226 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Apr. 



Friend Root : —You wanted to know what I would 

 take for my idea. That, I will not sell. I will make 

 you a proposition; and if it suits you, all right: I 

 willa^ree to furnish you all you want, and I will not 

 sell to any one else, if you will advertise them in 

 Gleanings i-egularly and in your price list, and 

 agree not to sell them higher than 15 cents retail. 



Ballstown, Ind., Feb. 4, 1881. J. S. C. Davis. 



They are made, as you will notice, in two 

 forms. Some will prefer one, and some the 

 other. The brushes measure about 8 inches, 

 handle and all. Length of liber, about 4 

 inches ; width of fiber Avhere it is fastened 

 in, 4 inches; width of the brush, about 5 

 inches ; so you see that two sweeps will cov- 

 er an L. frame. In ordering, please desig- 

 nate them thus: " Straight handle " and 

 '' bent handle." For the present, prices will 

 be as follows: One brush, J5 cents ; by mail, 

 H cents each additional; 10 brushes, 81-25; 

 100. $10 00. ' 



The friends will observe that these brush- 

 es are made of a soft line vegetable fiber that 

 will roll young bees from the combs without 

 injuring them or making them angry. If 

 the brushes get daubed with honey, wash 

 them in water, for neither fiber nor handles 

 are affected by wet. As your brush is liable 

 to get lost, I think it will pay you to have at 

 least two or three. Have one hung up in 

 your extracting-house, another hung up on 

 a post in the apiary ; or for a large apiary, 

 have them hung up in two or more places. 

 Then make every one who uses them hang 

 them up, instead of laying them down. If 

 you follow this up thoroughly, probably at 

 least one of them can be found when you are 

 in a hurry. 



MOVING BEES TO CATCH THE 

 ^VOOD FIjO^V. 



BASS> 



A GENERAL "MOVING ALONG" IN THE MATTER. 



Iq^IUEND ROOT:-After reading your encourag- 

 /{• in^ remarks on my latest hobby, on page 41, I 

 ' felt as though you had given us a big lift. 

 Most all you said only confirmed the ideas I have in 

 this matter, except ia one particular. You say, "A 

 Simplicity hive, with wire cloth over, top and bot- 

 tom, will do the business nicely." So they will; but 

 to my notion, a Laugstroth or lower story of the 

 Simplicity hive will do better. For moving bees I 

 like a solid bottom-board, because they are easier 

 prepared, better to handle, and when you are ready 

 to let the bees fly, it can be done in a twinkling. I 

 have moved my bees so often that I could tell a long 

 story from experience. I would cover the portico 

 with wire cloth, which can be done very fast, if 

 every thing is in readiness, as it should be. I would 

 make the cover in the following manner: Take a 

 Simplicity cover; have a tin top instead of the 

 broad board. After nailing the rim together, put 

 on the tin in such a way that it can be taken off 

 without much trouble. This will be a cover for ven- 

 tilation when the tin is off, and a tight cover when 

 the tin is on. I think it would be an improvement, 

 if the tin could have a slight rim turned down, say 

 li to !4 inch deep. I will order a lot of hives from 

 you with tin covers, to make the experiment. To 

 get bees ready for shipment, put the spacing-boards 

 in all the hives; cut oflf % inch from part of them to 

 use at the front or entrance; drive in a nail to bold I 



them up. When bees are quiet, nail the wire cloth 

 over the portico; and last, take tin top oflf from the 

 cover, after fastening the cover to body, and the 

 hive is ready. 



"and the floods CAME." 



It was my intention to send you this article at 

 once; but the Hood turned me so upside down that I 

 could not well do it. In 1883 the water was three 

 feet in my bee-yard; in 1883, 8 feet; in 1881, about IT 

 feet. This last was a "damper," and I got out and 

 moved my dear ones out of the second-story window 

 at two o'clock in the night. I tell you, friend Root, 

 on such occasions we find out how near and dear 

 they are to us. t, 



GENEROSITY AMONG BEE-jis'EPERS. 



I was very much pleased, and i; Ml thankful too, 

 for the information and kind invitation from our 

 friend George Hilton, on page 8J. I think we should 

 enjoy paying our friend H. a visit, and accept his 

 assistance, so generously offered, to have teams in 

 readiness at the railroad station to move our bees. 

 On reading his article I said to myself, " Here is an- 

 other whole-souled brother bee-keeper;" and allow 

 me to say here, that in no other pursuit have I ever 

 come across a set of men so ready and generous to 

 give their experience free of charge to their fellow- 

 men. With bee-keepers, generosity seems to be the 

 rule. 1 have never yet found a bee-keeper who put 

 up a notice on his workshop, honey-room, or any 

 where, "No Admittance," or would not answer ques- 

 tions freely concerning the art of bee-keeping. 

 There is, however, one thing which we would desire 

 in regard to a location to move to, to have it, if pos- 

 sible, on the line of some railroad. 



DOOLITTLE'S ARTICLES, ETC. 



On page IGO, March Gleanings, I noticed friend 

 Eoolittle's article on basswood. By the way, I have 

 a peculiarity of finding friend D.'s articles in Glean- 

 ings alnriost always first, notwithstanding the strong 

 notion I have to try friend Heddon's way of getting 

 box honey. I have always read friend D.'s articles 

 with great Interest, and have profited much by his 

 teachings. Well, friend D. made it all as plain as A 

 BC, and gave us his experience of twelve years 

 with basswood. I do not see any thing to hinder us 

 from trying the experiment, unless it be the farm I 

 bought last week near town. I am of the same opin- 

 ion as our friend Mrs. Axtell, that a man should 

 have some occupation linked with bee-keeping, and 

 I think a farm in grass and fruit answers the pur- 

 pose well. I also indorse every word that our lady 

 friend writes in the March number, which just came 

 to hand. 



We have as yet heard nothing from the particular 

 field in Northern Ohio, where we thought of making 

 the first trial. I do not know whether the field is 

 stocked with bees so much that we would be re- 

 garded as intruders, or whether It has been over- 

 looked. I would say this, that we expect to pay the 

 friend for his trouble and time, who gets us a loca- 

 tion, if we can make use of it. Are there not, some- 

 where between Oak Harbor and To.edo, timber tracts 

 where basswood is plentiful? We should like to 

 hear from the friends, either in GLEANtNGS or by 

 private correspondence. 



Since writing the article in January number, an- 

 other friend has come forward to join us in the en- 

 terprise, so that we shall be able to fill a car. We 

 can get a car from here to Toledo for $40 00, and one 

 man allowed free; perhaps we can do a little better 

 yet. We hereby tender our thanks to you, friend 

 Root, and also to friends Hilton and Doolittle, for 

 kind advice and assistance. R. Sxehle. 



Marietta, Ohio. March 18, 1884. 



