172 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CtJLTUtlE. 



Mar. 



tion because of their being' strong-er ever tried the 

 beaiitilul lour-picce dovetailed section put together 

 by llie niacliine called the "section-glucr." It is 

 simple in c« nsl ruction, and easily operated by the 

 foot. It leaves the sections firmly pressed together 

 and pro])erly formed. It is very rapid in its work, 

 from 800 to 1000 being an average day's work after 

 a little experience. I have used the nailed and 

 your beautiful one piece section, and have used the 

 four piece devetailed section; and for strength 

 none equal it when put together with this machine, 

 and glued. D. Stoddard. 



Ballston Center, Saratoga Co., N. Y., Jan. 27, 1888. 



I suppose the slupt^ four-piece are very 

 nice and strong; but tor all practical pur- 

 poses do we need them so strong ? As for 

 speed, instead of 1000 as a day's work with 

 the glued section, the one-piece can be fold- 

 ed at the rate of 1000 per hour. Some years 

 ago a friend sent us a machine for putting 

 together and gluing sections ; but as com- 

 paratively few seemed to care for them to 

 put up sections in that way, the apparatus 

 was never used very much. 



PREVENTION OB" SWARMING, AND HOW IT IS AC- 

 COMPLISHED BY ONE BEE-KEEPER. 



On page 23 Mr. H. P. Langdon wishes to hear from 

 some one practicing the non-swarming plan. 1 have 

 practiced it for years. I commence about April 1, 

 with one story at the bottom, or stand, where the 

 bees have wintered. By this time that story will 

 be full of bees. I place thereon another story 

 filled with empty frames. Within about ten days 

 that story will be filled with bees and brood, when 

 I place another story on top. I continue placing 

 them in that way as long as the queen will till with 

 bees, getting them three and four stories high, sind 

 have had to build up to six stories, depending on 

 the proliflcness of the queen. I never place emp- 

 ty ones at the bottom. The combs are sure to be 

 empty at the bottom, if there are any in the hives. 

 By so doing they scarcely ever get the swarming 

 fever. If I find one building cells I immediately 

 divide it and that ends the swarming fever, taking 

 the old queen with the new colony. The ol)ject in 

 doing so is. I have a bushel or two of bees to gather 

 honey when the season comes on; and after the 

 season is ov-er I divide as many as I wish; and, also, 

 I can V)e away from them and attend to them at my 

 leisure, if necessary. Albert Wells. 



South Pittsburgh, Tenn., Feb. 6, 1888. 



Friend \V., your plan of preventing swarm- 

 ing will usually work, I believe. It is, in 

 fact, the plan recommended by the Dadants, 

 to get extracted honey. Give room by pil- 

 ing up stories ; and when the season is over, 

 extract the whole at one time. 



PURNISHINO wholesome READING FOR THE DES- 

 TITUTE. 



Jiriither jRoof;— Realizing ironi the facts of the 

 pa'St, that GLEANINGS is read and lovedby many hun- 

 dreds of kind-hearted people, I would, with your 

 permission, avail m.vself of this medium to appeal 

 to its philanthropic and intelligent readers in behalf 

 of the people in this section of country; and lam 

 sure 1 may confidently expect jour hearty co-oper- 

 ation. In this new country are many persons who 

 could be induced to read, and also to think, but 

 whose facilities for obtaining reading- matter, espe- 

 cially that of a wholesome kind, are limited indeed. 



and my plan is this : Being engaged in an itinerant 

 business (selling medicines), I would gladly take 

 upon myself the duty of distributing any books, 

 periodicals, or papers, kindly sent to my address at 

 Arnoldville, I. T., and shall think myself fully com- 

 pensated when I shall have handed them around 

 where needed. G. C. Stokely. 



Arnoldville, I. T., Dec. 18, 1887. 



Fiiend S., you are undertaking a noble 

 work indeed, and 1 liope tiie friends all over 

 our land who read Gleanings will mail you 

 suitable reading-matter for your people. If 

 you should, in answer to this, get more than 

 you know what to do with, }ou can tell us 

 and they will hold on a bit. May I suggest 

 that you look out that no foul seeds be al- 

 lowed to get in with the wheat. In all sim- 

 ilar enterprises it has been found necessary 

 to put the matter, so furnished, through a 

 sort of fanning-mill. if I may be allowed the 

 expression. It is a fearful thing, by a blun- 

 der to sow tares where we intended to have 

 only good seed. — Many of our readers will 

 remember friend S. as the one who wrote 

 the brief and touching letter in regard to 

 the reception of Gleanings while his wife 

 lay dead in her coffin. A single bee hovered 

 over the last earthly remains of the queen of 

 his home. In working for the Master in the 

 way he suggests, he is certainly laying the 

 very best foundation for meeting that loved 

 one again. 



HOW HUTCHINSON'S METHOD OF PRODUCING COMB 

 HONEY WORKS WITH AN A B C SCHOLAR. 



I have had no trouble, except with two swarms, 

 and they seemed bent on building drone comb, so I 

 had to contract the brood-chamber to two empty 

 L. frames and one empty comb, and added empty 

 frames as fast as they needed them, so they built 

 worker comb. The queens were young. I found 

 no use for the wood-zinc slatted honey-board, but 

 use plain wood-slatted honey-board, and the queen 

 never troubled the sections. I generally hive them 

 on the old stand on five empty frames and one 

 empty comb. Put on slatted honey-board and the 

 T super of sections, and all is well done. I believe 

 that it would do to leave off the section the first 

 day, or till they start brood. I think the book 

 would have been worth the price, even if I had had 

 but one swarm this season. 



A QUEEN GNAWING CAPPING OFF BROOD TO GET A 

 CHANCE TO I,.4Y. 



I saw a queen do something that the older heads 

 have never seen. Last year, the first Italian queen 

 I reared I found gnawing the caps off the brood. In 

 a few days she began to lay. They have not swarm- 

 ed this season, but are making lots of honey. If I 

 mistake not, you say you never saw a worker-bee 

 sting a drone. My bees began to kill out their drones 

 about the first of the month; and I saw, but a few 

 days since, several bees stinging drones, and one 

 of them left his sting in the drone. There is no 

 mistake about this. C. F. Grubb. 



Jubilee, Dav'n Co., N. C, Sept. !», 1887. 



I think you are mistaken, friend Grubb, 

 in thinking the queen was gnawing the 

 capping in order to get a chance to lay. 

 Either she did not know what she was do- 

 ing, or else she supposed there was honey 

 under the brood-capping. Young queens, 

 before being fertilized, often cut up queer 

 capers. I once saw one, the very day she 



