520 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



Its h'aling properties are great. Homy for 

 ages was the only sweet used; and its useful 

 ness was well realized. At present its use lias 

 been too much superseded by that of sugar and 

 the vile giucoso syrups sold at the groceries, 

 and bought by people wh j Ihinic it cheap, when 

 in fact it is d. ar if health is at all considered. 

 The people must be educated, and bee-keepers 

 have this work to do if it is done; and it must 

 bi\ as with our incr^ ase in production we as 

 apiarists will see low. r prico> than we have 

 yet, and we all know now, counting the sea- 

 sons as they conae, that it is hard work to make 

 ends meet at the end of the year. 



In looking back over past years 1 can not but 

 think of former prices and those prevailing at 

 pres nt. Comb honey I readily sold at 25 cents 

 per pound in 25-pound boxes; later, in two- 

 pound sections, 20 cents. These prices were for 

 100 lbs. or over. Our fir t extracted honey sold 

 at wholesale at 20, 18, and 15 cts. per lb.; and 

 later it has been going lower and lower. Now, 

 what can we do to help ourselves? I think 

 we must all work to increase the consumption 

 of our honey, and unite as one man in a noble 

 effort to stop the infamous adulteration of it, 

 and all enemies who rob us of our legitimate 

 and deserved rights should be thoroi;ghly dealt 

 with. 



I have been among bees since I can first re- 

 member, and personally engaged in the bee 

 business 39 years, and I have not in the past 

 known of a time when energy, push, and unit- 

 ed effort were so much needed as now— energy 

 in educating the people; push, to sell our honey 

 for the best price possible under present condi- 

 tions; united effort in bringing adulterators 

 and thieving commission firms to justice. In 

 fact, our whole business of the disposal of our 

 honey in distant markets needs systematizing — 

 not in one section, but over the whole country. 

 More money has been lost by bee-keepers 

 through commission frauds during the past 

 year than ever before. Bee-keepers, many of 

 them, ha^e shown lack of judgment in ship- 

 ping to unknown parties, or those condemned 

 by some of our bee-journals. I too have been 

 caught by a few of them, and lost over $150, 

 but not for the few years just past. 



There is no lack of work for us to do, and we 

 should act for our just rights and best interests 

 as a band of brothers. 



Milledgeville, 111. 



[The way to educate the masses as to the 

 value of honey as a food and medicine is to 

 supply your customers with honey-leaflets. 

 They should be distributed freely, and along 

 with them should be a circular or card, to the 

 effect that you or some local grocer has the 

 honey for sale. And, by the way. I would see 

 that the grocers are all supplied with honey- 

 leaflets to distribute to their cnstomers. In- 

 struct them to wrap a leaflet in every package 

 of honey that they put up; and if they read 

 the leaflet, in all probability they will want to 

 buy more. — Ed.] 



THE HOUSE APIARY. 



ANOTHER HOUSE -APIARY ON THE PLAN OP 

 THAT USED BY F. A. SALISBURY. 



By Dr. J. Q. Mulford. 



After reading friend Salisbury's article, page 

 662. 1895, 1 immediately contracted the house- 

 apiary fever; but the bees had done so poorly 

 for the two previous seasons that I did not feel 

 like adding on the extra expense. In riding by 

 the Shakers, a sect that live some two miles 

 west, I noticed an old bee-house in which 1 had 

 done some work in transferring some two years 

 before, and I remember of thinking at the time 

 how foolish in them to keep bees in a house. I 

 was over the fence in a jiffy, and the first thing 

 that attracted my attention was the en- 

 trance of those old box hives painted different 

 colors, a la Salisbury. Instantly the thought 

 came, "If I had been observant when I was 

 working there, instead of feeling in a ridiculing 

 mood, I might have been the first to tell the 

 bee-keeping fraternity that bees do distinguish 

 color. 



I at once made some inquiry concerning the 

 bee-keeper, but was informed that some ten 

 years had elapsed since he had been heard of; 

 but the house had been built 20 years before on 

 the same plan as friend Salisbury's, excepting 

 it is not quite so high, and is only 8 feet wide 

 and 30 feet long. 1 hope no one will accuse me 

 of trying to rob friend S. of the priority of 

 making the house-apiary a success. I am only 

 anxious to show that there is nothing new in 

 the plan. 



I hunted up the old doctor who had charge 

 of affairs; and as he wanted strawberry-plants 

 as much as I needed the bee-house, we soon 

 made a trade. I put the house on trucks, and 

 moved it home. The first question that 

 troubled me was, which way to set it— east and 

 west or north and south. After puzzling over 

 the question for some time I decided on north- 

 west and southeast. The next question that 

 troubled me was, how to get the bees into the 

 house. I left them on their summer stands un- 

 til they had been confined there some three 

 weeks by a cold spell, then moved them in. I 

 am sure quite a number were lost during the 

 first flight; but after that they seemed to get 

 their hives all right. I am highly pleased with 

 the house, and find the feeding-arrangement 

 one of the handiest I have ever seen. 



For spring I like best to take the can of 

 syrup and walk along and pour the grooves 

 full. You will be surprised at the amount 

 those grooves will hold. 



I am quite sure that a ventilated bottom is as 

 great an invention as the feeder. I did not get 

 all the new bottoms on when I moved the bees 

 in; and during one of our very warm days I 

 noticed the bees of one colony were hanging 

 around the front of the hive, and were fanning 



