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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



E. Fkaxce. in a letter dated .June 38, writes 

 that the bees are gathering a very poor and 

 darlv honey, and but very little of that. Little 

 or no honey he says is coming from white clo- 

 ver or basswood; The latter will be out of 

 bloom in a few days. While this is discourag- 

 ing for frjend France, we have very encourag- 

 ing reports from others; such as, for instance, 

 "The best honey season ever known:" and, 

 " Fine honey-flow," etc. At the Home of the 

 Honey-bees the flow has been exceptionally 

 good, both from clover and basswood. At this 

 date, July 14, the latter is yielding honey, and 

 clover is but, even yet. 



We never had such a rush for queens as now. 

 For the past few weelcs we have been sending 

 ■out, on an average, about a hundred queens a 

 week, and we have sent over forty in one day. 

 With our large business in sending bees out in 

 colonies and nuclei, it has been impossible for 

 us to rear all these queens. In fact, it is nearly 

 all our own apiary can do to rear queens for ex- 

 press orders. Those sent out by mail are reared 

 by neighbors H. and Rice and two or three of 

 the oldest and best queen-breeders in the South. 

 We don't breed for color, but for gentleness and 

 business. This, together with promptness, is 

 what brings this rush of orders. In most cases 

 we have sent queens by return mail. 



THE NEW BENTON INTRODUCING-CAGE. 



The introducing feature of the ne>v Benton 

 ■cage works to perfection in our apiary. There 

 is a small hole, j\ in diameter, through which 

 the bees eat out the candy. For 24 hours, only 

 one bee can work at it at a time. For the next 

 36 hours, two or three bees: and for the next 13 

 hours, a dozen or so. In the majority of cases 

 the candy is eaten out in 48 hours; but the 

 hole is so small at tlie extreme end of the cage 

 that it takes about another 13 hours for the 

 queen to find her way out. This is quite an 

 advantage. In 48 hours there might be some 

 bees that would ball her: but it is very seldom 

 indeed that they would attempt it inside of a 

 cage. After many liees have been in thei'e a 

 while and gone out. they all come to regard her 

 as the rightful nMgning sovereign; and when 

 she does get out, she is accepted. So far we 

 are inclined to think it is the best introducing- 

 cage we have ever had — equal to the Peet, and 

 —oh so much less work ! We are sending queens 

 in it with success to all parts of the country. 

 C. W. Costellow deserves credit for making the 

 size just I'ight for one cent, but our boys put on 

 the introducing feature — let's see, way back in 

 1888. 



THE NEW CLAKK SMOKEK. 



We have been making some decided improve- 

 ments recently in the Clark smoker. One of 

 these improvements was made at the .sugges- 

 tion of Dr. C. C. Miller; and that was. that the 

 end of the tire-cup be perforated to admit of 

 more draft. Another improvement consisted in 

 perforating tiie underside of the smoker so that 

 the fuel burns much more vigorously. Another 

 feature is the substitution of a neat brass tube 

 instead of a tin tube, that will occasionally 

 send a stream of smoke "' crosseyed " as it were. 

 The new smoker is so much better than those 

 sent out in 1890, and a part of this year, that 

 our later customers will readily appreciate the 

 change. We have obviated the fire-dropping 

 features by means of the extra ventilating per- 

 forations, and the door is so constructed as to 

 shut tight. The volume of smoke is almost as 

 dense and conquering as that from the hot 

 blast; and, at the same time, it will send it 



down six feet through a pile of supers. Dr. 

 Miller is very much pleased with it, and says it 

 will burn wet shavings. In a letter just re- 

 ceived, he adds: "Do you know that, in the 

 last year or two, you have practically reduced 

 the price of the Clark to less thaii half, by 

 making it last so much longer?" Those of 

 you who have the old smokers can very great- 

 ly improve them by punching about a dozen 

 nail - holes in the end of the fire - box, and 

 as many more midway between the large 

 end and the apex of the cone. Just try it. and 

 see how much better it is. Then close the fire- 

 door tight. By the way, the new fire-door is 

 now so made that no sparks can drop out 

 around it and burn dress, fingers, and hive- 

 covers. 



GOING BACK TO LANGSTROTH AND QLTINBY. 



How often, when we think we have invented 

 something new. we find, by referring to Quinby 

 or Langstroth, that the idea was first originat- 

 ed by them I Thei'e is a strong tendency now 

 toward the flat cover. This we find described 

 in Langsti'oth"s work, issued away back in 18.53. 

 This flat cover is all complete with cleats nail- 

 ed on the end. Everybody nowadays seems to 

 be going back to the eight-frame idea. Why, 

 that came from Moses Quinby, L. L. Lang- 

 stroth. and Adam Grimm, away back In the 

 (jO's. Thick and wide top-bars is another new 

 fad. vStill, we find essentially the same thing 

 described in Langstroth. Chancing, a few days 

 ago, to look over some old hives, some that were 

 made after Langstroth's early instructions, we 

 observed that the frames all had top-bars 1,^ 

 inches wide, and % deep. The combs had been 

 cut out of these frames; but by the propolis ac- 

 cumulations on them, it was evident that they 

 had been used for a number of years. The re- 

 markable part about it all is. that they showed 

 no traces of bui-r-combs. Again, there is a very 

 strong tendency toward fixed distances. Here 

 again we are going back to father Quinby. 

 Why in the world did we not catch on to these 

 things earlier? And, again, is it not remarkable 

 that fathers Langstroth and Quinby were so 

 generally right? 



STICKING TO OLD NOTIONS, OK KETRACTING ON 

 REASONABLE EVIDENCE. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, of the Bee-keepers' Revlexo, 

 has somewhat modified his conclusions in ref- 

 erence to the use or non-use of foundation in 

 the brood -nest: and in a paper which he read 

 before the Ohio State Bee-keepers' Association 

 at Toledo he gave expression to these words: 

 " I know it is not customary for authors oi" ed- 

 itors to acknowledge their errors: but, let me be 

 editor or orator, I shall always proclaim what 

 1 believe to be the truth, even if it does conflict 

 with my former published conclusions.'* That 

 has the right ring to it, Bro. H. Would there 

 were more authors, editors, and orators, or. if 

 you please, contriZ)»(ors, who would be willing 

 to retract some of their published statements. 

 If there is any one thing that does the pursuit 

 damage, it is the persistent clinging to old no- 

 tions, A man who can not change his opinion 

 occasionally, on reasonable evidence, is a man 

 whose opinion should not be trusted too im- 

 plicitly. We know of some people among the 

 bee-keeping craft — good bee-keepers and con- 

 tributors, who, when they have once published 

 a certain view, never change it, and who go 

 still further to bolster up and strengthen that 

 opinion or supposed fact. As our readers know, 

 we have abandoned the ten-frame idea and the 

 beveled edge on hives — that is, we do not rec- 

 ommend them any more. It is no weakness to 

 change your mind; but when it is necessary, 

 come out and say so like a man. 



