100 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTLTRE. 



Feb. 1. 



by a division-board, so as to make two or more 

 colonies for quepu-rearing, the entrance Is 

 readily divided, without the necessity of cutting 

 new entrances in any of the hives. Other n^a- 

 sons may. perhaps, be given. Very likely there 

 are other reasons liesides tlie one you mention 

 for having the frames go crosswise.] 



OB.JECTIOXS TO RENT-POINT AVIKK NAILS FOH 

 WIKING. 



Last season I tried th(» wire nails in wiring 

 brood-frames. I don't like the plan of bending 

 the points, as they do not make a neat job, and 

 it takes considerable time also. I have a plan 

 that seems good if we can get the nails made 

 that way. It is, one-inch wire nails with eyes 

 punched through about ^ or ^4 inch back from 

 the points. Iron wire nails would do. or nails 

 somewhat flat; or, how would nails with beards 

 cut a little way back from the point do? What 

 would the first-named cost per lb.? 



Nye, Ind., Dec. 29. C. A. Bunch. 



[Friend B., the only way to get a nail with 

 an eye in it would be to get up the machinery 

 and make them. The nail companies would 

 not take it unless an immense order were given 

 them. There is no nail in the market with a 

 barb long enough to catch the wire securely. A 

 barb would be much handier than an eye, for 

 the wire could be hooked over it. I am inclined 

 to think that hooking over the point would be 

 the cheapest way at present. If you use a very 

 slender nail, and have the right kind of round- 

 nose pliers, it need not take veiy much time.] 



in blooiu over a month, and the bees are work- 

 ing on it every day. They are bringing great 

 loads of pollen and some honey. I know they 

 get pollen from the pine bloom'; but do they get 

 the honey from it too? J. H. Hilt.. 



Venice, Manatee Co., Fla.. Dec. 27. 



[If you like extemporized Hoffman frames— 

 that is. those made from common frames, you 

 certainly will like the Hotfman made exactlv 

 as the inventor recommends. The regular 

 Hotfmans are easier and more satisfactory than 

 something fixed over.] 



WHAT FKAME TO ADOPT — THE VAN DEITSEN OR 

 HOFFMAN. 



I have decided to adopt a fixed frame, and 

 can not decide between the Van Deusen rever- 

 sible and Hoffman. I sui)pose you have thor- 

 oughly tested both by this time, and I should 

 like to know your preference. I think I should 

 prefer the Hoffman if it were reversible. Do you 

 think this much advantage, or enough to adopt 

 the Van Deusen in preference to the Hoffman, 

 regardless of cost? C. E. Layman. 



Troutville, Va., Dec. IL 



[Both frames have their points of advantage. 

 For a fixed fi'ame we prefer the Hoffman. If 

 you want the reversing feature this will not do. 

 and you had better select the Van Deusen. The 

 safer way is to try a few of each.] x 



CLOSE spacing a DECIDED ADVANTAGE. 



I have read Mr. Board man's suggestions in 

 December 1st Gleanino.s. Our hives are the 

 same kind as those used by Mr. B. Three years 

 ago next spring I put an extra frame in the few 

 hives we then had. and have continued to do 

 so. Our bees have done splendidly, wintered 

 well, and we are scarcely troubled with burr- 

 combs. I think Mr. B. will find tiie extra 

 frame quite a help to him. We had a good 

 yield of surplus honey the past season, and the 

 hives were very heavy when we put them in 

 the cellar for winter, about Dec. 1st. 



JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT— 50 BUSHELS PEB ACltE. 



In regard to Japanese buckwheat, here the 

 past season it has shown its superiority over 

 the old black variety. While many pieces of 

 the black were badly blasted by three or four 

 hot windy days, the Japanese was scarcely af- 

 fected at all. We had fifty bushels to the 

 acre. Several of our neighbors who came to 

 look at it said it was the nicest piece they ever 



saw. B. T. SCOTHAN. 



Rogersville, Mich.. Dec. 24. 



[These are the kind of facts we like to get. 

 Close spacing has only to be carefully tried to 

 prove its advantages.] 



THE modified HOFFMAN FRAME- A GOOD 

 REPORT OF IT. 



I acted at once on Ernest's suggestion (page 

 780). and changed th<^ hanging frames of one 

 hive into Hoffman frames. It did not seem to 

 work right. I could not lift even two frames at 

 once, so I pulled the spacers oft' and cut the top 

 ends square, as on page 425: nailed them on, 

 and they did better. I can lift three or four 

 frames easily, and they work nicely so far. I 

 also found thefe has to be a spacer nailed in 

 one corner of the hive, and one on one corner of 

 the follower. 



My bees have done well this fall, and are in 

 good fix for winter. The spruce pine has been 



.JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT TOO LARGE TO GO 

 THROUGH ORDINARY SIEVES. 



What will you give for 30 bushels of Japanese 

 buckwheat? The miller here thinks he can 

 not well grind it, on account of its size. 



Miss Libbie Williams. 



Delavan, Wis., Dec. 24. 



[The above and similar letters indicate unmis- 

 takably that the Japanese buckwheat is larger 

 than the common. Tell your miller, that, if he 

 wants to be up with the limes, he should get a 

 sieve that would accommodate the new buck- 

 wheat.] 



HONEY LIKE WET SUGAR. 



Our bees in this settlement this fall made 

 honey like wet sugar. What is the cause? It 

 never was so before. We have had the driest 

 summer and fall we ever had. 



Aumsville, Or., Dec. 12. W. W. Brooks. 



[Friend B.. such honey has been several times 

 reported, and it almost always comes during a 

 dry season or fall. We have had several re- 

 ports from candied honey-dew from your local- 

 ity — the kind that makes little balls of candy on 

 the twigs of the fir-trees. As this candies on 

 the trees, it would be nothing strange to see it 

 candied in the combs.] 



SPANISH NEJ:1)LE. 



I was visiting in Iowa during August and 

 September, and I saw the large flowering Span- 

 ish needle for the first time. It is different from 

 what we have here. Some of the fiowers are 

 two inches across the petals, and of a beautiful 

 yellow color. I saw tlie bees at work on them. 

 They are a different kind from what we have* 

 in Ohio. W. S. Imi.ay. 



Zanesville, O.. Dec. 8. 



[Friend I., we are glad of what you tell us. 

 One of the first things for bee-keepers to do 

 during this coming season is to work up this 

 great field along the Illinois and Mississippi 

 Rivers.] 



