2.U 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apbii- 1. 



uously cold weathor. with scarcely a day for 

 flight, since about the middle of December. 

 March, instead of coming in like a lamb, as it 

 usually does with us. and allowing brood-rear- 

 ing to get well under way. and finally going out 

 like a lion, chilling the brood and giving the 

 bees a bad setback, t/iis year came in like a 

 lion; and from present appearances it is going 

 out like a lamb. The re.snll is, we discover no 

 traces of brood-rearing, and colonies have not 

 been obliged, therefore, to disperse their strength 

 and heat by trying to cover brood. Our Mai'ch 

 weather has been most favorable in that it was 

 extremely cold— hanging around the zero-mark. 



AGAINST AKTIFICIAI, SUBSTITUTES FOK POL- 

 LEX, SUCH AS MEAL. FOR STIMULATING 

 BROOD-HEARING. 



Our apiarist asked us whether he should put 

 out any artificial substitutes for pollen, such as 

 meal. We replied that we should rather not, 

 and he readily agreed. It is desirable to have 

 early brood-rearing for the early honey crop, 

 but it is bad to have it get well under way too 

 early in the season, and then have it killed by 

 a cold snap. With our present light we do not 

 care to encourage brood-rearing before the 

 advent of settled warm weather, and therefore 

 pollen from natural sources, such as soft maples, 

 comes in just about the right time. 



Times are changing. Two or three years ago 

 self-spacing frames were iTOt considered practi- 

 cal, and the I'eversing features of the latest hon- 

 ey-extractors were regarded as just so much 

 surplus machinery. But bee-keepers are think- 

 ing differently now. Honey is being produced 

 on larger scales, and better and more rajudly 

 operated appliances are demanded; and these 

 things come of necessity. While we welcome 

 these improvements we should be careful not 

 to chase after every "new fad." 



The following, fi'om the Auierlcdn Bee Jour- 

 nal, gives iust the information that many are 

 seeking: 



I see in tlie Home JouruaJ. pajre H.5, that space at 

 tlie World's Fair must be appHed for on or l)cft)rt' 

 July 1, 1893. I would sug-gest that you give plain 

 directions as to wliom to apply, and the expense of 

 space, in tlie American Bee Jnuriuil and Home Jour- 

 nal, and oblige your Manv FKiENoe. 



The editor replies: 



Apply to Mr. W. I. Bucluuiaii, Kand-MeNally 

 Building-, Chicago, 111. There is no charge for space. 

 Until a superintendent is appointed for the Api- 

 arian Department, nothing' definite can be arranged. 



ADILTERATEI) EXTRACTED HONEY, AGAIN. 



The adulterated-honey matter is not dropped 

 by any manner of means. We are still col- 

 lecting evidence, and an attorney's advice has 

 been sought in one of the neighboring cities. 

 When the right time comes we propose to make 

 a move. We may not be able to accomplish 

 much, but it will not be from lack of (>fTort on 

 our part if we do fail. In the meantime it is to 

 the interest of every honest bee-keeper to see 

 that adulteration of honey is stopped right in 

 his own vicinity. The State and local bee- 

 keepers" societies are the proper ones to make 

 the fight. What are our societies good for if they 

 can't do something of this kind? But for good- 

 ness' sake don't go and make a great furor and 

 false alarm until you are morally certain that 

 honey i.S' adulterated in your locality. 



Many of the mixers will be " scared " if you 

 only let them know in a quiet way, that, as an 

 organized body of bee-keepers, you propose to 

 make an ejfort against them. If you can scare 

 them into putting only pure honey on the 

 market, you have accomplished your object 

 without further warfare. This is no idle talk, 



for one firm with whom we have had correspon- 

 dence relative to their adulterating honey, and 

 what we proposed to do — well, we imagine are 

 just a '■ leetle scared." The fact is, they know 

 the law in thcii- State is pretty strict, and that 

 we mean business . 



THE EDISON riloNOGRAPH. 



It is really true, dear friends, that one of 

 these wonderful machines is already in our of- 

 fice. In fact, I am just now dictating this, my 

 first effort, with the machine. Well did our 

 good friend Falconer say that it seemed like 

 sitting down to one of tlie buzz-saws and talk- 

 ing to the machine It is noontime in the factory, 

 and the hands have just been round the instru- 

 ment listening to some beautiful pieces of music 

 which were kindly sent with the machine to us. 

 When the announcement uf the piece is made it 

 really seems as if we could be with the speaker 

 as he stood before a sea of faces in some vast 

 audience. He raises his voice, and. with the 

 inspiration natural under such circumstances, 

 he introduces the melody. Then we can see 

 the band of musicians, each one taking up his 

 instrnment to do his level best, and here we 

 have it away back in Medina, with a crowd of 

 listeners all around us listening to these soul- 

 inspiring strains. One of the pieces is a whist- 

 ling piece, and the happy melody of the whistler 

 is so infectious as to get hold of each one of us. 

 Some of the old. staid, gray-headed ones, almost 

 seemed inclined to begin to swing their hats, 

 and skip about. By the aid of a large black- 

 horn the sound of the voices and instruments 

 are plain enough so they may be heard all over 

 the room. In fact, while we sit at our tasks 

 several feet off from the instrument we can hear 

 the melody of the pieces. I have so far occu- 

 pied about half of one of the cylinders. After 

 it is talked all over (or ivrlttoi all over, which- 

 ever you would call it) it can be turned off by 

 an appropriate machine, and then we can write 

 it over again. Each cylinder is capable of be- 

 ing turned off from 50 toiiO times. To hear fa- 

 miliar voices uttered so lifelike and plainly 

 from the instrument seems something even 

 more wonderful than any of the tales of the 

 Arabian Nights. But here it is a startling and 

 tangible reality; and one holds his breath, as it 

 were, while he stops to think what is coming 

 next. Who knows but the time may be near at 

 hand when the editor of Gleanings will be 

 able to speak in his own natural voice to his 

 10,0(Xj readers? May God help us to make good 

 use of the opportunities that lie about us during 

 this 19th century. 



As I brush the dust from the cylinder and no- 

 tice the indentations produced by my voice, it 

 seems absolutely wonderful that liuman inge- 

 nuity has been enabled to make use of these mi- 

 croscopic indentations; and yet it is indeed true: 

 for when, by a little modification of the instru- 

 ment, it is made to speak back tome the words I 

 have been speaking, they are even plainer than 

 I ordinarily utter them; and even tue sound of 

 my breathing has been faithfully recorded. 



The great value of the instrument in a busi- 

 ness point of view is this: The business man 

 may at night, whenever he has leisure, or when- 

 ever he/ect.s like it, talk his messages that are 

 to be made known to the world, to the machine; 

 and after this, when it may be convenient an oj)- 

 erator, not necessarily a shorthand writ(>r orone 

 particularly skilled, may take the machine 

 and simply transcribe what is spoken to him as 

 plainly as his employer would speak to him if 

 he were constantly by his side. Nay, he can 

 make it speak it over and over as many times as 

 he wishes, and he can then, at his own leisure, 

 write up the letters. As the machine has .sinews 

 of steel and brains of lightning it is not expect- 



