696 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



I PRESUME that, while this issue is going to 

 press, A. 1. R. and yours truly will be among 

 the bee-keepers at the Omaha convention that 

 is to take place on the 13th, 14th, and 15th 

 instant. 



GRAVENHORST DEAD. 



Just as we go to press we are pained to 

 learn of the death of that skillful bee-keeper, 

 celebrated author, and accomplished gentle- 

 man, C. J. H. Gravenhorst. He died at his 

 home in Wilsnack, Germany, Aug. 21, aged 

 75. Particulars later. 



A CORRECTION. 



In my answer to Mr. Doolittle, page 625, 

 referring to deep and wide entrances, I said, 

 "One swallow does not make a summer, 

 neither do two or three of them," implying 

 that Mr. D. had tried only three colonies, 

 when in fact he had tried ten with deep en- 

 trances, and ten with the regulation kind, 

 with the result that three of the former swarm- 

 ed. I am glad to make this correction, al- 

 though I still believe that the test even then 

 was too limited to be conclusive, as compared 

 with the tests made by my neighbor Mr. Ver- 

 non Burt, who has tried them on 'M) colonies 

 for a period of three years with the greatest 

 satisfaction. 



HEAVY TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF THE PI.AIN 

 SECTIONS. 

 A SHORT time ago we sent a lot of honey to 

 the Columbus Commission and Storage Co., 

 Columbus, O. It so happened that there was 

 just one case containing honey in plain sec- 

 tions. These people had never seen honey so 

 put up before, and it is evident they had not 

 seen any of the "discussion" regarding the 

 new sections. All they knew was they had 

 one case of hone} that would outsell any other 

 case in the lot. Well, here is their letter, 

 which will speak for itself : 



There was one case of the Elsie, Mich., lot that we 

 opened this morning, that had 15 sections. The case 

 was marked '■ plain sections," about 12 pounds net. 

 This was a very fine case of honey, and brought 1.5 cts. 

 We thought we had more of it, and showed it to some 

 of our trade; and the result was, we took orders from 

 every man who saw it, for two or three cases. Do you 

 know where we can get .some of this? Are all '• plain 

 sections " short-weight — that is, less than a pound? 

 We should like to get a lot of this kind, and can use 

 anywhere from 100 to 1000 cases. 



The Columbus Commission & Storage Co. 



Columbus, Ohio. 



This only goes to prove that honey in plain 

 sections, in some markets at least, will outsell 

 honey in old-style sections. This statement 

 was put forth by S. A. Niver, by L. A. Aspin- 

 wall, of Jackson, Mich., and others, last win- 

 ter. But here it is verified by unprejudiced 

 parties in at least one market — yes, they actu- 

 ally want to get 100 or 1000 cases of honey in 

 plain sections. 



MY TRIP EAST AGAIN. 



I HAVE just returned from a trip of two 

 weeks to the East, part of the time at the sea- 

 shore.* Mrs. Root stipulated this time that I 

 was not to see any bee-keepers, but just rest 

 and recuperate. I felt " tiptop " while in the 

 harness at home; but after I got away to 

 " rest and recuperate," at Sea Girt, N. J., I 

 was sick nearl}^ all the lime. Change of 

 water, and hot climate, I suppose, were the 

 causes. I said, nearly all the time. Well, I 

 did steal away for two days to visit with Mr. 

 W. A. Selser, at Philadelphia; and at his 

 home, Jenkintown, I had the pleasure of 

 meeting some thirty or forty bee-keepers 

 for a pleasant chat and exchange of ideas. 

 Some of them thought they would tire me out, 

 as they kept me on the floor nearly two hours, 

 answering questions; but I never felt better — 

 in fact, I was feeling in good trim all the time 

 I was with my good friends. I had been sick 

 prior to going to Philadelphia, and had re- 

 covered sufliciently to get away. After leav- 

 ing my bee-keeping friends, and returning to 

 the sea-coast, I was sick again most of the 

 time. A doctor in the East told me I was all 

 run down, and gave me some good advice — 

 not to work so hard; but now that I have re- 

 turned home, I am feeling strong and well. I 

 believe it agrees with me to get among bee- 

 keepers and the hum of the busy bees again; 

 and I am beginning to feel that there is no 

 place quite so bad as away from home when 

 one is sick. 



No, I am not all run down — at least not 

 from overwork; but give me a change of 

 water, a change of diet — crabs, lobsters, and 

 the like — and put me in a hot climate — well, 

 it does not usually take long to make me look 

 more like a cadaver than like a living healthy 

 man, which I feel I am. 



AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN REARING OUEEN- 

 CELLS A LA DOOLITTLE. 



Some years ago, when our Mr. Spaflord 

 tried the Doolittle plan, he failed; and a little 

 later, while our Mr. Wardell was on a vaca- 

 tion, Mr. S. tried his hand at it again, bitt with 

 no better success ; but on inquiry I learned 

 that Mr. Wardell feeds slowly all the time the 

 cells are building, while Mr. S. did not. This 

 may and probably does explain our earlier 

 failures, and I think it very important to 

 emphasize the point right here. It begins to 

 be evident now that nearly all of the leading 

 queen-breeders are using the Doolittle method 

 of raising queens ; and the result is that first- 

 class queens are sold for very much less money 

 than they were ever sold for before. The 

 great big beauties that have been going out 

 from our yard would, it seems to me, please 

 the eye of any lover of fine queens. Why, 

 they are so big that it is with difficulty they 

 can turn around in the compartment of an 

 ordinary queen-cage. 



As Mr. Wardell has made a success of the 

 Doolittle method, I take pleasure in giving 

 you a Kodak view of him, together with a 

 batch of cells that he had just taken out of 



* Copy for last issue was prepared two weeks in ad- 

 vance. 



