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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



Weather Bureau, and to your remarks in connection 

 therewith, on Form 1043— Met'l., both of which have 

 been referred to this office by Mr. J. Warren Smith, of- 

 ficial in charge of the Columbus office of the Weather 

 Bureau, I beg to say that forecasts of the character 

 given, which cover not only the month of May but the 

 entire year, are not issued by ihis office, nor by any 

 office or official of this Bureau, and I concur with you 

 in the opinion that misstatements of this kind lead to 

 the impression that the Weather Bureau is entering 

 the domain of charlatanism, and that they should be 

 promptly corrected. 



The forecasts of the Weather Bureau are calcula- 

 tions based upon telegraphic reports of weather con- 

 ditions throughout the United States and Canada; and 

 during the season of tropical storms the field of obser- 

 vation is enlarged, and includes the West Indies, the 

 shores of the Caribbean Sea, and the Mexican coast of 

 the Gulf of Mexico. The period covered by these cal- 

 culations, or forecasts, is necessarily limited to the 

 time required for storms or fair-weather types (after 

 their appearance or inception ), to traverse in whole or 

 in part the region of observation. As our continental 

 storms and other types of weather move, as a rule, 

 from west to east, and the storms traverse the conti- 

 nent in three to four days, it is obvious that a forecast 

 for a greater period can not be made; and experience 

 has shown that it is not possible to determine the ex- 

 act course and character of a storm over the eastern 

 part of the continent when its presence is directed 

 over the Pacific-coast districts; neither is it possible to 

 project accurately a storm's path from the Rocky 

 Mountains to the Atlantic-coast line. As a matter of 

 fact, atmospheric movements can be calculated with a 

 degree of accuracy that entitles the calculations to be 

 classed as forecasts for periods not exceeding 48 hours, 

 and any statements of weather conditions for greater 

 periods can safely be considered guesswork. 



Statements are sometimes made of the average 

 weather conditions of a section or locality, as shown 

 by records of observations which cover a period of 

 many years. Such statements are valuable in so far 

 as they represent the general character of the weather 

 for any month or months, but are valueless when an 

 attempt is made to apply the results obtained to sin- 

 gle days; and forecasts, to be of practical value, must 

 be applicable to specified days. In this connection it 

 may be stated that the only so-called long-range fore- 

 casts that possess the merit of having been based 

 upon any form of calculation are those which are 

 made up of the averages referred to; all others, with- 

 out any reservation, are well within the domain of 

 charlatanism. Very respectfully, 



Willis L. Moore, 

 Chief U. S. Weather Bureau. 



USING AN ONION FOR A NEST-EGG, ETC. 

 One of the girls in the paper-room informs 

 me they tried my new invention, but the good 

 old hen did not seem to like the onion " fla- 

 vor," and left her nest and hunted a new one. 

 Now, I think that hen must be too aristocrat- 

 ic ; but if it works that way every time, we 

 have a big invention still. When you want 

 to "breakup" a hen that is determined to 

 sit, just give her a nestful of onions. If she 

 goes off in a huff you have broken up her sit- 

 ting. If she sticks to the nest you can just 

 give her a lot of nice eggs after she has had 

 the onions a few days, and she and the chicks 

 will be free from vermin. You see we are a 

 gainer by taking either horn of the dilemma. 



KIND WORDS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. 



The goods arrived to-night all right. Many thanks 

 for your prompt, kind treatment. It is a pleasure to 

 do business with a firm that does as well as and better 

 than it agrees. Earl Y. Safford. 



Salem, N. Y., April 22. 



expect it in five days or a week, while things ordered 

 from some other companies are sometimes two or three 

 weeks coming. J. P. F. Smith. 



Aliceville, Kan., April 2(i. 



GLEANINGS AND ITS SUPERLATIVELY HIGH MORAL 

 TONE. 



