1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



it looks the most pvomising of any thins I j 

 have yet seen in place of the L. suspended 

 frame, and I have thought enough of it to 

 decide to transfer combs into some of the 

 frames and try tlie hive in our apiary. You 

 will observe that it accomplishes the matter 

 of reversing frame. ('()m])lctel\-. Any Ijrood- 

 frame will go just as well one side up as the 

 other. The wide frames can not be used 

 either side up without putting in a top-bar. 

 In reply to a letter as to how long he had 

 used the hive I have described, friend Heth- 

 erington replies as follows: 



I have used the hive in its present form for four 

 or five j-ears. The hive I had been using was a 

 elosed-cnd Quinby, with a large case, modified a 

 little from that used by L. C. Root and Capt. Hether- 

 ington, in that I had a reversible frame; am using 

 it largely now. The only objection I have to it is, 

 that when I want to sell any bees it is too expensive, 

 and requires two men to handle it, so I got up this 

 hive; and the more I use itthe better I like it. AVhen 

 I wrote you I forgot to answer your question— that 

 it is not the hive used by Capt. Hetherington and L. 

 C. Root. The irons on the frames wei-e got up by C. 

 C. Vandeusen, of Sprout Brook, N. Y. I made the 

 length of the inside of the hive the same as the L. 

 hive, so that by putting irons in the bottom edge of the 

 end-pieces of any L. hive these frames can be used. 



I have no drawings of the hive, and have no ob- 

 jections to your having some made, or any notice 

 you may wish to give. O. J. Hetherington. 



East Saginaw, Mich., April 12, 1884. 



In answer to an inquiry to C. C. Vandeu- 

 sen, Sprout Brook, N. Y., I learn that the 

 corners can be furnished for about -50 cts. 

 per 100, and in large quantities considerably 

 less. At present we have none for sale, and 

 shall not keep them until we have given the 

 hive a careful test in our own apiary. 



FROM 4 TO 20, AND 3110 LBS. CO.MB HONEY. 



I have just received the last i-eturns foi' 

 my honey of 1883, I want to tell you some- 

 thing more of my bees and their truly won- 

 derful yield, and then I should like to learn 

 through Gleanings if any others can give 

 an equally truthful and large result for one year 

 from 4 stands. 



My former letters told that I had 3110 lbs. comb 

 honey, or TVT lbs. per stand, spring count, and an in- 

 crease to 20 stands. I And, on reference to the ac- 

 count, that on April 10, 1883, they had balanced the 

 account, I having a lot of hives, etc. ; since then I 

 have spent $15.60 for further supplies, and received 

 for honey sold, clear of freight, commission, and all 

 charges, $255.30. I have sold 2 stands of bees for 

 $10.00; have an increase of 14, all in good oi'der, and 

 now on hand about 300 lbs. honey, besides having 

 given away about 200 lbs. to my friends during the 

 season. Most of my honey sold was No. 1 white 

 comb honey at 18 cts. per lb. ; and had I been an old 

 hand at the business, my returns would have been 

 much larger. 



The bees are swarming already; but it rains so 

 often the poor things can not get out to collect sup- 

 plies, so I have to give them some full combs to 

 carry on with. 



Thousands of swarms are being brought into this 

 county, and at the present rate of increase it will 

 soon be fully stocked. George Hobler. 



Hanford, Cal., April 15, 1884. 



AN IMPROVEMENT IN BUZZ-SAW TA- 

 BLES FOR HIVE-MAKING. 



RAISING AND LOWERING THE TABLE. 



PRESUME most of you have your table- 

 tops to raise and lower in such a way 

 that the table is fastened at different 

 heights, as may be required, by a wood- 

 en slide and a set-screw. Well, we have 

 experienced so much trouble in getting stuff 

 wrong because the table-lop slipped down a 

 little^ tliat .Mr. (iray devised the following 

 arrangement. The de- 

 vice is all made of cast ^j^ 

 iron. Tlie part hold- *^ 

 ing the thumb -screw 

 is scrpwed fast to tlic 

 framework of tlie saw- 

 table. The part that 

 slides up and down in 

 this piece is of cast 

 iron, and made taper- 

 ing. It is hinged di- 

 rectly to the movable 

 table-cover, as you will 

 observe. Now, it can -™— - — 

 not slip down or settle, because it is wedge- 

 shaped, and yet if the table is to be raised it 

 can be lifted out any time, and then dropped 

 right back into its original, place. ' ' 



from 1 TO 7, AND T20 LBS. OF HONEY; ALSO FROM 9 

 TO 36, AND 1200 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I commenced bee-keeping some years ago with 

 varied success, sometimes getting as many as 25 

 colonies and plenty of honey, and, again, losing al- 

 most every thing. The spring of 1882 found us with 

 but one colony, which we increased by artificial 

 swarming to 7, and got 720 lbs. of extracted honey, 

 and considerable comb honey, which we did not 

 weigh. These bees all went through winter in good 

 condition on their summer stands. Last spring I 

 bought two box hives, which gave us nine colonies 

 to start with. We increased to 36, mostly by natural 

 swarming, and got about 1200 lbs., mostly extracted 

 honey, during clover bloom. The latter part of the 

 season was very pooi', the bees making no surplus 

 to amount to any thing. Two of our colonies starv- 

 ed to death about a month ago, but all the others 

 are in tine condition, and raising brood nicely. We 

 have them in Simplicity hives. J. W. Droke. 



Hcttiok, HI., April 4, 1884. 



A BIG REPORT FROM CANAD.\, AND SOMETHING 

 ABOUT HONEY FRO.M CANADA THISTLES. 



We commenced with 30 colonies, increased to 102, 

 ami took 8500 pounds of extracted honey. From 

 some of our best colonies we took froni .500 to 600 

 pounds. We wholesale at 13 cts., and retail at 15. 

 We have yet on hand 2500 pounds. Our bee^ did not 

 commence to swarm till about July. I don't know 

 about that old rhyme, "A swarm in May is woi-th a 

 load of hay," and so on; for from some of our Aug- 

 ust swarms we took from 60 to 80 pounds of honey. 

 There are a lot of Canadian thistles here, from 

 which they got a good portion of it. Our apiary is 

 40 rods from the river Credit, which is almost hidden 

 wit}} bagswood and yellow willow. They got poUoji 



