320 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'K. 15. 



hived ill an empty liive till the hive is filled 

 with comb would be avoided, and thus a part of 

 the secretion would be stoi)i)ed. It is for this 

 reason that I have advised using only starters 

 in the sections if the hive is filled with combs 

 below, or using only starters in the frames be- 

 low, if the sections are tilled with combs or with 

 foundation. In this way the wax which the 

 bees have already secreted, and that which is in 

 the process of secretion, is saved, hence no 

 waste at any point. 



THOSE MII.I.IONAIKES. 



I was taken by surprise at what I found on 

 pages 313 and 214 of the same number of Gleax- 

 INGS; and, friend Root, as you took a column 

 and a half to reply to friend Heselton's half- 

 column, and then called a halt, perhaps you will 

 allow me to say a few words for both of you in 

 the column still due Bro. H. With yon. I agree 

 that a man is not necessarily wicked because he 

 is in possession of much money, nor is he in a 

 wicked calling because he is a lawyer: but if his 

 money comes to him through fraud or dishonest 

 practices, in which his poor neighbors are rob- 

 bed of tiie amount he gains, above what he 

 earns, then he can only be classed with sinners, 

 no matter how many charitable institutions he 

 helps or founds: and if he is a lawyer, and lends 

 his influence toward the framing of unjust laws, 

 laws which oppress the widow and the father- 

 less, then the ci'ies of these "laborers will enter 

 into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." and hap- 

 py will you and I be, friend Root, if we are 

 found in opposition to such practices, and if we 

 lift up our voices and our ballots against a state 

 of things which allows of this oppression: for 

 then we are not partakers in these crimes, even 

 if they do not cease to exist. There are only 

 three ways in which money can be secured: By 

 earning, by charity, and by fraud (theft). When 

 "old Hutch."' secured his millions by the wheat 

 corner a few years ago, did he earn a cent of it? 

 No, he stole it: and by his becoming that much 

 richer, those who earned the money which ac- 

 cumulated in his hands were just so much poor- 

 er. If he had given all this pile to good instit\i- 

 tions, tlie Lord would not have blessed him for 

 the gift, although he might have blessed the in- 

 stitution. So of railroad wrecking, trusts in oil, 

 sugar, coal, etc.. which rob the laborer of his 

 hire, which things are allowed to exist in our 

 land by the votes of the people, votes which they 

 cast ignorantly, by allowing their minds to be 

 drawn aside from the right and real issuesofthe 

 day by scheming politicians. Then.by our pres- 

 ent tariflf laws the poor laborer of our country is 

 compelled to give charities to the rich, just in 

 proportion to what he is obliged to consume: 

 and so we see tliousands and millions of our 

 people suffering for the actual necessities of life 

 that a few thousands of our people may become 

 rich. John D. Rockefeller is reported to be an 

 eminent Christian gentleman, and yet thou- 

 sands of the poor seamstresses of our land are 

 spoiling their eyes, and have been foi' the past 

 years, because they could not earn the where- 

 with to buy oil enough to have sufficient light 

 to sew during the hours of the night which they 

 were obliged to work to keep soul and body to- 

 gether. Now. Bro. Root, sometliing is wrong 

 soniewiiere, and it becomes you and me to see 

 that we are on the right side, and tiuit is why I 

 write on this theme. I know a bee-paper is not 

 the proper place for a discussion of politics or re- 

 ligious doctrines: but as yon took a column ex- 

 tra on that subject. I thought you would allow 

 the same space to me, if I were not abusive, and 

 I have tried not to be. G. M. Dooijtti-e. 



Borodino, N. Y., Marches. 



[Friend Doolittle. Prof. Cook \\ill have to 

 answei- you in regard to the wax problem; and 



if I really took a column and a half before. T 

 cei'tainly ought not to occupy any sjjace jnst 

 now. But we should ail be careful to look on 

 both sides of these great national questions, anti 

 we should also beware of uncharitable ex- 

 tremes. There is a safe ground, and a right one 

 in all these questions, and we who are striving 

 to follo\\' Christ Jesus ought not to be very far 

 from each other in our opinions.] 



THE VALUE OF EMPTY COMBS: A VALIAULE 

 EXPERIMENT, SHOWING THAT BEES SE- 

 CRETE AVAX WHEN COMPELLED 

 TO BX'ILD COMB. 



With Prof. Cook, I greatly doubt whether 

 bees have to secrete wax unless there is a great 

 honey-flow, and no place provided for them to 

 deposit it. A few years ago this same subject 

 was talked up in the bee-journals: and as I had 

 helped some in an apiai-y for over 20 years, and 

 had read so many different opinions and theo- 

 ries on the secretion of beeswax, I felt very 

 much like making a few observations, and it 

 was not long before an opportunity presented 

 itself. It was a very warm morning in the 

 smarming season. Mr. ISI. was called from 

 home, and I was left alone to care for the bees. 

 In a short time the swarming- note was sounded,, 

 and "the bees had swarmed." We were mak- 

 ing use of some drawn-out c(mibs at the time, 

 and I got a hive, tilled it with some of them, 

 and hived the bees: then I wiped the sweat 

 fi'oni my face, and returned to my labor. This 

 w as swarm No. 1. 



I had hardly got settled down to work, when 

 "buzz, buzz."' and out came another swarm of 

 bees. " Ha. ha !"" I said to myself. " now is my 

 time to experiment a little."" So I went and got 

 a hive, tilled it with empty frames, and hived 

 swarm No. 2, and then awaited results. 



The next day I went to look at them. Swarm 

 No. 1 I found very busy at w (Mk bringing honej- 

 from the field, and depositing it in the combs: 

 and on the alighting-board and bottom of the 

 hive there was quite a quantity of those little 

 wax scales; but it was very diflicnlt to find any 

 scales in the wax-pockets on the bees. Then I 

 went to No. 2 and found there were not more 

 than half as many bees going and coming from 

 the field as tiiere were from No. 1. I very gently 

 raised the cover and looked in, and found the 

 rest of them hanging in festoons to the top- 

 bars, quietly working at their trade of comb- 

 building, while those that came from the field 

 seemed to be bringing honey for them to con- 

 sume, to produce the wax to build the comb 

 from: and the secretion of wax was very plenti- 

 ful on the bees, but there was none onthe bot- 

 tom-board nor around the entrance to the hive. 



They \\ orked on in tills way for a few days, 

 and built comb very fast: then the yield of hon- 

 ey in the Held diminished, so they could get but 

 a" little: and although they were still inactive, 

 the wax secretion diminished, and comb-build- 

 ing progressed very slowly. Therefore I think 

 consumption causes production; and if circum- 

 stances are such that the bees consume a lai'ge 

 amount of honey, they they will seciete a large 

 amount of wax. But this is no saving: for, if 

 the honey that they consume to fill the hive or 

 boxes were stored in surplus boxes or comb.it 

 would pay for combs or foundation to fill a 

 number of hives. Observer. 



[My good friend, you have given us a most 

 valuable experience. First, it indicates beyond 

 question that a colony will store more honey 

 for the extractor when they have a full set of 

 combs. Sheets of foundation would i)robably 

 come next to full combs: bnt emjjty frames are 

 away behind. Our older readers may remem- 

 bei' that I made experiments in just this line 



