THE AMERICAN BEE .JOURNAL. 



457 



length of tlie end pieces to the broad 

 frame. I dread complication. These 

 wires, side-boards and pieces look 

 formidable to me. I think I should 

 lireter the liingham style of " key " 

 for clampi'ig t'"^ frames. I have 

 heard of these keys giving way, when 

 lifting the hive, and the whole thing 

 going " ker-smasli." What if the 

 " Dean case " should come that on a 

 fellow when it contained is of those 

 nice white combs V Wouhfut those 

 bottom bars sag? True, when un- 

 damped or unkeyed it comes apart 

 nicely, but then, after all, is it not 

 neater and handier to lift a section 

 out of a solid case, when on tlie hives 

 or when off, to invert the whole and 

 push out the whole 28 V A job of a 

 nmmentonly. If this system is best 

 for the surplus department, why not 

 for the brood department also V If it 

 is for the latter, wliy don't Quinby's 

 and Bingham's style of frame super- 

 sede the Langstroth frame, in the 

 solid case with solid bottom V They 

 have had time enough surely. I think 

 I should prefer my old wire clamp 

 method as shown in cut on page 159 of 

 Bee Journal for 1879, or in Glean- 

 ings on page 116, 1881. if I were going 

 to use any clamp method at all. Tliis 

 is my second year's use of the solid, 

 divisioned, no glass case, and, as 

 above stated, the solid individual 

 comfort I have taken, and am taking 

 with its manipulation, is liighly prized 

 by me. All my help, and all my visi- 

 tors, and those who have used them, 

 like theui best of all, so far as heard 

 from. There is no patent on it, and 

 did I feel able, I would give the read- 

 ers a cut of the case. 



They are made of common thin 

 lumber, and any good mechanic caii 

 make them as they should be. I 

 should be pleased to see them in gen- 

 eral use, and all the rew-ard I ask is 

 the little honor due this little inven- 

 tion. If any better thing comes up, 

 I shall be among those wlio rejoice in 

 its use, and with smiles and dry eyes 

 will gladly watch this case as it takes 

 its march toward the silent portals of 

 eternal forgetfulness. 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



Nebraska Farmer. 



Practical and Scientifle Apiculture. 



T. L. VON DORN. 



Every pursuit, every profession, 

 every business enterprise must, in 

 order to be made a success, rest upon 

 certain known, fi.xed rules of action, 

 based upon the accumulated knowl- 

 edge of which practice has been 

 shown the best fitted to obtain the 

 best results. Scientific apiculture is 

 comparatively of to-day's creation, 

 yet its possibilities are encouraging 

 enough to warrant all the careful 

 thought, business accumen andenergy 

 that the best of us can offer. Fortu- 

 nately many of the problems, obscure 

 so few years ago as to be within the 

 memory of almost all present, are 

 solved, and instead of the doubt, un- 

 certainty and mystery of the past, the 

 greater part of the conditions re- 

 quisite to success are well known and 



are easily complied with. One ele- 

 ment of success, however, at times, 

 balfies the best of us, yet would seem 

 to be of easy solution, luitwitlistaud- 

 ing the apparent uncertainty which 

 now obscures this part of our occupa- 

 tion. Of course, 1 refer to the win- 

 tering problem, for let us so improve 

 our bees that we get luuulreds of 

 pounds from every colony, and in- 

 crease almost at will, yet, if, in the 

 recurrings, we find that few of our 

 colonies have survived the winter, or 

 having survived, are indisposed or 

 incapable of giving the best results, 

 we have most certainly failed in this, 

 which to-day is practically the 

 greatest obstacle in scientific bee 

 culture. I cannot believe, however, 

 that the day is far distant when we 

 shall surmount this as we have otlier 

 difficulties apparently as great. Bees 

 are warm-blooded creatures and I 

 can see no reason wliy they should be 

 an exception to other animals in re- 

 gard to their care, and believe the 

 question to be simply how to so care 

 for them as to comply with known 

 laws in such cases. 



