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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



together. Then the most of bee-keepers pre- 

 fer to have their sections run the same way 

 that the combs in the hive below do; and if 

 so, the bottom of the foundation in the sec- 

 tions is swung to one side, where the hive is 

 inclined toward the entrance, which causes 

 bulged and irregular combs in the sections, 

 which hinders the proper crating of the same, 

 and unfits them from being in the most mar- 

 ketable shape. And even where only starters 

 are used in the sections, the matter is not 

 helped any; for in the filling of the sections 

 with combs we should have the same trouble 

 to contend with we did in the filling of the 

 frames. 



Then, again, our questioner seems to be 

 thinking only of wintering bees when he asks 

 the questions, as his "great deal warmer for 

 wintering " implies. I am free to admit that, 

 if bees die in winter, we shall have none to be 

 of use to us during the summer; but if we can 

 manage to winter bees equally well with the 

 combs running lengthwise of the entrance, 

 thus having them ready for the summer's 

 work, may it not make much difference with 

 us then as to which way the frames run in 

 the hive ? 



I think the questioner will be free to admit 

 that what will make " warmer " in winter will 

 also make warmer in summer, and hence we 

 find that, with combs running crosswise of 

 the entrance the bees are not able to do nearly 

 so good work at ventilating the hive, by way 

 of the entrance-fanners, as where the combs 

 run the other way. 



Again, where the combs are lengthwise of 

 the entrance the bees returning from the field 

 can run up between any range of combs they 

 like ; while where they go crosswise it tends 

 toward the massing of many bees on the first 

 one or two combs, so that the nurse-bees have 

 more trouble in taking the loads of nectar as 

 they come from the fields. There are other 

 minor reasons which might be given, but I 

 think the above are sufficient to answer the 

 question as propounded. 



A fly had fallen into the ink-well of a cer- 

 tain author who writes a very bad hand. The 

 writer's little boy rescued the unhappy insect 

 and placed him on a piece of paper. After 

 watching him intently for a while the child 

 called to his mother: " Here's a fly, mamma, 

 that writes very much like papa. ' ' So, I mis- 

 trust, if any of the older readers of Gleanings 

 should happen to read the above reply to the 

 questioner they will find it " very much like " 

 what they read in former years when the dis- 

 cussion regarding which way frames should 

 run to the entrance was on. 



POOR SEASON. 



This season has been very poor, taking it as 

 a whole. My crop of white honey from 68 

 colonies was 200 lbs., comb. My crop of dark 

 honey is 1700 lbs. of extracted and 300 lbs. of 

 comb. I increased my yard from 68, spring 

 count, to 77 fall count. This is a rather poor 

 season, but I can not get along without 

 Gleanings. Chas. B. Allen. 



Central Square, N. Y., Oct. 27. 



HONEY-PAILS AT ONE-HALF CENT PER LB. 



As the price for honey gets lower every year 

 — barring poor seasons like the present one — 

 it is an item of interest to producers of ex- 

 tracted honey to know what is the best and 

 cheapest honey-package Glass is too heavy 

 and fragile, as a rule, for large packages. I 

 have lately tried 9-quart tin buckets, costing 

 12 cts. apiece by the dozen: and as I can easily 

 put 25 lbs. of extracted hf>ney into a bucket 

 it costs me only 5 mills per pound to put my 

 honey into marketable shape. Then when it 

 candies it can be "dug out," or liquefied by 

 setting over a fire. But you will say a cus- 

 tomer rarely buj's 25 lbs. of honey at one 

 time. Then pour out or remove what he 

 wants ; or, better still, if he is known to you 

 to be perfectly reliable, leave the package, 

 after ascertaining its weight, and allow him 

 to pay for what is consumed. It will gener- 

 ally sell your entire bucketful if the honey is 

 ripe and of good flavor. Charge 10 cts. for 

 the bucket (it retails for 15), and your honey 

 will then cost you a mill or less for handling. 

 If any one can go me one better he is my 

 friend if the subject is explained in Glean- 

 ings. 



The next package I shall try will be one- 

 pound jelly-glasses, for the retail merchants 

 and small customer. I shall fill my glasses to 

 within one-sixteenth of an inch, or there- 

 abouts, with honey, then pour in melted 

 paraffine until it is brimful, when the tin 

 cover will be carefully slipped on and the 

 paraffine allowed to harden, making the pack- 

 age air-tight, insect-proof, and easily handled. 

 A pound package thus prepared I think will 

 retail at 15 cts., or wholesale to dealers at 

 12 J4. I believe tumblers can be procured at 

 2)< cts. apiece, which allows the producer 10 

 cts. per lb. for his honey — the price in our 

 market. Chip Henderson. 



Murfreesboro, Tenn. 



THE WINTERING OF TWO NUCLEI IN SINGLE- 

 WALLED HIVES. 

 These are the days when the thoughts of 

 bee-keepers turn to the subject of wintering, 

 and any thing will interest that throws light 

 on it. For my part I am especially interested 

 in any thing on outdoor wintering, though 

 most of my wintering is done in the cellar. I 

 will relate a curious thing that happened in 

 my apiary during the winter of 1885. In the 

 spring of that year I bought some bees in 

 hives that had frames about two inches shorter 

 and as much deeper than the Langstroth. 

 These I transferred in the latter part of May 

 or first of June to L. hives. In cutting out 

 the combs I left a strip about two inches wide 

 in the top of those frames. These strips con- 

 tained mostly honey, some bee-bread, a little 

 brood, and a few eggs. Two of those hives, 

 containing such strips of comb and a few bees, 



