1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



45 



HOW TO RAISE COMB HONEY. 



" When we take into consideration that the ob- 

 ject on the part of the bees in storing- up honey in 

 the summer is tt) have it accessible tor winter con- 

 sumption, and that in winter the bees collect in a 

 round ball, as nearly as possible, in a semi-torpid 

 state, with but little if any motion except that 

 gradual moving- of bees f rorii the center to the sur- 

 face, and from the surface to the center of this 

 ball, we may imagine how unwelcome it is to them 

 to be obliged to divide their stores between four 

 separate ;»i)artments, each of whicli is four inches 

 square and twelve inches long, with no communi- 

 cation between these apartments." 



Now, friend Root, if there is a better description 

 of the instincts and desires of the bees, of their 

 " liking," as Hutchinson says, we wish to see it. 

 We do not wish to be understood as saying that 

 bees will " milk " evevy time with closed sections, 

 and will not with open ones, but we do say that the 

 open sections are more to their "liking." Since we 

 have just given the the(n-y of our argument, we 

 will now give the i)ractice. 



All of our olden-lime apiarists, who have follow- 

 e;l the progress of honey-production from the birth 

 Of the old ^.B. J. to this day, will remember the 

 square glass boxes, and the enormous progress 

 that was achieved when Adair invented his now 

 discarded section box. The section box, made of 

 about 10 sections, holding each some IS lbs., was a 

 very spacious apartment, and was .so well liked by 

 the bees that we found that the difference in yield 

 between hives supplied with these and hives sup- 

 plied with glass boxes was sometimes as :! to 1. 

 Later on, the three-pound section proving too 

 large, we were, all of us, compelled to set them 

 aside, in order to suit the market. But we have 

 tried, side by side, in the same hive, open frames, 

 open sections and closed sections, and the closed 

 sections were always or nearly always worked last, 

 all other things hriiig ajual. We have even had one 

 instance in which the closed sections were neglect- 

 ed, although placed nearest the Jirood-combs. Now, 

 friends, please read over those words of Foster, 

 and you will see that the theory agrees with the 

 practice. We will not deny that the open sections 

 have their disadvantages, when it comes to mar- 

 keting, but we ai-e strongly of opinion tliat they will 

 get into more popular use. We should like to see 

 our friends give them a thorough trial. 



1 see by the Question-Hox.tbat, if we are theones 

 who pay the highest apiary i-ent. we are also the 

 ones who get the least returns per hive, and yet 

 we are among the ones who think bee-keeping 

 pays. Perhaps this is due to our making the busi- 

 ness as economical as possible. With our large 

 hives we have less manipulations, no reversing, 

 less feeding, for we do not run the risk of taking 

 away all the honey when taking away the surplus 

 cases, and we leave the hives in good condition for 

 winter. But there is one thing that helps to make 

 our crops less— it is the lack of bass wood in our 

 vicinity. We wish to go on record as preferring 

 the one-piece section to the four-piece. Whether 

 the incorrect answer given was our own pjistake or 

 the printer's, it was incorrect. We dp not believe in 

 four-piece sections now. C. P. Dadant. 



Hamilton, Hancock Co., l\\. 



Friend D., we are very glad indeed to find 

 tbat it is a mistake in saying you prefer the 

 four-piece sections; but the mistake was 

 clearly an error of your own ; therefore only 

 Mr. Heddop, Mrs. Harrison, and friend 

 Hutchiosoji are left iu favoj- of the four- 



piece. In regard to sections open all around, 

 we have for a long time been well aware or 

 all the points you make; but I should say 

 you are putting it pretty strongly if you 

 really mean to say that you think three 

 times as much honey can be secured in 

 very large sections, or even in full-sized 

 frames, if you choose. At the Ohio State 

 Convention, from which I have just return- 

 ed, Dr. Tinker spoke several times very em- 

 phatically in favor of open -side sections. 

 Our friend Fradenburg also vehemently ad- 

 vocated having the surplus honey built in 

 full frames, cutting it out as it is retailed, 

 for chunk honey— the plan which he de- 

 scribed to us perhaps a year or two ago. 

 We hope this matter will be fully tested by 

 experiinent during the coming season. Our 

 friend Oliver Foster takes up the same mat- 

 ter on page 42. 



^ ^ 



MRS. CHADDOCK TAKES DR. MILLER 

 TO TASK A LITTLE. 



women's rights and wronos. 



TN C. C. Millers letter about who shall hold the 

 j£|[ pocket-book, he says, "It is womankind I ar- 

 ^l raign. Whatever may be said about woman in 

 ■*■ general, there are some who seem to have the 

 impression tliat a husband is a mere machine 

 to drudge and earn money that his wife may have 

 plenty of mone.y to dress up in fine raiment, and 

 sit and fold her lily-white hands in graceful idle- 

 ness." Now, I have heard and read about these 

 women with the "lily-white hands " ever since I 

 can remember; but as yet I ha,ve never seen a sin- 

 gle specimen. Have you, Dr. Miller? I read not 

 long ago how the rich men of New York, the bank- 

 ers, brokers, and merchants, were wearing out 

 their lives to earn the money to keep their wives 

 and daughters up with the style; but not one of those 

 wives or daughters takes or reads Gleanings, and 

 1 doubt very much whether you. Dr. Miller, have a 

 bowing acquaintance with them. So you see your 

 shot at the "lily-white hands "falls harmless be- 

 cause of too long range. All the women that 1 

 know work too hard. I am personally acquainted 

 with some very well-to-do people— women whose hus- 

 bands are worth from thirty to seventy-flve thou- 

 sand dollars, and not one of these wives has "lily- 

 white hands;" they all workand take careof things, 

 study and plan, do a good part of their own sewing, 

 makeover old dresses, and work harder for chari- 

 ty than some poor women do who do their own 

 housework. The farmers' wives of my acquaint- 

 ance are sJaws— nothing more nor less— worse slaves 

 than even the colored people of the South ever 

 were. The Southern slave worked simply because 

 he had to; but his conscience did not trouble him 

 very much, and a rainy day was a godsend. The 

 favmer's wives that I jinow, work because they 

 have to too, but there is never any rainy day for 

 them— no day when the cares of life drop away 

 from them find leave thpm free; their consciences 

 goad sharper than any master's whip urge them 

 on. 



Then, further along, you say it is a sort of " mild 

 insanity " for a woman to wanf to earn something, 

 to be independent. You do j^ot really believe that, 

 do you? You just meant it for a little joke, but 

 forgot to put the label on, did yon not? In Illinois, 

 where I live and wljere you )iye, a man apd wop^- 



