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Gleanings in Bee Culture 



they forget about swarming. Well, yes! if 

 that wouldn't make them forget about every 

 thing they ever did know, I don't know 

 what would. If I thought ray bees needed 

 exercise I would give them two or three 

 frames of foundation to draw out, which 

 would be of benefit to me, and I believe 

 much more pleasant work for them. 



A WHEELBARROW FOR CARRYING 120 LBS. 

 OF HONEY TO THE EXTRACTOR. 



I am sending a photo of my method of 

 getting honey into the extracting-room. I 

 have seen pictures of men carrying honey 

 to the honey-house, and it gives me that 

 tired feeling "to think about it. Each one of 

 the honey-boxes shown on the wheelbarrow 

 holds 60 lbs. of honey, and I can wheel the 

 two {1'20 lbs.) easier than I can carry 25 lbs. 

 Yes, I use the wheelbarrow. I have tried 

 other things, but have found nothing quite 

 so handy to get into all the nooks and turns 

 as the wheelbarrow. 



The slide door to the honey-house is hung 

 on barn-door rollers, so that it works easily; 

 and it is large enough to give plenty of 

 room to manipulate the boxes comfortably. 

 When a box is slid inside, and one side of 

 the lid opened (the lid is double) , if there 

 are any bees in the box they will all fly out 

 toward the light. The picture shows the 

 honey-house at one of my apiaries, where 

 the location is ideal for convenience — just 

 slope enough to the ground so there is no 

 wheeling honey uphill to get into the ex- 

 tracting-room, and one can walk into the 

 cellar without having to climb any steps. 

 It is noc difficult to find locations like it in 

 this country; but they are not so plentiful 

 where other conveniences exist, such as wa- 

 ter, good roads, etc. I do not like to have 

 the bees go far for water, especially in cold 

 weather. 



IS THERE A PARTICULAR TIME OF THE YEAR 

 FOR CERTAIN DISCUSSIONS? 



Not wishing to be too critical, I should 

 like to ask those contributors who start their 

 contributions by saying it's a little too early 

 to write of swarming, queen-rearing, venti- 

 lation, or whatever the subject may be, if 

 they do not forget for the moment what a 

 big old world this is, and that the journal 

 they are writing for reaches to the very limit 

 of its four corners. It may be too early to 

 write on a certain subject in the six-mile 

 square of the township in which they live; 

 but in some other portions of the earth it 

 may be too late. It sounds as though this 

 paper were being run for their special town- 

 ship, or, at most, the county or State in 

 which they live. By no means as a reflec- 

 tion, but simply as an illustration, I men- 

 tion the controversy between the editor. Dr. 

 Miller, and our Canadian friend Mr. Byer, 

 that took place last year. By the time they 

 got that winter brood-nest all fixed and in 

 running order we were harvesting our crop 

 of honey on this coast. 



WHY IS THE APPEARANCE OF HONEY THE 

 ALL-IMPORTANT FACTOR? 



I should like very much to know how 



honey ever came to be sold by sight instead 

 of by taste. I have seen vile stuff sold at a 

 better price than good honey because it was 

 lighter in color. Why not sell maple syrup 

 by sight instead of by taste? I have heard 

 that there were 1000 carloads of English wal- 

 nuts shipped from this State annually, and 

 I did not know until a short time ago that 

 they were bleached. Wanting to buy some, 

 and noticing that those the grocer had in 

 stock were darker than any I had ever seen, 

 I inquired the cause, and he said, "Oh! 

 those are unbleached. I never keep the 

 bleached ones, because these are so much 

 better." And he is surely right. The un- 

 bleached ones are much better, and also 

 cheaper. Both time and money are wasted 

 to injure an article of food to please the eye. 

 Jamul, Cal. 



PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



BY HORACE LIBBY. 



Bee-keeping is very fascinating to me, 

 especially since I have retired from the busi- 

 ness life of former years. It is occupying 

 my mind, and at the same time brings in a 

 small income. At the present time I have 

 68 colonies, and v.hen put in the cellar they 

 were in good condition. 



I think the camera is something that most 

 bee-keepers would enjoy. I do my own de- 

 veloping and printing, which, to the real 

 photographer, is the most interesting part. 

 I am not a professional, for I have owned a 

 picture machine only a little over three 

 years; but the amateur can learn much if 

 he goes bravely ahead, making mistakes 

 and profiting by them at the same time. 

 Books tell us lots of good points, but experi- 

 ence is the best instructor. 



I remember one man in some journal (I 

 think it was Gleanings) who wrote a very 

 interesting article on the subject. I was 

 much interested, and hoped to see more of 

 such articles from those who are either pro- 

 fessionals or amateurs. It is a fine thing 

 to have our summer pleasures and views on 

 paper to look at in the future; and our sta- 

 tionery can be made interesting by a little 

 scene at the top which will be of interest to 

 those receiving the letters. 



May the bee-keepers who have picture- 

 machines come forward and make Glean- 

 ings a help to the photographer as well as 

 to him who keeps bees. 



Lewiston, Maine. 



THE SEVERIN CAPPING-MELTER. 



How it is Made. 



BY F. J. SEVERIN. 



My capping-melter, as referred to in pre- 

 vious articles, stands on a two-burner gas- 

 oline-stove, the gasoline-tank being outside 

 the building, where it can be easily filled 

 while the stove is burning, and, in case of 

 fire, instantly shut off. Some of the fea- 



