18lfJ 



(;lkanin(;s in hiok cui/ruKK. 



421 



t4'Stify to their worth. l'id|iolis is one thiiii; 

 tliat Ikm's tfiulu'f here iit';iil\ nil tin' yaw. Tin'V 

 trciiui'iitiv covi'i- every eraciv. joint. »iiiilt. and 

 lill rabbets full, hilt liuv(> never yet lilled holes 

 in exi'linh'r. Often. framt>s aresosliu-k that a 

 lever has to be tistMl to starf them. 



In IS'.Kl 1 fiot .'ii> exi'lniiers. to try them. Next 

 year 1 liatl 4(1 in the home yard, and .'!.'". in an 

 ontapiary for another party. I have always 

 left thom on all tlie year. Last year I got nearly 

 ■.'(HI lbs. from several colonies that tlie excltidcM's 

 had been on a year. This year I liave taken 

 nearly 1(X) pounds from several that the exclud- 

 ers have been on two years ; some of them 

 havi- a part of the lioles IIIIchI with wax. but 

 not enonjrh to interfere any. It is a nice thing 

 to know tliat tlie top is full of honey, not lialf 

 full of brood. I am inclined to tliink excluders 

 discourage swarming; but why. I do not know. 



Our orange bloom was killed by frost, and 

 early bloom greatly injured: yc^t several colo- 

 nies" have tilled a set of 10 combs, and built and 

 tilled a set of 10 frames of comb— no foundation 

 —besides. Our best flow is just commencing. 

 Some seem to prefer the black bees; but the 

 ■•golden" is good enough for me, and so gentle. 



Port Orange. Fla.. May 11. J. B. Case. 



VINDICTIVE ITXICS. 



Last winter I brought my Punic stock from 

 Illinois to this place, where 1 am now located. 

 They cam(> through all right; and I must say, 

 that, just as I was getting ready to prevent the 

 issue of swarming, behold, when I came to look 

 at them they had evidently taken a few days 

 tlie start of me. and my §5.00 Punic that I pur- 

 chased of Pratt was to be seen no more. She 

 was an extra tine queen, and left behind at 

 least 1.50 queen-cells. As one would emerge 

 from her cell she would run like mad; and, al- 

 low me to say. all this took place the latter 

 part of March; and last, but not least, they are 

 the most vindictive of any bees I ever handled. 



Bakersfield, Cal.. April 19. F. D. Lowe. 



[We do not quite understand. Do you mean 

 the progeny of the Punic queen you lost, or that 

 from the queens you raised from hei- were the 

 most vindictive of "any you ever handled ?] 



A JOHNNV-CAKE BEE-FEEDER. 



Bees in these parts are wintering finely, on 

 the average. The outlook for a good year com- 

 ing was never better. A new bee-feeder has 

 come to the front, or is coming. A friend of 

 mini' having 150 colonies of bees has a feeder 

 that is new to me. Perhaps you have seen one; 

 if it is not new. he doesn't want to waste money 

 in getting a patent. He bakes johnny-cake.s, 3 

 inches thick; splits them in the middle; soaks 

 with sugar syrup: puts in front of hives, and 

 the bees carry off syruj). johnny-cake, and all, 

 into their hives. I should like your opinion of 

 this feeder. It is possible he has the kind of 

 be(!S Dr. Miller or some one else saw carrying 

 ofT the raisins. Rkv. .I.vmes Andrews. 



Pved House. N. Y., .March 7. 



I We must certainly give your friend credit 

 for originality; and whether or not the idea is 

 patentable need not be discussed. We have no 

 doubt but that it will work perfectly.] 



upward VENTILATION IN THE CELLAR. 



There has been much said in Gleanings in 

 regard to ventilating hives, by the best bee- 

 mtm, and they do not si'em to agree in all re- 

 spects; and now I wish to tell what I saw this 

 spring. Quite early this spring we were com- 

 pelled to take our bees out of the cellar. It was 

 warm and they were uneasy, and some were 



dying, and there was no good way to ventilate 

 the cellar; the result is, we ha\'e 7 colonies left, 

 out of :.'('. last fall. 1 went to friend A. .1. Tib- 

 bits for a little advice, and he said if I had come; 

 to him in the fall he could hav(> helped me. 

 lie then led u\o to his cellar, and truly I never 

 saw a tiner sight -nearly :.'00 colonies with cov- 

 ers all olT. with a piece of loose sacking snread 

 on the hi\e; over this a strip of lath, tnen a 

 hive on that, and only the loose cloth on the 

 top hiv(>s. and th(> bees all (luit't. But there is 

 no doubt that his cellars are as good as can be 

 found. Tlu^y are built in a dry sandbank, with 

 '.'0 or moi'e feet fall below the cellar bottom, and 

 are lined with iilank. They ar(^ dry and frost- 

 proof. On the w hole, brother T. is a successful 

 bee-keeper, and a good Christian man; and now 

 will Gleanings tell us why so many bee-keep- 

 ers speak the language of Canaan ? 

 Weston, Wis., April 29. J. C. Staysa. 



T11I<: EXPERIENCE OK THE M.\N WHO TRIES TO 

 MAKE HIS OWN HIVES. 



You remember I bought a lot of frames, sec- 

 tions, and section-holders of you some time ago. 

 I made a big mistake by not buying the bodies 

 and supers at the same time; and if you and 

 the good Lord will overlook that little miscalcu- 

 lation I will not do so again. I have made ten 

 bodies, and am tired and ashamed of the job; 

 so I want an estimate on 10 bodies, 20 supers, 

 and 1.50 wood separators; and hereafter I will 

 order all at once. I have 15 colonies, all in good 

 condition. D. H. Weijr. 



Artemns, Ky., April 20. 



•' ONE OR TWO AVARM DAYS, ETC." 



In Gleanings, page 2,50, you have me stand- 

 ing lop-sided— need a little bracing up. Would 

 you advise wearing corsets ? Dr. Miller's Stray 

 Straws must be for the land of blizzards. He 

 says, " Don't be fooled by one or two warm days 

 into bringing your bees out of the cellar too 

 soon," etc. Here they are swarming every day, 

 and have been for two weeks. 



Wm. Stevenson. 



Pasadena, Cal., April, 1892. 



[No. no. dear friend — don't wear corsets. You 

 must not lay the blame on the Kodak, for its 

 mission is only to take things as it finds them. 

 May be you were a little tired after your long 

 tramp. We hope Dr. Miller will take notice 

 that everybody who reads Gleanings does not 

 live in a land of blizzards.] A. I. R. 



DRY IN FLORIDA. 



I am putting on section boxes, but I don't 

 look for much honey this season. It has been 

 too dry. The bloom could not opi'u; no rain 

 since .January till this morning. I am in a 

 good locality for honey— 100 to 1.50 lbs. to the 

 hive, the most of it the whitest comb honey I 

 ever saw. Joseph Baker. 



Sopchoppy, Fla., May 11. 



[.Send a little of your drouth up North, if you 

 have any to spare. We've got too much wet.] 



RAD WEATHER FOR REES IN OREGON. 



There have been but a few days for the last 

 six weeks when bees worked to amount to any 

 tiling. It has rained and rained, and has been 

 very cold. There was ice last night }4 inch 

 thick, but it has cleared off' to-day, and the 

 bees are working finely. I have 30 stands. I 

 lost only two last winter. Thc^y had old queens, 

 and (lied. I don't think we shall have much of 



a honey crop here this season 

 Wilhoit, Ore., May 9. 



Henry Russell. 



