74 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Feb. 



those 20 stands didn't give me more than 300 lbs. of 

 honey, but I consoled myself with the tales of some 

 other bee-men about what they had got, such as 800 

 lbs. from 15 hives, and another 8 gallons from one 

 hive, and another "8 caps" thought about 100 lbs., 

 etc. So, In the winter of 1870 and '77 I made some. 

 200 hives; sold some, transferred some on shares, 

 bought a stand of Italians from Dadant's warranted 

 queen, $14.00. Some got as high as 90 lbs. of section- 

 bo.x honey from one stand; some not over 15 lbs. on 

 an average. So, by October I numbered 80 stands, 

 sold 20 for §=125 00. I should have stated, that in the 

 winter of 1876-'77 I got me a saw and sent for 

 Gleanings, and made me a hive as described in cir- 

 cular. You were then blowing the hoop hive, which 

 gave me the idea of a half-story, and raising it and 

 putting an empty one under it, and I like it rather 

 better than the full story. By using 2 caps or hoops, 

 it just holds a brood frame, so it is truly an adjust- 

 able hive, ^yondor if Mrs. Cotton knows it. 



MlTCHEIiL. 



Well, right here I will tell what a Mitchell man 

 wanted me to do. He had bought the right of Wayne 

 and Edwards counties. He heard I was trespassing, 

 and came over to have the matter fixed up. Yes, I 

 told him I was using division-boards; could not dis- 

 pense with them hardly at any price. Well, you 

 ought to have seen him smile and try to teil how in- 

 dispensable they are to successful bee-keeping, and 

 how much better I could manage my bees in an L. 

 hive, and proposed to sell me the right for the divi- 

 sion-board and hive. I then asked hira if he had 

 really bought the right. He said he had, and that he 

 would try to sustain if I would not pay for using the 

 board. I stepped in and got a few numbers of 

 G-LEANiNOS, and read from Humbugs and Swindles. 

 I then told him he was the man that was humbugged, 

 and that, instead of reading Mitchell's book, to send 

 a dollar for Gleanings, then he would be swindled 

 no more by patents. Well, he said he would write to 

 Mitchell, and if ho did not stop me he would not pay 

 him any more on it. So we talked the matter over, 

 and parted friendly. I was to use them until Mitch- 

 ell "did some thing;" after that I sold his partner 

 some hives, but have never heard of Mitchell " do- 

 ing any thing" but duping ignorant farmers. 



Well, of course the 90 lbs. were from an Italian 

 that I raised early in the spring, and '77 was the best 

 year we have had since I have been in the business, 

 and now I thought that all I needed was enough 

 bees like that to get rich, or, at least, to make it self- 

 sustaining. So, in the fall I bought 3500 ft. of lum- 

 ber; made 2.50 to 300 hives; sold some; transferred 

 on shares, and by the 1st of August I had 110, half of 

 which were scattered through the country, where 

 they were transferred, and about that time I bought 

 the fdn. machine. The season so far had been a bad 

 one; only a little while the last of May and first of 

 June bees had swarmed quite lively, and now many 

 of the swarms were starving right in August; but I 

 managed to save all that I had charge of. 



MOVING BEES TO NEW LOCATIONS. 



Some time in July another bee-man (DalzcU) came 

 tip to me and Sibley, who also was a bee-man, and in 

 conversation said that his bees were storing honey. 

 After talking awhile he left us, and as he went away 

 Sibley remarked that Dalzell was "gassing," and 

 that he would bet his bees were starving, for he saw 

 him bring honej' to town some time before that, 

 that his bees ought to have had to live on. 1 re- 



marked that he was near the bottoms, and perhaps 

 Dalzell was correct, and I believed I would go down 

 in the neighborhood and see if bees were doing any 

 better. So, in a few days I went, found some bees in 

 log and box hives, and they were carrying in honey. 

 I then made arrangements with the man to move 8 

 stands of mine, to tr.y the location. I took them 

 down in a few days, and as soon as I opened them 

 they seemed to scent the honey, and in 3 hours you 

 could not have told they had been moved; they were 

 rolling in honey and pollen at such a rate I did not 

 go back for about 10 d;iys, but they had done so well 

 I went and got 8 more stands that I had out in the 

 country that were on short rations, but I was too late 

 with them. It was now about the first of August, 

 and as blue as things looked, I went to work and 

 made some fdn., for I knew they would need it the 

 first of September. Well, there were plenty of my 

 bees that hadn't 5 lbs. of honey in their hives on the 

 20th of August, and (?(ttt was what 1 fed them; but 

 relief did come the 27th of August, and in ten days 

 they were in their boxes; but my 90 1b. hive made 

 only .50 lbs. Well, down I went to the bottoms, about 

 the 24:th or 25th of September, and found things 

 " lovely." The -most of those at home were just 

 nicely started in their boxes when the bloom failed, 

 and so I was not lang in making up my mind. I 

 went to where I had more on shares; got a load, drove 

 down, and the lady of the house plead to have me 

 take the load somewhere else, for they " stung the 

 children." She directed me to a man that would 

 take them; it was in sight. Off I put, although it 

 was then noon. I soon drove a trade for locating 

 them, and all the rest; and so I wOTked, night and 

 day, until I gut all moved; but I got paid for all my 

 work. Not as big wages as some get, but enough 

 for me at that time. I got $250 to $300 worth of 

 honey. They stored honey until hard frost. The 

 first two frosts didn't seem to alfect the bloom in the 

 bottom, while every thing on the prairie was dry 

 enough to burn. I will state, that the most of them 

 I moved 10 miles; some 17 miles; now, it was in July 

 of this same year, while things were so blue, that 

 you sent me the first imported queen (that I wrote 

 you an article on, and I have always thought you 

 ought to have published it.) 



HOW FRIEND S. INTRODUCES Qt'EENS. 



Well, the second one I have never written you 

 about. You sent her, I suppose, as she came to you, 

 and left me to be the judge of what she was worth, 

 and how was I to know how she would compare 

 with the lot; whether she would look like a $i, $5, or 

 S6 queen? But it was all the chance; then I intro- 

 duced her all right, and I would not fear to try a 

 $'0.00 one if I had her, for I have never lost one yet 

 that I took any kind of pains with, ana I believe I 

 never lost but one, and I have turned them loose at 

 the entrance, and in at the top, and caged them. I 

 just do according to the circumstances, but am al- 

 ways sure there is no other queen in there. Well, 

 now, if you will send me another one as good as this 

 one, you may set the price; and if nothing happens, 

 I shall have some early queens to dispose of from 

 her. I have between 175 and 180 that I raised from 

 her last season. I now have 240 stands ; have bought 

 a piece of land, and intend this summer to improve 

 it. 



I have now got up to the fall of 1878, and have not 

 told what I started to tell; but if you think it will do 

 any good, you can put it in on one of those extra 



