240 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Apr. 



pages, and at prices, too, less than you men- 

 tion, friend M. There is a point that comes 

 in here, however: Will basswood-trees raised 

 in a nursery make better growth than those 

 brought from the forest? I presume they 

 would be stronger and thriftier, for the for- 

 est trees are so often knotty and twisted. 

 But the question is, Which will make the 

 better trees for timber and for honey V 



THE BEST METHOD OF PRODUCING COMB HONEY. 



[See page 96, Feb. 1.] 



You 8tate, " Hiving the next swarm in hive No. 1," 

 and so on, giving the best results. Pray tell which 

 is hive No. 1 or 2. Please make your explanation 

 plain, and consider I am young in the business. 

 Again, about how many colonies of bees should a 

 person have before it would pay to buy an extractor? 

 Again, would you recommend putting a frame cf 

 sections in the brood-chamber of a Langstroth hive? 



Cleveland, la., Feb. 38, 1884. Evan B. Morgan. 



Friend M , hive No. 1 is the first new 

 swarm. The idea is. that we can not put a 

 swarm right back into the hive it came from, 

 for they would not stay. But you can put a 

 new swarm into a hive that had swarmed a 

 few days before that, by giving them more 

 room by putting on sections, etc. The ad- 

 vantage will be, that they will have the ex- 

 tra vim of a new swarm, and a great lot of 

 brood hatching out to reinforce it right 

 along. The only ditHculty will be to keep 

 this powerful colony from swarming again 

 very soon. — i suppose many will think it 

 will pay to buy an extractor as soon as they 

 have five colonies of bees or more ; and cir- 

 cumstances might make it profitable to buy 

 an extractor for even one colony, if I am cor- 

 rect.— If you will look at our price list you 

 will notice that we put two frames of sec- 

 tions in the brood-chamber of our hives 

 when arranged for comb honey. 



ASSISTING THE MISSION AVORK IN INDIAN TERRITORY. 



I have received a donation of 13 empty hives for 

 missionary purposes. Bees are to follow in 3 or 4 

 weeks. This princely gift is from Mrs. Axtell, of 

 Roseville, 111. Will you please acknowledge in your 

 journal? We arc building cheap houses for churches 

 and schools for the Indians, which are as much 

 needed as missionaries among foreign fields. 



Caddo, Ind. Ter., March 4, 1884. S. R. Keam. 



Friend Keam, w^e are interested in the 

 above, because we know Mrs. Axtell, the 

 donor, so well. Wouldn't that be a grand 

 way to civilize and educate the Indians — 

 teach them bee culture V It would be sufii- 

 ciently outdoor work to harmonize with their 

 natural tendencies ; and who knows but that 

 they may excel in this industry V We have 

 made a proposition to assist friend K. in the 

 way of supplies and implements ; and if any 

 of the rest of the friends feel like giving 

 them a lift, I presume it will be thankfully 



received. 



reversible frames. 



While the bee-keepers are turning their attention 

 to the reversible frame, they are running into seri- 

 ous trouble, unless great efforts are made right at 

 the beginning to prevent it. Much has been said 

 and done to get a universal frame. The writer, for 

 one, has adopted a frame that he does not like, be- 

 cause It was the one nearest universal. Now, if a 



thousand and one devices are brought out to make 

 that frame reversible, and no two devices will be in- 

 terchangeable—that is, to work in one hive with 

 another— it will be like the confounding of the 

 languages. Now I will make this suggestion at the 

 start: That all bee-keepers be urged not to adopt 

 any of them at present; and at the next national 

 convention, let a committee of sevei-al of the lead- 

 ing beemen oe appointed to test all of the devices 

 that may be presented, and report at the next fol- 

 lowing meeting the most practicable one, then all of 

 us fall into line and adopt that one, if any. 



A. A. Fradenburo. 

 Port Washington, Ohio, March 10, 1884. 

 Your suggestion is a good one, friend F. 

 No frame ought to be adopted universally 

 that will not readily work in the hives we 

 already have in use. Perhaps the whole 

 matter may turn out like the half-pound 

 sections — beginning and ending mostly 

 with discussion. 



WIRED FRAMES FOR NATURAL COMBS. 



I commenced the year with T good colonies; in- 

 creased to 18 by natural swarming, and took only 

 485 lbs. of comb honey. Did you ever give new 

 swarms simply wired frames to commence' with? 

 My little brother by mistake hived a large swarm la 

 a hive that had the frames all wired, but no fdn. in. 

 Seeing they went right to work I let them keep 

 them, and the result was 13 splendid wired natural 

 combs. I shall try again this summer. 



Otto G. Josenhans. 



Owosso, Mich., Feb. 23, 1884. 



Thank you, friend J. I believe natural 

 combs are not always built as nicely over 

 the wires as those w^ere ; still, it is a very 

 valuable suggestion. I for one never want 

 to handle any more frames of comb of any 

 kind, without wires in to keep them from 

 breaking down or sagging. 



REMOVING WARTS FROM STOCK. 



As you have been buying recipes to get something 

 valuable for Gleanings, I will write one. I had a 

 two-year-old colt with a rose-wart, or blood-wart, on 

 the hind leg. It was two inches long, and as big as a 

 half-dollar. It was there two years before I could 

 get it cured. I burned it out with a hot iron, but in 

 a short time itgrewout again; then I got this recipe: 

 Quicksilver and iodine, each 3oz., rubbed together; 

 then corrosive sublimate 3 oz., rubbed with the oth- 

 ers, then mixed with 3 oz. of lard. Cut the wart off 

 close to the leg, and apply the salve to the wart every 

 other day until it has healed up, which will be in 

 about two weeks. This will kill all kinds of warta 

 on all kinds of living stock. V . McBride. 



Chardon, O., March 8, 1884. 



I should think your prescription ought to 

 take the warts off, friend M., and very like- 

 ly it is valuable. Now, what would you 

 think of a man who knew this, and would 

 not tell it to a neighbor without pay V Per- 

 haps this does not come under bee culture ; 

 but it illustrates a great truth. 



blood-root as a honey-plant. 

 Did you ever notice how bees in the early spring 

 work on the blossoms of blood-root? Some years 

 ago I set some plants in my dooryard under some 

 evergreen-trees; and by keeping the weeds out, it 

 has become a perfect bed. As long as it continues 



