1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. 



513 



■was sprinkled in front of each entrance, and the re- 

 sult is that all our hives have nice clean entrances. 

 What has this to do with salt for bees? In the eve- 

 ning, after the first rain has wetted up the salt, 

 bees may be seen at the entrances licking- the salt. 

 Now there is something about this salt that they 

 like. Again, for several j'cars we have had an at- 

 mospheric-jar feeder of water located in the center 

 of the apiary, that the bees might come there and 

 drink; but the bees scar-celj' ever went near it. 

 Finally it occurred to the apiarist to add a little salt 

 to the water. The result was very satisfactory; for 

 at any time now the bees may be seen at this jar, 

 taking a good drink. If j-ou don't have success in 

 inducing your bees to drink water from a feeder, 

 add a little salt, and note the effect. Ehnest. 



Gleanincs in Bee Cultcre, 



Published Scini-Moiithly . 



wfi.. I. I^OOT, 



EDITOR AND PUBLISHEB. 



MEDINA, O. 



TERMS: SI.OO PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



For Clntbing Bates, Cee First Paeo of Eeidis; Ihtter. 

 2S^EIDI3^^=^, JTJITE 15, IBBS. 



But the very hairs of your head are all nuniberetl.-MATT.10;30. 

 BINDERS FOR Gr.EANINGS. 



OuK enterprising friends, Barrett & Co., have 

 lately given us a beautifully embossed binder, very 

 much handsomer than the plain ones we have sold 

 for so many years. The best part of it is, the pi'ice 

 is just the same as it has always been; viz., 60 cts.; 

 by mail, 12 cts. extra for postage. 



HYBRID BEES VS. FULI.,-BLOOD ITALIANS. 



We have for several seasons had a customer wlio 

 orders hybrid queens with pounds of bees. When 

 we are out of hj'brids wo send him untested Italians 

 instead; but he says he would rather have the hy- 

 brids, because he has better luck with them. Is it 

 possible we are making a mistake in driving all of 

 the black blood out of the country ? 



ANOTHER BEE-BOOK. 



And now it is the Rev. AV. F. Clarke who has writ- 

 ten a book, and it is published by Jones, Macpherson 

 & Co., of the Canadian Bee Journal. This book is un- 

 like any other bee-book, inasmuch as it is all poetry. 

 It has not made its appearance yet; buf the simple 

 fact that it comes from the pen of W. F. Clarke is a 

 guarantee of its being a valuable addition to our 

 bee-keeping literature. The price will he 35 gts. per 

 copy, or five copies for one dollar. 



THE fl..50 HONEY-EXTRACTOR. 



Several of the friends have written in regard to 

 this, as it has been advertised somewhat exten- 

 sively. To be able to reply understandingly we 

 sent and got one; but, when received, it proved to 

 be no honcy-c.xtractor at all, but the innide of one 

 only, and that inside was in the flat. We AiA not 

 take the trouble to try to make an extractor out of 

 it according to the directions. Perhaps some qjigbt 



succeed with it, and it might be considered right to 

 charge Sl-.W for the arrangement: but it certainly 

 is not right to advertise such a thing as a honey- 



cxtractur. 



BEE-KEEPING FOR THE CLERGY. 



From the CunurcgatiiDtalist, of May 20, we take the 

 following clii)ping, written by our old friend and 

 pastor, A. T. Heed, formerly of this place, now at 

 Chardon, O. We started him in this pursuit, and 

 the following tells how he has succeeded: 



WHY MINISTERS SHOULD KEEP BEES. 



Far the peeuniary profit. One minister, year be- 

 fore last, made $50 from four colonies; last year, 

 $20 from four, and developed them to twelve. 



For health. It is the kind of e.xerciso especially 

 adapted to the clergyman's needs; outdoor, light, 

 absorbing. 



The bees need the most attention in the time of 

 the minister's greatest leisure— say from May to 

 September— and necessitate no thought or care in 

 the winter months, when the minister is the most 

 occupied. 



For study of insect life. The instinct of bees is of 

 the highest order, and is a source of wonder and 

 admiration. With a colony of pure Italians in your 

 back yard, you may daily watch almost every pro- 

 cess of bee-industry and life, immediately under 

 your eye, without danger, and with a charm of en- 

 thusiasm, once experienced, never to be forgotten. 



For illustrations. There are more sermons in bees 

 than in ti-ees, stones or running brooks. 



For discipline. To receive the occasional inevita- 

 ble sting with equanimity, quietly place the sting 

 under the microscope, in the the interest of science, 

 and admire and commiserate the bee who thus gives 

 his life for the protection of his commonwealth, is 

 to acquire a self-conti-ol greater than his who taketh 

 a citj', and a philosophy surpassing the Stoics. The 

 minister who can conquer the 40,000 mad bees of a 

 single colony will develop a spirit of self-control, 

 persistence, heroism, and generalship not without 

 its use in the pulpit. 



HOW TO MAKE FOUNDATION. 



Our machinist who makes the comb-mills has 

 made a great improvement in the knives for cut- 

 ting the rolls, and the process is somewhat changed 

 also, so that our new comb-mills are much superior 

 to those we have formerly sent out. Our old 10- 

 inch comb-mills would not turn out as thin section 

 foundation as mills specially made for the purpose: 

 but the imjiroved 10-inch mill will now make as nice 

 an article of thin foundation as the 6-inch mill. 

 The lOinch mills in our wa.x-room now make both 

 thin and heavy foundation; but to do this the rolls 

 should be perfectly clean. In fact, you can not do 

 satisfactory work on either thick or thin founda- 

 tion unless the rolls are free from particles of wa.v, 

 which will gradually work into the cell-walls. Clean 

 the rolls often, or you will become disgusted with 

 the whole business. 



HOW TO CLEAN FOUNDATION-ROLLS. 



The easiest and most expeditious way of cleaning 

 the rolls that we have tried is turning a jet of steam 

 on to them for five or ten minutes, or till the rolls 

 feel hot to the hands. While (he steam is blowing, 

 the rolls should \ic turned backward and forward. 

 The action of the steam is to melt the particles 

 of wax, and then to blow it off in fine dust. Next 

 turn off the gteam, and then scour with a brush 

 and boiling soapsuds. When again you run sheets 

 of wax through the rolls as thus cleaned, you will 

 be surprised at the imiirovement. 



The one great objection, however, to the use of 

 steam is that few are so situated as to be able to use 

 it. Our girls have cleaned the rolls with gasoline 

 with very satisfactory results, as benzine or gaso- 

 line absorbs wax very readily. As the latter meth- 