Gleanings is a fine journal, and almost the greatest 

 attraction it has is its superlatively high moral tone, 

 which, in a large measure, seems a characteristic of 

 bee-men. It's the best business-religious magazine I 

 know of. E. B. Rood. 



Jacksonville, Fla., April 11. 



ANOTHER USE FOR THE FAULTLESS SPRAYER. 



Did you know that one of those little implements 

 for spraying makes a fair sort of powdtr-gun ? They 

 are not as good, likely, as the more expensive imple- 

 ments made especially for that purpose, but I find one 

 quite useful. 1 find "it necessary to turn the imple- 

 ment upside down very frequently to keep the con- 

 tents loosened up, and in a condition to be blown or 

 drawn out by the air. R. M. Reynolds. 



E. Springfield, O., April 12. 



I give you credit for being the most prompt company 

 for filling mail orders that I have ever had any deal- 

 ings with. Whenever I order any thing from you I 



GLEANINGS GROWING BETTER. 



I want to tell friend Ernest how I am pleased with 

 Gleanings. It seems to get better every time. I 

 learn something new and useful from every copy. I 

 feel like writing Mrs. Barber a private letter of thanks 

 for giving us her plan of starting bees in sections, for 

 I believe it will work, and I will try it at once. I put 

 a super of unfinished extracting-frames on a strong 

 hive a few days ago, and in about three daj's I found 

 the bees working in the racks I was just thinking 

 of trying boxes under them, and Mrs. B.'s article 

 came just in time to help me out of the doubt. 



Utopia, S. C, Apr. 21. W. I. Herbert. 



The sections you sent me are magnificent. The V 

 groove is cut just deep enough to give good strength, 

 and on just the right bevel to fold at right angles, and 

 no further. Your material is perfect. I must give 

 you credit for turning out the best sections I have ever 

 seen. The Hoffman brood-frame would be better if 

 the wide part of end-piece extended 2!4 inches fur- 

 ther down I notice in overhauling some of my hives 

 in which the bees died during winter that the comb 

 would seldom deviate from being straight until it 

 came to the narrow part of the end-piece. 



Nirvana, Mich., Apr. 17. F. D. Eacy. 



I may not know when my time expires; but I want 

 Gleanings all the time. I count the days for it to 

 arrive. Perhaps I read it as no one else does. I begin 

 at the last end, looking for specials; after that I turn 

 to the first page for the Stray Straws; after that I read 

 the sMid matter. As a whole it is par excellence. 

 Eong may it wave 



I see that A. I. is getting old. I am sorry to know- 

 it. I want him to live a long time yet for the benefit 

 of humanity. I think he is doing the best that can be 

 done for that somewhat frail organization. Ply the 

 water. It is the best medicine known to man, and 

 perhaps to angels. E. N. Swinburn. 



Mexia, Tex., March 22. 



Dear Sirs:— I inclose a small order. As I intend to 

 increase mv stock this year I expect to send you or- 

 ders for other supplies later on. My first order for 

 this year is received. It was for 60 supers, 500 special 

 fences, and 30 pounds of foundation. When I receiv- 

 ed them I could almost cry for joy. This is the first 

 order for supplies that I ever received, since I've been 

 in the business, that was free from error or bad work- 

 manship, and I have ordered goods from six different 

 supplv-houses, including yours. 



Once upon a time I wasthrown into a large stream 

 of water. I was taken with cramp, and could not 

 move a muscle; but I was perfectly conscious. There 

 I floated face downward, and all the bad things I ever 

 did came back to me— some things I thought I had 

 forgotten. Suddenly I was seized and pulled ashore 

 by the one who threw me in, when I immediately re- 

 gained full control of all my muscles. I thought of 

 this incident when I unpacked your last shipment. 

 Now, I am very particular about every thing fitting as 

 it should about a bee-hive; and when I beheld the 

 lovely workmanship on the fences, supers, founda- 

 tion, and the Tinker zinc; and when I pulled out my 

 pocket-rule and found the measurements exactly as I 

 ordered them; and when I saw that the fences were 



