1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



243 



ey on this account. I also thought that well-to-do 

 people would buy them for the purpose of putting- 

 one on each plate instead of serving or cutting in- 

 to a large comb. These reasons have all been veri- 

 fied, for I have found such customers delighted in 

 every instance. I have not had the opportunity of 

 trying them at fairs, but 1 should think they would 

 be just the thing, and would as readily bring .5 cents 

 for a 2-oz. section as 4 oz. would on a piece of pa- 

 per. That is what 1 sell them for, which is at the 

 rate of 40 cents per lb., so that, in making these 

 sections in the winter, you have profitable employ- 

 ment. 



It was about four years ago that the shaving idea 

 struck me; and now I come to think of it, I wonder 

 that something else did not strike, and that I was 

 not tumbled out of the house along with shavings. 

 water pans, mucilage, forming-blocks, frames, tack- 

 boxes, baskets, and glue-pot; but I kept things to- 

 gether as well as possible, and was building a house 

 apiary for myself in which I did all my work after 

 that winter. I was the eldest of the three, my sis- 

 ter keeping house for two brothers. I have the 

 best brothers and sisters in the world (eight all 

 told). My brother hero is a carpenter; but then, 

 he could not make shavings for me that winter. 

 He did not know any thing about it. Nobody- knew 

 any thing about it but myself; nobody's advice was 

 of any use; but, lo and behold! my knowledge did 

 not seem to increase any, and it was not until the 

 next winter that they began to assume a practical 

 form, or that I struck a practical system of forming 

 them; and now, after three seasons more practice 

 and improving, I can put hundreds together, and 

 comb foundation in them in a day, ready for the 

 honey-flow in summer. The size I have been mak- 

 ing you will find by dividing a Langstroth brood- 

 frame by 10 one way and 4 the other. The shavings 

 for this size are ''s of an inch wide and ;,'„ of an inch 

 thick. I find this size, when filled, to weigh 3 oz. 

 I have just weighed 1.5 separately, which are on the 

 work-bench, ready for market, and were not se- 

 lected for uniformity of weight, and they each one 

 just balanced the scales at 3 oz. I will not say any 

 more now on th" subject, excepting that, if it has 

 interested any one, he may thank our worthy edit- 

 or, Mr. A. I. Root, who called on me a few weeks 

 ago and gave me encouragement in my little enter- 

 prises. When he saw the small sections he seemed 

 much pleased, and said, " Why don't you write':'" 

 I said, "I can't write; " and I make this statement 

 as an apology for the rambling lines above. Mr. 

 Root's call was a surprise, I can assure you, and 

 has caused a bright spot in my memory whenever 1 

 think of the few pleasant minutes in his company. 

 I verj' much regret that his time in Manistee was 

 so short. W. Haumek. 



Manistee, Mich., Jan. 10, 1888. 



The following we extract from a previous 

 private letter: 



The success 1 have had with them here in this 

 very poor comb-honey locality shows that they are 

 practical, and more especially so when we reduce 

 the frame to half the depth, and this would do 

 away with most of the cutting-apart operation, 

 and which I think can be done away with altogeth- 

 er. 



It seems to me that there is a great deal too much 

 wood in all sections, and that these shaving sec- 

 tions will some day take their place, especially for 

 local markets. 



I wish I had known you were coming. I wanted 

 to show you ray glass hive and many other things. 

 I had not been in such a muddle for days, as I had 

 been working at my new poultry-house. 



Manistee, Mich., Dec. 12, 1887. W. Harmer. 



Friend H. has, I believe, introduced these 

 little cakes for sale on the cars. He said 

 they were filled as fast as the honey is 

 brought in from the fields, and he has also fed 

 back extracted Iioney to get the ))ees to fin- 

 ish them up. The latter are not as nice : 

 and if honey is used that lias been candied 

 once it will "candy again, even after the cells 

 are sealed up. If you wish to make fur- 

 ther inquiries in regard to the matter, send 

 them to me, and friend H. will answer 

 through Gleanings. 



Friend 11. himself will furnish forms, ve- 

 neer, and every thing necessary for these 

 five-cent packages. As the idea is' his own, we 

 think it no more than fair that he should be 

 permitted to furnish them as supplies ; that 

 is, where you prefer to buy them rather 

 than to make them yourself. 



FROM ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



E herewith present our readers with 

 the first installment of something in 

 the way of statistics, gathered from 

 every portion of the United States. 

 We are aware there are some defects 

 in the plan which we have carried out. It 

 is impossible at this time of year, in North- 

 ern localities, to make accurate statements; 

 but sufficiently accurate, we ho])e, for the 

 present. What we aimed to arrive at for 

 now were the present prospects. We have 

 located our honey statisticians, as nearly as 

 may be, in the four corners and the center 

 of each important honey-producing State. 

 Those States which are not so conspicuous 

 in the apicultural world have only two 

 statisticians, and these are in the localities 

 where the largest amount of honey is pro- 

 duced. Instead of making a general sum- 

 mary of the whole, we thought best to in- 

 sert the data just as they came from each 

 man, with his name and locality. First the 

 State is given ; then the names of the con- 

 tributors with the respective postoffices. 

 The next indicates the date at which the 

 statements were rendered. To indicate ht- 

 cality, the usual abbreviations are used— 

 W., E., N., S., for west, east, north, south, 

 and N. E. for north-east, etc. The letter 

 C. indicates the word '' central;'"' and E. ('. 

 " east central,'* etc. The letters designate 

 the answers as printed in fine print below, 

 and correspond to the letters in the follow^ 

 ing questions: 



(a) What proportion oftlicbees do you esti- 

 mate have wintered up to date in your section 

 of the Statef 



(b) What are the present prospects for a hon- 

 ey crop the coming season? 



(c) If you live South, state whether new hon-j 

 ey is coming in, and the amount of the flow. 



