G8B 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



that he was going- to m:ike some slat honey-boards, 

 and ta.ili strips of zinc to Ihoti, and he wished lor my 

 opinion as to whether to put tiie zinc undcrthe slats 

 or over them. Quick as a tiasli came the thought: 

 " Put them in the middle." The spaces between 

 the wooden slats would then be shallower, and less 

 likely to be filled with brace-combs. Before my 

 reply reached Mr. Hcddon, it seems that both a 

 student of his and he had couceived of the same 

 idea. Dr. Tinker was, however, the first to make 

 public this method of constructing- honey-boards; 

 and althoug-h others were oriyi'nal in discovering- 

 the same thing, they have no desire to rob the doc- 

 tor of the honors that justly belong to him. I have 

 used 20 of these honey-boards this season and I have 

 nothing- yet to add to what 1 have already said. 

 They are t'ery satisfactory. By the way, a corres- 

 pondent suggested to me, some time ago, that he 

 thought the solar wax-extractor would be an e.vcel- 

 lent place in which to clean honey-boards. 



INVERTING HIVES. 



1 think Mr. Kretchmer is correct in his views in 

 regard to the effect that inverting may have upon 

 queens and queen-cells. I have wondered for some 

 time if inversion did not rob the bees of their de- 

 sire to swarm, and that the hecs then destroyed the 

 queen-cells. 



THAT "liXPL.\N.iTl()N." 



1 have no desire to again open the discussion of 

 the validity of the " Heddon jjatent," but wmild 

 like to say a lew words in regard to the " explana- 

 tion " that Mr. Kretchmer was asked to give. When 

 1 wrote the article defending Mr. Heddon and his 

 hive, you, Mr. Editor, replied by publishing an ar- 

 ticle from Mr. Kretchmer in which lie unfairly or 

 unwittingly claimed to have invented, used, and 

 patented a hive similar to the Heddon hive. Upon 

 seeing- a copy of Mr. K.'s patent, you wrote to him 

 for an explanation. Mr. K. seems capable of giving 

 us some valuable ideas; but before again entering 

 these columns, did not common courtesy demand 

 cither a retraction, apology, or explanation? 



w. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Mich., Aug., 1886. 



Friend H., Mr. Kretchmer did promptly 

 send an explanation. The explanation was, 

 however, too lengthy and complicated to be 

 published. It seemed, however, to be rea- 

 sonable. I forwarded it to friend Heddon, 

 and suggested that we had better let the 

 matter drop. I hope friend K. will excuse 

 me for saying right here, tUat, several times 

 during the past ten or fifteen years, his ex- 

 planations have been, to put it mildly, quite 

 unfortunate, to say the least. I published 

 what I did in regard to the effect of inver- 

 sion on queen-cells, etc., because it seemed 

 to me as if there were a valuable point here 

 that should be investigated. 



■ — — I — ^ 



LETTER FROM NEAAT SOUTH "WALES, 

 AUSTRALIA. 



WHAT A AVO.MAN'S ENEllGY ANO DETERMINATION 

 WILL, DO WHEN HER HEART IS IN THE WORK. 



aEAK MR. BOOT:— My brother has sent you 

 a list of things he wants, and has written 

 you, one of his short businesslike letters; 

 tut I want to write to you about our friends 

 the bees, and I thought you might like to 

 know a little of their doing-s ii; far-off New South 

 Wales. 



Would you like to have some of my experiences 

 in bee-keeping? For years 1 have been a lover of 

 bees; but as the greater part of my life was spent 

 in India, where the bees build their combs like a 

 spong-e stuck on a stick, I never succeeded in 

 doing much more than reading and treasuring up 

 every scrap I could get hold of about my little 

 friends. When I first came to the colony, scarcely 

 a bee was to be seen anywhere. " Driven out by 

 the moth " was the universal verdict. Even the 

 bush, or forest, as you would call it, was destitute 

 of bees. About four years ago I bought my first 

 swarm, which, to my grief, I found to be queenless. 

 After this 1 heard of a man who kept bees in com- 

 mon gin-cases, abt)ut four miles away; so one fine 

 bright winter's day away my brother and I started 

 (he came only to please me, for he was not a bee- 

 enthusiast then, but he is now). The old farmer 

 gave us a swarm that had not been robbed since 

 the spring. We were so much afraid to trust our 

 newly acquired treasure to any one else, we re- 

 solved to carry it home ourselves, much in the 

 same fashion in which the spies carried home the 

 grapes from Eshcol. Well, to make a big story 

 short, we carried home our box of bees and honey 

 over four miles of as hilly a country as you would 

 wish to sec, and did not get home till midnight. 

 It weighed over 70 lbs. It was a grand swarm, and 

 1 think we deserved it; but, as usual with begin- 

 ners, we were in too great a hurry, and lost nearly 

 all by increasing- too rapidly. 



The next was a bad year; but we got some honey, 

 and our bees did not require feeding in the winter. 



Last summer the rain failed us altogther, and 

 what honey was gathered was very thick and dark. 

 I saw some take a prize at a show that was more 

 like treacle [cheap molasses.— Eu.] than honey. 

 As our space was very limited this year we did not 

 increase more than we could help. Now we have, 

 after giving- away some swarms, ten good strouf? 

 stocks. You will see by my brother's list that wo 

 intend going in very extensively for bees this 

 year. 1 don't think we shall have any difficulty in 

 selling our honey; but if you could see the honey 

 usually sold here 1 doubt if you would care to 

 touch it. Bees, brood, pollen, moth, grubs, and all, 

 pitched into a bag and hung out in the sun to 

 strain. Those who put this mixture into a bucket, 

 and stand it in a boiler of hot water, and then 

 strain it through at once are considered as rather 

 advanced bee-keepers. 



Mr. Garrett, of late of Glenbrook, and ourselves 

 are anxious to establish, as soon as possible, a cen- 

 tral depot for the sale of pure extracted and comb 

 honey, and we thought it would be a good idea to 

 combine apiarian recjuisites with it. As you have 

 so much experience in these things I thought the 

 best thing we could do would be to ask youradvice; 

 and, if^you agree with us, to ask you the best way 

 to set about it. Think the matter over, Mr. Koot, 

 and let us know what you think. We should like 

 to get the things from America, and we should 

 like i)articularly to get them from you, as you seem 

 to understand the wants of bee-keepers so thorough- 

 ly. Mr. Garrett lent me a lot of your Gleanings. 

 I have studied them carefully, and I don't think 

 you will think me presumptuous if J say } feel as if 

 1 had found a new friend. 



I meant to have told you something about bees 

 in Australia, and I have selfishly taken up all the 

 paper with my own affairs. We Uiivc one great 



