oberlin,0., should you wish to ask him more 

 about it. Besides the saving in money, he has ob- 

 tained an experience that is worth more to him, 

 perhaps, than the money saved. 



MAliING PERSONAL ORDERS. 



Many of the friends within a hundred miles or so 

 of our place have thought it a great advantage to 

 come here and make their orders personally. It is 

 true you can look at the goods and at the same 

 time obtain matters of information. There is this 

 about it, however: There is always a chance for 

 mistake in taking down orders verbally. Then the 

 controversy arises, " Who was nt fault?" Only last 

 week there was soccc misunderstan ling in an order 

 made verbally, and the result was that 15 J3 odd- 

 sized fraaics were m.idfi wrong. If wc have it all in 

 black and white, as is in (he majority of eases 

 where orders are made by letter, it is a very easy 

 matter to trace the soui-ce of the mistake. Anoth- 

 er thing, it generally takes one cf our valuable 

 clerks sometimes half a day to wait on a personal 

 customer, when the whole transaction by letter 

 could be disposed of in 15 or 20 minutes at the out- 

 side. Again, this personal customer, in many 

 cases, wants his goods right away, when the proba- 

 bilities are that we have written orders with cash 

 inclosed that have been waiting patiently their 

 time. Now, friends, as far as convenient will you 

 not make your oi-elers by letter? and as far as the 

 inspecting of goods is concerned, you are most of 

 you familiar with the wares we handle. Ifj-oudo 

 not know present prices of goods, write us with a 

 list of what you want, and Ave will send you an es- 

 timate by return mail, with discounts, if any. You 

 see, friends, it is a saving all around. It saves you 

 car fare, it saves our time, and, consequently, is the 

 greatest good to the greatest number by having- 

 more orders filled. Not only this, it avoids mis- 

 takes and controversies. It is fairne.=s to friends 

 at a distance; and will j-ou not try to accommodate 

 us? Of course, friends who live within 5 or 10 miles 

 of us can save freight by driving out after the 

 goods, and the foregoing docs not ai>ply to them. 



The above was written by Ernest, to which I add, 

 wc do not, by any means, intend to be rough on our 

 visitors. Sometimes wc have genial friends who 

 come to sec us, who request permission to look 

 around, without bothering anybody, and we are al- 

 ways glad to see such— the more the merrier; but if 

 you come during the busy month just before 

 swarming time, please don't feel hard if you have 

 to wait on yourself a good deal. In regard to per- 



