10 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan, 



We started last spring with 60 swarms of bees, and 

 about half of these were in old L. hives. These came 

 through very weak. We put them all together, but 

 they would not have made 10 good swarms. We now 

 have 85 good strong swarms, and took about 1000 lbs. 

 of honey. We fed back about 400 lbs. of this, leav- 

 ing 600 lbs. This has been the poorest honey season 

 we ever knew, or, at least, one of the poorest. We 

 sold no queens this season. We have used ovir hive 

 three winters, and have never lost a single swarm 

 yet in them. Get away Langstroth frames for vis. 



F. K. Shaw. 



Chatham Center, 0., Nov. 25, 1880. 



I have tried to get reports from the rest of 

 our Medina friends, but some way th^-y don't 

 seem to get around to it. 



m !>■ ^ 



SEPAKATORS OF PEKFOR^T » MET- 

 AL. 



ALSO ABOUT PERFORATING THE SEPARATORS WE 

 ALREADY HAVE IN USK. 



OINCE our last, I liave had considerable 

 ^) correspondence in the matter, and find 

 "*^ that the perforators of sheet metals 

 will furnish us tin or zinc separators, perfor- 

 ated in any way we may choose, either round 

 or oblong holes, and of any size, so that sep- 

 arators in lots of 10,000 can be furnished at 

 an even 5c each. I am sure you all agree 

 with me, that this is too much. Well, here 

 is something to the point:— 



I inclose sample of perforated tin from J. C. Car- 

 penter, of Cherry Valley, N. Y., and his letter con- 

 cerning his machine. My opinion is, that he has 

 "Struck ile." 1 have suggested that he make the 

 perforations closer, and alternating each other. 

 Also that he send a machine to you or Nellis, that 

 you may pass upon its merits for simplicity and dura- 

 bility. J. S. Hughes. 



Mt. Zion, 111., Dec. 14, 1880. 



I notice in Gleanings, page 536, Nov. No., an ar- 

 ticle from you expressing a want among bee-keep- 

 ers of open or perforated separators for honey- 

 boxes. I think that open separators are desirable, 

 provided they do not cost too much. I have just 

 completed a machine for perforating tin or paper, 

 with which I can do the work quite rapidly. I can 

 perforate the separators for an ordinary hive for 20 

 cents, or perhaps less; or I could furnish separators 

 to order for the above percentage. I inclose and 

 send you a specimen of my work. You will natur- 

 ally inquire what the machine costs. They may 

 probably be afforded for f 5.00, after getting used to 

 making them; still, I am not quite prepared to say 

 what will be the cost. I should like to hear from 

 you upon the subject. J. C. Carpenter. 



Cherry Creek, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Dec. 10, 1880. 



Here is something further from friend C. 

 himself: — 



I send you by this mail a specimen of my perfor- 

 ated tin separator. I can perforate tin or paper 

 very rapidly and cheaply. If there is any, or but a 

 small gain in honey with open separators, it will 

 soon pay all expense and afford a profit. I have a 

 hand machine that does the work. 



J. C. Carpenter. 



The holes in the samples of tin sent are t 

 inch in diameter, and f inch apart. It seems 

 to me the best size of these holes, and the 



proper distance, can be determined only by 

 exjieriment. Can not friend Doolittle help 

 us in tlie matter V It is my impression, that 

 bees will sometimes bulge a comb of honey 

 into a hole^ inch across. Who can answer"? 

 Our blacksmith is now at work making a 

 tool, something like our tinner's snips, but 

 rather heavier. It is to have movable dies, 

 so as to cut any size holes, and a gauge is to 

 be attached for spacing the holes at exact 

 distances, quickly and rapidly. I presume 

 about $.5.00 will be as low as it can be made. 

 Now, it may be that the right kind of wire 

 cloth will be cheaper and better than any 

 perforated metal, so it will be well to move 

 slowly in such matters. Friend Abbott, of 

 the British Bee Journal, gives, in his price 

 list, an engraving of the zinc excluder friend 

 .lones has mentioned, and I have samples of 

 zinc with oblong holes that I should think 

 just right to exclude queens and drones, 

 that can be furnished in small lots, sLieets 

 any size, for 40c per square foot. 



REES liEAVlNG THElRrHIVES DU ING 

 COLD AVEATHER. 



f' HAVE selected the following letter, re- 

 ceived just as we go to press, from 

 — ' among several of like, tenor. It seems 

 we are going to have trouble this winter, in 

 many localities. 



I fear I shall lose .all my bees. They are dying off 

 very fast every day; even during this cold weather 

 they fly out and fall in front of the hive, and perish 

 by the hundreds. Some of my neighbors have al- 

 ready lost all they had. Mine are well packed on 

 summer stands, with quilts and carpets, straw and 

 boards. I attribute it to bad honey, as they are 

 strong in numbers and stores. 1 have to-day given 

 them candy, in hopes that they would eat it instead 

 of their honey. I have just seen a neighbor, who has 

 his bees in the cellar, and they are acting in the 

 same way. Some whole colonies have died, leaving 

 plenty of.honey. Am I right as to the cause of this 

 destruction of our pets? if so, how can we save what 

 remain? I might add, that all the bee-men whom I 

 have heard from in this vicinity make the same re- 

 port. M. H. WOLFEH. 



Richmond, Ind., Dec. 26, 1880. 



I should say, candy is your only hope, 

 friend W.^ I If the weather comes off warm 

 soon, I would take away their stores and 

 give them other combs and a pure candy 

 diet; that is, where the bees are coming out 

 in such numbers as to make it certain they 

 would surely die if left to go on in this way. 

 If only a few come out thus, say a dozen 

 bees in a day, I would not disturb them ; but 

 where you see the colony is surely going, I 

 would use only granulated sugar for the can- 

 dy, without any flour or any thing else. 

 Lumps of white rock candy are almost chem- 

 ically pure cane sugar, and, although it costs 

 a little more, it is perhaps the most whole- 

 some food for bees that can be found, when 

 given to them in small lumps at a time. If 

 you can not find it at your grocer's, we can 

 furnish it for 1.5c per lb. 



