1891 



(iEEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



55 



for its being so moist as to rot the timbers. It 

 may be that, wJien very cold weather comes, 

 and we shall be obliged" to close our ventilator, 

 the moisture may then collect as it did in his. 



I think the discussion of such repositories is 

 profitable, for the reason there are so many bee- 

 keepers who need something of this kind. I 

 am ashamed to tell it. but it is true, that I have 

 lost in the past what I believe would have 

 amounted to hundreds of dollars in bees and 

 honey by trying to shift along without proper 

 facilities for wintering. In the futuic I expect 

 to place about two-thirds of my stock in out- 

 cellars, and winter one-tiiird outside in Kristol- 

 Langstroth hives. I am trying twelve of them 

 this winter. 



Now, Mr. Root, every once in a while some 

 bee-journal gives Gleanings a dig, or criti- 

 cises some of your methods. With all its faults 

 I would not give up Gi-EANiNGS for the whole 

 of them. (Ji.KANiNGS is the friend and helper 

 of all bei!-keei)ers, old and young, big and little. 

 All such Squibs remind me of a fly attacking 

 an elephant. The best thing they can do is to 

 let ■• that corner " alone. Harry Latiirop. 



Browntown, Wis., Dee. 35. 



[The reason that moisture condenses upon a 

 surface is because the latter is colder than the 

 surrounding air. We find evidences of this al- 

 most every day on the windows in winter. If 

 these surfaces can be keijt as warm as the air in- 

 side, no moisture will condense. The lioards form- 

 ing tiie I'oof. or support 1o the dirt, of Mr. Doo- 

 little"s r(^positoi'y. wei'e leather thin compared 

 with the great mass of dirt above. This con- 

 veyed its lower t(Hnperature through the boards, 

 and caused them to be colder than the air in- 

 side, and conseqiuMitly l<i collect dioi)s of ^\■att>l•. 

 The llagging-stones, sul)sequently adopted by 

 Mr. Doolittle, being a better conductor of heat 

 or cold, were little if any bettei- — in fact, I 

 think worse, on account of the moisture, al- 

 though, of course, they would not rot. Your 

 roof, being f) inches through to the dirt, would 

 form a good non-conductor, and henc(> would 

 collect no moisture, even without the ventila- 

 tor. At any rate, it would be interesting for 

 you to try it and I'cpoi i.! 



DEVELOPING A HOME MARKET. 



THK EFFECT OF A ]Io\EY ADVERTISEMENT IN 

 <; LEANINGS. 



While some advocate building up home mar- 

 kets for honey, I should like to tell my experi- 

 luice. Several years ago I undertook to increase 

 the demand for lioiu'y by leaving some with 

 nearly eveiy mcrcliant in tlie towns around me. 

 so as to bring it before the eyes of everybody. 

 1 wa:^ delighted at the ju'ospect of selling large 

 cr()i)s in the fiitui'e. But what was my sur- 

 |)ris(' wiu'u. one year ago last Septemlier. I 

 found evei'y one of those merchants well sup- 

 plied with lioncy before there was a demand 

 for it. Evidently I built up a market for others 

 which left me out in liie cold, with a large crop 

 on hand. Von see, the year was a good one, 

 and the farmer had honey, and sold it for what 

 he could get. But 1 learn<'d through Glean- 

 ings that the croi) was short in the; East, so I 

 told the editor that 1 had honey to sell. Before 

 hjug ] had impiiries and offers fi'om 7or>< ditfer- 

 <uit .States, and I soon sold more honey than I 

 had. I bought, and sent away all I could get; 

 and befoi'e spring I had a demand for my partly 

 filled sections. 



This year would l)e a good time to build up a 

 home market, as very few farmers have honey 

 to sell. But I still receivi' calls fi'om that ad't 



in Gleanings, and some of them are such that 

 I can't refuse, while I have honey: neither can 

 I keep still and not let you know what is ex- 

 pected of the readers of Gleanin<;s. Credit to 

 whom credit is due. 



A few months ago I had a call for honey from 

 a firm in Indianapolis. We agreed on the price. 

 He offered to pay cash in advance. I was 

 afraid the quality of my honey was not what 

 he expected, so I wrote him like this: 



" I suppose you have looked me up in regard 

 to my standing, or you would not have made 

 that cash-in-advance offer. If you will send 

 me the price of 10() lbs. I will send that amount 

 — a fair sample of what I have." 



In a few days the money came, and with it a 

 letter saying: 



'• AVe never inquire into the standing of a 

 bee-keeper who reads Gleanings and raises 

 honey to sell such a year as this." 



I think all who responded to that advertise- 

 ment gave credit by saying, ■' I saw your ad- 

 vertiseiiient in Gleanings." One neglected to 

 sign his name. I had no more honey to sell, 

 but wanted to answer that letter, and" did not 

 know how. 



now TO KEEI' THE ENTI'.ANCE CLEAR IN TIIE 

 CELLAR. 



If th(! back of the hive is 4 inches higher than 

 the front, slope 4 in 20, the entrance will not 

 clog with d(>ad bees. The hives can be tiered 

 up by sliding the next back three or four inches. 

 I have three cellars tiered that way, and they 

 never need looking after. I hav<> practiced it 

 several years. .1. Handle. 



Savanna, 111., .Jan. 2. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 



A'AH'ABLE TESTIMONY OF A FKl'IT-GROWER. 



De(ir Bro. Root: — The question was recently 

 asked me by a neighbor of my friend Dj'. N. Q. 

 Higbie, "Do i^ees injure fruit?" Now, Bro. 

 Higbie keeps sonu^ 60 swarms of bees, while 

 the neighbor in question keeps none; and there 

 seems to be a very prevalent idea among those 

 who are unfamiliar with honey-bees and their 

 nature that their presenci". in large numbers at 

 least, works an injury to fi'uit-blossoms which 

 very materially lessens the following ci'op of 

 fruit. My answei' to the gentleman was a very 

 emphatic " No. <?ir." " But." said I. " on the 

 contrary I considei- the bees a very important 

 adjunct to the various natui-al agencies which 

 are brought to Ijear in the developing of a 

 bountiful fruit crop. Having been for a num- 

 ber of years engaged in growing small fruits for 

 market. I have come to see the value of bees 

 to such an extent that I have purchased a few 

 coloiii<!S. and intend to increase the number." 



If fruit-growers understood the botanical 

 structure (^f fruit - blossoms thoroughly th(^y 

 would ri'cognize more readily the agency of 

 bees in the fertilization of blossoms. Many of 

 us are familial- with these things, but by" far 

 the greater numlx'r know or think but little 

 about them; and it is for the good of the latter 

 class that I wiite this. 



If, for instance, we takt; the blossom of the 

 common cherry, as an illustration, we find it is 

 compos(>d of the calyx, or outer coveiing of the 

 b\ul: immediately inside of this comes the cor- 

 olla, with its several petals of white. Now, 

 when this flower is opened and spread out in all 

 its beauty and natural perfection before us, we 

 shall notice, in the center of this, numerous 

 small haii'like projections, called stamens; and, 

 exactly in the center, the pistil, which termi- 

 nates in a small bulb at the bottom, which is to 



