1906 



GLEAI^INGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Iid99 



I noticed that yoii rec-ommend a oue-inch 

 entrauee if it would not get clogged with 

 dead bees. Last winter was a very hard one 

 here, the thermometer reaching 15 or 20 be- 

 low zero; but in my double-walled hives 

 there were not 50 dead bees on the bottom 

 of the hive at once, and most of those were 

 at or near the back of the hive. I know, for 

 I looked by reflecting the sun into the hive 

 with a mirror. 1 never have any trouble 

 with double-walled hives, though single-Avall- 

 ed hives do sometimes bother that waj*. I 

 have often cleareil the fi'ont of the hive with 

 a small stick or wire, scraping out the dead 

 bees. This should be tlone on a warm day, 

 if possible, so that, if the bees are disturbed, 

 they will not be harmed. 



1 have invented a storm-door which I shall 

 use this winter. Pei'haps some one else 

 would like to try it, so I will tell you how I 

 make it. All of my hives have a wide 

 alighting-board, which is necessary to get 

 the best results with it. Take a piece of one- 

 inch board, li or 2 in. wide, and cut it just 

 long enough to go clear across the front of 

 the hive. Drive a small nail one inch from 

 the end, so that it sticks through J in. or so. 

 Next with a saw and chisel or drawing-knife 

 make a cut ix2 in., or less if you wish, in 

 the middle of one of the ivide sides, so as to 

 make an entrance two inches deep or more. 

 This can be stuck on the front of the hive, 

 and removed, or replaced at any time with- 

 out pounding on the hive. The entrance 

 can be made to suit the owner's idea of size. 

 In regard to grading section honey, I have 

 always graded by weight. I hud a good full- 

 looking section will weigh 14 oz. or more. 

 There are some very nice-looking sections that 

 will not go a bit over 14 oz., so that is my 

 ••pound." I get 25 cts. each at the house for 

 all such. If they weigh more, I get the same. 

 I usually put tlie heavy ones, say ISJ oz. or 

 more, and the light ones, say 14 or 14J oz., to- 

 gether and sell them to people who want more 

 than one section. All under 14 oz. I sell in 

 proportion to their weight. I have prepared 

 a scale of prices ranging by \ oz. down to 8 

 oz. It amounts to about 1 ct. to every | oz. 

 Any one who has any "head for figui-es " 

 can easily make a price list. Then all I have 

 to do is to put the section on the scales, 

 glance at the price list, and mark the price 

 on the top of the section. All weighing 15 

 oz. or more ai"e marked A, ai?d those under 

 15 and over 14 are marked B. A pair of 

 spring scales is the handiest to use. Of 

 course, this is the retail price. Where one 

 sells by wholesale he can sell at so much per 

 cent less than the retail prices. The dealer 

 knows just how much he will get for the 

 honey, so can figure closer and pay better 

 prices. The customer knows that he is get- 

 ting the same amount ( nearly ) for his mon- 

 ey, whether the section is full or only partly 

 so. 



Mystic, Conn. 



[I would not now recommend a one-inch 

 entrance, full width, all winter. I do not 

 remember whether I ever advised such in 



years gone by; but if so I am wiser now, for 

 experience has shown that too wide an en- 

 trance is almost as bad as one too narrow. 

 For outdoor wintering in this climate we get- 

 the best results with an entrance about I by 

 8 inches long. A very strong colony would 

 stand I deep by the whole width of the hive. 



A storm-door over an entrance I believe 

 would be a good thing. Something to shut 

 off piercing winds and yet allow a perfectly 

 free circulation of air in and out of the hive 

 would be desirable. 



Your scheme of grading and selling by the 

 piece certainly could not be objectionable to 

 any one. Most of those who sell by the 

 piece grade by weight as well as by tilling, 

 the heavier weights being sold, of' course, 

 for more than the lighter ones. — Ed.] 



AN OLD BEE-BOOK. 



BY EUGENE SECOR. 



lOne of the straQfrest thiny:s to an outsider is the 

 enormous number of books which have been publish- 

 ea on the honey-bee— more than have ever been writ- 

 ten about any other animal. Some of them "are as 

 old as the hills," but good reading: withal. Some are 

 written in verse, and at least two of them are classics. 

 To collect such books requires the same instincts as 

 are required in an art or bric-si-brac collector, and pa- 

 tience and perseverance are retiuired to And them; 

 but there is a lot of pleasure in making a "tind.'"— 

 A. L. BoYDEX.j 



Through the kindness of Mr. A. L. Boy- 

 den, of The A. I Root Co , I have had the 

 pleasui-e of examining a book entitled "The 

 Bees," written by an Englishman, John Ev- 

 ans. ]\I. D.. and pul)lished a hundred years 

 ago. It is said to lie very rare and expen- 

 sive. It is in the form of a poem. It treats 

 of many subjects other than bees, however, 

 thrown in, probably, for variety or orna- 

 ment. It is well written, by a real poet, 

 and the book is a valuable contribution to 

 the literature of apicultui^e. 



It is interesting as showing the state of the 

 art at that time, and permits us to see the 

 progress made since, both in the science and 

 practice of apiculture. 



The book is well printed, and gotten up in 

 a style that would not disgrace tne p.iuier s 

 art. even to-day. It is lil)erally supplied 

 with notes explaining more fully many ref- 

 erences in the text. They add greatly to 

 the interest and value of the work. 



The spelling indicates the gradual evolu- 

 tion of the English language— quite as re- 

 markable as the growth of the art of which 

 the author treats. 



He appears to have been a naturalist of 

 wide observation. Botany and horticulture 

 are familiar .subjects, and often inti-oduced 

 either l)y way of variety or to popularize 

 them. History and literature are freely 

 drawn on. The literary treatment of every 

 thing he touches evinces much taste and 

 skill. 



While it is likely that not so many of the 

 common people a hundred yeai's ago knew 

 so much about bees as now, yet it must be 

 confessed that some close observei's had 

 learned many of the .secrets of the hive. 



