274 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Apr. 



A COUPLE OF LITTLE LETTERS FROM A COTJPLE OF 

 LITTLE BROTHERS. 



I have a little brother five months old, and he has 

 blue eyes; he can sit alone. I went to school one 

 term. Cora Kraner, age 6. 



Geneva, Ind., March 30, 188t. 



We keep bees, and they have all wintered well. 

 They have been gathering pollen for two weeks. It 

 is just fun to stand and watch them come in. They 

 are working on maple. Austin Kraner, age 10. 



Geneva, Ind., March 30, 1884. 



OAK-GROVE APIARY. 



We live In a grove which is sometimes called the 

 Oak-Grove Apiary. I like to work with the bees, 

 and I like honey, though last year was not a good 

 honey year at all. Almost all of our neighbors have 

 a few bees. I have a little brother, and his name is 

 Macy. I should like to see little Huber, very much. 

 Georgiana Osman, age 11. 



Tehama, Cherokee Co., Kan., Feb. 20, 1884. 



from 58 TO 130, AND 6300 LBS. OF COMB HONEY. 



My father keeps bees. He bought two swarms 

 five years ago, and now he has 112. He has sold a 

 good many. He had 58 last spring, and increased to 

 130, and got 6300 lbs. of section-box honey, and 800 

 lbs. of extracted, and it is about all sold that we have 

 got to sell. We have a large farm, but we let it out 

 to work on shares. I like to work with bees. 



Obbie Bert, age 8. 



Sheboygan Falls, Wis., March 37, 1884. 



I will tell you how I got a start with my bees. My 

 grandpa gave me 13 stands last spring. I sold 7 

 stands at $1.00 a stand. Sometimes they are cross 

 and I have lots of fun when I go to hive them. 

 Frank J. Crabill, age 13. 



La Crosse, 111., March 19, 1881. 



Seems to me, Frank, selling hives of bees 

 at a dollar apiece is pretty cheap, is it not? 



j A C.\LL FOR GERMAN BEE-BOOKS. 



My pa has three hives of bees. I like the honey 

 very much. Last summer a bee stung me on the 

 finger, and it hurt. My pa wishes to know if you 

 have German bee-books, because he doesn't know 

 how to take care of bees. He had eight hives last 

 summer, and they died. He would like to know the 

 price of them. Emma S. Schneider. 



Braman, Pa., March 39, 1884. 



Friend Emma, we have not any German 

 bee-books ; but " Jacob " is fitting himself 

 for the difficult task of translating the A B C 

 book into German, and before many years 

 we expect to have it going. 



MOTHER'S BEES. 



Uncle Alonzo gave ma one swarm of bees two 

 years ago next spring. The first summer they 

 swarmed once, and made us 35 lbs. of nice comb 

 honey. The next summer they swarmed four times; 

 two ran away. Ma was afraid to hunt the queens 

 and clip their wings. She thought to save them 

 without. We did not get much honey. Now we have 

 four nice swarms, all of their queens' wings clipped. 

 Hattie May Henry, age 10. 



Gratten, Kent Co., Mich., Feb. 11, 1884. 



SOME hints in REGARD TO FDN. MAKING, FROM OUR 

 YOUNG FRIEND CORA. 



I am helping my uncle to press fdn. I als i help him 

 to dip. I take sheets of wax from the boards, after 

 he has dipped them. Sometimes, when the boards 

 get so rough that the wax sticks to them, wo soap 

 them with hard soap, and make the water soapy; 

 and after that we have no trouble till we are 

 through dipping. It helps a great deal. It even 

 helps, if the boards are real smooth. 



Ashland, O. Cora H. Baum. 



WHAT blossoms FURNISH THE MOST HONEY? 



My father has four stands of bees, and I have one. 

 1 don't go to school. My father lost one stand of 

 bees last fall, by taking them to the fair. I have 

 three sisters and two brothers. Please tell me from 

 what Hower bees get the most honey. 



Wilbur Endly, age 13. 



Edgerton, Kan., Feb. IS, 1881. 



If I am correct, friend AVilbur, Mr. Doo- 

 little has decided that no one plant gives 

 honey in such immense quantities as does 

 basswood. 



REPORT FROM A 13-YEAR-OLD BEE-KEEPER. 



I received your smoker, and I think it will do its 

 work all right. I have 33 stands: saved all of them 

 this winter. They made about 400 lbs. of honey, and 

 I sold 250 lbs., and it brought me about $38.00. Now 



A 26-YEAR-OLD BEE-HIVE. 



Pa has no bees, but grandpa has 09 colonies; two 

 smothered this winter. He had 53 stands last year, 

 and got 5075 lbs. of honey, and sold it all at 15 cents 

 per lb. Grandpa has a hive 36 years old, which is the 

 best of all. He got last year 139 lbs. of comb honey 

 and two swarms. I call grandpa, J. G. Kintner; 

 some folks call him " Old Honey." Perhaps he is 

 well named, for he has handled bees and honey for 

 over 40 years. Plan for wintering bees: Pack the 

 hive inside " chuck full " of bees and honey, and the 

 outside with dry chaff, and be sure to keep them 

 dry all winter. Geo. W. Shol, age 9. 



Sherwood, Ohio, March 31, 1884. 



Now, friend George, 1 think your plan for 

 keeping bees is a pretty good one, especially 

 the fore part of it. If you call grandpa 

 " Old Honey," I suppose you will be called 

 " Young Honey," eh ? 



DOES TRANSFERRING BEES PREVENT THEIR SWARM- 

 I ING THE SAME SEASON? 



! The above question is frequently asked us 

 by beginners. Our juvenile friend below 

 answers the question satisfactorily. 



Pa has three colonies. We got a colony from 

 grandpa's last spring, and had them transferred the 

 last day of May. Pa fed the bees before they were 

 transferred. When they wire transferred they had 

 about a pint of honey, and had 2 quarts of bees. 

 The man who transferred them said he didn't think 

 they would swarm. They have increased one 

 swarm, and made 25 or 30 lbs. surplus honey. Our 

 bees swarmed in six weeks after they were trans- 

 ferred. The bees kept swarming, and swarmed the 

 most of the honey-season. One day pa destroyed 

 the queen-cells. He bought a hive of Italian bees. 

 We put our honey upstair?, and it froze. Will you 

 please tell us where to put it so it will keep? Pa put 

 our bees in the cellar. 



Mosiertown, Pa. Bertie S. A. Spitler, age 10. 



I think, friend Bertie, you have made us a 

 pretty good report on the subject.— I believe 

 it is laid down in the bee-books, that honey 

 should be stored where it won't freeze nor 

 get damp. We keep it here in the factory 

 two or three years, without injury— comb 

 honey at that. 



