1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



181 



Russia, and hope that friend Knleshoff will 

 writi' us an article on the subject, for we feel 

 sure it would hv very interesting. 



W. E. CLAKK'S pickle 8TOKY: WHY EXTHACTED 

 HONEY SOMETIMES DOES XOT SELE. 



Among Other good things given us by VV. E. 

 ('lark in tlie convention at Albany was what 

 we will call his "pickle story.'* A groceryman 

 iuid had for a year or so luilf a barrel of pickles 

 under the counter. A new clerk was hired: 

 and, seeing tiie pickles, asked if they were sold. 

 His employer replied that they were a drug on 

 his hands.' The clerk very modestly volunteer- 

 ed the information that he could disjiose of the 

 whole lot in a few days. The employer told 

 him to go ahead. The clerk procured some nice 

 square bottles, tilled them with pickles, corked 

 tliem. neatly labeled them, and, last of all, he 

 put them in a conspicuous place, and. presto I 

 they went off like hot cakes, at a good big 

 price. Said Mr. Clark, in moralizing on this 

 point. "The customers did not know that the 

 groceryman had pickles for sale; and even if 

 they did, they did not have some neat packages 

 of them roiistantly in sight as a reminder of the 

 fact that these thi'ngswere for sale. That is just 

 the trouble with extracted honey in many of 

 our groceries," continued Mr. Clark. "It is 

 sent to the groceries in bulk, and then they are 

 not supplied with attractive packages to exhib- 

 it the article; and many times, if supplied, the 

 packages are allowed to become fly-specked, 

 and the honey to become candied." It should 

 have a neat, clean, and fresh ap])earance. If 

 people do not want to buy it in i)ackages, let 

 them have it in bulk, but let them see that 

 honey is for sale in attractive glass packages. 

 They make the best sign. 



THE HAPPIEST MOMENT OF A HEE-KEEPER"S 



eife— a eittle advife to those who 

 don't rp;ad bee-books. 

 The happiest moment in a bee-ki'eper's life 

 is not when he becomes the father of a new- 

 born babe of flesh and blood (although that is a 

 .sui)rcmc moment, so it is said), but it is when 

 he becomes tin- father of a baby in the shajK' of 

 a neiv-fnugled bee-hive that is "warranted to 

 revolutionize bee-keeping in the n(!ar futiu'e." 

 Very proud he is of that baby for a while, and 

 jealous is he that no other shall try to snatch it 

 away from him. and begets the United States 

 courts to protect him. liut his " baby. " after a 

 while, does not come up to his expectations. 

 Somehow, as the years go by, it doesn't take to 

 the bees, and the bees don't take to it. The ul- 

 timate r(>sult Is, that it is jnled up in the back 

 yard, along with a lot of others. Almost every 

 beginner has been through the experience; but 

 ■sooner or later he repents, buys a good bee-book, 

 and starts right. There is lots of fun in invent- 

 ing a hive that will beat any thing ever before 

 heard of. But we urge, don't. Don't waste 

 any time or money until you have thoroughly 

 read the A B C of Bee Culture, or, in fact, any 

 standard text-book on the subject. About every 

 week we receive a letter from one who has got 

 a hive, the special features of which he is not 

 yet prepared to divulge, but which he is .<iHrc 

 is something far superior to those devised by 

 the "fathers" of bee-keeping. By and by, 

 when it is divulged, a little inquiry elicits the 

 fact that it is older than the hills, and a little 

 better than the " old log gum;" and that the 

 happy (?) inventor has not even read a bee-book. 



LAY'ING OUT AN APIARY'; SEASONABLE HINTS. 



It is about time now that we should be think- 

 ing of locating our apiaries. Experience has 

 shown that we can not afford to go to any great 



expense in providing suitable shade. There are 

 plenty of locations that afford shade naturally 

 for at least a part of the day. A young orchard 

 is an excellent place. It may be well enough at 

 our home yard to go to considerable expense in 

 putting up grapevines or othei- shrubbery; but 

 it certainly will not do for an out-yard. Ex- 

 perience has shown, in many instances, that a 

 yard that has in years gone by furnished tons of 

 honey is now pi'actically worthless, or so nearly 

 so that the moving of the bees to some location 

 more favorable is a necessity. For instance, 

 four or Ave years ago an apiary fin-nished an 

 abundance of basswood honey; but the bass- 

 woods have all been cutoff; there is no clover, 

 and the Held is Avorthless. Again, a locality has 

 once furnished immiuise quantities of white 

 clover: but extensive agriculture has set in, and 

 clover pasturage has given way to immense 

 wheat-flelds. The inroads of civilization some- 

 times damage the honey-bearing resources of 

 a locality: and, conversely, sometimes make 

 them more valuabh-. There are a few locations 

 in York State that formerly gave but very lit- 

 tle honey; but the farmers, in recent years, have 

 introduced buckwheat to such an extent that 

 these are now splendid buckwheat countries; 

 and the yield of this dark rich honey plays a 

 considerable part in the net proflts of the season. 

 In a word, we want our apiaries so we can load 

 them up at a moment's notice, and move them 

 at practically little expense to any new field that 

 may be more inviting. We can not always tell 

 at first whether it will be a favorable location 

 or not. If it does not come up to our expecta- 

 tions, we can "pull up stakes" and try else- 

 where again. If you can locate near swamp 

 land you are fortunate. 



W. I,. C'0<JO.SHAEI>'S extractor; combs HANG- 

 ING IN THE BASKETS THE SAME AS 

 IN THE HIVE. 



In between the sessions we had a very pleas- 

 ant visit with W. L. Coggshall. He is one of 

 the largest honey-produci-rs of York S^ate, and 

 runs for extracted honey almost exclusively. 

 Said he, as our convei-sation turned to extracted 

 honey, " I do not like vour extractor." 



"Why?" 



"Because the combs do not hang in the ex- 

 tractor-baskets the same as they do in the 

 hive." 



" Why, that makes an extractor so cumber- 

 some and awkward," we interposed. 



" Not at all," said he. " My can is only 30 

 inches in diameter and 30 deep. The baskets 

 are made to take the combs just as they hang 

 in the hive, and will hold four frames at a time. 

 When I pick a frame out of a hive I do not 

 have to turn it over endwise, and let it down 

 into a deep basket. I pick it up just as it comes 

 out of the hive, and put it squarely into the 

 machine. In reversing the combs there is an- 

 other advantage. Cpmbs pick up easier, and go 

 back into their respective places with less trou- 

 ble. Why," said he, " I can not begin to extract 

 the amount of honey with one of your extractors 

 in a day that 1 do with one of my machines, and 

 I have tried both.'" 



" What gearing do you use?" we asked. 



" The upright." 



Mr. C. has the reputation of producing im- 

 mense crops of honey, and he also runs, in con- 

 nection, a farm; and with the help of one assist- 

 ant he does the work alone, practically. We 

 have not had calls for an extractor to hold the 

 Langstroth combs as they hang in the hive, to 

 any great extent. We are quite willing to make 

 whatever bee-keepers want, although it should 

 be remembered that such an extractor would 

 cost more, and very possibly would not please 

 some as well. 



