1S8G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



027 



Take the bod j' of a. tielv, and you have somelliitif>' 

 similar; break one, and jou sec a mass of matter. 

 They were tucked in anions' the straw on the limbs 

 — thoiisan<ls of tlicm. The tree was about :!U feet 

 high; the branches, at the base, were spread about 

 1~ or 15 feet in diameter, and tapered olf gradually 

 to the top. 11. P.. Wir.MAMS. 



Edwards, Hinds Co., Miss. 



STARTING A HONEY-WAGON. 



I come again to ask your advice upon a question 

 which 1 wish you would g-ive your ^^ rsiiiirt! atten- 

 tion for a moment; i. e., the advisability of starting- 

 a honey-wagon on the road. A great many farmers 

 bring honey to market and take 10 or 12!i cts. per 

 l)ound in unsightly sections; and when. I offer luy 

 white clover and basswood honey (sections cleaned 

 and honey white) for 15 or 10 cts. I am told they can 

 buy honey cheaper. I thought, a wagon kept on 

 the road in town and country could sell my own 

 honey; and if parties are willing to soil so cheap, 

 buy theirs and sell it out someway. I do not feel 

 like devoting my entire time to the business, and 

 have the market price controlled by a few bee-keep- 

 ers who make no calculations on honey sales; and 

 their willingness to take almost any thing, must 

 cripple the sale of honey put up in better shape. 



Nevada, O., July 20, lS-86. Wm. M. Young. 



llunnins a honey-wagon is quite an ex- 

 pense, it is true ; but 1 think in many re- 

 spects it will pay well, for the very reasons 

 you mention. Always have at least two, or, 

 still better, three grades of honey on your 

 wagon. We get IS cts. a pound for our very 

 finest comb honey ; but we have side by side 

 of it cheaper grades for 12 and 15 cts.; but 

 the cheaper grades remain almost unsold 

 while we have the real "■ gilt edge "' in stock. 

 When that is gone (and, of course, it is al- 

 ways tlie tirst to be gonej then we have to 

 fall back on the other. 1 our wagon might 

 make the round, say twice a week, or even 

 once a week ; and 1 think it would pay you 

 well to keep track of the honey-producers, 

 and take their product off their hands at 

 what it is worth. If they see you getting 18 

 cts. per lb. while they get only 10 and 12 cts., 

 it will very soon have the effect of inducing 

 them to take more pains. 



Hf)NEY-DEW, AND WHAT SHALT. WE DO WITH IT 

 WHEN IT IS GETTING IN THE SECTIONS? 



I am an A 15 C pupil. My bees are putting honey- 

 dew in the sections, which have been partly filled 

 with clover, and are spoiling the whole lot. Shall I 

 take the sections oft' and put them back when the 

 fall honey-How commences? Would they not be 

 more apt to swarm if the sections were removed? 



Conneaut, O., July 19, li-86. II. A. Cummins. 



Friend C, it is a little hard to say what is 

 best in sucli a case. Your sections are prob- 

 ably part full of white honey. The honey- 

 dew will ruin the sale of it, unless somebody 

 has a mind to take it at a low i)rice and get 

 out tlie honey - dew spots. They can see 

 these by holding them up to the light as we 

 have before explained. If you let them get 

 lilled up with fall honey, this will also in- 

 jure the sale of them; but of course it will 

 not be as bad as honey-dew. The bees would 

 certainly l)e more lial»le to swarm if 

 you take the sections off ; but perhaps you 

 might put on some empty combs, and 



then throw out the honey-dew with the ex- 

 tractor, saving it to feed next season, or at 

 any time so it will not get into the winter 

 stores. 



SOI.AU WAX-EXTKACTtJR TO BE TRIED AT THE 

 MICHIGAN AGRICUETURAL COLLEGE. 



Prof. Cook ordered a solar wax-extractor 

 of us, and we sent him the original one sent 

 us by friend (ireeii. In regard to it he re- 

 plies as follows: 



Allow me to thank you, for the college, for the 

 solar wax-extractor. We shall test it thoronghly, 

 and improve it if we can. 



In regard to the weight of the eggs a 

 queen may lay in a day, he writes : 



I already have the nuitter of egg-laying in tow, 

 and you shall hear. We have scales that will weigh 

 a breath. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich., July 19, 1885. 



SHADE AND VENTILATION A PREVENTIVE OF AB- 

 SCONDING. 



During a very pleasant and instructive visit paid 

 to the apiary of Mr. S. T. Pettit, of Belmont, my at- 

 tention was practically drawn to the advantages 

 arising from shade and ventilation for hives. Mr. 

 Pettit stated that he never had any trouble arising 

 from his bees vacating the hive after swarming. In 

 the past, such had been the case; but now he waa 

 pleased to say no difficulty arose from that cause, 

 and the trouble had been a want of comfortable 

 quarters for the bees. The hives, combs, etc., are 

 kept in a cool place until required for use, when 

 the swarm entering them finds a cool, shady retreat 

 which is made additionally comfortable by, if possi- 

 ble, being protected from the strongest rays of the 

 sun, plenty of room, and free access of air. Mr. 

 Pettit stated that he was perfectly satisfied that 

 bee-keepers would find no difficulty from swarms 

 absconding if this method were pursued. Of course, 

 the very best of bee-keepers can learn something 

 of value when visiting an apiary in the height of 

 the season, and 1 learned a great deal. I always do 

 on these visits to our leading bee-keepers; and for 

 my part, I never desire to give such information as 

 originating with mc. It. F. Holtermann. 



Brantford, Ont., Canada. 



]^EP0RTg ENceni^^GiNG. 



a COLONY THAT PRODUCED 403 POUNDS OF HONEY. 



E have had a good honey harvest this time. 



I took 402 lbs. of extracted honey from one 



colony, besides the winter supply. Se\-eral 



othei- colonies Avere not far behind in the 



amount taken. A few others gathered only 



enough for wintei-. My average is probably nearly 



1(10 i)ou)ids i)er colony. C. W. Davton. 



Nashua, Iowa. 



Friend I)., I wisli you would tell us more 

 about that colouy thiit gavt^ you that yield. 

 Was it a liybrid or ItalianV and if the latter, 

 where did you get the (jueenV We should 

 also like to know the kiud of honey these 

 bees ol)taiii('d, and the style of hive or the 

 surplus - airangemcMl you used. We like 

 little snatches of news from our bee-friends, 

 but we want to know more about it. 



