500 



GtEANlNGS IN1BEE CtlLttlfit:. 



June 



ago; and if old bees don't winter well, T shall lose 

 heavily. There is so little pollen in the combs that 

 I have no fear of diarrhea." 



It is now just 4 o'clock w. m., April 19, and I have 

 just come from the cellar, where I have been to 

 e.xamine and weigh those colonies, so as to be able 

 to tell you about them. (Since commencing to 

 write the above sentence it comes to my mind that 

 It was 4 o'clock p. M., Oct. 19, when those colonies 

 were put in the cellar, just six months ago to the 

 hour.) I find, on weighing them, that they have 

 lost, on an average, just 7^4 pounds, some being on 

 five and some on six frames, and kept there by a 

 division-board. The bottom-boards are tight, with 

 the entrance open full width, and the same quilts 

 on that were used last summer, and glued down so 

 tight that it disturbed the bees a good deal in loos- 

 ening them, to see how they look inside. They 

 have been breeding for some time, and will soon 

 require more room. They are all clean and quiet, 

 and in splendid shape, with the thermometer at 46°. 

 Eighteen colonies were uneasy, and somewhat dis- 

 eased in March, and were set out for a fly; but none 

 of those set in early have shown any signs of dis- 

 ease or uneasiness. The bees have consumed more 

 stores than usual the past winter, owing to a low- 

 er temperature in the cellar, the thermometer, for 

 several days at a time, being down to 36°, and oc- 

 casionally to :!4°. My bees are all in the cellar yet. 



Auburndale, O- Dk. A. B. Mason. 



Well, doctor, you talk first rate, and it 

 sounds like yourself exactly ; but I am 

 afraid I smiled out loud when my eyes 

 caught that part of your argument where 

 you say you discovered that oil of cloves 

 was just as good, or better, because there 

 was no oil of cinnamon anywhere around. 

 Now, then, are you prepared to show that 

 some other oil would not be better still V 

 Jt is really funny what wonderful virtues 

 there are in almost any thing you get out of 

 a bottle. Now, I believe that if, by mis- 

 take, you had got hold of a bottle tliat con- 

 tained water only, it might have given 

 immediate relief. Had you stopped at the 

 point where that good brother of yours re- 

 ceived a number of stings, and not one of 

 them swelled so long as he applied the oil 

 of cinnamon until the bottle was lost, and 

 then swelled badly, you would have made a 

 big point; that is, the appearances so far 

 were very strongly in favor of the remedy ; 

 and I really believe I should have procured 

 some oil of cinnamon to test the matter. 

 But since, as you say, you have got past the 

 oil of cinnamon, and use yourself oil of 

 cloves, I can not help beginning to lose 

 faith, just as I have in so many other reme- 

 edies for bee-stings 



This matter, however, of making full- 

 sized sheets for an L. frame right on wires, 

 80 at a time, without ajiy lubricating, is a 

 different affair altogether. We certainly 

 shall take the trouble, some of us, to go and 

 see the machine, if for nothing further. 

 Your head is also clear and bright in this 

 matter of putting the bees in early. Where 

 bees are wintered in the cellar, I think I 

 should entirely agree with you, as I may 

 also in time agree with you in regard to 

 curing bee-stings by something kept in a 

 " bottle." 



gPEcij^ii pieficEg. 



ORDERS SHIPPED BY THE FIRST TRAIN. 



With very few exceptions our goods have been 

 sent otl promptly, both by freight and by express. 

 We are now in most cases enabled to send out goods 

 by the first train. In view of the experience we 

 had last year, we made up a large stock at the be- 

 ginning of the season, and so were ready for the 

 orders as fast as they came. 



BEE-VEILS ADVANCED. 



We are compelled to advance the price of bee- 

 veils again, owing to the higher cost of material. 

 Advanced prices will take effect June 1.5, and will 

 be as follows : 



Best veil, grenadine, with silk Brussels net face, 

 80 cts. each ; f 6.00 for 10. 



All grenadine veil, 6.5 cts. each : $4.75 for 10. 



Mosquito-bar veil, with Brussels net face, 40 cts. 

 each; $3.00 for 10. 



All mosquito-bar veil, :J5 cts. each ; $2.00 for 10. 



A bee-hat will be added to any of the above for 

 30 cts. extra, postpaid. 



BEES AND QUEENS PROM OUR OWN APIARY. 



We have the finest lot of bees and queens on 

 hand now that we ever owned, and the hives are 

 just boiling over with them, and the bees are 

 swarming every day. Of course, the obstacle in 

 the way of sending them out is foul brood; but at 

 the present date, June 14, only one case so far has 

 shown itself, and even in that, only a single cell 

 was unmistakably foul brood. We considered this, 

 however, sulHcient to condemn it, and the combs 

 were accordingly cremated at once, and the bees 

 treated according to the directions in the ABC 

 book. Now, we do not propose to ship bees and 

 queens from our own apiary at all this season, un- 

 less the one who orders them has seen this notice, 

 and is willing to take the risk. The queens are 

 beautiful, and such bees!— finer than we ever had 

 before, because there have been no shipments 

 made. Those who have foul brood already in 

 their own apiaries, of course would incur no risk 

 in ordering from our oivn apian). I write this, be- 

 cause one customer, in making his order, said he 

 would just as soon have them from our own apiarj' 

 as not, as he had foul brood already. 



A. E. manum's swarming-device. 

 On page 469 of this issue is described the swarm- 

 ing-device as above. The ones we have construct- 

 ed can be folded compactly into a long pole. Its 

 weight is only nine pounds. The length of the long 

 pole is teu feet. The length of the two legs is five 

 feet. It is so made that it will support a cluster 

 any distance from the ground, between two and ten 

 feet, independently of any assistance from the 

 apiarist. With the added height of a man it will 

 reach a cluster 16 feet from the ground. Instead of 

 using the arrangement as friend M. describes, we 

 have made use of the corn-popper. This is large 

 enough to hold a pound of bees, besides a clipped 

 queen. We can furnish the whole arrangement by 

 express or freight for only 75 cts. each ; 10 for $6.00. 

 Since our report on page 469, we have had a chance 

 to test them, and we find they work just as friend 

 Manum says they will. In large apiaries, where 

 there is frequent swarming, we believe there is 

 nothing better. Indeed, they can be used to very 

 good advantage when the queen's wings are not 

 clipped, as we have proven. These swarming-de- 

 vices, when sent singly, can always be sent cheaper 

 by express. The charges will not be very great. 



another step in facilitating the RAPID IN- 

 TERCHANGE OF THOUGHT. 



Alter food and clothing, one of the great needs 

 of humanity is some means of making our wants 

 and wishes understood to our fellow-men. The in- 

 vention of language— if language ever was invent- 

 ed—was a big step. Putting language iuto writing, 

 so it could be read after it was cold (to use a famil- 

 iar expression) was Another big step in advance. 

 Then tne art of printing, so that one letter can be 

 sent to a great many different people, was a won- 

 derful stride. Whenever it becomes necessary for 

 one person to say the same thing over and over to 

 different individuals, he avails himself of a print- 



