1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



527 



covered the source. They are gathering- it I'rom the 

 young acorns. I gathered some specimens to send 

 to you, but find the honey soon dries up; so by the 

 time it would reach you there would be nothing. 



S. B. HOLDEN. 



.toplin, Jasper Co., Mo., July 3, 1884. 



You will notice, friend II., by our back 

 volumes, that this matter has come up a 

 great many times. Sometimes it seems as 

 though it "were the work of insects, on the 

 principle of some that we Unci on the honey- 

 dew ; but at other times it seems to be tlie 

 natural secretion while the acorn is forming. 



THE DIFFERENCE. 



Well, my friend, we arc having rain, rain, rain, 

 until the chances lor future support are gloomy in- 

 deed. The farmers are lost in the grass, and the 

 rivers are as full as they have been this past winter, 

 and are still rising. Nearly every farmer you meet, 

 has that indomitable long face. It has been raining 

 about three days in the week sinee Ihe lirst of the 

 year. 



The bees are still dying for something to eat. Al- 

 though the fruit-bloom has come and gone, still 

 there is nothing for them but pollen. I have fed 

 away as much sugar as they are worth, and have 

 still to keep it up or let them go dead. If these 

 rains extended over the whole country, our hopes 

 would not only be "discouraging," but certainly 

 " blasted." But we know God reigns; and He who 

 cares for the sparrow will surely extend us his 

 helping hand. Our faith is well founded. 



Snyder, Ark., May 36, 1881. K. A. Bethune. 



Friend !>., it seems a little funny to read a 

 letter like the above, while every thing here 

 is being parched up by the tierce drought, 

 and we are studying l)0()ks on irrigation, and 

 mediliiting on the compai-ative expense of 

 wind-mills compared with otiier arrange- 

 ments for elevating water and sprinkling 

 plants on the honey-farm. It seems to me I 

 coidd get along with too much wet rather 

 than no wet at all ; but may be I would 

 think differently after I had had a trial of it. 

 There is one thing certain, however : we 

 shall be able to appreciate rain when it 

 comes, just as you have learned to appreciate 

 sunshine. Truly God reigns, and he knows 

 better than we do what is best for us. I 

 have been trying to learn to thank him for 

 dry weather. 



alley's DHOKE and queen TKAr; AN IMPISOVE- 

 MENT SUGGESTED. 



This trap needs improvement; it docs not M-ork 

 very well with my bees, as it hinders them too 

 much, and it can not be regulated, as it is made at 

 pi-eseut. On an old swarm it is better to have a 

 Jones zinc. It will keep a queen. She is soon in 

 the upper part of the trap, which has then a small 

 zinc hole. Now, why not make them with a sliding 

 front zinc, the same as on the top of the trap, and 

 give two front zincs to each trap — one with large 

 and one with small holes? The large one will keep 

 a laying (jueen in, and the workers can pass out and 

 in without hindrance. The small one is too small 

 for my bees to work with satisfaction; but those 

 who like the small holes can use that piece of zinc, 

 or we can use them to keep virgin queens in. It is 

 best to have the entrance open for the bees to work 

 freely. Now, if we use a trap only to keep swarms 

 in when we are not at home, or when we go to 



church, we can slide the zinc forward; and when we 

 want a free and open entrance, we can slide the 

 zinc back. This takes but little time. Such a trap 

 is very useful, and we must regulate them accord- 

 ing to circumstances, and they must be made so it 

 will take but little time to do it. 



Friend Alley is a good queen-breeder, and he has 

 made a good start in drone and queen traps. 



H. M. MOYEH. 



Hill Church, Berks Co., Pa., July 14, 1884. 



THE TRANSLATION OF HUBER. 



I am having Huber's works translated, and I find 

 in the first chapter that he used frame hi^'es. Here 

 is his description of his hive and frame: 



"1 iirocurcd several small frames of tir a foot 

 square and 15 lines (I'l inches) in width; I joined 

 them all together by hinges, in such a way that they 

 could be opened and shut at will, like the leaves of 

 a book, and I covered the two outside frames with 

 squares of glass, which represented the covers of 

 the i)Ook. When we wished to eni])loy hives of this 

 form we took care to lix a comb of cells in tlio place 

 of each of our frames. We then introduced the 

 whole number of bees which we neede<l for each 

 Iiartieuhu- cxperiTncnt ; then by ojiening in succes- 

 sion tlie ditlcieiit franu'S, we insiiected several 

 times ever.\- da.\- each comb on lioth sides. There 

 was not, therefore, in these hi\-es a single cell in 

 which we could not follow at any time what was go- 

 ing on. I could almost say that there was not a sin- 

 gle bee which we did not know individually." 



Duarte, Cal., July 7, 1884. W. W. Bliss. 



AVe were Avell aware, friend B., that IIu- 

 ber used such a hive as is described in tlie 

 above ; but, if I am correct, it could hardly 

 be called a t^iovahlc-frume hive, after all. — I 

 am glad to hear that you are having a trans- 

 lation of Iluber made ; but I presume you 

 know it is a pretty expensive liusiness to get 

 it into print. 



IS IT SAFE TO GO INTO THE BEE BUSINESS? 



I am an ABC bee-keeper. I transferred a swarm 

 in the spring, just before the frost that killed fruit- 

 blossoms. Bees nearly starved to death. They did 

 not have half a pound of honey in the hive when I 

 discovered that they were destitute. 1 fed them 

 through a perforated tin under an inverted glass. 

 Now for the result (I have a Simplicity hive). I put 

 boxes on June 13, and up to date have taken 53 lbs. 

 nice clover honey. A large swarm came off July 

 9, which are working nicely. How is that for first 

 handling of bees? I am inclined to follow the busi- 

 ness more Qxtensively. Do you think the times and 

 markets will Avarrant one in raising bees and honey 

 as a business? Do the chances to lose outnumber 

 the chances to make — I mean in the matter of win- 

 ter-killing and the like? I enjoy caring tor my bees, 

 and can do any thing with them, and they seem to 

 take it in good part. A. B. Scofield. 



Olean, N. Y., July 13. 1884. 



I should say, friend S., it would be a safe 

 thing for you to go ahead. 1 do not mean, 

 to buy a lot of bees, but just go ahead with 

 what you have now got. Increase and build 

 up. They who take up the business out of a 

 love for it, and go into it heart and sold, and 

 at the same time have a determination to 

 make the bees pay as they go along, as Doo- 

 little did, can liiirdly make a failure; but 

 those Avho take it up with the expectation 

 of making money, and push ahead without 

 judgment or a keen watching over the deb- 

 its and credits, will very likely fail. It is 

 like almost all other rural industries. 



