1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



253 



everything-; and if those Florida flowers brighten 

 an hour for her, and give her something to think 

 of besides the pain in her limbs, they will not have 

 traveled their thousand-mile journey in Uncle 

 Sam's mail-coaches for nothing. 

 Vermont, 111. Mahala B. Chaddock. 



HIVING ON EMPTY FEAMES. 



HUTCHINSON'S PLAN OF SECURING COMB HONEY 

 NOT A SUCCESS WITH .1. P. ISRAEL. 



fHB cheapness of sugar, and the almost uni- 

 versal failure of the honey crop throughout 

 the United States, has, for the first time in 

 many years, brought the latter up above the 

 former. Last year I sold most of my honey 

 (all comb) at 6 cents, while I paid 7 and 8 for sugar. 

 Before sugar fell so low it was far worse. Now, 

 however, we have cheap sugar, and are likely to 

 get a good price for our honey next season. 



I do not think Mr. Hutchinson's plan of hiving 

 swarms on empty frames will pay— at least, I know 

 it does not in tins locality. Mr. Hutchinson pleads 

 hard in conventions and through the press to hive 

 swarms on empty frames— arguing that they would 

 do better than on a full set of combs or full sheets 

 of foundation. It was an after-thought with him 

 to advocate "empty frames, or nothing more than 

 strips of foundation." Now, I had practiced putting 

 in strips of foundation for three years before that, 

 so T know exactly how bees would do on that; but I 

 did it from economy, not because I believed they 

 did better than on full sheets of foundation. But I 

 took it for granted Mr. H. was a better bee-keeper 

 thati I, and that he knew what he was talking 

 about. " Eureka! " I cried; " if we can hive swarms 

 on craptj' frajBCs, it will save me a world of 

 work "—save me from " sitting up of nights" put- 

 ting strips of foundation in frames. Last year was 

 a good honey j^ear in California. I therefore pro- 

 ceeded to put this plan into execution. With what 

 glee and satisfaction I would catch up a hive, carry 

 it to the swarm (they generally settle on low bushes 

 here), give the bush a jerk, and land them at the 

 mouth of the hive! "There, now! No more work 

 for poor old Ned," and then I would dash on to the 

 next swarm. So 1 went gayly through the honey 

 season, putting 163 swarms on empty frames. It is 

 not our custom to disturb the brood-chamber dur- 

 ing the honey season; but you may imagine my 

 surprise and consternation, after it was over, to 

 find that, out of these 162 swarms, not more than 13 

 had built straight combs. Some were built right 

 across the frames. The others were built cat-a-cor- 

 uered, catawampus, and any other and all cats that 

 you can imagine. I fell down under the shade of a 

 friendlj' bush and groaned in spirit. The noise at- 

 tracted my grandson, who came running up to me. 

 " O grandpa! what is the matter with you?" 

 My hand spasmodically rose and fell upon my 

 stomach, and I could only groan, " Hutchinson, O 

 VV. Z. ! W. Z. ! " 



" What is Hutchinson, grandpa? Have you got it 

 in your stomach? " 

 "Yes, yes! I am full of him— O W. Z. ! W. Z.!" 

 Off dashed the youngster to the house, and cried, 

 " Kun quick ! run ! grandpa is lying up in the apiary 

 under a sumac-bush! He's got the Hutchinson 

 Jiad in his stomach! And the W. Z. too— that's in 

 his stomach tool " 



In a moment the whole family were around me; 

 but to all their questions I could only moan, "Oh! 

 W. Z! W.Z.!" 



The name of our friend is no more mentioned in 

 my presence, fearing I may take a relapse. 



This past year of 1887 was a sad one for the bee- 

 keepers of California. My own situation will give 

 you an idea of all, or nearly all, of them. In 1886 I 

 sold from my apiary nearly ten tons of honey. 

 Last year, " tell it not in Gath," I had not a pound 

 to eat; and this, too, in a bee-range which is not ex- 

 celled, if it is equalled in the world. The cause of 

 the failure was simply tJic tvay in which the rain fell. 

 Half an inch would fall at a time, followed by a dry 

 wind, which would drink up all the moisture from 

 the ground. Then may be an inch would fall, fol- 

 lowed by the same result. So it kept on all winter. 

 There was quite a profuse bloom of honey-plants, 

 but no honey in them. The bees did not get enough 

 to keep them six months. J. P. Israel. 



Olivenhain, San Diego Co., Cal. 



I will explain to our readers, that the 

 above was received six months ago, and it 

 has been all this time waiting for a place. I 

 presume friend I. has by this time hived 

 new swarms again, and I would suggest 

 that, no matter what the bees do, he keep 

 an eye on proceedings. 1 would no more 

 think of letting 162 swarms go ahead with- 

 out watching, than to let the same number 

 of men go to work for me anywhere. No mat- 

 ter how good men we have, we want to keep 

 track of proceedings, in order to explain to 

 them our wishes, even if nothing more. I 

 presume the poor bees thought you wanted 

 the combs built cat-a-cornered. etc. I do 

 not remember that friend W. Z. specially 

 advised us to do as he did. He simply gave 

 us the results of his experiments, just as 

 you, friend 1., have given us the result of 

 t/ours. 



^ I — ^ 



SALT AS A LUBKICANT. 



MORE ABOUT THAT INVENTION FROM A TUMBLE 

 INTO A PORK-BARREL. 



§N page 111 you say that old readers will re- 

 member E. A. Morgan as the ABC child that 

 grew so fast. Indeed they do, and well do I 

 remember the zeal and eagerness I felt then. 

 I fairly worshiped bees; and, if I do say it, 

 there is not the man living to-day who studied, 

 worked, and experimented more than I, and I claim 

 to be as fully familiar with the trade from alpha 

 to omega, or from the bee to the cash in pocket for 

 honey as most of the fraternity. I shall never quit 

 the business. You speak of the salt-water lubri- 

 cant as a great invention, and the pork-barrel tum- 

 ble as jumping from the sublime to the ridiculous. 

 I hope friend Secor may give us a poem, as you sug- 

 gest. To be sure, I did not study out the Invention; 

 but how long would it have taken for another bee- 

 man to tumble into a briny pork-barrel? The se- 

 cret has gone out, but sooner than I intended, and 

 in a different way. As far as study or accidental 

 discovery is concerned, I have this to say: That 

 there are great principles existing to-day in nature, 

 unknown to man, given by our Creator in the be- 

 ginning, which will be discovered in time to come, 

 which, if you or I could discover by study or by 

 accident now. would make us millionaires in three 

 minutes. They M'llJ be brought out! but in what 



