152 



(rLEANlN(;.S IN HEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 1. 



Hutchinson has a new pic Ui re of me. taken 

 in the enjoyment of good health. His pictures 

 ai-e ail right now, and are a very pleasant fea- 

 ture of his journal. As I look at the one of E. 

 Taylor, it seems as if he were just about to 

 make some droll remark, ending up with liis 

 inimitable drawl. 



Getting poli.en out of combs. Jlere's a 

 good way from Doolittle in :<tockman. .Shake 

 together" '.i qts. boiling water and 1 lb. honey. 

 Put in sprinkling-pot and sprinkle combs. 

 I^eave in warm room till fermentation throws 

 out most of the pollen. Rinse with warm water, 

 shake off water, and put in liives at night, one 

 comb in each strong colony. 



An AVERAGE CROP of houey— what is if? It 

 seems as though some one might find out what 

 has been the average per colony, the country 

 over, for the last ten years. But each one can 

 find out his own average for himself; and I 

 don't believe half the bee-keepers who say 

 "I've had an average crop" have any definite 

 idea of what they are talking about. 



Henderson, referring to the editorial remark 

 about "good sleighing." on page 6(1, wants to 

 know whether sleigliing hurts the honey-plants 

 in embryo, or whether the matter is with the 

 comb, or the secretion of wax. All wrong, Bro. 

 H. It's the weight of the snow that holds the 

 clover down, and makes it so dark it can't see 

 to throw up blossoms to be killed right in the 

 middle of winter. 



G. E. Tufts, Spring Bluff. Wis., says for sev- 

 eral winters he has, with very little loss, win- 

 tered bees much as I described in Gleanings. 

 He uses chaff instead of straw, which he thinks 

 better for their 40° below zero; lets the hives 

 drift under out of sight, and remain so all win- 

 ter. He doesn't take any special pains about 

 moving, and bees don't fight; and if they do mix 

 and equalize, what harm? 



Ceipping queens, the B. B. J. thinks, is a 

 cruel habit, and one which is dying out. Is it 

 any more cruel than many other things we do 

 for our own benefit with creatures under our 

 control? Of the hundreds of queens I have 

 clipped, I never saw one show any sign of suf- 

 fering, nor did I ever know it to check laying 

 in the least. As to the habit dying out, what 

 proof have you, dear B. B. J.-' 



I WISH you could all see that specimen of ar- 

 tificial honey-comb and comb honey they have 

 at Medina. The latter, except as to shape, 

 looks a good deal like a doughnut with sugar 

 sifted over it. only not so inviting. The empty 

 comb looks as though some little girls had 

 formed cups of wax over the end of a slate pen- 

 cil and set them together. But language fails 

 to describe it. You just ought to see it! 



I GOT an oil -stove. Delighted with it I — car- 

 ried it into any room, heat it up so easily foi' 

 almost nothing. Nice thing for bee-cellar. I 

 left the oil-stove in a closed bedroom three 

 hours, then went in with lamp. The blaze of 

 the lamp dropped right down. I then took the 

 lamp out into the hall, and the blaze came up 

 bright. I took the lamp back into the room- 

 blaze dropped; took oil-stove back to hardware 

 store. No more oil -stove for me. 



There's much in getting the knack of a 

 thing. I saw Ernest work a Daisy foundation- 

 fastener. I was delighted with its working. 

 Then I tried it. The thing balked. Then it 

 went all right for Ernest every time, but I 

 couldn't make it go. I don't think I'm stupid. 

 I'm only bashful. If he hadn't been watching 

 mel could have made the thing go. I'm going 

 to get one of my own, and learn. I don't pro- 

 pose to be outdone by a young ui)Start like 

 Ernest. 



JULIUS HOFFMAN, AND HIS 

 THE APIARY. 



HIS SHORT CUTS, AND UOW II 

 PAY. 



METHODS IN 



MAKES RKES 



During the long evenings that have interviMi- 

 ed since we described I\lr. Hoffman, his home, 

 his cellars, his ideas, and modes of wintering 

 bees, we trust you have giasped the salient 

 points and can apply them to your own prac- 

 tice. True, if you live in a mild climate, or use 

 a very different hive, you may fail to get much 

 benefit fjom the experience of Mr. H. If so, 

 this article may prove more interesting. 



After much "study and observation Mr. H. 

 adopts the following arrangement of hives in 

 his apiaries. 



D 

 D 



D 

 D 



D 

 D 



n 

 n 



n 

 n 



■DQ -nn- -an- -an- 



-DD- -DD- -DD- -aO- 



As the bees fly from so many directions, there 

 is much less mixing up than when all face the 

 same way. By reference to the engraving in 

 Gleanings for Feb. 1, page 90, you see the 

 covers are flat; hence, by setting the hives in 

 pairs one makes a convenient stand for the 

 smoker, etc.. while the other is being operated 

 upon. 



The stand upon which each hive rests is sim- 

 ply two pieces of 2x4 scantling. To one end of 

 each a board 4 inches wide is nailed. Over the 

 edge of this, and extending over the two sills, a 

 board about five inches wide is fastened. This 

 is the alighting-board; and when the ground is 

 smooth and level, bees can not get under the 

 hive. A glance at the engraving referred to 

 will make all plain. 



Hy way of paienthesis. we told Mr. Hoff'man, 

 and state here for the benefitof the reader, that, 

 if all these pieces are well soaked with crude pe- 

 troleum before being nailed together, they will 

 last more than twice as long as though simply 

 painted or left unprotected. Crude petroleum 

 costs very little; and when its merits as a wood- 

 preserver are generally known it will be largely 

 used. 



Mr. Hoffman's hive is 14 inches deep, lny^ 

 long, and ll}4 wide, made of K pine. A rabbet, 

 about I4 incli deep and ^% wide, is cut into the 

 long pieces, hence the frames are even with the 

 top, and extend across the hive. The bottom is 

 nailed on, making a strong box not easily 

 racked out of shape. About % of an inch from 

 the upper edge a rim of ^s strips is nailed 

 around. This supports the cover, the upper 

 story when extracting, or the sui'plus box 

 honey-case. Half the thickness of the upper 

 edge of this rim is beveled down to prevent rain 

 from woi'king in. 



We said, " Mr. Hoffman, why don't you rab- 

 bet the covers, and dispense with this rim, and 

 cut handles into the hives to carry them by?" 



He replied, "That would retard in handling 

 and carrying the hives, and would cause loss of 

 time in the busy season." 



Mr. H. stated that, for some years, his chief 

 study is to shorten methods and dispense with 

 loose pieces, and reduce the manipulation to a 



