458 



GLEAJ^iKGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



JuNfi 



stands. Inside of 3 hours they were carrying in 

 natural pDllen. I next lost 3 more by robbing-, and 

 sold one. The remaining' 62 are in reasonably good 

 sliape. They are now v'cry busy on i'ruit-bloom, 

 and r.iirly drop on the alighting-board. My cellar 

 is an up-ground one, 8 feet by 13 feet in the clear, 

 t) feet ceiling-, and 13inch walls, fliled with drj' saw- 

 dust, with about 18 inches over the ceiling. An ac- 

 cident occurred which satisfies me thatbee-i do not 

 need as much ventilation as is gencrallj' supposed. 

 I liave a six-inch tile sub-earth ventilator, and the 

 accident is that the tile became completely stopped 

 for at least 40 days, yet my bees suffered no unusu- 

 al loss, and came out in good condition. 



The two imported queens purchased of you in 

 1883 are yet doing good service, and are building- up 

 their colonies satisfactorily. May I add, I talte great 

 pleasure in perusing' Gleanings? and while I do 

 not indorse all of the doctrinal sentiments express- 

 ed in the Home Papers, 1 fiud enough to make 

 them read and re-read, alone and in the family cir- 

 cle. Elias Colk, 08—63. 



Ashley, Ohio, April 39, 1SS6. 



Friend Cole, when tlie weather is very 

 cold it makes bnt little difference whether 

 your cellar is ventilated or not. Air will 

 "force itself through the cracks and crevices 

 as fast as it is needed. 



TAKING BEES BY THE DIPPEUKITL. 



1 have never noticed in Gleanings or A B C 

 boolc where any one hives bees as I do, which I 

 think is a very good way where they settle as ours 

 always have; i. e., on the branches of peach-trees, 

 etc. I spread a sheet on the ground and set the 

 hive on it, getting as near under the cluster as con- 

 venient. Take a dipper and dip off the lower part 

 of the swarm, and pour them at the entrance of the 

 hive, and they begin to run in as fast as the3' can. 

 After that I jar the limb two or three times and 

 the remaining bees follow in to the hive. We win- 

 tered our bees on. summer stands. I think they 

 will generally winter so here (south-west Missouri) 

 if thcj' are strong and have plenty of honey. Oui' 

 scction-bo.x honey has received a great deal of 

 praise, as it is quite a curiosity to a great many in 

 our surrounding country. I do not tliink there are 

 half a doy>cn liee-kcepers in the county who use the 

 L. hives or any thing similar, and vei-y few keep 

 bees, even in the old-fashioned box hive. I do not 

 see whj', when almost evciy one is fond of honey. 

 We have hands sometimes who can of^^. H lb. at one 

 time; but T have never heard of their trying to 

 have bees at homt». Maggie I. Mikes. 



Houston, Mo , Apr. 1.), 18Sti. 



ANOTIIEU USE FOIl THE CLARK SMOKEIi; HOW TO 

 GET KID OE VEHMIN BY THElli USE. 



I think I have something new to communicate to 

 you. Still I have misgivings, as it seems nowadays 

 that thero is " nothing- new under the sun." How- 

 ever, as I do net intend to get out a patent, even if 

 it does prove to l)e a \'nlualile acquisition, 1 shall 

 not feel sotiy. 



Have you folks in the Buckeye State any gophers 

 infesting your gardens? If you have, you l<now 

 what they are. In this land flowing with milk and 

 lioney, we have them to our hearts' content; in 

 fact, they are one of our worst posts. The only 

 undei'ground animal, oi- vermin, that is more de- 

 structive to the crops is the squirrel. 



In neighborhood -i where these animals are ti-ouble- 



some, the cultivators of the soil arc bothered full 

 sore iil devising means to exterminate them. Cats, 

 traps, poisons of various kinds, and other means, 

 have been resorted to, all of which have proven 

 slow and unsatisfactory. One of the latest devices 

 for exterminating squirrels is an iron tube, or pipe, 

 the lower end tapering to a point, while at the oth- 

 er end is a flre-ehamber and bellcwi. With this ar- 

 rangement, certain kinds of material, which pi-o- 

 duco a suffocating smoke, is burned, and, by means 

 of the bellows, is driven or forced into the hole of 

 the rodents. T''hese vermin-smokers arc, I believe, 

 quite expensive. 



Well, now for my patent (?). I have three makes 

 of bee smokers, and the thought occurred to me 

 that I could smoke out gophers and moles with 

 some of them. While in the bee-s'ard a few days 

 ago I discovered a gopher working; and having one 

 of your cold-blast smokers fired up I went to the 

 rodent's hole, inserted the nozzle till it made a tight 

 fit, so that no smoke could escape, and then I pro- 

 ceeded to puff away. In a short time I found the 

 smoke issuing from cracks and old holes all around 

 me for ten or twelve feet away. I tamped these 

 "leaks," and continued to drive the smoke into the 

 hole so as to fill all the undei-ground passages. 

 Then I stopped the hole and left the rodent to suf- 

 focate. Your six-bit smokers take the cake for 

 cheapness and effectiveness in smoking out gophers 

 and moles, and I think they will do for .squirrels 

 and rabbits. You mi^lit get up a cheap one espe- 

 cially for this purpose. Make them and advertise 

 them in the agricultural press. W. A. Phyal. 



North Temescal, Cal., May 7, 1886. 



CAN A LINSEED-OIL BARHEL BE CLEANSED SO IT 

 WILL ANSWER FOR HONEY? 



(,'an I cleanse a linseed-oil barrel so as to put in 

 safe condition to liokl and not injure extracted 

 honey? W. M. James. 



Paris, Tenn., May 13, li-83. 



Friend B., I should be a little afraid that 

 the oil would taint the l)arrel, even if you 

 do your best, although you might make the 

 experiment on one barrel, and test the mat- 

 ter. Wash it thoroughly with soapsuds and 

 ashes and water; then dry it in the sun, 

 and drive up the hoops until it is as dry as a 

 chip. Now coat it wJtii ))eeswax, according 

 to the plan given in the A B C book ; and if 

 you make the wax cover every part of the 

 wood, and adhere to it s:) it won't scale off, 

 I think there will be no danger of tainting 

 the honey. Tlie great danger is, you will 

 not have the barrel thoroughly dry wlien the 

 liot wax is put on. then the wax will cleave 

 oft', letting the honey come in contact with 

 the oil-soaked wood, and tliis may give it a 

 taint. In emptying barrels of honey I have 

 seen the wax "scale oft' from tlie wood in 

 pieces as large as your hand, bi?cause some 

 portion of the barrel was not thoroughly 

 dried before the waxing was done. Now, if 

 we have a iln can or lank that has been 

 used for linseed oil, there will l)e no trouble 

 at all; for soap and water, with the addi- 

 tion of a little ashes, would clean it so per- 

 fectly that it would be, to all intents and 

 purposes, as good as a new tin. This is one 

 reason why we liave of late been so strongly 

 in favor of tin instead of wood for holding 

 and shipping honey. 



