120 



GLEANINGS LN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



which had hunted themselves homes; four were 

 queenless, and one of these well filled with fertile- 

 worker brood; no honey to extract, but some sur- 

 plus coming In. I went over them, equalizing as to 

 strength, furnishing hatching queens to the queen- 

 less, and giving additional room and surplus combs 

 to those requiring same. Two weeks more the api- 

 ary was entirely alone ; then I had a hand there to 

 the close of the season. In the interim a few 

 swarms had evidently gone to the woods. I got over 

 8000 lbs. of extracted honey; then I fed about 400 

 lbs. of sugar, to make full winter stores. No in- 

 crease. 



As my orders to you for labels would indicate, I 

 am putting up more honey than this mentioned, for 

 the market; but the excess comes from earnings of 

 bees that I have heretofore sold, as indicated above; 

 hence your idea of a " great crop." A. Christie. 



Smithland, Iowa, Jan. 23, 1883. 



And I stick to it still, friend C, that it is 

 a great crop, for I don't see that it matters 

 much whether one does all the work with 

 his own hands, or has it done under his own 

 eyes, or sets somebodj'^ else to work in the 

 novel manner you describe above. Perhaps 

 I Hhould say to our readers, that we have 

 printed over $200 worth of labels this season 

 for friend Christie. 



ROCKY-MOUNTAIN BEE BUSINESS. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT THE FIGWORT IN COLORADO. 



-OW that I am having a sick spell you must let 

 me "holler" my whole respects to the Simp- 

 son honey-plant. We have acres of it here in 

 the wild state. The acres are all long, narrow, and 

 Very crooked ; of that shape, because they have to 

 hug the streams pretty closely in their narrow val- 

 leys,which are hemmed in on both sides by mountains 

 that are — I was going to say how many feet high, 

 but those fellows that are hinting about honest bee- 

 keepers telling "honey fibs" might think it a 

 thousand-foot lie instead of a mountain that height; 

 but I will say that the tops (of the mountains, not 

 lies) are often above the clouds. 



There -seems to be two kinds of Simpson plant 

 here. One has a red stalk, the other a green stalk, 

 or it looks as though it might be of the red variety 

 after a spell of colic. It is something of a pest with 

 us, as the more you try to plow it out, " the more 

 it sticks the faster," as nearly every piece will grow 

 if it has water; and without moisture it is no go for 

 honey. It commenced to bloom last season about 

 the center of May ; but our dear little sting-bugs 

 would not even smile on it for two months. I do not 

 think it holds honey by the " schooner " or "boot- 

 leg" full, as some would like to have us swallow. 

 It also has a yellow spider that goes with it that 1 

 don't like. The animal, reptile, or whatever it is, 

 has a body about the size of a pea; the shoulders, 

 legs, head, and vest-pocket, if it has one, are all In a 

 cluster, and stuck on one side of its body — front 

 side I suppose. The spider plants himself or her- 

 self to roost right over the lip of the flower, just as 

 a man's nose stands guard over his mouth, and he 

 puts on the look of patience and determination that 

 the boy must have worn when digging the wood- 

 chuck for the preacher's dinner; there he waits un- 

 til a bee, be it honey or bumble, comes along and 

 ■ticks her head into that flower; then he just reach- 



es over and grabs the bee by the back of the coat- 

 collar the same as the schoolma'am does the little 

 boys, and holds it until it either strangles, chokes to 

 death, or forgets to breathe. If you would like a pair 

 of these spiders I will try to send you some when in 

 season. If any one else wants them I will have to 

 charge a little more, because they are all tested, and 

 warranted to be four x Italian spiders, as they are 

 yellow all over. H. Knight. 



Morrison, Col., Feb. 19, 1833. 



AN IMPROVEMENT IN WAX-EXTRACT- 

 ORS. 



ANOTHER EAVOR FROM THE BUSY BRAIN OF OUR 

 FRIEND D. A. JONES. 



fljlJE drawings below will make the mat- 

 ter plain, with a little explanation. 

 The plan is not very much diiferent 

 from our Swiss wax-extractor, only that the 

 copper-bottomed steam-generator is a fix- 

 ture, and that the steam is admitted right 

 into the center of the mass of comb. 



D. A. JONES'S IMPROVED WAX-EXTRACTOR. 



The can is almost exactly the size of our 

 10-gallon flour or honey can, only the bot- 

 tom is copper. About 6 in. up from the bot- 

 tom, a swage is run in the can, that catches 

 and holds a second bottom, so it may be se- 

 curely soldered. This second bottom, has a 

 hole in the center, H inches in diameter. 

 Around this hole a tin curb is put, 2+ inches 

 high, with a wire around the top, and this 

 completes the can itself. By reference to 

 the second cut you will see this second bot- 

 tom, and you will also see that it slopes a 

 little toward the outer sides of the can. 

 This is to carry the wax to the outside, so it 

 may run around and finally be carried out 

 by the long exit pipe. The other funnel- 

 shaped pipe, right by its side, is for pouring 

 in the water that generates the steam. 



