663 



GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTURE. 



Aua. 15. 



the way of all living; but the younger Wills 

 continue the business under the old firm name; 

 and from the honorable and enterprising way it 

 is conducted, we expect t.o see the business still 

 further develop. 



Syracuse is one of those energetic cities of 

 Central New York supported by a fertile farm- 

 ing country. Its leading industry is the manu- 

 facture of salt, from the abundant saline 

 springs there found. 



A MAMMOTH CANDI.E. 



There are many bee-keepers located in this 

 vicinity, and their wants in the supply lini^ aie 

 attended to by F. A. Salisbury, who not only 

 manufactures but handles supplies for other 

 parties. Winter losses were heavy in this por- 

 tion of New York, and Bro. S."s outlook and his 

 feelings seemed to be lacerated thereby, and 

 electricity had greater charms for him than the 

 keeping of bees. We tried to give him the Cal- 

 ifornia fever in order to give Dr. Merchant anoth- 

 er patient; but we fear the doctor will not get a 

 fee from Mr. S. To encourage the doctor, sev- 

 eral cases will 'soon be handed over to him by 

 the Rambler. 



[You have indeed given us a valuable article; 

 and this, together with your Hawkeye views, 

 gives us a glimpse of the extent to which one of 

 the products of the apiary (wax) is used in the 

 arts outside of its use by bee-keepers in the 

 form of foundation. I venture to suggest that 

 very few bee-keepers who have sent Ecker- 

 mann & Will wax have before realized the 

 magnitude of their business. It might be inter- 

 esting to know what proportion wax sold for 

 foundation in their business bears to that used 

 in other lines. Perhaps the company or the 

 Rambler can favoi- us with the information. 

 As bee-keepers use very little if any bleached 

 wax for foundation-making, we must infer that 

 the product of the large bleaching yard shown 

 in the two views, of a capacity of 10,000 lbs. at 

 a time, is used wholly for other purposes. Say, 

 Rambler, why didn't you tell us more about the 

 bleaching — how it is done in detail, and what it 

 is for? The three views are exceedingly inter- 

 esting, and stimulate a desire for more facts. 

 Is that big candle held by the workman sup- 

 posed to be made entirely of wax, or is the candle 



bettei- for the mixture of some gi-ease or par- 

 affine? Wouldn't pure beeswax at 26 or 37 

 cents wholesale be rather expensive for those 

 big candles, or in the small candles used in the 

 Catholic churches? By the way, it has been in- 

 timated in a quiet way that Eckermann & Will 

 have sometimes sent out adulterated wax to 

 foundation-makers. Of the many tons of wax 

 that we have bought of them we never had any 

 but the pure article, and \^e have no evidence 

 of their furnishing it to other makers. Indeed, 

 it would be very poor policy, for " doctored " 

 wax for foundation can be so readily detected. 

 They may mix other ingredients in wax used 

 for other pui'poses, and this would be perfectly 

 legitimate, so long as the foreign addition did 

 not deteriorate the wax. In fact, we suspect, 

 for instance, that candles made of pure bees- 

 wax are not so good as those made of adulter- 

 ated wax. When adulteration improves an ar- 

 ticle, and consumers understand the fact (mark 

 this), then adulteration is perfectly legitimate.] 



E. R. 



MRS. GOLDEN' S SWARM-CATCHER. 



HOW TO f'ATClI A SWARM RKFORE IT GETS I.V- 

 TO THE AIR. 



I inclose a photograph of Mrs. M. A. Golden's 

 swarm-catching device. It may an old idea, 

 used years ago, for all we know; but, neverthe- 

 less, it is one of the best, handiest, and most 

 complete arrangements for catching swarms 

 when issuing from the hive that we have ever 

 used. The cut will explain the whole matter 

 better than words can, and is very easily con- 

 structed. 



MRS. golden's SWARM-CATCHER. 



My good wife is the author, and suggested 

 the above device, which I hastily constructed. 

 You see I caught her using it in a few minutes 

 after completing the catcher; thus she has 

 caught some 18 or 20 swarms with it, and the 

 queen every time. You see there is no fussing 

 or catching from trees, and running through 

 the hot sun; but simply, when a swarm is issu- 

 ing, pick up the device and hold it against the 

 entrance, and behold with considerable pleas- 

 ure that no tree is to be climbed or stings to be 

 induced. 



To construct the catcher, take 4 strips of 

 pine 4 feet long. X in. square; 3 strips 30 in. 

 long by M square; 3 strips 15 in. long by % 

 square; 2 strips 20 in. long, % square; 3 strips 



