1884 



GLEANIKGS IK 13EE CtlLTUtlE. 



52S 



In one case I took 12 line queens from one colony, 

 some of them off the combs, and others coming- out 

 as fast as I could cage them, and I have had no bet- 

 ter queens. 



One of the disadvantages of natural swarming- is 

 the trouble it gives; and another, the liability of 

 loss of swarms and valuable queens; and the latter 

 may come by accident in hiving-, for in two in- 

 stances I have found powerful new swarms queen- 

 less a few days after hiving-. Of course, their work 

 in boxes could be sustained only by at once adding 

 a hijMng queen. 



The suggestion of Mr. Dupuy, on page 445, will be 

 of help to rear our queens from stocks which show 

 the traits we wish. As an instance of this trans- 

 mission of qualities, I will give this: Four years 

 ago 1 had an excellent queen, a pure Italian, sent 

 tome; and her progeny alone, of all my bees, cap 

 the cells directly in the honey. With no air-cell be- 

 low, the comb is never white. 



Now, this plan may be objected to by some; and 

 where the period in which the best comb honey can 

 be made is a long one, 1 should prefer one division 

 by natural or artificial swarming; but we must have 

 populous colonies, and thej' must be kept so for the 

 best results in comb honey. What is to be done with 

 the parent colonies left queenless? Double them 

 up, and give them a lajMng queen and a rack of 

 sections. 



Now, then, the advantage of contracting a crowded 

 ten-frame hive to 8 frames, to force the bees right up 

 (and if they hang- outside, smoke them in), will be 

 appreciated by those who are troubled to get bees 

 above. Then we have the advantage of the large 

 chamber over a ten-frame hive, which Mr. Heddon 

 has not. J. W. Pouter, 75. 



Charlottesville, Va., July 12, 1884. 



N. C. MITCHELL. 



HIS PRESENT M'HEHEAhOUTS, AND WHAT HE IS 

 DOING. 



NOTICE in Gi.eanings of July 1st, an article 

 from David Lucas, speaking of N. C. Mitchell 

 I springing- up in another place, after it was 

 supposed he had been dead. Yes, there is a 

 man here located about forty rods from me, in 

 connection with one McLain, with about 13.5 or 150 

 colonies of common black bees that they bought up 

 in Missouri, at a cost of about $3.00 per colony, 

 shipped them in here, and put up two separate 

 houses with a capacity of 100 colonies each. They 

 propose to revolutionize bee-keeping-, I believe (as 

 they, state it), b3' their new method of bee-keeping. 

 When they commenced operations they said thej' 

 were g-oing- to extract honey as fast as bees gathered 

 it in the flow of honey, and then, when the honey- 

 .season was over, by means of their patent feeder 

 would feed back and have bees build comb honey, 

 and by that means get more than four times the 

 amount of honey that could be obtained by other 

 plans now in use. 



But I take notice that they have extracted very 

 little up to date, but are putting- in brood-frames 

 (in colonies strong enougli) for bees to fill with sur- 

 jjIus, but have taken but very little section honey 

 yet. I heard Mitchell speak of selling $1.35 worth 

 to one man, and I do not know whether he has sold 

 more or not. They have fixed up a frame for stor- 

 ing surplus honey, but the surplus is minus as yet. 



When asked why they were not extracting, the an- 

 swer was that they were afraid the honey-flow would 

 cease, and the bees would then be without stores to 

 keep brood-rearing g-oing on. 



Now for one I can not see any thing- in their ar- 

 rangements to warrant any man paying $10.00 for 

 the patent. Thei-e is nothing in the hive that is 

 available, that is not in any other good hive that 

 has no patent on it. Brother Root, you said in 

 Gleanings of Julj' 1st, that you hoped he had 

 given up his bad ways. Now, I for one would like 

 to know what his reputation in the past has been, 

 as he comes in here a sti-anger, and I think that 

 there are quite a good number being taken in by 

 the bait that he is throwing- out. 



The season for honey in this locality is not equal 

 to last year. Jos. Binfoud. 



Crawfordsville, Ind., July 15, 1884. 



Friend IJ., we should most heartily rejoice 

 to see friend Mitchell prosper in raising 

 honey, or even in selling bees and queens ; 

 but so long as he advertises and keeps the 

 money he receives, without sending any 

 equivalent, we sliall feel obliged to keep the 

 public fully posted. Tlie records of his 

 swindles will be found in Gleanings for 

 ten years past. Do not under any circum- 

 stances pay Mitchell, or anybody else for that 

 matter, any money for individual rights, or 

 any thing of that sort. 



MRS. COTTON. 



a complaint from one of her customers. 



"Wj CCORDING to previous arrangement I re- 

 ^l?,i ceived a swarm of Italian bees from Mrs. L. 

 jR« E. Cotton, Gorham, Me., on the 28th of last 

 ■^^ May, with instructions how to proceed with 

 them after ten ilayst. Before the time had ex- 

 pired I became convinced there was no queen. At 

 the end of the ten days I proceeded according to in- 

 structions, and examined the comb for a queen, 

 but found none. I found two queen-cells, one empty, 

 one not. The brood-chamber contains 6 frames ; one 

 empty, two filled with foundation, three nearly filled 

 with comb containing some honey, and I think con- 

 siderably less than two qts. of bees. The 8th day 

 after receiving the bees I wrote to Mrs. Cotton, say- 

 ing I thought there was no queen. I received no 

 answer until June 20th, postmarked at that date, 

 when she writes, " Cai-rying in pollen or not is no 

 sign of a queen." About the 2oth I wrote again, 

 saying that I had examined the bees again, and 

 could find no queen, and believed the bees consider- 

 ably reduced in quantity. At this time I requested 

 her to forward a full colony of bees, thus fulfilling 

 the first contract as well as her own advcrtiMment. 

 I fulfilled my part of the contract by sending Mrs. 

 Cotton twenty dollars. She wrote that she thought 

 me venj unreasonable, but says if there is no queen 

 she will furnish one. 



For the money I shall perhaps get a queen, a cheap 

 hive, and a few bees that will probably die before 

 winter. The 5th of July I again examined the hive 

 with a friend, and found in the center comb some 

 brood which I believe to be the result of the efforts 

 of a worker-bee to supply the place of a queen. 



I wrote Mrs. C. they were entirely for myself. 1 

 have been sick two years with, T fear, an incurable 

 disease; I can not attend to any business; but bav- 



