Ar.0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



wheat. I don't know what the January honey was, 

 unless it was spruce pine, which blossomed then, 

 and the bees were very busy on it. It grows In the 

 scrub, about a mile from here. I do not think this 

 would be the place to sell a largo amount of honey, 

 but there will he no trouble getting enough to sup- 

 ply the entire home demand, and it can be sold here 

 so as to compete with any other sweet. As to profit, 

 I can tell better when the season is through. Will 

 report again when I learn more about the business 

 here. 



This is a region of small lakes, interspersed with 

 pine land. "We are nine miles east of the St. 

 John's River. A large green dragon-tly, called here 

 mosquito hawk, comes in April, or last of March, 

 and sometimes in great numbers. They kill a good 

 many worker-bees. It is sad to see them follow a 

 bee on the wing, and catch them, eating off their 

 heads first. We can see them flying around with 

 the bees in their clutches, eating as they fiy. I think 

 they get enough to do quite a good deal of damage 

 to the working force. They travel about a good 

 deal. Some days there are none to be seen. I 

 think they last only a few weeks. G. W. Webster. 



Orange City, Fla., April 21, 1884. 



MRS. COTTON AND HER HIVE. 



BY ONB WHO HAS BEEN READING HER BOOK. 



HAVE been reading Mrs. Cotton's book (I shall 

 call it " Mrs.," because the picture that pre- 

 faces the book looks like that of a woman), and 

 the spirit moves me to say something about it. 

 First, she condemns all new-fashioned hives 

 but her own, which I should think as unhandy as a 

 movable-frame hive could be made. She recom- 

 mends feeding In the spring as soon as warm weath- 

 er comes, and, just before apple-blossom, feed all 

 they will take, to get them well started in the boxes; 

 but during the honey-harvest she discontinues feed- 

 ing for a short time; but after honey begins to fail, 

 feed again until all the boxes are full. In this way 

 she gets over 300 lbs. of box honey per hive, and has 

 got 380 and a fraction (she doesn't sa3^ how large a 

 fraction) from one hive in one season. I should 

 think feeding was her best hold. This honey brings 

 her from 30 to S5 cts. per lb. Her feed is made of 

 sugar, the white of eggs, and water, and, when stored 

 in glass boXes in Mrs. Cotton's hive, no one can tell 

 it from pui-e honey. Price of hive, all complete, 

 f 12.00. She condemns the extractor unsparingly; 

 says large yields of extracted honey have been re- 

 ported, but that extracted honey is easily counter- 

 feited, and that dishonesty is abroad in the land. I 

 thought so myself. I have not invested a cent in 

 any of Mi-s. Cotton's goods, and have no per.sonal 

 spite against her; but I know people are being mis- 

 led by hei', and thought a word might catch some 

 one's eye who was intending to try some of her 

 plans. J. Woor.SEY. 



Bedford, N. Y., May, 1884. 



It seems to me you are putting it a little 

 strong, friend W., in regard to feeding, al- 

 though it certainly does look a little queer 

 to read her statements of how large a quan- 

 tity of honey she got from one hive in a sea- 

 son, and then to see her state in her book 

 that sugar feeding is to be recommended, 

 and that the honey is just as ^ood, or better, 

 if the bees get some syrup m the sections. 



made of the best granulated sugar. I am 

 sorry to publish any thing that sounds like 

 fault-linding; but Mrs C, in her book, does 

 find a very great deal of fault. 



^EP8^T^ DlgC0aR^^6I]\[6. 



E have been watching for some time 

 during this beautiful weather, with 

 its wonderful flow of lioney, for 

 something to put in this department 

 to kind o' keep things balanced, you 

 know; but the best we can iind is the fol- 

 lowing, and I am afraid some of the friends 

 will complain that even this is not to the 

 point. Well, it is the best we can do, so I 

 think it will have to answer. Our friend 

 sent for a queen with a pound of bees, and 

 he tells below wliat he did with them : 



I have got my bees hived at last. Did you ever 

 have a lot of bees turned loose in your parlor, and 

 get in there with the windows and doors all shut — 

 hot weather, every thing hot inside, and the bees 

 applying their " hot" ends to yourself? 



" O wife ! let me out." 



"I can't; the bees will get out." 



Talk about Italians being gentle! Well, on re- 

 turning yesterday morning I found my bees safely 

 housed, but not in a hive. My wife had received 

 them from the express carrier, and had taken them 

 into the parlor to unwrap them (they were wrapped 

 in three large i)apers), and look at them, when out 

 flew a portion of them. The end of the cage was 

 smashed and torn open, and about one-third of the 

 bees were smothered. 



It seems that, at each express agent's hands they 

 passed through, he wrapped an additional paper 

 around them. I do think they ought to handle 

 goods more carefully, or be made pay the damage. 

 I have not found the queen yet; perhaps she is 

 alive, and I may have overlooked her in my hurry 

 to get them hived. 



The queen that you sent me by mail is doing all 

 right. I am just in time with Gleanings, as I have 

 not missed any since my subscription expired in 

 ISIay. 



I will tell you why I am buying bees of you. 

 I want some bees to take care of next winter. 

 I went into winter quarters with six stands packed 

 where they stood in the summer, and also one stand 

 not packed. The one was a small hive, while the 

 six packed were large ones, with no upward venti- 

 lation. Now, the six that I took care of died, while 

 the one that I did not care for, and did not pack, 

 lived through, and is chuck full of brood at this 

 writing. Now, what do you think? I like bees; 

 must have them as fast as 1 am able to buy them. 

 I want to gain what I have lost, and then gain again. 



Toledo, Til., June 1.3, 1884. Chas. S. Akins. 



As it is not very often that the express 

 companies manage to break our light cages 

 that are shipped so cheaply, we thought best 

 not to make any bill of damages, but just 

 sent friend A. liis bees over again. In re- 

 gard to the death of those that you took too 

 much care of, friend A., I am afraid you 

 neglected that great important part of let- 

 ting them have lots of pure air right through 

 the hive, even during zero weather, 



