282 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



when the section is on the hive, then with a hard 

 pressure slide bacli the lever off the fdn. Those who 

 use only starters in sections may not care for these 

 instructions; but beginners who fill the sections with 

 fdn., and are annoyed by its falling out, will be glad 

 of any suggestions. Indeed, I am writing particu- 

 larly for beginners; so I will tell them 



HOW TO PUT TOGETHER ALIj-IN-ONK-PIECE SECTIONS. 



Lay the sections ia Hat before you on the table, 

 with the grooved side uppermost and the narrow or 

 top end at your left. For convenience, we will num- 

 ber the four parts of the section beginning at the 

 left, 1, 3, 3, and 4. 



Pick up the section with the right hand; with the 

 thumb of the left hand upon 3, press the left fore- 

 finger across the under side of 1, close up to the 

 joint, and Itreak the joint by pressing the finger 

 evenly the whole width of the joint, at the same 

 time pushing the finger slightly toward the left; 

 this will break the joint at ' the right place, so that 

 the top piece, or 1, will go between the side-pieces 3 

 and +. Then with the thumb of the left hand on 3, 

 the thumb of the right hand on 4, and the ends of 

 the lingers of each hand under 3, by pressing the 

 thumbs and ends of the fingers, start these two 

 joints to breaking, then grasp firmly 3 in the left 

 hand and 4 in the right, and with 3 on the table raise 

 2 and 4 to an upright position, pressing them hard on 

 the table at the same time with a wiggling motion to 

 and from you. This wiggling motion will make the 

 joints much less liable to break entirely apart. 

 Then bring down 1, and crowd the dovetailed ends 

 together, and the section is complete, unless you 

 may think best to hammer together lightly. Talk- 

 ing of these all-in-one-piece sections reminds me 

 how much 



BEE-KEEPERS NEED CHARITY FOR E.4CH OTHEK. 



These all-in-one-piece sec^tions are so generally 

 liked, that it seems a foregone conclusion that they 

 are tlic sections, and yet I must confess I don't like 

 them so well as the dovetailed. Now, it will not do 

 for rao to call every one a fool who likes the new 

 sections best, for that would be Aery much like say- 

 ing all bee-keepers but myself are fools; neither 

 would I like to have the entire fraternity brand me 

 as a fool because I prefer the dovetailed. And yet, 

 in our talk and in our writings, many of us are apt 

 to insist, in sometimes a rather unpleasant way, 

 that whoever differs with us is wrong. To begin 

 with, bee-keepers, as well as other people, are pret- 

 ty strong in their prejudices, and each one is apt to 

 believe that his way is liest. Twenty years ago I 

 used hives with movable bottoms, and I doubt whe- 

 ther any amount of argument would have made me 

 willing to dispense with what I considered the con- 

 venience of movable bottoms. Changing to the reg- 

 ular Langstroth hive, and buying some ready made 

 with fixed bottoms, I have for years used no other, 

 and it would take an immense amount of eloiiuence 

 to make me submit to what I now consider the in- 

 convenience of movable bottoms. Again, observa- 

 tions in different localities, and under different cir- 

 cumstances, may lead to very diverse conclusions. 

 It is common to see the advice given, to beware of 

 leaving any piece of comb lying about the apiary, 

 for fear of its proving a nursery for moths; whilst 

 If I wanted to keep a piece of comb secure from the 



moth, I scarcely know of any surer way than to 

 throw it on the ground anywhere about the apiary. 

 Doolittle says," In uniting bees, alternate the frames, 

 and thus mix the bees thoroughly, and they will 

 never fight at any time of the year;" Novice says 

 they (?() sometimes fight; and I have no doubt each 

 one is telling the truth from actual experience. Let 

 us, then, have faith in each other, and charity 

 enough to believe that others may be honest, even if 

 their observations do differ from ours, and that pos- 

 sibly what may be the verj' best practice for jw may 

 not be best for everybody else. 



THE PRESENT OUTLOOK. 



I think I shall be able to start the season with T5 

 colonies and a few queens, with a handful or less of 

 bees to each. They seem to be doing well now; have 

 an average of about three frames filled or partly 

 filled with brood, and I think I never worked with 

 bees more joyfully or hopefully. Isn't God good to 

 give us such a nice world, anyhow? Tell the noon 

 prayer-meeting I think of them often, and often 

 pray God to bless the services. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, McHenry Co., 111., May 3, 1881. 



Many thanks, friend Miller, for your very 

 seasonable hints. In regard to the one- 

 piece sections compared with the dovetailed, 

 —it would be impossible to make the latter 

 for any thing like the price we now do the 

 all-in-one-piece. The appearance of them 

 when on the market, filled with honey, is, I 

 believe, admitted by all to be greatly in fa- 

 vor of the one-piece. The labor of putting 

 up, and putting in the starters, is also an im- 

 mense saving. That the old style may have 

 greater strength, is doubtless true ; but 

 nailed sections have greater solidity still. 

 Now, why not nail the one-piece, after they 

 are folded ? We have never found it neces- 

 sary, although some perhaps do. As only 

 about one customer in a hundred, even last 

 season, preferred the dovetailed, we have 

 now stopped advertising them. We pay our 

 boys 30c per thousand for putting up sec- 

 tions. — By all means, let us try to have more 

 charity, not only in matters of opinion, like 

 and dislike, but also in business and inoney 

 matters too. 



Suhnlk §^uaflimnl 



fAM 11 years old, and I thought as all of the rest 

 of ihe little girls were writing I would write you 

 — ' a few lines too. Our summer school begins 

 next Monday. I am going to start. I did not go last 

 winter. We had a five-months' school last winter. 

 My pa keeps bees, and I plant flowers and every 

 thing I can that is good for them. I like honey too. 

 It does not hurt pa much when they sting him. It 

 swells some when they sting ma round the mouth 

 and eyes. It was a severe winter on bees. Pa was 

 afraid ours would die. He is going to plant some 

 buckwheat pretty soon. 



Elizaueth M. Edcmand. 



Very good, Lizzie. We send you a book, 

 and I "trust you will keep on planting honey- 

 plants, and get to know all about plants and 

 bees both, when you get grown up. 



Whew! After I had written the above, 

 Stella tells me she can't send you any book, 

 because you have not told us where you live. 



