1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



21 



which we owe our success, is belittled, as to its hon- 

 ey-producing qualities, and the idea is advanced 

 that it is the man that makes the success, it is time 

 that some of his neighbors, who do not aspire to 

 newspaper notoriety, and who say God speed bee 

 culture, have a word to say in the matter. 



If I mistake not, you will receive more communi- 

 cations from this section, and from those who are 

 satisfied that the year 1883 was one of productive- 

 ness, and to them all that could be asked for. My 

 statement here sent is true, and can be vouched for 

 in every particular. Hknrv Wirth. 



Borodino, N. Y., Dec. 9, 1882. 



Gently, friend W. We are very glad to 

 have you speak out, and even enter your 

 protest against its being called a poor season; 

 but for all that, I think you hardly take in 

 consideration that friend 1). speaks compara- 

 tively, when he called the season a poor one. 

 You call a hundred lbs. to a colony a good 

 season; well, I guess the most of lis do too; 

 but there are a great many now who go far 

 beyond that with a few colonies, as you 

 have. — In regard to superior strains of bees, 

 I am inclined to think Italians in one apiary 

 will gather about as much as the Italians in 

 another, other things being equal. Many of 

 the reports of late would seem to indicate 

 that a dash of black blood might, if any 

 thing, make them do a little better, especial- 

 ly on comb honey. 



HOAV TO preserve: OrR BEK JOIR- 

 NALS. 



HOME-MADE BOOK-BINUINO. 



fHAVE not seen any pood, easy, cheap, and du- 

 rable way published yet, telling us how to bind 

 ' our journals to preserve them, unless we get a 

 binder. Friend Hasty recommends a paper of wire 

 nails and a hammer; but I fail to see the preserving 

 influence he claims in the nails and hammer, but I 

 do not dispute his seeing it. I have bound Glean- 

 ings for 4 years, and f will give the plan. I have a 

 thin board, cut just O'S inches long and 6I4, in. wide. 

 On one side, just 7b in. from each end, a small notch 

 is cut, and another in the center between the two. 

 To use this board I take a copy of Gleanings, open 

 it in the middle, right side up on a board or bench; 

 place the board on the right-hand half of the copy, 

 with the notched side to the center, and with the up- 

 per notch just even with the line above the reading- 

 matter; then with an awl I make a mark at each 

 notch in the board; remove the board and punch a 

 hole through the leaves at each notch, being sure to 

 punch where the leaves fold. I then put a pin 

 through each outside hole, shut up the copy with 

 the front cover up, and put on the board just as I 

 did before, with each outside notch even with the 

 pins, and the edge of the board even with the back 

 of the copy; then with a sharp knife I trim the copy 

 even with the board all around. I then make 3 good 

 strong strings about 6 in. long, from good flax shoe- 

 thread, and loops from the same. To make the 

 loops I first make a long string, then I drive two 1- 

 icch wire nails into the edge of a board justTJii in. 

 apart. I wrap one end of the string around both 

 once, and tie, cut it off, and repeat as many times as 

 1 have copies to bind. Now, to bind I take the Jan. 

 number, open it in the middle, right side up, and 

 with a ciochet needle I draw a loop through the up- 



per hole from the inside; tie one of the short strings 

 fast to it, and draw it back; draw the otlier end of 

 the loop through the lower hole, and tie another short 

 string to it, and draw it back; draw the other short 

 string through the middle hole from the outside over 

 the loop-string; back and tie. I then lay the copy 

 with front cover down, with the strings to my right; 

 take up the Feb. number, and proceed as before, on- 

 ly I draw the short strings through the loop without 

 tying. I keep the short strings drawn as tightly as 

 their strength will admit; and when all are done I 

 draw the strings all tight and fasten the ends. The 

 strings must bo very strong, and well twisted, more 

 especially the short ones, and the short ones should 

 be 4-ply; the loops 3-ply. If covers are desired, the 

 short strings must be left an inch or two long on 

 each side, to hold them; this may be done by un- 

 twisting the string and pasting it on the inside of 

 the cover, and pasting a sheet of paper over them to 

 hold them firmly. I put covers on Vol. VII. of 

 Gleanings, but put none on the other three. I aim 

 to take good care of them, and by so doing they do 

 not necessarily need covers. I have the volumes in- 

 dexed to suit my own fancy; and by this index I can 

 turn to and read up all that has been published on 

 a great number of the main questions, such as win- 

 tering, ventilation, candy for queen-cages, etc., on 

 short notice. I should have said, in the proper 

 place, that the copies can be bound and trimmed 

 afterward, just as well as to trim them separately, 

 but I ha%'e followed the plan given above. 

 New Point, Ind., Dec. 11, 1883. T. J. Cook. 



The above, if I understand it, produces 

 something almost exactly like regular book- 

 binding; and if good strong twine is used, 

 we have a flexible binding that leaves 

 the book free to open, even out flat; and at 

 the same time it is so strong as to stand 

 years of hard usage. Almost all otherways of 

 binding periodicals make the book stiff, and 

 unhandy to open. Where one has plenty 

 of time, and I believe most of our bee 

 friends have during winters and winter even- 

 ings, this method may be quite valuable, and 

 we tender thanks to friend Cook for having 

 desciibed the whole process so minutely. 



^ I ^ 



WILL. QUEENS HATCH IN I^ESS THAN 

 16 DAYS FROM THE EGG ? 



SOME VAUTABLE FACTS THAT THROW NEW LIGFiT 

 ON THE MATTER. 



tiES: but not much less, as the following will 



of foundation, partially drawn the fall be- 

 fore, and inserted it in my best stock at eight o'clock 

 in the morning. It was a twelve-frame hive, full of 

 brood and honey. I found the queen, and placed the 

 frame containing her, second from the outside, and 

 set the new frame between her and the center of 

 the brood. I had found, that by so doing I could get 

 her to lay in a frame in a few hours. In just three 

 days I inserted this frame in a gueenless stock con- 

 taining no brood. None of the eggs had yet hatched. 

 They built seven nice large cells. In exactly fifteen 

 days from the time the frame was p aced with the 

 queeu, just before starting to my school in the morn- 

 ing I examined these cells carefully, but could see 

 none of the queens moving by holding them between 

 me and the sun, nor hear them gnawing. I dlamiss^ 

 ed school at four o'clock, to hurry home and find my 



