1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



963 



succeeded in sending me three of his extra select 

 tested queens, witli which I am very much 

 pleased indeed. ^Eneas Walkek. 



Redland Bay, Queensland, Australia, Oct. SO. 



[A part of Mr. Michael's failure was due to 

 the fact that he did not send the queens so as 

 to be just in time to go on the steamer that 

 sailed direct. Those who send queens to the 

 islands of the sea should endeavor to deliver 

 their queens to the port on the day or day be- 

 fore the steamer is to sail. If you have no 

 means of ascertaining this, write and we will 

 let you know. INIi-. Doolittle's queens were sent 

 in our kind of cage, as per our instructions, and 

 went through in good order. It simply shows 

 that, if any one follows faithfully our method, 

 he will be "pretty apt to have success.] 



FOR THE FIVE-BANDED BEES. 



Ewing's experience with the five-banded bees. 

 as given in Gleanings, page 930, is just the re- 

 verse of mine. About two years ago I bought a 

 fine yellow queen of Mr. Hearn, and in due time 

 had a colony of the brightest yellow bees I had 

 •ever seen, and the only one among 100 that I 

 had the courage to open without smoke or veil. 

 I was so well pleased with these beauties that 

 it has been my qufeen-rearing colony ever since. 

 I do not really think there is any Cyprian blood 

 in this gentle mother. A. B. Baird. 



Belle Vernon. Pa., Dec. .5. 



[We are glad to get this testimony, friend B. 

 Although some of the five-banded bees have 

 been pretty strongly tinctured with Cyprian 

 blood, as we know by experience, not all of 

 them have been so. Those bred by Mr. G. M. 

 Doolittle and Mr. Hearn we know were bred by 

 selection from pure Italian blood.] 



BEE-KEEPING NOT ALL GOLD. 



I tell you, Mr. Root, bee-keeping is not all 

 gold. I had 6, spring count; increased, by buy- 

 ing one, to 11 stands. Honey I received was 

 about 30 lbs. — an average of 5 lbs. to a stand, 

 spring count. I have laid out between 50 and 

 60 dollars in cash. Will that pay to keep bees? 

 I look lorward for brighter days in bee-keeping. 

 John Slaubaugh. 



Eglon, W. Va.. Nov. 36. 



[Your bees will probably pay you better if 

 you give them more of a chance. No, indeed, 

 bee-keeping is not all gold; but it pays in gen- 

 eral as well as farming. There is a hue and 

 cry among certain classes that farming does not 

 pay, and the same may also be said of a great 

 many other rural industries; but that does not 

 prove that none of them ever pays.] 



TO sharpen shears. 



Friend Root: — Your directions for sharpen- 

 ing shears are excellent, and will put the shears 

 in first-class order, I know. The only trouble 

 with it is, that not more than one person in 

 fifty will take the trouble to fix them in that 

 way, but will use dull shears as before. To 

 sharpen shears in three minutes, put them in a 

 vise, and file the edge until the edge is wired 

 the whole length. This do to both blades. Now 

 carefully shut the shears, which will take the 

 wire off both blades, and leave them in the best 

 possible condition for cutting. Of course, the 

 rivet must be right, and the edges should touch 

 the whole length. C. W. Costellow. 



Waterboro, Me., Nov. 25. 



.JONES'S AVERAGES. 



Friend Root: — As you made a request some 

 time ago through Gleanings for me to make a 



report as to the daily average of my scale hive 

 during the basswood flow, and the average 

 amount taken per colony during the season, 

 also the number of colonies kept in the vicinity, 

 I herewith take the liberty of sending you the 

 amount gatluM'ed by my scale hive the past 

 three years, showing the daily gain, as well as 

 average gain, per day. and averagi^ amount per 

 colony, and the number of colonies kept in the 

 vicinity during each year. 



1891. 



Julv 12 12 lbs. 



'• 13 19 " 



'■ 14, too wet " 



" 15 12 " 



'• 16 24 " 



" 17 15 " 



" 18 21 " 



'• 19 16 " 



•• 20 17 " 



" 21 13 " 



Total for 9 days. 149 



Daily average. 16 lbs. This was not the end 

 of the flow, but I failed to keep the tally; 130 

 colonies in my yard, and over 200 within one 

 mile. Amount tJaken per colony, 83 lbs., all ex- 

 tracted. In each year my scale hive has con- 

 tained the much-abused hybrids. Score one for 

 the hybrids, even if they do sting. 



18i)0. 



July 12 14 lbs. 



'• 13 16 " 



" 14, full 8 '• 



" 15 15 " 



'• 16 20 " 



" 17 16 " 



" 18 15 " 



" 19 16 " 



'' 20 16 " 



" 21, full 8 " 



144 lbs. 



This colony swarmed; after, I kept no ac- 

 count of it. Daily average, 14^% lbs. per day; 

 100 colonies in my own yard, and 100 more with- 

 in one mile. Amount taken per colony, mostly 

 extracted, 80 lbs. These amounts were taken in 

 the time of basswood only. 



1889. 



The following daily record shows the amount 

 of honey gathered per day by one colony during 

 the basswood flow of honey for the year 1889: 



July 11 7 lbs. 



" 12 16 " 



" 13, too damp 4 " 



" 14 19 " 



" 15 203^ " 



" 16, lack of room... 10 " 



" 17 19 " 



• " 18 19 " 



" 19 26 " 



" 20 19 " 



" 21.. . . 22 " 



" 22'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'a^}4 " 



" 23 21 '• 



" 24 25 " 



" 26 9 " 



" 27 " 



Total, 250 lbs. 



Average. 16-^ lbs. per day. There were 275 

 colonies within half a mile of my bees; with 

 our own average amount taken per colony, 

 mostly comb honey. .52 lbs. F. B. Jones. 



Howard Lake, Minn., Dec. 4. 



