120 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Eta. 



were just the same length as the inside of the hrnod- 

 chamber. 



The queen, after filling all the space below, crawl- 

 ed in on to the rabbet, between the ends of the 

 frames, and so got around the end of the zinc honey- 

 board. As I said before, the honey-boards to my 

 hives have four slats. The two end ones are inches 

 wide, and the two middle ones are 4 inches wide. 

 That leaves three spaces about 3 inches wide for the 

 bees to work through. Instead of putting four slats 

 into the honey-boards, I left out one of the middle 

 ones. That gave me a honey-board with two spaces 

 each 5 inches wide, instead of three spaces each 3 

 inches wide. Then I took my zinc honej'-boards and 

 cut them into strips 6 inches wide, and tacked them 

 over the spaces in the honey-board. Then I had a 

 honey-board that fitted the space between the upper 

 and lower stories, so that the bees never fastened 

 the upper frames down. The honey-boards did not 

 bend out of shape, as did those made entirely of zinc. 

 And above all, they fitted down on to the edges of 

 the lower story, so that it was impossible for a bee 

 to get into the upper story without going through 

 the perforated zinc. 



What was the result? Not a queen got into the 

 upper story, where these honey-boards were used. 

 But the bees worked just as well as if there had been 

 no honey-board thei-e. 



On page 13, Gleanings for Jan. 1, Mr. Hutchinson 

 objects to perforated zinc, on account of its cost. 

 The perforated zinc costs me about IG cts. per square 

 foot, counting express charges from Medina. I use 

 just a square foot for each honej'-board. The honey- 

 boards cost almost nothing, as I buy them in the fiat 

 with my hives. 



In conclusion, 1 would say that perforated zinc 

 honey-boards, as you sell them, are almost useless. 

 But perforated zinc, if used in the right way, is a 

 perfect success. Xen. Caverno. 



Lombard, Du Page Co., Ills. 



Friend C, it seems to me your wliole 

 trouble was caused by that large space be- 

 tween your upper and lower frames. In all 

 the hives we make, this space doe.s not ex- 

 ceed I inch ; and in place of a honey-board, 

 we use a mat. This, of course, just allows 

 room for the perforated zinc, and yet no 

 place for them to build in combs. In fact, 

 one thing for which they were particularly 

 designed was to prevent the bees building 

 the upper and lower frames together. Very 

 likely a honey-board of wood would be bet- 

 ter where the space is so great as you have 

 it. 



before it has matured, to save your clover, wheh 

 they are sown together for mixed hay. For pasture, 

 it can't be beat, as it does not hurt it to feed it 

 down, as it grows very rapidly, and will keep green 

 all summer. It is the cheapest feed for hogs that 

 can be raised, as they will fatten on it without any 

 other feed, so that butchers like to buy them for 

 the early market. But be careful not to turn on too 

 early in the spring, while the ground is soft, as it in- 

 jures the crop, especially if you turn on heavy stock 

 like horses. 



It is a good plan, when you have a good start in 

 the spring, to pasture it through May, as the hay 

 will grow finer, and the seed mature better, and you 

 will always have bulk enough; or if you do not wish 

 to pasture it, you can run the mowing-machine over 

 it the latter part of May. There will not be any 

 thing worth raking up. 



The seed must be saved from the first crop (it i8 

 not like the June clover); the seed will be ready to 

 cut the fore part of August. I cut it with a side- 

 rake reaper, let it dry in the gavils; don't rake it 

 with a horse-rake, as it shells very easily. I like to 

 thrash it as you draw it out of the field, when it is 

 dry, as it gathers moisture, and gets tough, and the 

 seed does not hull so easily after it has been stacked. 



Thrash with a common clover-huller. Besides be- 

 ing a first-class forage plant, you get a good crop of 

 honey right through the hottest, dryest part of the 

 season, after alsike, white clover, and basswood are 

 gone, and bees have very little to work on, so it will 

 pay any bee-keeper to try it. H. B. H. 



Medina, Ohio, Feb. 5, 1881. 



PEA- VINE CliOVEK. 



ITS CULTIVATION, ETC. 



|f'N response to many inquiries, Neighbor 

 11. H. gives the following further facts in 

 — ' regard to the cultivation of pea-vine 

 clover : 



Sow in the spring on a wheat, oat, or barley crop, 

 or any place you would sow any kind of grass. Be 

 carefulnottosow too early; wait till after the hard 

 frosts are over, as the young plants are tender. A 

 hard freeze will kill them, but they will stand a light 

 frost that would kill corn or potatoes. It makes an 

 excellent quality of hay, as it matures the same 

 time as timothy. You do not have to cut timothy 



EXTRACTED OR COMB HONEY. 



WHICH KIND SHALL WE WORK FOR? 



eN page 09, current volume, this question is 

 asked by Mr. T.Wm. Fleming. The editor of 

 ^^ Gleanings asks for a " free pitch-in " to an 

 answer. If ever I have to take S cents per lb. for 

 good extracted honey, consumers will never find 

 any. Comb honey at 15 cents will pay better than 

 extracted at 8. There can be no trouble to make a 

 sale of the comb honey at this price; but extracted 

 goes off slow with most bee-keepers at 8 and 10 cts., 

 and there is some uncertainty about its ever being 

 so extensively called for as to warrant bee-keepers 

 turning much attention to its production. 



This trouble generally grows out of the great dis- 

 trust on the part of the public as to its real charac- 

 ter. It does seem as though the general public 

 would never come to know or believe that candied, 

 or granulated honey, becomes so because it is pure 

 honey. Even if it should be regarded as pure by all, 

 it is unattractive and uninviting, even at the low 

 price at which it is offered. Were I compelled to 

 ship my honey long distances to find a market, I 

 would perhaps prefer to produce extracted honey at 

 one-third less price than' comb, for the reason that 

 it is shipped with so much less risk of loss. Indeed, 

 I am not sure 1 should ever locate jn a country 

 where I could not have a home market for most of 

 my honey at paying prices. What matter if a man 

 should with great labor, perseverance, and skill, 

 produce a large crop of honey, and for want of a 

 good market, or cost of putting his product into a 

 market, find in the end that all this energy and hard 

 work had left him but a meager salary? Fortunate- 

 ly in these days of cheap and rapid transportation 



