1S91 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



101 



SUCCESS BY THE ABC OF BEP: CII.TURE. 



I must tell you how well I succeeded with my 

 bees with the help of your A B C book. Last 

 fall I bought thi'ee ordinary hives, and did not 

 know a queen from a di'one. I studied the 

 ABC all winter and thi> sumniei'. I increased 

 my bees to Ki good hives, and extracted 40 lbs. 

 of honey, besides learning a great deal that I 

 wouldn't take money for. I have bought 

 enough to increase my number to 30 hives, and 

 expect to do wonders next year in the bee-busi- 

 ness. We have thousands of acres of alfalfa for 

 pasturage: and although we live at an altitude 

 of 7.500 feet, our bees flourish. 



Mancos, Colo.. Nov. 10. Mks. A. J. B.akbeis. 



THE NEW DOVETAILED HniS WITH A FOLEOAV- 



ER AXD CLOSED-END FRAMES JLLST THE 



THING FOR OREGON. 



In the Dovetailed hive you have struck a 

 keynote in adding the " follower and wedge"" 

 to key up the frames and sections. Tiiis key- 

 board (as I have called it) and wedge have 

 been in use in my apiary for ten years, and are 

 considered indispensable. I have used a sec- 

 tion-holder during this time, made by nailing 

 these same ■■ inset slats "" to 34 x 'a -inch strips, 

 the saiue resting on tins as in the dovetailed 

 super, but without the end pieces. This gives 

 a vacant space of an inch or so at one t'ud. 

 which gives easy room for handling sections. 

 t*' and the follower "holds all snug. 

 ? ' The Dovetailed hive, if wide enough to ad- 

 ■>' mitof. say. a half-inch division-board on each 

 "■ 'Bide, with closed-end frames, virtually making 

 I '' a^double-walled hive is just the hive for our 

 . V' Oregon and Washington climate, where it is 

 '• never extremely cold, but where we have damp- 

 ness to contend with. The heat from the bees 

 will drive the moisture througli this half-inch 

 wall to the oi)en-air space, where it will con- 

 dense and run down out of the hive, leaving 

 the bees dry — a most favorable condition for 

 wintering successfully. E. S. Brooks. 



Silverton, Ore., Jan. 13. 



FAIR RENTAL FOR AN OLT-APLARY. 



As I have more bees than I think I should 

 keep at home, I intend starting an out-apiary 

 this season: and having had no experience my- 

 self, and as there is no one here to consult. I 

 write to ask you what is customary or right 

 compensation to pay the parties owning loca- 

 tion, as rent, etc., for privilege. In other words, 

 what arrangement is usual between the bee- 

 keeper and the owner of the land? 



Florence, Kan.. Jan. 5. T. J. Conry. 



[Rental for grounds on which out-apiaries 

 stand is usually rated at $10.00 per year. It is 

 just as you can agree. A good many pay no 

 rent: they make gifts of honey.] 



M<)RE ABOUT THE NEW IDEA. 



Friend Root:— I see, by the way you headed 

 my article on page 25, that my New Idea was 

 not well understood by you. It is nota wire-cloth 

 cage in front of the hive, for wire is hard 

 for bees to fly against— also a conductor of 

 caloric, therefore not good, besides too expensive 

 and cumbersome: neither is it mosquito-bar, 

 as might be inferred, as the feet of the bees 

 will entangle in it. 



My bees are doing grandly under this treat- 

 ment, and are less restless than those in the 

 dark cellar. Among those placed upstairs, un- 

 der protection of the new idea, was a colony, 

 robbed on the last of September. I feed them 

 in the New Idea, and every two or three days 

 they have a grand festival and carry some 

 stores into the hive. They well know where to 



find their rations: but it is wonderful how they 

 assemble to enjoy their festivities. 



During the month and twenty days that I 

 have had these colonies upstairs, the dwindle is 

 next to nothing, while tliose in the cellar can 

 be gathered up by the quart. P'rom present in- 

 dications I am confident that the New Idea 

 solves the enigma of wintering without loss: 

 and if success attends until they reach the sum- 

 mer stand, upstairs will supplant down cellar, 

 universally, in less than one decade. 



The character of this device is a riddle not 

 easy to gues^^, and I retain the knowledge to 

 myself until success attends it. at which time I 

 will send you a sample one. whereby the fra- 

 ternity will be made to wonder at its simplicity. 



Nirvana. Mich.. Jan. l'.». F. D. Lacy. 



AGAINST INCORPORATING THE Bf;E-KEEPERS' 

 UNION WITH THE N. A. B. K. A. 



On page 8ii4. Dec. 1.5. Dr. Miller makes a prop- 

 osition to merge the N. A. B. K. A. into the 

 Bee-keepers" Union. I think that sliould not 

 be done without the consent of a majority of 

 the members of the Union: and as a member I 

 wish to hand in " no "" to the plan. I do not see 

 where it would benefit jthe Union in any way, so 

 I object to it. E. D. Hoavell. 



New Hampton. N. Y.. Dec. 1.5. 



report of THE YEAR. 



In the spring of 1889 we set out 80 stands of 

 bees. During the year we increased the num- 

 ber to 200. which w(Me all alive in the spring of 

 18^)0. but some of them were weak. There were 

 185 when the fruit - trees blossomed, and we 

 were highly pleased with the prospect for the 

 last year. We received over 7000 lbs. of honey 

 from 80 swarms. For ]8i)0 we received only 

 about 700 lbs., and have onlv about 175 stands 

 left. R. H. Randall. 



Big Rock. Iowa. Dec. 20. 



CALIFORNIA HONEY IN OLD OIL-CANS. 



The honey is very rich, but I don't like it in 

 oil-cans, for it spoils the flavor, for it tastes so 

 strongly of the oil. I would rather pay a cent a 

 pound more to have it in new cans. 



Frederick Hund. 



Casco, St. Clair Co.. Mich.. Nov. 30. 



150 LBS. OF honey from THE BEST COLONY. 



My bees have done fairly well this summer, 

 my best colony giving 1.50 lbs. extracted honey. 

 I had 12 colonies, spring count: increased to 22; 

 sold one. and took 400 lbs. comb and 400 lbs. ex- 

 tracted honey from them, and left plenty for 

 winter stores." A. E. Snei^grove. 



Camborne. Ont.. Can.. Dec. 13. 



ALFALFA-ROOTS— HOW DEEP DO THEY GO? 



On page 401. A B C. you intimate that the 

 cut of the alfalfa -root is probably exaggerated. 

 From an extended visit to Kern Co., Cal., this 

 season. I can testify that the statement, that 

 the roots reach a depth of 20 feet, is correct; 

 and for feed for stock, it has no equal. 



Maroa. 111., Dec. 4. F. D. Lowe. 



A REMEDY FOP. BLACK ANTS. 



My hives were covered with ants, and now I 

 don't see them at all. The bottoms of my chaff 

 hives are pail^ted with coal tar. It cost 10 cents 

 a gallon. One quart warmed and spread on 

 quite thick, with a brush-broom, will paint the 

 bottoms of 10 hives. The mice do not trouble 

 them either. It is cheaper than tarred paper: 

 besides, it preserves the wood. R. A. Tobey. 



Caton, N. Y., Jan. 6. 



