274 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'KII. If). 



astrous winter mortality in his locality; from 

 selling honey at 10 cts. instead of 15 ets., caused 

 by a free use of H. it H. methods or other 

 causes: from having his range overstocked, 

 thereby reducing his average from fifty to thir- 

 ty pounds per colony, and depreciating his plant 

 in like proportion: by expense of changing his 

 Heddon hive and fixtures to some hive better 

 adapted to the Funic (or ^;)is dorsiUfO bee: and 

 from other unexpected and unavoidable causes. 



So far as my observations extend among good 

 bee-keepers, the margin of proKt is small, 

 although the exjjense account is usually very 

 carefully looked afte'-. I am. therefore, in the 

 fullest sympathy with any effort to ascertain 

 actual cost and to cheapen production: and 

 because a knowledge of the former would be an 

 efficient educator to that very large number who 

 now pi'odnce honey at a loss, while a soluticm of 

 the lattei- is ti-uly the "'sheet anchor" of the 

 specialist. 



I wish to assure the readers of Gi,kanings 

 that I hold Messrs. Taylor, Hilton, and Hutch- 

 inson in very high esteem as men and bee-keep- 

 ers, and that any criticism I have made applies 

 only to their method of approaching the solu- 

 tion of this question, which I hold lo be unwise: 

 and, coming from the sources it does, it is in- 

 jurious to our markets. As the editor has truly 

 said. '■ We can not talk prices up." but we can 

 easily talk them down. P. H. Eiavood. 



Starkville. N. Y., March •.'(). 



[The above would hav(! apjjeared in our issue 

 for Apr. 1, as announced; but on account of the 

 sickness of Mr. Elwood it did not reach here in 

 time for that number. The discussion has now 

 been well balanced up. both sides being well 

 represented: and for the present we deem it 

 best to have it closed, since the arguments have 

 been made with different standpoints and with 

 different ideas as to what constitutes cost. 



Although Doolittle's side has had " the last 

 say." it may be a little comforting to fother 

 side to know that we are still on their side of 

 the fence. Taylor argues on the possibilities 

 and actual necessary expenses, and not on av- 

 erage results as obtained by the average bee- 

 keeper. As we view it. if there is a possibility 

 of reducing the cost of a ixiund of honey we 

 ought to grab at the least straw: in othei' 

 words, that which is in the range of possibili- 

 ties may be made to become an actual achieve- 

 ment. Therefore is it not pertinent to look well 

 to what are necessary and what are unneces- 

 sary expenses? // we can cut off the unneces- 

 sary outlays, is there; not a strong probability 

 that Taylor's figures may be some day realized? 

 Although we are supply-dealers, we ought to 

 say, in all frankness, that it is the biggest piece 

 of folly for bee-keepers to throw aside too hastily 

 th(! old and adopt the new. This has been done 

 a great deal, and it counts pretty heavy in the 

 cost of producing honey. Nor is this inconsis- 

 tent with what we have already said in these 

 columns. We have; repeatedly advised hee- 

 keepers not to cast aside their old loose fi-am(;s 

 all at once, and adopt what we feel suir is bet- 

 ter — self-spacing frames. The change should 

 he made gradually, and that, too. on the assump- 

 tion that the trial of a few justifies the intro- 

 duction of more. WHiat we have advised and 

 still advise is this: Wlien you iieaJ more frames, 

 get the latest self-spaciiig. Taking the whole 

 thing in a nutshell, Messrs. Doolittleand Elwood 

 have argued on the actual results attained by 

 bee-keepers: Mr. Taylor, for what might be at- 

 tained, putting it, as it seemed to us. in the 

 range of possibility. Taking the whole discus- 

 sion, even if we are more on the side of Mr. 

 Taylor, we find we have at least an arm and 

 one foot over cm Doolittle's side of the fence, 



and it is very possible that a few months or few 

 years later will draw us clear over, coat-tails 

 and all. Mr. Elwood touches (m an important 

 matter: viz.. w(> can not talk up prices, but we 

 can easily talk *em down. The impression 

 should not go abroad that the average bee- 

 keeper realizes in sales double on the cost of 

 his honey, for these are not the facts. If the 

 middlemen think bee-keepers as a whole are 

 making 100 per cent on their investments they 

 are going to work a scheme to get a part of the 

 per cent. No, let us clearly understand what 

 are. facts and what are possibilities. If we pro- 

 duce comb honey mnv at, say, 8 or lOc per pound 

 (it never ought to cost 15c for the average sea- 

 son) perhaps in the future if we look well to 

 possibilities we may produce it for 5c per lb.] 



MANUM AND HIS NEIGHBOR. 



CONTINUED. 



"Manum, at what stage of advancement do 

 you prefer to remove the queens?"' 



"Well. Charles, usually on the first discovery 

 of eggs in the queen-cells. Last year I removed 

 a few on the 28th of May. and by June 17th all 

 were remov(>d. I sometimes take out queens 

 from such as are full of Ijees and brood, even if 

 there is no sign of swarming, in order to save 

 hunting for the queens later on. The most 

 tedious, tiresome work I have to do is hunting 

 out queens in these full colonies. Where I have 

 to work at it all day there is more work than 

 pleasure in it." 



"I believe you experimented in caging the 

 queens in the sections, and leaving them on the 

 hive where the bees could have access to them, 

 did you not?" 



" Yes: I tried it to some extent, but I can not 

 give a favorable report yet. I want to try it 

 another .season before I can decide. In some 

 instances it worked successfully, while in many 

 others it was a failure. I believe, liowevei', 

 that the plan can be made a success if the 

 queens are liberated at just the right tune; but 

 I have not as yet discovered jiixt when the right 

 time is." 



" What are the disadvantages to this plan, if 

 there are any?" 



"In the first place, I believe it is an injury to 

 the queens, when confined from 8 to \'.i days 

 where they can not lay eggs. This sudden 

 check from laying, which is contiary to theii' 

 nature at this s(>ason. seems to be an injury 

 from which they do not seem to recover, be- 

 cause, when liberated and not rejected (which 

 is often the case), they will lay eggs here and 

 there all through the hive, and then swarm. 

 But I find that, where they have been cased 

 but 5 to 8 days, they behave much better; hence 

 I am in hopes yet to mak(> this plan a success. 

 Charles, there are so many things about this 

 bee-business that I don't understand, that I 

 begin to think I never shall know it all." 



•■ Did you think the bees worked any bet- 

 ter where the queens were caged than where 

 they were removed entirely?" 



"No; I could not see that they did." 



'"Then what would be the; advantages liy 

 caging, over the removal of queens?" 



" Well, where one does not sell his yearling 

 queens it saves introducing new ones, as these 

 are already introduced; and I fancied where 

 there was a laying queen present they were not 

 as liable to start queen-cells as where no queen 

 was i)resent; however, they did in some cases 

 start cells fully as soon, and as many of them." 



"Now. Manum, what would you advise me to 

 do, should I decide to run my two apiaries alone 

 — to remove the queens entirely, or cage them?" 



