1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUIvTURE. 



425 



not be out any thing, for what we feed the 

 bees makes them put the same amount in the 

 surphis, and practically makes us a gainer in- 

 stead of a loser, if we get for comb honey 8 

 cents per lb., and feed for 4 '-4 cents. I do not 

 mean to feed them to have them put the same 

 feed into the siirplus, but the feed goes into 

 the hive-body, and fills up the vacant room ; 

 and when the flow comes they put into the 

 surplus what they would have put into the 

 hive-bod}' if they had not been fed ; and if we 

 can get the hive-body filled by feeding we can 

 get them to put into the surplus the whole 

 amount they gather. 



Some may think that, by feeding, they will 

 fill the brood-nest and crowd the queen ; but 

 if there is a flow of honey, and surplus room 

 to store it, they will give the queen abundant 

 room for laying. 



Gallupville, N. Y. 



[The feeder mentioned by friend Boomhow- 

 er is the same in principle as the Boardman, 

 with this difference, that Mr. Boomhower 

 punches holes in the cap, and Mr Boardman 

 uses the Hains idea; namely, letting the cap 

 down into a shallow tray. Having tried both 

 methods, we prefer the Hains plan. 



The subject of feeding and feeders may 

 seem a little out of date at this time of year; 

 but in many localities I believe feeding can be 

 practiced to good advantage. In some cases 

 colonies run almost from hand to mouth for 

 .stores. They are then liable to cut down on 

 brood-rearing. If, on the other hand, they 

 are fed a little every day, the hive will be 

 filled with brood, and the brood-nest with 

 honey or syrup, as the case may be. When 

 the harvest comes on, the best and choicest 

 honey necessarily has to go into the supers, 

 because there is no other place to store it; 

 and, moreover, there is a big force of young 

 bees, or ought to be, ready for the fields. 

 Without this extra feeding the colony in ques- 

 tion might have been only half as strong, and 

 ill prepared for a flow of honey. — Ed.] 



SMOKER FUEL. 



Setting down to Work with Bees. 



BY MRS. I.. HARRISON. 



Mr. Ediior: — You want to know what we 

 burn in our smokers, do you ? Being a wo- 

 man, old cotton cloth is in my line, so I roll it 

 up into a compact roll, and tie it at short dis- 

 tances, so if one tie burns off there is another 

 near, preventing its unrolling. When I clean 

 house, and overhaul my closets I make enough 

 to last during the season. Other fuel may be 

 better, but I follow the advice of the poet 

 Longfellow who says: 



Take whatever lieth nearest you, 

 And make from this thy work of art. 



SITTING AT WORK. 



Yes, I do. I first take a smoker that has 

 previously been cleaned, light my roll of rags, 

 making a good smoke; get a tool to lift up 

 the frames, and proceed to a hive. We use 



the eight- frame Langstroth, with a cap with a 

 separate cover. First take off the cover, then 

 the cap, and put the cover on it at the side of 

 the hive, and sit down. If I've been careful, 

 the bees have not been disturbed, and then I 

 lift up a corner of the sheet and give them a 

 puff of smoke as an invitation to be civil. If 

 I stood up, my back would soon ache. I 

 should drop things, get nervous, and the bees 

 would soon find it out, and I should soon have 

 a pretty kettle of fish. I live in a city with 

 near neighbors, and I have lo be very careful 

 not to irritate my bees. If I lived far away 

 from other people I should not care how cross 

 they were provided they were good honey- 

 gatherers. Sitting down I take things easier, 

 am not in such a hurrj ; take time for the bees 

 to get away, and they soon act as if they be- 

 lieved I didn't want to hurt them. 



SELLING HONEY. 



During the winter, honey sold from 12^ to 

 13 cts. ptr pound in this city; later on, a lot 

 was shipped from California to the commis- 

 sion houses, which they offered for 10 cts. per 

 pound. Bro. Root, do Californians eat any 

 honey ? Did you see it on their tables when 

 you were there ? 



If honey ever becomes a staple article of 

 food, producers will have to turn peddlers. 

 See how persistent some manufacturers are to 

 introduce their wares; for instance, the yeast- 

 makers. Year after year they distribute free 

 samples. When I returned from Florida I 

 found considerable honey in the honey-house. 

 I asked the milkman, who comes daily the 

 year round, if he had had honey lately. The 

 man who laid the carpets, I told to take some 

 honey as well as money for his work; some 

 honey along with money for furniture; the 

 milliner also. In this way I find customers 

 who buy of me yearly. 



Who ever saw honey on a bulletin-board at 

 a restaurant, or on a bill of fare at a hotel ?" 

 Why should not extracted honey be an a\n\y 

 ration, as well as syrup? All that I buy sup- 

 plies of must be sweetened with honey; so 

 must my dentist, chiropodist, Turkish-bath 

 assi.stant, minister, and I'll feed the tramp 

 who wants a meal on honey. When I've cre- 

 ated a demand for honey, along will come a 

 fellow and undersell me. Earl}' last fall I 

 went to a grocer I had been in the habit of 

 supplying. I said, " I see you have honey." 

 It was the choicest of honey in a neat painted 

 case. " Oh, yes ! a fellow brought this from 

 a near town, and offered it for eight cents per 

 pound. I didn't jew him at all; it was his 

 own offer, and that honey was worth 14 cts. 

 per pound." 



Our country is great. I gathered beautiful 

 goldenrod on Black's Island, in St. Joseph's 

 Bay, Florida, on April 4th. The China-berry 

 trees were in full bloom there also. Pigs on 

 the island were fat by rooting out and eating 

 artichokes. 



Peoria, 111. 



[Dear Mrs. H., I did find honey on the tables 

 in California ; that is, when I visited a bee- 

 keeper they almost always had some nice 

 honev. But I did not find it at the hotels and 



