Vol. XII. 



JUNE 15, 1884. 



No. 12. 



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THE DANGER OF HASTY CONCLU- 

 SIONS. 



PROF. COOK TALKS TO US ABOUT BURYING BEES, 

 AND SOME #THER THINGS. 



§OME years ago, Mr. Editor, I put two or three 

 colonies of bees under ground for the winter, 

 digging a hole in the sand, arranging for ven- 

 tilation and drainage, and covering all with 

 straw and earth. They came through so 

 bright and fine that I could but sa,y "eureka," es- 

 pecially as the winter was one of the disastrous 

 ones. I said in my report, this seems to promise 

 well ; but it is yet too early to speak with emphasis. 

 The next year, and still the next, gave the same re- 

 sult. Only one of these winters was mild, and few 

 bees were lost anywhere. I still considered it an 

 experiment, which, as the sequel shows, was wise. 

 The next winter all these colonies died; the next 

 winter two died. I then said, as I say now, burying 

 is too uncertain— the bees are out of sight; and if 

 any thing goes wrong, we shall know nothing of i^^, 

 and, of course, can apply no remedy. A year since 

 I said all this to W. Z. H., and said go slow, for you 

 surely will got this burying enthusiasm nipped,— 

 fortunately it is nipped in the bud,— and if you go 

 slow your loss will not bo serious. He gave a wise 

 smile, and we now know the result. 



Mr. Editor, Mr. H. ought to have buried a few- 

 he thinks the large number caused the loss; but I 

 buried only three— and you, Mr. Editor, ought not, 

 in my judgment, to have published his seeming suc- 

 cess and demonstration, nor he to have written it. 

 Such reports are premature, apd mislead, and do 



much damage. Mr. H. says two of his neighbors 

 ai-o his companions in suffering. 1 doubt not but 

 there are scores, for Mr. H. is an extensive writer, 

 and his words have weight. Had he said, last fall, I 

 shall try two or three colonies, he would have done 

 little or no harm by his words. 



It seems to me, that in our writings we can not be 

 too careful in .withholding conclusions till a gener- 

 ous number of examples make a real demonstration. 

 Beecher is reported to have said, that his greatest 

 fault is "slopping over"— a rude phrase, but it may 

 well apply to some of us writers, especially us 

 younger ones. A. J. Coqk. 



Lansing, Mich. 



Thanks, friend Cook, for your wise acl- 

 n.onition. I often publish these reports of 

 successes, but a great many times I add a 

 word of caution. Reports have their value, 

 and I often like to get a lot of them side by 

 side, and compare results. One reason why 

 I put tliem in Gleanings as I do is, that 

 our text-books nearly, if not nuite all, give 

 the summing-up, and also usually give these 

 words of caution in regard to risking too 

 much in any one venture. I hope we shall 

 all learn to l)e very, careful about writing 

 any thing that may have even a tendency 

 toward this fault of" slopping over." 



Bee culture seems to he peculiarly unset- 

 tled in many of its particulars. For in- 

 stance, in this matter of separators or no sep- 

 arators, friend Ilutchiiisoii declares it decid- 

 ed in favor of abandoning them; and yet, 

 the orders for separators, and many of them 

 from our old honey-producers too, have re- 



