1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



85 



which is considerable trouble, as they are in a com- 

 mon square hive. I feed them with best sugar dis- 

 solved in water, which I place in a saucer, and 

 spread a cloth over it. In a warm day they will 

 empty the saucer in about two hours. They will not 

 eat sorghum or N. O. molasses, to do any good. 



Soft-maples bloom here the last of January or first 

 of February; we have had a steady succession of 

 fruit-blooms from that time until the last of March. 



HONEY-DEW. 



Sometimes the honey-dew is 1-16 of an inch deep 

 on the leaves; when this is the case the bees gather 

 honey very rapidly. C. G. Blakslie. 



Pine Grove, Benton Co., Miss., Dec. 27, 1882. 



I wish, friend B., you would send me bees 

 of both these varieties in a cage, if you are 

 sure the larger ones you speak of are not 

 Italians. From your description I should 

 think they mightbe, and it would be noth- 

 ing strange if the Italian blood had by this 

 time made its way through the forest for 

 hundreds and possibly a thousand miles. 

 Bees will never eat poor sugar or molasses, 

 when they have access to something better. 



THE PERFORATED ZINC HONEY-BOARDS, ETC. 



That zinc honey-board, on page 10, in Gleanings 

 of this month, suggests to me that, if sections were 

 put as close to each other as the holes are wide, they 

 would make a "queen-excluder." How wide are 

 the holes in the zinc? Is it put on close to the low- 

 er frames? Have those that have used it found no 

 combs between it and upper story? John Myers 

 (page 35) reports that Heddon's honey-board answers 

 as well for sections. What is. the width of the holes 

 in the board he used? I think of trying the zinc. 



Hartstown, Pa., Jan. 10, 1883. P. Moyek. 



The holes in the zinc are 11-64 of an inch 

 wide. It would not be possible to make 

 holes in wood sufficiently exact for this pur- 

 pose. We put it on close to the lower 

 frames. All who have used it say no combs 

 are bridged over it. The spaces in Heddon's 

 honey-board are about f in. 



foundation-mills; queries. 



Do your 12-iHch mills work as well as your 10-inch? 

 Would the 10-inch make fdn. that would answer for 

 Gallup frames? Does yours make perfect sheets of 

 fdn. to outside of rolls, or, in other words, does a 10- 

 inch mill make fdn. that width? How many pounds 

 would be an ordinary day's work? Does it require 

 much experience to make good sheets? I examined 

 34 stands of bees j'esterday and all are in good order, 

 packed in chaff hives and in sawdust. J. S. 



Morpeth, Ont, Can., Jan. 19,1883. 



The 12-in. mill will make just as good fdn., 

 unless it be a little more difficult to make 

 very thin on it. It runs easier than the 10- 

 inch mills, because it is back-geared, as you 

 will see in the cut; but it runs out the fdn. 

 so much slower, that a 10-inch mill, not 

 back-geared, is preferable by far, for mak- 

 ing fdn. that will work nicely in it. Any 

 mill will make sheets the fujl width of the 

 rolls, but it is so difficult to keep the sheets 

 running straight, where you make them full 

 width of the rolls, that it is hardly practica- 

 ble. It is for this reason we decided on a 

 10-inch mill, instead of 9, for making sheets 

 for the L. frame, 8i inches wide, or there- 

 abouts. Two good smart hands should 



make 200 lbs. of brood fdn. in a day, and per- 

 haps half as much for sections. Any one 

 ought to make good fdn. the first day ; but 

 of course they will make better work, and 

 faster, with more practice. A 10-inch mill 

 would answer for Gallup frames, but 12- 

 inch would be preferable, for the reasons I 

 have given. 



from 4 TO 13, and 300 LBS. OF HONEY. 



My bees did well, I think, for a beginner. I com- 

 menced the spring of 1882 with two old colonies and 

 two new swarms that I bought in the spring, and in- 

 creased to 12, and got over 300 lbs. of comb honey, 

 without disturbing lower stores. I am wintering on 

 summer stands, part in double-walled hives, and 

 part in single hives, without chaff or cushions. I 

 will report in the spring, and perhaps apply for 

 space in Blasted Hopes. I like to work with the 

 bees, but they always would, and I think always will 

 sting me. I think you should be a little careful how 

 you advise your patrons to work with the little pets 

 without veil or gloves. Perhaps you don't know 

 how they get punished. A. Livingston. 



McVey, Ill.,Jan. 8, 1883. 



GOOD REPORT FROM HYBRIDS AGAIN. 



My 12 swarms of hybrids, brought from Illinois 

 last spring, increased to 30, all in fine condition now. 

 I moved them the 6th of this month about % of a 

 mile to my little farm. They yielded 1600 lbs. of the 

 very best of white-clover, smartweed, and yellow 

 Spanish-needle comb honey. The smallest swarm I 

 hived weighed 3U lbs.; the largest, lOM lbs. The 

 latter issued August 27, from a colony hived July 1 

 (same season); gave 21 lbs. surplus. I was over- 

 taxed with work, as it was my first season here, or I 

 could give a better report. Wm. S. Robertson. 



Brookfield, Mo., Jan. 8, 1883. 



1 wrote you some time ago, as you are the Secre- 

 tary of the National Bee Convention, to try to find 

 out who was appointed vice-president for Maine. I 

 see it was A. G. Mason. You wrote me it was in- 

 tended for myself; if that is the case, will you be so 

 kind as to make the correction in Gleanings. I 

 feel interested, as I wish to have the State of Maine 

 represented next fall, and do not want to interfere 

 with another man's business, as it might make hard 

 feelings. If there is such a man as A. G. Mason. 



James B. Mason. 



Mechanics Falls, Me., Jan. 12, 1882. 



If there is an A. G. Mason in Maine, will 

 he please "stand up"? I always knew I 

 wouldn't be a good Secretary. 



CONCRETE EOR A HONEY-HOUSE. 



I see D. F. Savage favors concrete buildings. 1 

 know a little about them; they are almost sure to be 

 damp. They are also very cool in summer — too 

 much so, I think, for ripening honey. The first ob- 

 jection may be partly overcome by thorough venti- 

 lation. My first winter's experience in teaching 

 school was in a house of this description, and the 

 people said it had never been comfortable in the 

 winter, the walls being covered with frost all through 

 the season. I got some tools and fixed the windows 

 so I could let them down at the top; then I lowered 

 them about six Inches every night after school, and 

 left them until morning. Although the winter was 

 a very severe one, we had but little frost on the 

 walls of our schoolroom. One night, however, we 



