150 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar, 



I must go into Blasted Hopes now, I guess. I got 

 very little honey last year, and my bees will about 

 all die again this winter; tbey are about half dead 

 now, and I have paid out about f300 for bees in the 

 last two years. I have no chaff hives; all single-wall 

 hives. I never saw the deer mice so bad as they are 

 this winter. My bees have the dysentery, caused by 

 long confinement. Some have eaten all the honey 

 in the center of the hive, with 2 or 3 full cards on 

 each side of them yet; but it was so cold they could 

 not get to it. A. J. Hoover. 



Huntsville, Luzerne Co., Pa., Feb. 15, 1881. 



I have had the grape fever and the peach-tree 

 madness, and haven't lost over a thousand dollars 

 on both of them, and am now well of both. But, 

 about five years ago I took a hive of bees on a slow 

 debt, and since then the bee folly has been slowly 

 developing. I have spent $100, and got $30 worth of 

 honey and $20 worth of fun, which still leaves me 

 SiO out, and bees all dead but one swarm, all leaving 

 plenty of honey to have kept them. I have set my 

 face against lotteries in general, but despise back- 

 ing down until I know " what's the matter with Han- 

 ner." U. N. Mellette. 



Nineveh, Johnson Co., Tnd., Feb. 12, 1881. 



How is it? have you for sale any mourning-gowns 

 for bee-keepers to wear this spiing? If so, what is 

 the cost? I believe that you may realize a good 

 business. I think you ought to keep such in your 

 counter store, and advertise, and you may have 

 quite a call from this section of country. Yesterday 

 I went on business five miles away from this place 

 to a box-hive apiary of 103 colonies of bees. We 

 looked over their bees, and found about 10 colonies 

 alive, and the rest all dead with the dysentery. The 

 hives looked like molaeses-barrels— the honey drip- 

 ped down and came out of the bottom of the hive. 

 The color of the honey was like molasses, and very 

 bitter. Mr. D. could never see any good in frame 

 hives. This is not all, for I hear from all around 

 here about the same. I have lost, but not so heavily, 

 but may yet before spring. Geo. Castello. 



Saginaw City, Mich., Feb. 23, 1881. 



MB. MEBRYBAIVKS^ NEIGUSOR. 



THE NEAV BEE-HIVE THAT ALWAYS KEEPS 

 THE BEES FREE FROM DYSENTERY. 



'ELL, I declare, dear friends, it has 

 Tiim taken us a great while to get around 

 -^'* to that bee-hive. You see I was a 

 little afraid there might be a dispute some 

 time, as to who was the real inventor, and 

 so I have taken several chapters, to go over 

 the whole story of the incidents that led to 

 the great discovery. 



Well, when friend Merry banks came up to 

 the door that-cold stormy morning, just as 

 John was going out to see to thoBe bees (see 

 page 572 Dec. No.), he carried something in 

 his arms that John immediately recognized 

 as the new bee-hive. Of course, the sight of 

 this brought sunshine, for friend M. was al- 

 ways a welcome visitor ; and as he came up 

 the door was open wide for him to bring in 

 the wonderful structure. John's mother, 

 with a smiling face (for she too had been lift- 

 ed through her trials and discouragements 

 more than once by our genial friend) moved 



out the table so that, as the hive rested 

 on it, all could have a view from all sides. 

 Well, this hive, to all external appearance, 

 was nothing more nor less than an ordinary 

 cracker-barrel, with the exception that in 

 one end was an auger-hole ; but even this is 

 so common in barrel-heads that none but 

 John would have noticed, probably, that a 

 tube of wood just reached out through it, 

 flush with the head of the barrel. This tube 

 was so near the chime of the barrel that the 

 end of the stave under it would have made 

 a very fair, though perhaps narrow, alight- 

 ing-board. John took in all these points 

 while friend M. was warming his hands at 

 the stove, and making inquiries about Mary, 

 who had had a spell of the croup. As the 

 wind whistled without, and sent cool breezes 

 through the cracks of the house, friend M. 

 was asking if the house had been properly 

 banked up, that the children might not be 

 exposed to these chilly drafts ; and as he did 

 so he glanced down at the floor, which seem- 

 ed neither very tight nor very warm under- 

 neath. 



Just at this point, John had concluded his 

 investigations far enough to decide, Avithin 

 his own mind, what the contents of this mys- 

 terious barrel were, and so elated was he 

 with the idea, that he commenced dancing 

 up and down, boy like, in token of his ap- 

 proval of the bee-hive. Well, this same floor 

 that friend M. was considering, w.as hardly 

 equal to such demonstrations. You see, 

 when John's father had the floor laid, the 

 centers of the sleepers were supported on 

 blocks of wood set on end. I do not know 

 why he was so thoughtless as to use blocks 

 when stone would have cost but little more 

 time and trouble ; but so he did, and 

 these blocks had lasted just about five years, 

 when the lower ends were rotted off. Well, 

 John's jumping seemed to give just the 

 right-timed vibratioi s to set the room all in 

 a teeter, and of couise the barrel began to 

 roll ; and before any one knew it, it had 

 rolled off on the floor. As it did so, one 

 head came out, and with the head, out tum- 

 bled a queer-looking cushion and a wooden 

 bowl, filled with some white substance that 

 John rightly interpreted to be bee-candy. 

 While John is eagerly taking in all of the 

 features of this great hive, I think we will 

 take a peep over bis shoulder and see too. 



FRIEND M. AND IIIS HIVE AS IT ROLLED 

 OFF ON THE FLOOR. 



