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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



ten-frame and not two eight-framers as I have 

 been doing. I still favor an eight-frame, but 

 only in pairs. Now, if this is not square 

 enough I do not know how I can make it any 

 " squarer." — Ed.] 



GOOD NEWS FROM FLORIDA. 



Friend Root : — My bees are fairly tumbling 

 over each other, carrying in palmetto honey. 

 One colony carried in 78 lbs. in 11 days. Oth- 

 ers have done as well, perhaps ; some I did 

 not weigh did better. I have taken 1000 lbs. 

 from 19 colonies in a few days. Thi.s supplies 

 home demand for the present. Can you tell 

 me where to ship it? The prospect is, this 

 flow will last six weeks yet, and then will fol- 

 low the mangrove and cabbage palmetto. What 

 we get now is the small scrub palmetto. It is 

 the finest honey I have had— white clover, or- 

 ange bloom, and basswood not excepted. 



There has been very little rain for months, 

 consequentlv our honey is very thick and 

 high- flavored. I am situated between Saraso- 

 ta and Palma Sola Bays, five miles southwest 

 of Braidentown. I think it is about as good a 

 location for an apiary as can be found. I 

 manage to retail honey here at 75 cents a gal- 

 lon by peddling from house to house. 



I was at Palma Sola postofl&ce the other day. 

 We had a laugh about A. I. R. His "How 

 old are you, sis?" is married, and her husband 

 is carrying the mail. 



Francis Trueblood. 



Braidentown, Fla., May 20. 



[We are very glad indeed to hear you are 

 getting some honey. It sounds a little like 

 old times ; and, if I am correct, this comes 

 from the special locality where I was impress- 

 ed so strongly that it was the place for the 

 bee-keeper to locate ; and I am specially anx- 

 ious to know how the mangrove yields in your 

 locality. If you should ever see my " little 

 girl," please give her my regards. Tell her 

 husband that I congratulate him, and that I 

 hope he will take good care of her.— A. I. R.] 



HOW to cut foundation ; FACING HONEY ; 

 T SUPERS AND SECTION-HOLDERS. 



When you want to cut foundation to any 

 size, just make a box without top or ends, and 

 of a width and length that will hold your 

 sheets of foundation. Cut saw-kerfs on both 

 sides of your box, from top of side boards 

 down to the bottom board, and as far apart as 

 the length of the cuts of foundation you want 

 to make. When done it will look like a car- 

 penter's miter-box, with the exception that the 

 saw-cuts will be opposite. Then take a hand- 

 saw and grind the back of the blade to a keen 

 edcre ; place your sheets of foundation in the 

 box, your saw in the kerfs already made, and 

 go ahead. 



In crating honey, tying up wool, putting 

 down carpets, putting a patch on your coat, 

 if you don't put the best side out, which side 

 zt'i/l you put out ? The man who would put 

 his best apples, potatoes, etc., in the middle 

 of the barrel, his worst and poorest wool on 

 the outside of his fleece, and his best honey in 



the middle of the crate, maj- have a clear con- 

 science, but he will be classed as a fool by 

 business men. 



vStop your jawing about the merits of the 

 section-holder and the T super ; let the people 

 have just which they want. If you wi//, I 

 won't take either. 



Lightning operators must be getting to be a 

 fad. Say, Rambler, about how I'Ug would 

 one of those lightning ■splitters kick around 

 among some of that Cyprian blood you some- 

 times find in California? 



M. W. Shepherd. 



Mannville, Fla., May 19. 



THE PEPPER-TREE, AGAIN. 



In Gleanings for May 1st I find a mistake 

 that was evidently made in the printers' hands. 

 You head the article in relation to the pepper- 

 tree as follows : " The Eucalyptus (or Pepper) 

 Tree." Now, the pepper-tree is no relation 

 whatever to the eucalyptus. It is a distinct 

 species ; and I am sure that, in my descrip- 

 tion, I ('■{([ not mention the latter. The arti- 

 cle would lead the reader to believe they are 

 one and the same 



We are having a glorious rain i;i this north- 

 ern portion of the State. 1 hardly think it 

 reaches the southern portion ; and even if it 

 does, it will hardlv do much good except to 

 very late honey-plants. This portion of the 

 State always has more rain than they do in the 

 South. J. H. Martin. 



Oro Fino, Cal., May 21. 



[The heading to the copy you sent had only 

 " Pepper-tree ; " but A. I. R., who put on the 

 footnote, nmst have penciled on the galley- 

 proof the word " P^ucalyptus," which should 

 not have been there ; hence the mistake. See 

 answer to R. Wilkin in June 1st issue. — Ed.] 



HOW TO distinguish SUPERSEDING CELLS 

 FROM SWARM CELLS. 



Kindly state how to distinguish queen-cells 

 being built for superseding an old queen, from 

 those built when the bees are about to swarm; 

 also when a hive has an old queen and a vir- 

 gin queen, as is the case with one of mine, 

 what had better be done — leave them to take 

 care of themselves, or divide? Mv object is 

 to have one hive as strong as possible, to 

 secure the largest amount of honey. 



Asheville, N. C. C. E. Moody. 



[If there is any way of distinguishing the 

 two classes of cells, I must say I do not know 

 upon what basis the distinction is made, ex- 

 cept that swarm-cells are usually large, like 

 great big peanuts. While superseding cells 

 f/iay be just as large, the}' are more inclined to 

 be smaller. If cells are started when there is 

 already an old queen in the hive, and it is ?iot 

 during the swarming season, I assume that 

 the cells, if present, are of the superseding 

 kind. If, on the other hand, the queen is not 

 over two years old, and cells were started dur- 

 ing the swarming season, then I take it for 

 granted that the cells are of the swarming 

 kind.— Ed.] 



