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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



A SUGGESTIOXrTO QUEEN-BREEDERS. 



Three and five banded queens are now being 

 advertised quite extensively, both being listed 

 at the same price. The prolDabilities are that 

 the so-called five-banded queens, if untested, 

 will show in their workers three and not more 

 than four bands — the five-banded bee being the 

 exception. Is it not a misnomer to call queens 

 three and five banded? It is not the queens. 

 but the hees they produce, that are supposed to 

 bear the three and five bands. The reason we 

 speak of it is because we have one quite serious 

 complaint from a customer who had sent for a 

 five-banded queen from one of our advertisers, 

 and received a queen that was not banded at 

 all. We tried to explain the matter to him, 

 saying that the name applied, not to the queen, 

 but to the bees. But the customer would not 

 be satisfied, and blamed us for accepting adver- 

 tisements that do not read as they mean. 



THE DETROIT EXPOSITION, AND OUR OPINION 

 OF THE HONEY DISPLAY. 



In our bicycle tour we did not go very far 

 into the heart of Michigan — that is, no further 

 than Detroit. We there had the pleasure of 

 meeting a number of prominent bee-keepers — 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, of the Revietv; M. H. Hunt, 

 of Bell Branch, near Detroit; H. D. Cutting, of 

 Clinton. Superintendent of the Honey Depart- 

 ment; J. H. Larrabee, of Lansing; the Boyden 

 Bros., J. H. and A. L., of Saline, Mich.; and 

 last, but not least. Dr. A. B. Mason, of Auburn- 

 dale, O., who followed us the next day after our 

 arrival. We believe we have often said that 

 the best thing about conventions, for us, is the 

 " between-session " feature, when there is an 

 opportunity for visiting with bee-keepers face 

 to face. This was one of the pleasures we had 

 at the exposition, around the honey department. 



The honey exhibits were something unusually 

 fine. That of M. H. Hunt was not only exten- 

 sive but unique. It would be simply impossible 

 to give any adequate description of this or the 

 other exhibits. The novel feature of Mr. 

 Hunt's display was a booth, set off with sheets 

 of beautiful foundation, cakes of wax, and cases 

 of honey. The booth proper covered a floor 

 space of 8x32 feet, and was 14 feet high at the 

 archway, and the entire exhibit comprised the 

 length of 64 feet. The floor of the booth was 

 nicely carpeted, and there were such things as 

 a lounge, easy-chairs, and other conveniences 

 of the home. After our bicycle-tour of some 75 

 miles in the last few hours, the aforesaid lounge 

 was highly acceptable. We were covered with 

 dust, and our knickerbockers were torn quite 

 badly as the result of a fracas with a dog. Mr. 

 Hunt kindly dusted us off, and, later in the 

 day, showed himself to be quite an adept with 

 the needle and thread — articles which brother 

 Hutchinson kindly furnished. Our suit was of 

 a dark blue, and the thread white; but Mr. 

 Hunt skillfully concealed the white stitches. 



The honey exhibits of Mr. Hutchinson and of 

 the Boyden Bros, were also beautiful and unique 

 in their way; and Mr. Larrabee, the judge, had 

 a hard task before him — one which we did not 

 envy him at all. There were but few exhibits 

 at the exposition that excelled in beauty of de- 

 sign, and in size, the exhibits of honey, as a 

 whole: and the educational effect must be 

 tremendous in the State of Michigan. It is a 

 pity that other States as a rule do not do as 

 well. 



There, now, we have given the first and the 

 last part of our bicycle-tour. We were afraid 

 that, if we omitted to tell of the Detroit exposi- 

 tion, the matter might become a little too stale 

 for our next issue. 



NEW KIND OF BATTERY FOR IMBEDDING WIRES: 

 DESCRIPTION BY RICHARD M. LEWIS. 



Some time ago we received a short letter and 

 a drawing, descriptive of a new kind of battery 

 for imbedding wires into foundation. As its 

 form seemed to be simple, and cost of main- 

 tenance small, we wrote to the writer, asking 

 for a descriptive article for Gleanings, at the 

 same time furnishing a print of an engraving 

 we had made. The following is his reply: 



Mr. Rixit: — Tour letter of the second inst. was 

 duly received. The eng-raving- of the battery is 

 excellent. This battery is adapted either for open 

 or closed circuit work, and will not i-equire replen- 

 ishing- for several months, as there is no action 

 except wlien the current is turned on. It has been 

 used successfully in electro-platinfj: and electric 

 lighting- on a small scale. The cell, or jar, being 

 made of cast iron, serves as one of the plates of the 

 battery. It is much heavier than the glass cell, 

 which is compensated for by its non-liability to 

 breakage. 



Referring- to tlie cut, I calculated to have tlie 

 parts come in numerical order, but notice that No. 

 7 has been omitted, therefore I will apjily No. 7 to 

 the iron jar. No. 1 is a saturated solution of caustic 

 potash, nearly tilling- tlie jar, and completely cover- 

 ing No. 2. No. 2 is the zinc element, formed of a 

 plate bent spirally. No. 3 is a small tube of liard 

 rubber, or a goose-quill would answer, for vent for 

 accumulating gases. No. 4 is a cork, preferably of 

 rubber. An ordinary cork will answer, but the 

 acids are likely to,eat it away in time. No. 7 is the 

 iron jar (but not numbered in cut). No. 6 is a brass 



NEW BATTERY K( )K IMBKDDI.XG FOUNDATION-WIRES. 



rod resting- on the zinc element (No. 2), acting as a 

 conductor. Parts not numbered are the lug- shown 

 on jar, with thumbscrew inserted, and is a con- 

 ductor from the iron element. In the bottom of 

 the jar is a tliin layer of black o.xide of copper. No. 

 .5. I think this takes in all the parts. 



Now in regard to this being a constant battery, 

 as you term it. Of course, it will lose its strength 

 to some extent with very hard usag-e; that is to say, 

 by using it to its full capacitj-; but it will recuper- 

 ate its strength by gi^^ng it a rest. In regard to 

 the cost of maintenance as compared ^vith the 

 bichromate battery, I will say that, after once 

 charging, it will not require replenishing for sev- 

 eral montlis, with ordinary usage. A battery of 

 this description, made on a large scale, say nine to 

 ten inches in diameter, will yield a current of 8 

 amperes, while the smaller one, same as cut, yields 

 two. The E. M . F. is one volt. It is not necessary 

 to amalganiate the zincs in this class of battery. 



It is my o])iiii()n, tliat this battei-y will answer the 

 purpose of tlif bee-keeper for imbedding wires, and 

 be much handier and more cleanly than the plung- 

 ing- battery, as it is not necessary to remove the 

 zinc from the solution each time after using it, and 



