1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



681 



Gleanims in Bee Culture. 



Vubllshvd Sctia-MonthUj- 



EDITOR AND PUBLISHEB, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERMS: SI.OO PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



Tor Clubbing Eatos, See First Page of Keiding Hatter. 

 IS^EHDIOSr^f^^, OCT. 1, 1B3^. 



And God said. Behold 1 have piven you every hevh bearing 

 seed, which is upon the face of all the eartli, and every tree, 

 in tlie which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it .--hall 

 be for meat.— Gkn. 1: 29. 



Just 7057 subscribers is what we number now. 



In speaking of portulaca in our last number, wo 

 meant to say that our entire plat was one roar of 

 bees, instead of any jiarticular hive. 



This first day of October we have stra^rberries in 

 bloom, and bees working on the blossoms; also ber- 

 ries half grown. Don't you wish you had some? 



There were a good many flue sami)les of nice 

 honey at the State Fair, but there was considerable 

 complaint of damage done by honey-dew, although 

 I believe no reports were so bad as in the neighbor- 

 hood of Lorain County. In many places in that vi- 

 cinity the honey-dew honey was extracted by the 

 ton, as we have before mentioned. 



HONEY-PEAS. 



Ouu honey-peas have been growing and growing, 

 and now they are a perfect swamp, and not a sign of 

 a blossom. If they are not good for honey, it seems 

 to me they would be the grandest thing to turn un- 

 der. There is a wonderful mass of leaves and stems, 

 but I do not know how we are to expect any honey 

 unless they get at it and bear some " posies." 



CYPRIAN QUEENS JUST IMPORTED. 



We have just received from Frank Benton a cou- 

 ple of Cyprian queens in splendid order, shipped by 

 means of that inimitable candy of his. Even though 

 they were sent by express in a little hive having 

 combs not unlike Bianconcini's, the principal food 

 consumed on the way was this candy. Neighbor H. 

 has one of them, and declares he is going to have 

 young queens yet this fall; and if this beautiful 

 October weather holds on, very likely he will have. 



E.XTRACTORS THAT THROW HONEY OVER THE TOP 

 OF THE CAN. 



Any of our customers who have a machine, pur- 

 chased of us, that is guilty of the above naughty 

 trick, are requested to let us know, that we may 

 remedy the defect, free of charge. Where parties 

 use a frame, however, longer than the one for 

 which the extractor was ordered, we can not hold 

 ourselves responsible; but where the dimensions of 

 the frame were given at the time of ordering the 

 machine, no honey should ever fly over. 



BEE-KEEPING IN INDIA. 



Through the kindness of Mr. Bunker, of Tongoo, 

 Burmah, India, we have received a neat little hand- 

 book entitled, " Bee-Keeping for India." It is imb- 

 lished in 1884 by J, C. Douglas, of the Indian Gov- 

 ernment Telegraph Department, Calcutta. It takes 

 up the whole subject of bee-culture, and brings it 



pretty nearly up to the present day. The culture is 

 adapted to the (f j)i.s iiidica, which has been hereto- 

 fore mentioned in our columns. This is said to be 

 no more difficult to handle tlvtn the English black 

 bee. The hive recommended is very near on the 

 plan of our chalF hive. A simpler form, quite similar 

 to the Simplicity hive, is also recommended. The ap- 

 pliances for comb honey are about what we use. An 

 extractor, to bo run by a belt, is figured. We are 

 glad to note that the improvements in bee culture 

 are soon destined to be carried to every part of the 

 civilized world. 



ADVERTISING ONE THING AND SENDING OUT 

 ANOTHER. 



This is a grievous fault, and one might be ex- 

 cused for saying that none but a dishonest firm 

 would permit such a state of affairs. 1 think a lit- 

 tle charity, however, should be exercised. In our 

 counter-store business we expect to be able to ship 

 all articles that are advertised from year to year, 

 and to give a customer the same thing that we 

 advertise, or the same thing he has had heretofore, 

 every time. Well, a while ago we were offered 

 wooden toothpicks, -."iOO in a package, so that we 

 could sell ttoem on the flvc-cent counter. Before 

 venturing to advertise them we purchased a lot of 

 them so large that the stock had to be stored in 

 the warehouse, and I was afraid we should never 

 sell them all, even at five cents for 2500. To my 

 surprise, however, they were gone before we knew 

 it; and although I ordered more of the same kind 

 from the same firm, they sent me some put up in a 

 nicer box, but the box contains only something like 

 250 instead of 2.500. The reason given was, the firm 

 was made so much trouble by the boxes breaking 

 to pieces, and a better box could not be made with- 

 out more money. In fact, it takes a good part of 

 the five cents to make a box that will bear handling 

 and shipping, for the first boxes did make us a good 

 deal of trouble by breaking to pieces and scattering- 

 loose toothpicks over every thing and into every 

 thing. The state of atfairs came about during our 

 great rush of business, and the best we could do 

 was to send out the new toothpicks in place of the 

 old ones. I told the clerks we must make an ex- 

 planation; but the explanation could not be made 

 in few words; and if we made such a one as I have 

 given above, with every box of toothpicks sold, it 

 would cost more than the profit we made on them; 

 therefore a great many orders were filled without 

 any explanation, and some who expected to get a 

 large box full for his money got but little more than 

 a tenth of the number we advertised, and very like- 

 ly decided that A. I. Boot was a cheat and a fraud. 

 Please do not be in haste to think evil, dear friends, 

 especially when you are making fivc-cciit purchases. 

 Please bear in mind that it is extremely hard to 

 make long explanations on a transaction like this. 



MAKING YOUR HOMES ATTRACTIVE. 



Wekk I to come and visit you now, friends, how 

 many of your apiaries, gardens, dooryards, etc.. 

 would I find looking as neat and tidy as in early 

 summer? Whenever I am riding out, either in tht 

 cars or otherwise, I always watch anxiously for 

 glimpses of pleasant-looking homes. But, alaS! 

 How seldom do we find them looking nice in the fall 

 of the year, especially during such a season of 

 drought as we have just had. The gardens, oh dear ! 

 what looking places they are! weeds and rubl>ish 

 and filth and unti<liness. The greater part of them 



