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1881 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



139 



he thought the millers were In the hive. They went 

 to the hive and looked in, and it was all full of 

 millers and their webs, and the swarm was all ruined. 



This is what ho told me. If there Is any thing in 

 talking to bees, [ want to talk to mine before I put 

 them out in the spring. R. H. Bailey. 



Ausable Forks, N. Y., Feb. 4, 1881. 



It is vei\v like]}' that all you say actually 

 happened, 'friend 13.. for you might talk the 

 same ■u-ay to a great pait of the hives of bees 

 usually kept by farmers, and those who neg- 

 lect them, and have it all come true. Of 

 course, no one supposes the talking had any 

 effect on the result, either one way or the 

 other. The day of such superstitions has 

 long gone by. It is the doing instead of the 

 talking, that does the business with bees, as 

 well as any other kind of business. 



PORTCLVCA AS A IIOSEY-PLAXT. 



I have nevir noticed anything said about portu- 

 lacH as a honey-producer. It is a beautiful flower- 

 ing annual, flowers opening with the rising of the 

 sun, and bees fairly swarming on them; if they pro. 

 duce much honey it would be profitable to raise it, 

 as it is as easily grown as pursley, and ia this locali- 

 ty seeds itself. Mention it to some of your enter- 

 prising bee-keepers, and beg them to give it a trial, 

 and report. T. L. Davidson. 



Early Branch, Hampton Co., S. C, Feb. 7, 1881. 



One fall one of our girls had a beautiful 

 bed of portulacas in a slieltered nook by the 

 side of the building, and after all flowers 

 were gone, and bees too, as we supposed, we 

 had a bed of brilliant flowers covered Avith 

 Italian bees, just as soon as the sun reached 

 them in the afternoon. I have tried since 

 to have just such a bed again ; but somehow 

 they don"t seem to thrive exactly like ''purs- 

 ley"" under my management. 



asking questions on a postal, etc. 



In answer to my advertisement, I begin to receive 

 postals and letters of special inquiry. Some parties 

 ask more questions on a postal than can be replied 

 to on another, and it costs us 3 cents, paper, and en- 

 velopes for what, in all probability, will never be 

 worth a cent to us. Others write a letter inclosing 

 postal card for reply, and still others inclose 3-cent 

 stamp for answer. W^. P. Henderson. 



Murfreesboro, Rutherford Co., Tenn., Feb. 7, 1881. 



Gently, friend 11. If your querist sends a 

 stamp, he must use a stamped envelope to 

 write to you ; and if he sends such queries 

 to a great many people, it will cost him a 

 good deal of money, while if he nses a post- 

 al, it is but one cent for each of you. If they 

 ask questions on a postal, or without inclos- 

 ing a stamp, they have no right to expect 

 more than you can write on a postal. I 

 know that many of our friends are severely 

 tried with us because of the brevity of our 

 answers ; but I do not know how I can well 

 help it, if they will not bear in mind that we 

 can not hire clerks to write long letters, such 

 as they would doubtless like to get. At the 

 same time, I think that whoever advertises 

 in any business should expect to have ques- 

 tions asked, and should, in fact, be thankful 

 to have them. Every business man should 

 expect at least to make his business pay for 

 postal cards, and I think Ave should be ve;:y 

 careful about deciding that any sort of an 



inquiry, " in all probability will never be 

 worth a cent to us."" Will it not be best for 

 us all to take these burdens cheerfully, and 

 to decide to err on the side of doing a little 

 more than is really our share, raj;her than 

 the other way? ''Do good and leikl. hoping 

 for nothing again, and great shall be your 

 reward."' I have tried this little text a good 

 many times, and it always comes out right, 

 many times to my great astonishment too. 



ONE SWARM FOR THE LORD. 



I have not lost any swarms yet, but some have got 

 uneasy. There are about forty quarts that have 

 come out and died They commenced that as soon 



; as.the last of May. Some died on the bottom-board ; 



I some of them are in the cellar, and some in a dark 



' room. I have got 46 altogether. Here is what I 

 have done for four years. I bought 13 swarms the 



\ first ot July, 1877, and only one swarm was strong 



: enough to work in the boxes. Here is what I have 



i done since:— 



\ 1877, 13 swarms gave .350 lbs. 



1878, 13 

 18.9, 19 

 1880, 33 



AJ 



1238 

 1810 

 2300 



.5688 



Total - 

 Surplus combs 330 



I have sold 14 swarms in that time. I should like 

 to be Doolittle's neighbor one year, and if I didn't 

 find out if bees could get honey when there was 

 none in the flowers it would be funny. 



Oh ! I almost forgot. I have one swarm at work 

 for home missions, and they made §3.00 worth of 

 comb honey. Bless the Lord for that! Can't all of 

 us bee-keepers set aside one swarm for the work 

 this year, and the windows of heaven will be opened, 

 and we will receive a blessing? If these is any one 

 that doubts it, trj' it, and you will say before next 

 fall, " Bless the Lord!" Fayette Lee. 



Cokato, Wright Co., Minn., Feb. 7, 1881. 



ARTIFICIAL COMB-HONEY. 



Our opinion has been asked of the follow- 

 ing, which is going the rounds of the papers: 



Some unsophisticated purchasers of honey imagine 

 that by buying honey in the comb they are sure of 

 getting an unadulterated article. A great mistake. 

 There is an establishment in Boston where artificial 

 combs— not foundations merely, but combs — are 

 made in such perfection that it would require an ex- 

 pert to detect the fraud. Parafline, not wax, is the 

 material used. When the combs arc made they are 

 filled with an imitation honey made from glucose, 

 worth three or four cents per pound, and flavored to 

 taste. A hot iron is then passed over, the cells are 

 sealed, and the " comb honey " is ready for sale. 



It is, of course, a sensational scare, with- 

 out a word more of truth in it than the ab- 

 surd stories about our white sugar being 

 adulterated with glucose. Xewspaper edit- 

 ors should know better than to publish such 

 stuff. Almost as well might the public be 

 told that the strawberries we find in the 

 markets are "manufactured.'" 



WAX VERSUS WIRES, TO PREVENT FDN. SAGGING. 



Honey-producers want very much fdn. made with- 

 out wires so it will not sag, so we can fill up a frame 

 and not have it bulge. Last season I tried some ex- 

 periments that satisfied me that it can be done very 

 easily. I joined strips of fdn. V/i and 2 and 4 inches 

 together, by lapping and pressing them together so 

 that they would stick well, and filled frames full 