But practical apiculture rests upon 

 more than the mere knowledge of 

 what can be and should be done. It 

 rests upon the unwritten part of our 

 trade, which is quite as much to learn 

 as the trade secrets of any other oc- 

 cupation, the knowledge of'just when 

 and how to perform the little opera- 

 tions that go to make up the day's 

 labor : or, as it is commonly expressed, 

 the '-knack" of knowing just how 

 and when to do it. You must know 

 just what the condition of every 

 colony is, and wlien occasion arises 

 must aid them promptly promoting 

 this, checking that, leaving nothing 

 to uncertainty, in fact, you must live 

 with your bees if you would close the 

 season's labor with success. 



How to obtain this knowledge is a 

 a matter for your careful considera- 

 tion. Undoubtedly, if you were so 

 situated as to make it possible, the 

 advice and precept of some skillful 

 apiarist would be preferable, but I 

 imagine that but few are so situated 

 and therefore it may not be amiss to 

 refer you to such resources as will 

 furnish reliable information. I con- 

 fess it is with pride I can say to you 

 that the works of our own country- 

 men, are pre-eminently the most 

 practical and scientific. No one can 

 read '' Cook's Manual " without being 

 impressed with the labor and research 

 necessary to enable the author to 

 place before the reader and carefully 

 explain anatomy and physiology of 

 the bee, and its bearing upon practi- 

 cal agriculture, or the years of toil 

 which lias made the "ABC of Bee 

 Culture " what it to-day is, or the 

 common sense of "Quinby's New 

 Bee-Keeping." We should be proud 

 of our countrymen. But with all 

 your knowledge never neglect the 

 little things that impress you at the 

 time as new. Follow up your prac- 

 tice with careful study and investiga- 

 tion. Lay the foundation for success 

 broad and strong, and when tlie 

 superstructure is built it will long 

 endure. 



Omaha, Neb. 



For the American Bee JoiimaL 



Not "More than Briglit." 



R. BACON. 



The Bee Journal of Juue 28th, 

 says : " Prospects more than bright ; 

 from every quarter come the most . 

 encouraging hopes." Now, this being 

 left out in the cold makes me feel 

 rather chilly. Perhaps it is all for the 

 best; other sections may feel the 

 same and not like to mar your bright 

 prospects. But permit me to say that 

 one section, little Central New York 

 (perhaps it is not quite large enough 

 to be called a " quarter'') has notliing 

 good in the bee line to report. Bees 

 are swarming but little, and have 

 gathered bat little honey up to date. 

 Yesterday I called on a bee man at 

 Oneida who lias over 100 colonies. 

 Less than one-third of his bees have 

 swarmed, and some had begun work 

 in boxes a very little, but no boxes 

 half filled. He did not know any 

 bees that were doing much. He is 

 yet hoping the weather will change, 

 so we will get some honey. 



Last year at this date "I had taken 

 off more than half a ton of section 

 honey ; bat now not one box finished, 

 and not 10 colonies doing anything in 

 the boxes. Now, if yon feel like 

 helping the bee men of this cast-off 

 section, please turn those honey 

 spouts (not your big western water- 

 spouts) this way. We will set our 

 houses in order, and will not scold if 

 you daub us a good deal, nor will we 

 dodge. We may do better in future — 

 the summer is late. 



Verona, N. Y., July 13, 1882. 



[The prospects at the time the arti- 

 cle alluded to was penned, were very 

 bright. Tliere were especial districts- 

 where they were more than excellent, 

 others not so good, but, generally, 

 they were more than bright. Nor is- 

 there cause for despondency yet. 

 Had the weather been propitious, and 

 prospects realized, even Central New- 

 York would have given a good yield. 

 The season is late— very late— but the 

 promise is abundant, if the Vi'eather 

 is such the bees can gather it. Sweet 

 clover is just coming into bloom with 

 us now ; last year this time they had 

 been working on it a month nearly. 

 However, we will have plenty of it, 

 and summer and fall flowers will be 

 immense. We hope Central New 

 Y'ork will then come in for its share. 

 —Ed.] 



^' A be<ir, wisliing to rob a be& 

 hive, laid himself down in front of it 

 and overturned it with his paw. 

 " Now," said he, " I will lie perfectly 

 still and let the bees sting me until 

 they are exhausted and powerless ; 

 tlieir lioney may then be obtained 

 without opposition.'' And it was so- 

 obtained, but by a fresh bear, the 

 other being dead.— ^Bxc/t. 



