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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



HjrainPt lobtiiiig. a vfry liitlo I'assiiig may be- 

 come altogether too much. :iiui that in a very 

 few minutes. .Judgment should entei' into all 

 vour work. W. S. IIakt. 



our woi K. 

 Hawks Park. Fla.. June 17. 



A VISIT TO MR. THOMAS PIERCE. 



DBY BUDDIE G. HIGI.KY. 



I previously notified Mr. Pierce o,t' my inten- 

 tion of paying him a visit. After wading 

 tlirough the mud for hve miles on foot, wliich 

 took me about two hours, I was at the station. 

 Stepping aboard the train, which soon arrived, 

 I was soon on my way to Gansevoort. On ar- 

 riving here I was directed to Mr. Pierce's 

 dwelling, which is only a step from the depot. 

 Knocking I was soon in the presence of ray 

 young friend who has lately retired from busi- 

 ness, being somewhere about 70 years old. 

 Through the foresight of his genial companion 

 they had put off dinner till I came. How my 

 heart tilled with joy after sitting down, to hear 

 praise go up to the God that had car^ d for him all 

 his life! Our conversation naturally led to 

 bees; and by the time dinner was ovei' the bees 

 got quite lively; and before they became quiet- 

 ed we were out in the bee-yard. 



THE BEE-YAI!D. 



His bee-yard is very nicely arranged, some 

 10 oi- 12 rods from the road. 



" Do the bees trouble your neighbors'?" I 

 asked. 



'* No. not to amount to any thing. I general- 

 ly remedy it all by giving the persons troubled 

 some honey, which keeps them good natured." 



STOREHOUSE FOK HIVES. 



The next place was his barn, which is now 

 used for storing* away hives and fixtures in the 

 barn. He has a box which is moth and mice 

 proof for the storiiig-away of combs. In this 

 he also keeps his swarming fixtures, which 

 have before been illustrated in Gleanings. 

 His honey-house is nicely arranged some few- 

 steps from this. 



WORK-SHOP. 



In this he has an improved engine which 

 runs a planer (one of the best kinds), and saw. 

 The saw is one of his own make, being strong, 

 to be run by steam power. He used to make 

 the old-fashioned 2-lb. nailed section, which 

 looked almost as nice as our four-piece dove- 

 tailed sections. He buys his sections now, they 

 being so cheap that he can not afford to make 

 ihem. Those he made showed tine workman- 

 ship. 



STORE FOR SUPPLY-HOUSE AND BEE-CELLAR. 



A store built some 20 years ago is now used 

 for a store room. This is a commodious struc- 

 tui'e, and gives plenty of room for a bee-keep- 

 er's supply-house. As Mr. Pierce is a supply- 

 dealer, it comes quite handy. His bee-cellar is 

 under this. He was wintering about 7.5 stocks. 

 They were wintering rather badly. He attrib- 

 utes it to low temperature, saying that bees 

 winter better with him with a high tempera- 

 ture, say .50° to 58° F. To maintain this tem- 

 perature he uses artificial heat. He futher- 

 more says he can show a good average in favor 

 of high" temperature for the past five or six 

 winters. This is the cellar that is shaken every 

 time a train goes by. 



HIS HIVE AND WAY' OF WINTERING. 



For winter he places a sort of Hill device 

 over the frames, and over this a cotton cloth, 

 which is attached to a box without top or bot- 

 tom, which tits the top of the hive. Upon this 



a chaff cushion is put, then he raises the hive 

 from the bottom about two inches by blocks. 

 This, he says, gives them sufficient ventilation 

 and escape for dead bees. His hive is the mod- 

 ified Langstroth. tw'o Manum clamps exactly 

 covei'ing the top of it. 



MIDDLEMEN, PRO AND CON. 



"Mr. Pierce, what do you think about mid- 

 dlemen in connection with the honev indus- 

 try ?" 



'•Well, there are some that are a damage to 

 tlie producer, but on the whole they are an ad- 

 vantage." 



CHEAP OR COSTLY CONTRIVANCES. 



"Well, Mr. Pierce, what is your conclusion 

 as to the advisability of using cheap or costly 

 hives and fixings ? Do you think that it would 

 pay to go to the extra expense of having every 

 thing of the very best?" 



" No, I do not, for a hive that would cost 

 half the cost of mine would answer just as 

 well." 



" Don't you think that this is too often the 

 case with the over-zealous beginner?" 



" Yes, I do; for a great many go into the bus- 

 iness with the idea that, the more money they 

 can get Invested, the more will be their returns. 

 But it is generally the other w-ay." 



" What do you think of the idea of putting a_ 

 swarm of bees worth ?!3.(X) into a hive worth 

 $4.00?" 



" I think it is like driving a 8100 harness on a 

 $50 mule." 



CAKNIOLANS OR ITALIANS. 



" Which kind of bees do you prefer, Carnio- 

 I'ans or Italians?" 



"I tried one Carniolan queen; and if the 

 progeny of all Carniolans ai-e the like of this, 

 I have had enough of them." 



These were some of the topics talked over. 

 When looking at the clock it said train time, so 

 my very pleasant visit had to come to an end. 

 With good wishes I left Gansevoort, and arrived 

 home in four or five hours. fe<'ling well paid for 



mv visit. BUODIE (r. HUiLKY'. 



Hartfoi'd. N. Y.. April 27. 



THE NEW BENTON CAGE. 



WHAT AN EXTENSIVE QUEEN-HHEEDEK THINKS- 

 OF IT. 



Friend Ernest: — I think the new small Ben- 

 ton cage is the best that I have ever seen, and 

 the item of postage is a considerable one when 

 a person has to send off many. I think there is 

 plenty of room in warm weather for eight bees 

 and the qu(>,en. In colder weather it will hold 

 about sixtiM'n bees, and be a little crowded, 

 which is better in cold weather, though when 

 we have to send off bees in as cold weather as I 

 had to send some this past spring. I feel as if I 

 should like a cage that would almost hold a lit- 

 tle nucleus; but I believe this will do to send 

 queens in safely in most parts of the United 

 States, at any time of yean It being shallower 

 than most cages, and having sufficient length, 

 the bees and queen seem to be comfortable and 

 easy; while if they had more room, by giving 

 more depth they become more excitable every 

 time they are moved or handled on their journey. 



I concluded to try an experiment as soon as I 

 received the first lot from you. I had a small 

 dark queen which I had rejected, so far as 

 sending her out to any one, but I concluded to 

 keeip her in one of my hives for the purpose of 

 building up. This queen I placed in one of the 

 improved cages, with exactly one dozen bees, 

 on the 1st day of July. To-day, the 18th, there 



